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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291776592016-04-28T01:55:10.047-04:00Diana Tamblyn's Comics and Illustration BlogNews and Updates on Diana's comics and artStrandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-79863190758975483692016-03-01T22:34:00.001-05:002016-03-02T13:45:11.424-05:00The Eddy Smet AwardLast fall at the 2nd Annual Forest City Comicon, I was thrilled to be awarded the inaugural "Eddy Smet Award", which recognizes an individual's contribution to the advancement of nerd culture in London, Ontario.

This was a real honour for me because it's pretty safe to say that if it wasn't for Eddy Smet, I wouldn't be the person I am today much less a cartoonist.

That's because as a young girl (who had a penchant for comic books), my Mom would drop me off every Saturday at the local comic book store, The Comic Book Collector, while she did her grocery shopping at Valdi's down the street on Dundas St. in London, Ontario.

Run by Eddy and his wife Zorka, the Comic Book Collector was a real family business and they always made me feel welcome when I walked through the door. Eddy was a full-time Math Professor at Western University who loved comic books and who opened the store in 1979 (making it one of the first comic book stores in Canada if not North America).

Eddy Smet, circa 1980

The odd time Zorka's mother (who often worked the cash register), would question some of my choices, but that just me laugh. I distinctly remember her frowning when she rang up my purchase of Frank Miller's Wolverine #1 – "What's a nice girl like you doing with a comic like this?", but the Smet's knew me and my taste in comics. When family members would come in to buy me Birthday or Christmas presents, the Smets always knew what I had already, and what would be the right gift for me - like a Silver Age appearance of Adam Strange in Mystery in Space.

Eddy Smet and the Canadian Whites
The Smets ending up selling the Comic Book Collector in 1986, but Eddy remained a fixture on the comic book scene. I would see him at comic shows going through the back-issue bins looking to fill in gaps in his personal collection. Dells and Westerns were his favourites. In fact I saw him at the Forest City Comicon, he's still trying to fill in some gaps in his collection.

In 2009, he donated a substantial amount of his personal collection (about 8,000 comics) to Western University to their Archives. At the time, it was believed to be the largest and most valuable collection of comic books ever donated to a Canadian university.

Then just this year, Eddy decided to donate another chunk of his collection including 125 "Canadian Whites" comics, which included Triumph-Adventure Comics #2, featuring the first appearance of Nelvana of the Northern Lights (one of the earliest female superheroes, pre-dating even Wonder Woman).

Eddy Smet and a "Canadian White"
Photo courtesy of the London Free Press

I've avidly collected comics for over 35 years now and I could count on one hand the number of times I've come across any "Canadian Whites" comic books. The white existed to fill a vacuum created because American comics were banned in Canada during WWII due to restricted trades of non-essential goods. So some enterprising companies opened up their own publishing houses and printed comics starring original Canadian characters like Johnny Canuck and drawn by Canadian creators - like Adrian Dingle, Gerald Lazare and Jon St. Ables.

When trade restrictions were lifted at the end of the war, Canadian publishers of the "whites" soon went out of business.

Thank You Eddy Smet
During my formative years, the Smets gave me a home away from home, where I could while away my time and never felt out of place. That's a real gift to give to anyone.

Thank you Eddy for opening up your bright four-colour world to a 9-yr old girl many years ago.

Related Links

Collector brings Western Archives into the Golden Age - Western News, Dec 3, 2015

Comics Collector Donates Rare "Canadian Whites" to University, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, November 19, 2015

The comic books that collector Eddy Smet is giving to Western include rare editions called 'Canadian whites', London Free Press, November 8, 2015

Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-88588216487785635502015-10-17T17:36:00.000-04:002015-10-17T17:40:45.209-04:00Forest City Comicon 2015

 Is taking place tomorrow! I'm happy to be a special guest there this year.

It's so nice to have a comic show in my hometown and I have to say that the organizers of the show (Gord and Carol of L.A. Mood comic book store), have done it all for the love of the comic medium. This is NOT a show that just about having media guests you can take pictures with - although yes John Noble will be there, but that's cool, he's great.

There's also a lot of great Canadian comic guests who will be there too - like Bryan Lee O'Malley (who hails from the Forest City), Chip Zdarsky, Jay Torres, Scott Chantler, Andy Belanger and more. The Joe Shuster Awards will also be presented there this yea.

So come by and check it out. I'll have my minis, books, t-shirts, prints and more for sale!

Here's the info:
Forest City Comicon
London Convention Centre
Sunday, October 18th
10:00 AM - 5:00 PMStrandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-59893450089135337602015-08-23T11:57:00.000-04:002015-08-23T13:48:55.185-04:00Book Camp 2015 - Jack "King" KirbyThis month I was invited to give a talk to 40 kids, aged 8 -12 at Book Camp London. I was asked to talk about a writer who inspired and influenced me. Pretty interesting topic really.

As a cartoonist, I felt I needed to think of another cartoonist who inspired me rather than a writer - I thought it would give the kids some variety and some insights into comics being a writing form as well as a visual form. After some considerable thought, I came up with the perfect subject - Jack Kirby.

The King.

The talk was one hour (including a Q&A and signing), but really it is no small feat to hold kids' attention for that long. I felt like I knew my subject pretty well, but I like to be prepared so I did quite a few hours of research to put my slides together. I ended up learning quite a few new things about the King (much of which got incorporated into my talk but not all), which I thought I'd share here as well as some of the reactions from the kids.

The Early Years

Jack and Roz Kirby

One thing I didn't know and should have is that the real name of Jack Kirby's wife, the infamous "Roz" - is Rosalind. Why is this noteworthy? Only because that's my daughter's name. My daughter is named after Rosalind from Shakespeare's "As You Like It", but the fact that this is Roz Kirby's full name is a delightful coincidence for me.

I also hadn't realized the extent of Roz's support of Kirby, and how vital her support was to him. Roz looked after the kids and the household so that all Jack had to do was draw. He would work all day, then eat dinner with Roz and the kids and go back to the drawing board.

Fans starting visiting their house in the 1960s in California with some regularity and Roz would welcome them in, and give them sandwiches while they talked to Jack - sometimes for hours on end!

She seemed to look after his physical health and his mental health, as well as being his biggest cheerleader and supporter. What a gift for an artist.

Simon and Kirby

Jack Kirby and Joe Simon

I also hadn't realized what a good businessman Joe Simon was. It seems that the best financial deal Jack Kirby had in comics were negotiated by Joe Simon.

Specifically when they were doing Captain America comics for Timely, the duo were supposed to be receiving a percentage of the profits. Simon felt they were getting stiffed though, so he negotiated a deal and moved to National Comics (DC), where they would received a $500/week (they were making about $80/week at Timely). This is in the Boy Commandos days.

As we know, the duo both came back to comics after WWII and created the new genre of Romance Comics together. Their romance titles sold millions of copies and Simon negotiated taking no money up front, but instead a share of the profits. This is apparently what allowed Kirby to purchase his family home in California.

Numbers and Process

Fantastic Four page - look at all the direction from Kirby to Stan.

We all know how prolific Kirby was, but I tried to find some numbers for the kids. The best estimate is that Kirby drew approximately 25,000 comic pages in his life. Incredible.

Kirby drew Captain America #112 in a weekend - 20 pages!

Kirby had no formal art training and was self-taught.

When he penciled a page, Kirby would start in the upper left-hand panel and just continued in sequential order until he was finished in the bottom right.

Kirby didn't do thumbnails, he went right to the page and apparently didn't erase! I found this pretty mind-blowing. He did see to be channeling some inner rich imagination that just flowed out on to the page. Who knows if we'll ever see another one like him.

Reaction from the Kids

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

I started with a place of familiarity asking the kids how many of them had seen a Marvel movie. Just about everyone's hand went up. Then I showed a slide of all the Marvel comics movie characters and pointed out all of the characters created by Kirby - they were duly impressed.

I asked them what they knew about Stan Lee - I was surprised that he didn't register with most of them. The ones who knew him, just knew him as the older guy who had cameos in the Marvel movies.

I spent some time on the Marvel Process and the Lee vs. Kirby story and asked them what they thought. I was surprised they weren't too engaged with the argument. When pressed, they thought it "wasn't fair" to Kirby. Maybe it's not surprising really that they don't care too much about copyright, IP payments and the Kirby estate - it's just what keeps us hard-core nerds up at night.

They didn't really care that I had met both Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, but they did think it was neat that I worked for Marvel (briefly when Marvel had offices in Canada during their Heroes World days - it was an awesome job).

No matter what the audience, everyone is interested in the comics process and how long it takes. The kids were pretty surprised that comics-making is more than a full-time job where you work weekends and don't take a lot of time off.

Q &A Time

The kids (who were about 60% girls, 40% boys I'd say), seemed to be really taken with Kirby's imagination and the number of characters he'd created.

"Who's your favourite character?" - I have a weird love for Fin Fang Foom (which of course I had an image of). They weren't too impressed.

"Who's your least favourite character?" Probably Moon Boy from Devil Dinosaur - that they thought was funny.

"Did Jack Kirby create Deadpool?" Sigh no, not that one. What is up with Deadpool anyway? I don't understand the love for him.

When the kids figured out that I'm a bit of a comic encyclopedia - the questions really started coming,

"Can you explain the differences between Marvel and DC?" This was from a young girl who said she thought she should be reading more comics and was trying to understand them more.

Marvel tends be set in the "real world" with characters who have real problems and issues - like Peter Parker. DC takes place in imaginary cities and places with more fantastic adventures and characters not like us - like Green Lantern as a space cop or Bruce Wayne, the multi-millionaire playboy. We can't be like these people.

"What do you like better - Marvel or DC" - DC.

"Who's your favourite charater?" - Superman always and forever.

"What did you think of Man of Steel?" - Had to explain that I didn't see it because I knew it would break my heart. That Superman is not my Superman. My Superman does not kill bad guys or injure innocent people.

"Whats your favourite super-hero movie?" - Superman I and Superman II. I also thought Iron Man was really good, especially since the comics are pretty bad - that drew an intake of breath and hushed silence.

"What's your second favourite super-hero? - Spider-Man.

"What's the best DC villain?" - the Joker, no question.

"What's the best Marvel villain?" - Green Goblin. Also Galactus is pretty great.

And finally - "What do you think of the new 52?" - I didn't sugar coat it - it blows.

Afterwards I signed my comics for them, signed their t-shirts and they chatted with me. I was surprised that tons of the girls wanted to talk about Black Widow and were big fans of hers. I agreed with them that she is totally cool. I had to draw the Black Widow logo for them on a bunch of their Book Camp t-shirts. For the boys, I drew the Superman "S"

Black Widow movie Marvel - make it, put her back on the Avengers marketing materials. Stop screwing this up. The youngsters LOVE her.

The Book Camp organizer was nice enough to email me some feedback afterwards from the kids - this is what they had to say:

I LOVED the comic book presentation. Its so cool that she used to work for Marvel! That's what I want to do; I liked learning about Jack Kirby's life.

I never knew how much work went into developing comics. It was really neat to learn.

So all in all, I had a lot of fun. Talking about comics and Jack Kirby with kids is an a-ok way to spend some time.
Strandhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-76639322895781479972015-05-24T10:17:00.001-04:002015-05-24T10:22:24.246-04:00WordsFest Presentation
I had the pleasure of giving a presentation on my comic work and process this past fall at a wonderful new literary festival in London, Ontario - WordsFest.

They taped the event and now it's live on YouTube. I wasn't even too freaked out to have Joe Sacco in the audience! Honestly, I was pretty pleased with how it went. You can check it out here.

Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-62335329220434701622015-01-07T14:17:00.002-05:002015-01-07T14:26:39.984-05:00Metro News Interview and VideoWhen I got the Joe Shuster Award nomination back in the summer for the "Gene Day Self-Publishing" Award, I was interviewed by Metro News. It was a nice piece and they even video-taped me while I explained my cartooning process, which was a bit nerve-wracking but fun too.

I was pretty happy with how it came out. Here's the video and a link to the article. Thanks to Mike Donachie for the interview!

<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="guid=7VYEAt0L&isDynamicSeeking=true" height="224" overstretch="true" seamlesstabbing="true" src="http://s0.videopress.com/player.swf?v=1.03" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" wmode="direct"></embed>

Guns, murder and a family link: London cartoonist Diana Tamblyn getting noticed

Also, I didn't win the Award, Steven Gilbert did for his "The Journal of the Main Street Secret Lodge" - which was a wonderful book.

Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-10463670650802195102015-01-03T22:50:00.002-05:002015-01-07T14:20:28.438-05:00Goodbye 2014
I've been a bit frustrated lately with how slow it's going with Book 2 of Gerald Bull (though it's going, I've been working on it quite a bit the past few months). Part of the reason for the slow pace is because of how tight and controlled my drawing is - as well as the amount of research and photo reference is involved (which I enjoy but is time-consuming).

Inspired by Kate Beaton's holiday cartoons - which are awesome, fresh and funny, but also so loose, I thought why don't I give it a try?

My daughter Rosie provides a lot of comic fodder and I share a lot of stories with friends and family of her antics. I also did a mini-comic of her years ago called "The Rosie Stories", so this seemed like a good place to start. Doing fast loose comics that still capture human essence is really easier to be said than done - it's also hard for me to loosen up on the control (clearly seen by the title below which was a big fail in terms of doing something quickly). It was all I could do not to spot in some greys.

I'm happy with the result and I think I'll try to do more in 2015 - it's good for my cartooning chops! Enjoy.

Strandhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-13890313912863400032014-11-15T20:59:00.000-05:002014-11-19T15:35:20.955-05:00Project Play - November 23, 2014

Called London's biggest and best gaming event, Project Play is a one-day show focused around gaming - video games, board games and card games. It also includes cool comics-related exhibitors like LA Mood Comics & Games, Uber Cool Stuff, Worlds Away, Eric Vedder Illustration and ME!

Gaming for Good
Best of all, Project Play is also a non-profit organization. 100% of funds raised go towards providing children in community and family crisis centres with games so they can play for themselves! Last year they won a Pillar Community Innovation Award and everything. See the video below.

I'm super happy to be participating. I'll have lots of items available for sale including t-shirts, mini-comics, prints, holiday greeting cards, my Gerald Bull graphic novel and more!

Details

Takes place Sunday, November 23, 2014

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Carousel Room at the Western Fair District

Tickets $10 each, children under 10 FREE.

Strandhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-77336244632222544672014-10-22T13:36:00.004-04:002014-10-24T15:06:43.345-04:00Words Literary and Creative Arts FestivalI'm excited to be appearing at Words, London Ontario's inaugural festival of creativity taking place October 24 - 26, 2014.

An Afternoon with London Cartoonist Diana Tamblyn
I'll be in speaking at 1:00 PM at Museum London on Saturday, October 24th.Come by - it's free!

The festival will feature emerging as well as established artists and creative thinkers from Southwestern Ontario and beyond - showcasing new works and world-leading ideas to spark debate and ignite the imagination. The festival will also feature a range of activities for audience members to immerse themselves in the process of creativity, such as lectures, performances, public interviews and debates, workshops, readings, makerspaces, and masterclasses.

The Opening reception takes place at Museum London, 24th of October, 7pm, and features Vincent Lam, Guy Vanderhaeghe, Joan Barfoot, James Bartleman, Joe Sacco, Jeramy Dodds, Mark Kingwell, Gary Barwin, and more. Reception tickets are $20.

All other events are free.

Word Play - London Free Press article
Three local heroes will grace the first Words fest muse and enthuse about its importance to London
Great article about the fest that included interviews with me and local poets Penn Kemp and Laurie Graham.

Fest Recommendation
The fest will also feature a conversation with one of my favourite cartoonists - Joe Sacco! If you're in the area, I recommend you checking out his session.

Joe Sacco in conversation with Donnie Calabrese
Museum London Community Gallery, Saturday, October 25th, 3:15 PM. Free!

Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-86109823726159495792014-10-07T16:55:00.001-04:002014-10-07T16:58:00.273-04:00Strip in Canadian Notes & Queries
The Summer issue of Canadian Notes & Queries is out and it features a 2-pager by me. This was a really special project for me. Canadian cartoonist Seth is the Art Director of the magazine (and he does all of the covers too - check out his amazing wrap-around cover here), and he personally asked me to contribute (thrill #1).

I got to adapt any piece of Canadian fiction I wanted to in comic form. I chose Barbara Gowdy's short story "Flesh of my Flesh". I've always wanted to do a comic of one of her works - I finally go to do it and get paid for it (thrill #2)! The magazine is available at finer book and magazine stores everywhere!

Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-37348896014278187202014-08-01T14:05:00.000-04:002014-08-01T14:28:52.989-04:00Joe Shuster Award NominationSuper happy to say that my book: "From Earth to Babylon: Gerald Bull and the Superun" is nominated for a Joe Shuster Award! It's for the Gene Day Award in self-publishing. So exciting!

Congrats to all of my fellow nominees.

Gene Day Award (Self-Publishers) / Prix Gene Day (Auto-éditeurs)

Jordyn Bochon – The Terrible Death of Finnegan Strappe: The Claw of the Earth #2

Antonin Buisson – garder le rythme

Stephen Burger – TALK!

James Edward Clark – Evil Issue 2

Cloudscape Comics Collective – Waterlogged: Tales from the Seventh Sea

Steven Gilbert – The Journal of the Main Street Secret Lodge

Mike Myhre – Barbaric Sword of Savagery

Diana Tamblyn – Gerald Bull and the Supergun Vol. 1

Related article

Shusters recognize best in comic creators' work - London Free Press, June 13, 2014
"As if we needed more proof that Southwestern Ontario comic creators punch above their weight, now come the nominations for the Joe Shuster Awards, where names such as Diana Tamblyn, Emily Carroll and Jeff Lemire crop up in a number of categories..."

Strandhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-62844058095060945332014-05-13T18:11:00.000-04:002014-05-15T09:44:34.099-04:00TCAF 2014 Wrap-UpAnother TCAF has come and gone. I've gone to every single one and I think this is the 7th one I've exhibited at.

I've loved it since the very first one in 2003 when it was in the basement of a church - my table mate was Anders Nilsen, some O'Malley kid was scribbling in the corner and I got Michel Rabagliati to sign and sketch in a Paul book to me. TCAF has always been my favourite comics show (and my most successful one), and this year was no exception.

I brought 35 copies of my Gerald Bull book and came home with two. I sold 15 mini-comics, with the most popular one being my Banting comic (which I just did up another print run of) - that book just sells and sells. So all in all, about 50 books sold. Not my best year (that was in 2007 when I sold over 100 books/comics), but not bad TCAF, not bad.

Friday

Photo swiped from fellow cartoonist Scott Chantler

My pal and fellow cartoonist Scott Chantler and I scarfed down some Mama's pizza, then ran over to the Opening Night Kick Off Event at the Reference Library which was terrific! Raina Telgemeirer moderated a panel with Lynn Johnston and Kate Beaton and it was a totally packed house. All three were delightful, but I have to say there is a special place in my heart for Lynn - what a talent!

Of note was that Lynn Johnston said her favourite ever "For Better of For Worse" story was the one about Lawrence coming out. Still a classic.

I found myself nodding in agreement when Kate Beaton explained that as a young girl seeing Lynn's comics in the paper everyday had a big impact. It was the exact same thing for me - Lynn Johnston was successful, talented and the only female cartoonist I had exposure to or knew of for quite a number of years. Seeing someone do the thing you want to do, and realizing it is possible is a big deal for a kid.

The other thing that really resonated with me was when Kate Beaton said that she identifies with the artist kid in the class who is particularly happy to meet her (and who the other kids in the class identify as "the artist"). She was that artist kid when she was growing up too.

It struck me that TCAF is made up of hundreds of these kids, all grown up. No wonder there is such a feeling of camaraderie, joy and wonder to the weekend! We all share similar life experiences and passions. We were all that kid.

Afterwards was the show set up. While waiting for the "Learning Room" area to be ready (since all books that were shipped ahead of time were stored in this room), I sat and chatted with cartoonist Dan Goldman. I follow Dan online but we'd never met before. One of the great things about TCAF is meeting cartoonists "in real life" whose work you admire. He has a brand new book out "Red Light Properties" and I heartily recommend it. He's also a real nice guy.

Saturday

Ltd. Ed. TCAF Parker print

Leaving the hotel I was mistaken for Jillian Tamaki in the elevator (I take this as a huge compliment, but other than the fact that we're both female cartoonists with dark hair, we don't look much alike). I spotted Lynn Johnston having breakfast in the hotel restaurant and passed Jeff Smith coming in from a walk. Sooo many cartoonists just swarming downtown Toronto - I love it!

In the morning before it got busy, I sat and chatted all too briefly with Marsha Cooke, one of my fave comics people in the world! A good hour later - her other half, Darwyn finally sat down at his table to a long line-up of fans. He had so many cool, exclusive items available just for TCAF. I had to pick up one of these sweet Parker prints (at right).

My hubby Dave made it to the show at around 4:45 PM, so he had about 15 minutes to look around before we headed out to dinner with the D&Q gang. I got to sit beside Mimi Pond, which was a thrill. She's as funny and charming as you might expect. Then we all hoofed it over to the Marriott for the Doug Wright Awards.

My Nipper piece

The Doug Wrights were super smooth (no fire alarm this year), and Scott Thompson was a hoot. Don McKellar jumped in at one point to help Scott out with pronunciation of nominee names - it was very funny. Scott should always host the show, then have other previous hosts jump in like this.

I had finished colouring my "Nipper" Kickstarter piece the night before in my hotel room. Cutting it a little close? Yes.

I'm happy with how it came out though, and it did get shown on the screen with all the other cartoonist submissions. Chester Brown's one is of course, the best one.

Then we hit up the Pilot for Chip Zdarsky's party. Since we're old, we stayed for a few drinks then went back to the hotel to crash. We did get to congratulate Chip on being a New York Times' best-selling artist though. He was hilarious as usual.

Sunday
In the morning Dave and I went for breakfast with good friend Frank Cammuso and his family. This was one of our favourite parts of the whole trip - it was great catching up. We love you Frank, Ngoc and Kai!

I've always been fortunate enough to be in the "main drag" section on the first floor of the Reference Library. This year, being in the "Learning Centre", I was in a small room off to the side of the winding staircase on the first floor. Though there was obviously a lot of care taken in choosing creators for this room, (I had awesome neighbours like Matt from Hic and Hoc & Yeti Press), but we definitely didn't get as much traffic as the main areas.

Saturday was crazy BUSY on the main floor, but my Sunday was actually busier than Saturday this year, maybe because people were "finding" us after making the full rounds. I say this because even up to the last hour on Sunday, people were coming into the room saying they didn't know our room was part of the show.

In the afternoon I did a panel on non-fiction comics and that went really well. A stellar group of cartoonists were on the panel and moderator Brigid Alverson did a terrific job. We could have easily talked for another hour! The best part? A guy came up afterwards and said he'd like to get a copy of my book. I happened to have one on me, so was ready to sell it to him. Then he introduced himself as Ken Steacy! Of course, I just had to sign it and give it to him - he's like Canadian comics royalty! What a nice guy.

All in all, it was a great show, and lots of good friends dropped by like David Collier, Jaime Colville, Tom Spurgeon, Emily Pohl-Weary and Steve Manale.

Caught up with lots of others like Willow Dawson, Claudia Davile, Michael Cho, J. Torres, Ed Kanerva, Natalie Atkinson, Aaron Costain, John Martz, Matt Forsythe, Annie Koyama, Scott and many more!

Finally I picked up LOTS of amazing comics! Kudos to the Beguiling, Chris Butcher and the TCAF team. Another banner year.

My TCAF haul. So many good comics!

Strandhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-22180757256888409902014-05-08T14:44:00.005-04:002014-05-08T15:10:14.900-04:00All TCAF all the Time - TCAF 2014 InfoOne of the biggest and best comic shows of the year is coming up in Toronto in just a few short days - the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (or TCAF for short), and I'm happy to be an exhibitor once again this year!

I'll be on the first floor at the back of the room near the winding staircase, at booth #166.

Here's my TCAF webpage.

I'll have some limited edition Gerald Bull books with me along with any minis I have currently in print. Maybe I'll also bring some t-shirts? If anyone has any special requests (colour, size), let me know and I'll make sure to pack one up for you.

My pal and fellow cartoonist Scott Chantler has this to say about the show and I couldn't have said it any better (basically the show is my favourite and it's the BEST):

"Patterned more after literary festivals, TCAF is devoted entirely to showcasing the breadth, diversity, and quality of work being done in the comics medium. Upwards of 450 cartoonists from around the world will be in attendance, hand-picked by TCAF's curators to represent an astonishing cross-section of the art form... Whether you're into kids' comics, literary comics, Manga, European comics, superheroes, web comics, non-fiction comics, non-narrative comics, etc, you will find what you're looking for at TCAF."

I'll also be on a panel on Sunday, May 10th at the Mariott, the official convention hotel right next door to the Reference Library. It's right after the Spotlight on Isabelle Arsenault & Fanny Britt, so come for that, and then stay for my panel.

Here are the details:

History/Nonfiction Comics
Sunday, May 11th - 12:15-1:15pm, Mariott 100
It could be argued that contemporary graphic novels have broken into the mainstream literary world thanks to their unique ability to vividly recount the best and the worst of the human experience through autobiography, memoir, and history.

Join moderator Brigid Alverson(Comic Book Resources) as she interviews some of the top contributors to the genre, including Nick Abadzis (The Cigar that Fell in Love with a Pipe), Meags Fitzgerald (Photobooth: A Biography), Nate Powell (March), Diana Tamblyn (Gerald Bull and the Supergun) and Nick Bertozzi (Lewis and Clark), and Tyrell Cannon (Victus). Discover how to consider, collect, and curate real-life tales of times past to make them new again!

Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-66122480572612345642014-01-26T11:55:00.003-05:002014-01-26T12:34:25.113-05:00Ting! Comic & Graphic Arts FestivalAfter many months of preparation and planning, I'm happy to announce that the "Ting - Comic & Graphic Arts Festival" will be taking place in London, Ontario at The ARTS Project from April 22 - May 3, 2014.

The London Free Press has a great article about it here.

Here are all the details about the event:
Named after famed London Free Press editorial cartoonist Merle (Ting) Tingley, Ting is a 2-week festival showcasing comic and graphic artists from London and the greater Southwestern Ontario area, past, present and future.

Centering around a gallery show at The Arts Project, the festival will also feature workshops, panel discussions, a pop-up shop and more. The dual purpose of the festival is to provide a forum for artists to present their work to the public not normally accessible through normal commercial channels and to raise awareness of The Arts Project, a non-profit arts incubator based in London, Ontario.

Featured Artists:
The Festival will feature the work of many talented comic and graphic novel illustrator including Ting himself:

Aaron Costain: http://www.aaroncostain.com

Marc Bell: http://marcbelldept.blogspot.ca

Scott Chantler: http://scottchantler.com

Willow Dawson: http://willowdawson.4ormat.com

Jessica Desparois: http://jessicadesparois.yolasite.com

Antony Hare: http://ahpi.ca

Jesse Jacobs: http://onemillionmouths.blogspot.ca

Mark Laliberte: http://www.marklaliberte.com

Jeff Lemire: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Lemire

Gabrielle Norwicki: http://www.tindaisies.com

David Poolman: http://www.davidpoolman.com

Jay Stephens: http://jaystephens.com

Diana Tamblyn: http://www.dianatamblyn.com

Merle Tingley (Ting): http://www.amazon.ca/s?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=TING%20[Merle%20Tingley]&search-alias=books-ca

There will also be a spotlight on Koyama Press, a Canadian press who has published works by 3 of the participating artists (Aaron Costain, Jesse Jacobs and Mark Laliberte).
See: http://www.koyamapress.com

More About Ting:

Merle Tingley (Ting) was the editorial cartoonist for the London Free Press for almost forty years (1948-1986). He won national and international awards for his art, and is regarded as the dean of Canadian newspaper cartoonists. Ting's attention to detail and craftsmanship characterize his work. Over the years, his whimsical, down-to-earth humour attracted a loyal following among thousands of readers, not only in the Free Press but across Canada in more than 60 weeklies and dailies, which carried his syndicated material.

His famous cartoon mascot, Luke Worm, is immediately recognizable. The "Merle Tingley Cartoon Collection" at Western University includes more than 5,000 drawings, travel assignment articles, awards, photographs and correspondence. Not only do the drawings have substantial intrinsic value as original art, but they also form a rich primary source of social comment and criticism on a local, provincial, national and international level.

More About The ARTS Project
We are London's arts incubator, sparking creativity, while supporting emerging and developing visual and performance artists.

The ARTS Project (TAP) exists to provide a public gallery and black box theatre option for emerging and developing artists. Incorporated as a not-for-profit in 1999, TAP exists to support and encourage this group of innovators and up-and-comers, providing opportunities where they can affordably work, share information, learn new skills, exhibit and perform their art, getting feedback while educating and enriching our community.

Our heritage building built in 1870 was originally a hotel and has been renovated to include 11 artists' studios, two galleries and a 100-seat black box theatre as well as offering programming in both visual arts and theatre.Strandhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-90314262933682159752014-01-26T11:37:00.000-05:002014-01-26T11:41:14.731-05:00Picks for Best Comics of 2013Comic book website Sequential just presented a series called "The Janus Project" where comics professionals selected their favourite comics of 2013 while also looking forward to things to come in 2014.

Here's a link to my picks, which include Rutu Modan's "The Property", Michael DeForge's "Kid Mafia" and Joe Lambert's "Annie Sullivan".

Strandhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-72330120145050383402013-11-04T22:03:00.001-05:002013-11-04T22:09:11.238-05:00November 2013 News & Updates

Gerald Bull

Some exciting news. I received probably the best review I could imagine of my graphic novel about Gerald Bull a few days ago when Robert Bull (one of Gerald Bull's sons) wrote me an email to say:

"I love the book. I had a lot of fun reading it, and I think my dad would have loved it too!"

I asked for Robert's permission to post his reaction and he graciously agreed. In my mind Gerald Bull has been unfairly depicted in Canadian history .The Bull family were gracious hosts to me when I visited them and interviewed them in doing research for the book a few years ago. Their reaction to the book has been important to me, and I'am so very pleased with this response.

Graphic Novel Availability
You can pick up "Gerald Bull & the Supergun" at one of these locations below. I also have some availability of the limited, signed version available for sale direct from me here.

Heroes - London, Ontario

LA Mood - London, Ontario

Western University Book Store, London, Ontario

Strange Adventures, Halifax, Nova Scotia

I'll be in Toronto in a comic of weeks and will try to drop off some copies at some stores there so keep your eyes peeled for updates.

I'm still working on getting the regular version of the book (with ISBN number and everything), available for sale on regular online channels like Amazon and Chapters by Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed!
Strandhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-25591066450505014222013-10-27T13:58:00.000-04:002013-11-04T22:05:40.422-05:00October 2013 News & ReviewsHere's some recent news articles in which I've been featured or quoted in...

Londoner confidently taps nation's science history - Gerald Bull & the Supergun book review.
 Dan Brown, London Free Press, September 21

Museum London Supporter Spotlight

Quoted in "Why won't cinema embrace female superheroes?"
BBC Online, September 11, 2013

Further Thoughts on Female Superheroes and the Movies
The BBC article is really good and to prep for it I did a lot of thinking on the subject. Not all of my comments made it into the article of course, and since I have my own forum here, I thought I'd post some further thoughts here.

Obviously super-hero movies have been dominating the big screen for the last number of years in terms of global popularity, box office returns and sheer number of films being released. There are multiple super-hero movies coming out each and every month now it seems - it's astounding.

There are so many now, that a new one is no longer "special" or an "event" though. It's got to be something really special now for me to make the effort to see one in the movie theatre, or even at all now. I even specifically made of a point of steering clear of the new "Man of Steel" movie all together, even though Superman is my favourite comic character because it just seemed so dark, bleak and violent. Completely contrary to what I think the essence of the character is - hope, goodness and light.

Superhero Movies Not so Different From Other Genres
I think that super-hero movies are no different from other genres in terms of depictions of women. How many action, fantasy, sci-fi or even dramatic movies feature women in a leading role? Very, very few I'm afraid. We are lucky if a woman even gets a good supporting role these days, whether the movie is the Avengers or Lincoln. Hollywood seems to continue to believe that the only people who see movies are young men, though looking at the box office, you could paint a different story. Just look at how "The Butler" is doing vs. Kick-Ass 2 right now.

 Hollywood likes to point to the failures of "Supergirl", "Elektra" and "Catwoman" as proof that superhero films with a female lead can't be successful. The problem is not that these films had a female or male lead, it's that they were just plain bad movies!They also carefully side-step other huge financial bombs that have done real damage to the studio that produced them like the Lone Ranger, Green Lantern, Jonah Hex and John Carter.

Every time a movie featuring a woman in a lead role does well, it seems to be a complete surprise and is considered an "anomaly", like Bridesmaids, the Help, or just about any movie starring Meryl Streep.With the success of The Hunger Games, Brave, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and even the Resident Evil movies, I think we're at the point that Hollywood can no longer see these successes as strange one-offs. Women and men will see movies with a strong female lead if the script, cast and production are stellar.

Strong Female Superheroes
Strong female superheroe characters do exist from Spider-Woman, Zatanna, Harley Quinn, Black Canary, She-Hulk and the Black Widow (who should have been played by Angelina Jolie not Scarlett Johansson), to name a few.
Mac cosmetics released a "Wonder Woman" line a few years ago that was a roaring success. They had a top comic artist do the artwork (Mike Allred), and Wonder Woman was not sexualized but depicted as a strong female character. Limited edition t-shirts, bags and cosmetics sold out within a week (I was able to nab a tee).

Wonder Woman by Mike Allred for Mac Cosmetics

They are following this up with a Betty and Veronica line. This is a company that understands and embraces the power of strong female icons. They got it 100% bang on.

 If I were in charge, here is what I would do

Get Joss Whedon to dig out his Wonder Woman script that he worked on for years that no-one green lit. Then, let him do what he wants. He's earned it and with Buffy he's clearly proven he can write/direct strong female characters.

Introduce the characters of Oracle and Batwoman to the new Superman/Batman movie. Then give each one their own film to be directed by a independent filmmaker or a foreign film-maker with a smallish budget (say $50 million).

Oracle movie could be straight up crime drama/CSI style. Very gritty, character-driven with excellent supporting cast that includes detective Renee Montoya. How about Kathryn Biegelow to direct?

Introduce She-Hulk in the next Avengers movie, then give her her own movie. She is a strong, sexy, funny, smart character.

To a Black Widow movie with Black Widow as a mature, older character. She is a globetrotter and war-weary spy. She should be played by someone who can be smart, devious, strong. Angelina Jolie. Then give it to JJ. Abrams. Alias was the TV show he cut his teeth on.

 Finally, my daughter who is 8 would like nothing more than to see a female-driven action movie that is kid-friendly. There are none though. The closest we have come is the Powerpuff Girls DVDs from the old TV show. The show is smart, the characters are strong and relatable, the artwork is superb.

We'll just have to read Harry Potter and Percy Jackson while we're waiting, waiting for Hollywood to get their act together.

Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-10425310046931913712013-10-20T23:29:00.000-04:002013-11-04T21:48:35.378-05:00From the Earth to Babylon: Gerald Bull and the Supergun Debuts
So - multiple rounds of copy editing have been completed. Files have been formatted, then formatted a few times, then a few times more for good measure!

And now, here's the cover and the official description with some preview pages too!

From the Earth to Babylon: Gerald Bull and the Supergun
by Diana Tamblyn

Mixing the fascinating approach of historical journalism with a mesmerizing biography comes the wild and crazy, true story of Gerald Bull.

A historical graphic novel based on the life of Canadian Gerald Bull—considered to be one of the most brilliant scientists of the twentieth century and whose work affected the course of two modern wars. Bull's research led him across the globe, from Canada, to the Pentagon, to Barbados, to South Africa, and finally to Iraq.

This volume tells of how this "boy genius" of rocket science experienced early success with the launch of HARP (the High-Altitude Research Project) with McGill University, to owning one of the world's largest and most sophisticated space programs with the Space Research Corporation.

>> 3-page pdf preview
>> Buy it here

Copy editor: Ed Kanerva
Designer: Dustin Harbin
88 pages, B&W interior, colour cover.
Price of ltd. edition version of 200 copies, $20
Book 1 of a 2 volume series.

The book can also be purchased at Heroes and LA Mood in London, Ontario, and Strange Adventures in Halifax.

Further Info

Sometime before Christmas the book should be available a few months later via online channels like Amazon, and the websites for Barnes & Noble, Chapters and Waterstones thanks to distribution through Comet Press (an imprint of Starburst).

Although the book isn't even out yet, it will be part of the course curriculum this Fall at Western University in a new course called "Graphically Canadian". Very exciting! Here's an article about the course: http://www.lfpress.com/2013/08/23/brown-cartoonists-finally-get-their-due-in-new-courses

I'll be posting more detailed information on dates and availability as I have it.Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-47840375788302665462013-07-23T09:14:00.000-04:002013-08-25T11:06:21.309-04:00Gerald Bull & the Supergun vol. 1 - COMPLETED!I can't believe it but I've finished lettering & touching up in the very last page of "From the Earth to Babylon: The Story of Gerald Bull and the Supergun" - Book 1.

Next steps are for the talented Dustin Harbin to finish off his awesome cover designs and layout work, then proofing, proofing with my excellent copyeditor Ed Kanerva. Goal is to debut the book for the Small Press Expo. Countdown is on.

This has taken me YEARS of research, writing and drawing. Many thanks to my supportive hubby Dave and daughter Rosie who helped see it through. Also, when it gets down to it, perseverance pays off. This is honestly the toughest thing I've ever done.

Then you know... Book 2. No biggie.

Pages for Book 1

Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-25211760608809282082013-05-09T13:34:00.005-04:002013-05-09T13:36:04.499-04:00TCAF 2013Folks, it's been a long time coming, but I'm happy to say that my Bull graphic novel is finally going to be released this year! I had hoped to release it at TCAF (the Toronto Comic Arts Festival), but alas it was not to be.

I will having still be attending TCAF since it's my favourite comic show of the year though. So many friends there and so much good stuff to buy!

Doug Wright Awards Fundraiser
One of the things I love to do at TCAF is go to the Doug Wright Awards (which take place on Saturday night, May 11th at 7PM this year). The Doug Wright Awards are a non-profit organization whose goal is to draw attention to excellence in cartooning in Canada.

Have you dreamed of owning some original comic book art for a reasonable price?
Well, dream no more my friends. As a fundraiser, they asked some great Canadian cartoonists like Seth, Chester Brown and Matt Forsythe (and me) to contribute some original art to auction off on the theme of "Super Villains" on eBay. I did Granny Goodness, an awesome Kirby villain.

Right now the bid is at the low, low price of $31.00. Bidding ends tomorrow (Friday, May 10th), so get bidding!

Gerald Bull Book Progress Update
So as to not lose my mind on this graphic novel (as it is easily 10 times longer than anything I've ever done before), I decided to split the book into two volumes: a Book 1 and a Book 2. This kept everything more manageable and less overwhelming. Both volumes will be approx. 75 pages in length.

Here's the story recap:
From Earth to Babylon: The Story of Gerald Bull
Canadian scientist Gerald Bull is considered to be one of the most brilliant scientists of the twentieth century. A boy from modest means, he quickly grew to prominent and his research led him across the globe, from Canada, to the Pentagon, Barbados, South Africa, China and Iraq – where he developed the "Supergun" for Saddam Hussein, and ultimately to Brussels, where he was assassinated in 1990.

Book One tells the story of his early years as a "boy genius" at the University of Toronto, his years at the Canadian Defense Department where he began his work on supersonic guns, and his work at McGill on HARP (the High Altitude Research Project). Like something straight out of a Jules Verne book, HARP utilized a big gun system instead of rockets to shoot items into the earth's upper atmosphere.

I now have 2, count 'em TWO pages left to draw for Book 1! After that it's just scanning, toning and lettering. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the full printed edition will be now be released at the SPX this Fall, which I have secured a table at.Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-6968054416109369252013-01-20T18:10:00.003-05:002013-01-20T18:14:20.817-05:00Best Comics of 2012: Hilda and the Bird ParadeAs a caveat, I read a lot - ficiton, non-fiction, newspapers, comics, mini-comics, graphic novels, newspapers, magazines, cereal boxes, you get the picture... I haven't read every comic or graphic novel that came out last year though. Some that are on my massive "to read" stack that may very well be favourites include: Lilli Carre's "Heads or Tails", Chris Ware's "Building Stories" and Gabrielle Bell's "The Voyeurs".

That being said, here's my last pick of my favourite comics of 2012 - Luke Pearson's "Hilda and the Bird Parade", the third book in his Hilda series. This is one beautiful book: it's oversized hardcover, full colour, with a spot varnish cover. In it, Hilda moves with her mom from the country back to the city and tries to fit in. She meets a magic talking bird and of course they embark on an adventure together.

This is a wonderful book for kids and parents alike. The illustrations are gorgeous and the story is charming. My 8-yr old loves it and it's a pleasure to read it to her (and to myself). Highly recommended! Luke Pearson is a prodigious talent. Just look at some of the work below.

Pearson came to my attention a few years ago with "Hildafolk", the first in the Hilda series. Hildafolk tells the adventures of Hilda, a young girl who lives in what looks like a gorgeous northern European countryside (think Sweden or Norway). Hildafolk is already in its 3rd printing.

Pearson followed up Hildafolk with "Hilda and the Midnight Giants", which NoBrow also printed in a gorgeous oversized album format (think Tin Tin and Asterix HC french volumes). Both deserve your attention. Really you should just order all three Hilda books from NoBrow.

NoBrow Press is a UK publishing outfit and their books aren't readily available in most comic stores. So, unless you happen to live near the Beguiling, you should just order direct from them online. They have a wonderful line of high-quality, award-winning books, graphic novels, prints and even wrapping paper! I've ordered a few times and it's been no problem.

Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-46380811695350334802013-01-08T21:28:00.002-05:002013-01-08T21:33:14.817-05:00Best Comics of 2012: Swimming StudiesI first became aware of Leanne Shapton through her book "The Native Trees of Canada" by Drawn & Quarterly which came out a few years ago. The book is a series of illustrations based on leaves from Canadian trees.

Last year I did an art show on Trees of London, Ontario (the city where I live whose moniker is "The Forest City), so the book was of particular interest to me. We take our environment for granted, and when you step back and really study trees, as I did for my project, they are so beautiful and breathtaking. Shapton's book really captures this wonder with bright colours and images that are almost abstract.

So when her first prose book came out in 2012 - Swimming Studies, I was quick to pick it up. It's not a comic, but it's definitely influenced by "sequential art" (as Will Eisner would say). Because of this, and because I discovered her through D&Q, Swimming Studies appears on my "Best Comics of 2012" list.

Swimming Studies

I've never read a book quite like this. It's told as a traditional narrative about Shapton's experience training as an Olympic-level competitive swimmer in Canada (she ranked as high as 8th in Canada). Apparently she was good, but not good enough, and she gave up the sport, later becoming an accomplish designer and artist. Interspersed in the narrative are photographs of some of Shapton's swimming suits (which she collects), beautiful washes of swimming figures, abstract landscapes, paintings of pools she's swam in and people she swam with.

Swimming Studies knocked me right out. It's the same kind of feeling I get when looking at an inspired work of art - it makes you see life in a bit of a different way.

It's also a perfectly imperfect work. I say this because the book would never work with just the prose story alone, it's a bit long and each chapter has the same pacing. I missed the traditional story arc - no build up, no conflicts, no crisis/climax, no denouement - it's all the same beat (similar I guess to the relentless training she practiced).

Swimsuit Collection

Taken as whole, the book is sublime though. You can totally understand how all of Shapton's swimming discipline helped her in her transition to an artist and New York Times art director. She's not afraid to do the work and I find that really inspiring. I really loved her love of swimming suits as objects and their representation of moments in her life too. I can't think of a better way to present her feelings about that part of her life (and she continues to buy new suits and document them).

I love all of her illustrations. I especially love her swimming pool studies. Only a very observant mind would take a mental note of the shape of each pool they have swam in. I have a weird thing where I can remember each hotel room floor plan I've stayed in (although this is getting harder as I get older). Perhaps this is how a cartoonist sees the word - we divvy up the visual word into comprehensible components like boxes on a page. Maybe this is why I connected so much with the book as a whole.

Swimming Pool Studies

This is a book that I will be picking up and referring to for many years to come. I think all creative types will appreciate this book as the struggle she goes through with her sport, is very similar to what we go through when creating art. And it's just a goddamned gorgeous book. I loved it.

Available from Amazon and finer bookstores everywhere.

Strandhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-20170364774021220382013-01-03T20:24:00.000-05:002013-01-03T22:06:18.875-05:00Best Comics of 2012: HawkeyeThe best straight up super-hero comic of the year was without a doubt the new Hawkeye series by Matt Fraction and David Aja.

Cover to Hawkeye #9 by David Aja

One of the very first comic series I ever collected was the Avengers (at the end of the Perez run), so the characters hold a special appeal for me. And of all of the Avengers do you know who I like the best? Hawkeye. That's right - that one hard-core Hawkeye fan, it's me.

I have the first ever action figure done of Hawkeye and have many of his early comic appearances. One of my favourite all-time comic covers? This one below, circa 1982 by Ed Hannigan. I copied it when I was 14 and still have that old drawing.

Having said all this, even if you aren't a huge Hawkeye fan like me, if you have even the slightest penchant for really well-written, smart, charming, funny super-hero comics - you'll enjoy the heck out of this comic. Hawkeye is a great character because he is just a regular guy with no super-powers, just an incredible talent in archery. In fact lately, he's been written as being able to use any object and make it a deadly weapon (think Bullseye). I like this and thinks it makes sense.

In the Fraction book, Hawkeye is an average joe, a perennial bachelor, a smart-ass who drinks too much and has trouble paying the bills. Still he's charming and fights crime. He also has a protege in Kate Bishop (from the Young Avengers), who is also a talented archer. She's also smarter than Hawkeye, so they make for a good team.

The artwork by David Aja, is also a joy to behold. I've been a fan of Aja's since his previous team-up with Fraction on the Immortal Iron Fist (also excellent). His work has just gotten better and better over the past couple of years. He's simplifying his style and using bold blacks and innovative panel break-downs. It's such a pleasure to look at. Apparently he's also moved to a mostly digital style too which I find interesting. Here's a couple of good examples of his storytelling. You don't even need word balloons or captions to understand what's going on.

The book is yet to be collected (it's just at #6 right now), so to pick it up you'll need to get the single issues for now at finger comic stores everywhere. The first softcover comes out in the Spring. You can pre-order it now though.

I'm sure I'll be buying a number of copies as gifts. An excellent book.Strandhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-14979425768324330312013-01-01T18:53:00.003-05:002013-01-01T19:00:51.687-05:00Best Comics of 2012: Darth Vader and Son

So - full disclosure, I bought this for my husband for Christmas this year then read it before I wrapped it up for him. It's hilarious! I'm not a huge Star Wars fan (but I like it don't get me wrong), but I am a parent - and each of these one-page strips is gold Jerry, gold!

Just check out this strip for example...

Amazingly, it also has the George Lucas stamp of approval! The book is by noted cartoonist, Jeffrey Brown, who is a super talented guy and obviously a Star Wars afficionado. If you know a Star Wars fan who is also a parent - this is the book for them.

I'm assuming the book is raking in wheelbarrows of much-deserved cash as there is a sequel coming out this Spring called "Vader's Little Princess" starring Vadar and Leia (also by Brown). You can bet I'll be picking it up!

>> Darth Vader and Son is by Chronicle Books and is available at all major bookstores, and online at Amazon.

Strandhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-40897743791389432752013-01-01T11:47:00.002-05:002013-01-01T11:48:36.196-05:00Best Comics of 2012: The Underwater WelderThis Summer Jeff Lemire put out his latest original graphic novel The Underwater Welder, by Top Shelf Comix. The Beguiling put on a launch event for it where Jeff gave a presentation about his process in putting together the book, then sat down with Mark Askwith to discuss it.

Jeff is a friend and I've been a big admirer of his work for years now. Life is short and I like to support friends whenever I can, so Dave and I decided to make a weekend of it in Toronto, stayed in a hotel like grown-ups and attended the launch. It was a great evening. It's also a terrific book and makes my list of my favourite comics of 2012.

The black and white book takes place in Nova Scotia, and follows the story of an underwater welder named Jack. He and his wife are expecting a baby, and Jack is working through issues of his relationship with his father, as he prepares to become a father himself. Lemire's beautiful images of Jack alone underwater make a lovely contrast to his turbulent inner thoughts and secrets of his past.

Jeff is a master storyteller. His pacing (a very underrated skill in comics in my opinion), is second to none. He makes it seem effortless. I honestly marvel at it. The colour cover - divine! A gorgeous book.

Jeff is also a real inspiration to me in terms of his work ethic. He writes and draws the monthly "Sweet Tooth" comic for Vertigo (which is also excellent), writes a number of DC super-hero books, then every few years puts out a full original graphic novel like this one. Plus he's a doting Dad and husband. How does he do it?

>> The Underwater Welder is available at fine comic stores everywhere. You can also find it on Amazon.Strandhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-29177659.post-26912052427837791262012-12-30T20:17:00.003-05:002013-01-01T10:13:15.582-05:00Best Comics of 2012: By This You Shall Know Him"By This You Shall Know Him" by Jesse Jacobs debuted at TCAF this past Spring by the great Koyama Press. I've been a fan of Jesse's for a few years now, ever since I read one of his minis for the Doug Wright Awards.

I think he is one of the great new talents in comics. His work is inventive, fresh, vibrant and full of life. His use of colour is to die for and makes me green with envy.

This 2-tone 88-page oversized tome is very hard book to describe, but Squidface and the Meddler does a good job of summing it up: "The story follows the birth of life, humanity, and good and evil, as the unintended side effects of a game of show and tell between squabbling, god-like celestial beings".

Pick it up today and you'll able to say you knew about him way back when. He's also just a really good guy. While you're at it, pick up his first book by AdHouse Books "Even the Giants" which is equally great.

Strandhttp://email@example.com


text:
We are now getting distributed in Canada!
Check us out on Youtube star Lisbug's holiday show
Whoda thunk we'd be in LIVE with Kelly and Michael's Gift Guide??
Welcome to Vs. Stuff! We make really fun socks, baby booties and mittens!
Kids and adults, mom, dad, girls and boys of all ages love our colorful and
fun concept of mismatched clothing apparel. And so do we. Cozy, funny,
awesome, try 'em on and take fate into your feet (or hands)!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Kei Kamara scored on a diving header late in the first half and Sporting Kansas City beat the David Beckham-less Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 to improve to 5-0 in Major League Soccer.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kei Kamara scored on a diving header late in the first half and Sporting Kansas City beat the David Beckham-less Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 Saturday to improve to 5-0.
Sporting KC is the first Major League Soccer team to begin a season with five regulation victories since Los Angeles opened 12-0 in 1996, the inaugural season for MLS.
Los Angeles is 1-3 after winning the MLS Cup last season.
Midfielder Beckham has been bothered by a series of nagging injuries and didn't make the trip.
- Students seeking sugar daddies for tuition, rent
- What's the top spelling 'mistake' in Washington state? The answer could make you sick
- UW receiver Isaiah Renfro opens up about depression, announces he's leaving team
- So the NRA sends a questionnaire to a Seattle state senator ...
- Seattle-based seafood company shuts down
Most Read Stories
Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen did not have to make a save.
Other MLS matches
At Earthquakes 3, Whitecaps 1
San Jose's Chris Wondolowski scored twice against Vancouver.
Chivas USA 2, at Timbers 1
Nick LaBrocca's goal in the 82nd minute lifted Chivas USA to victory over Portland. Kris Boyd scored for the Timbers.
Red Bulls 4, at Crew 1
Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper each scored two goals as New York routed Columbus.
At Impact 2, Toronto FC 1
Sinisa Ubiparipovic and Andrew Wenger scored to lead expansion Montreal past Toronto for its first MLS victory.
At Real Salt Lake 2,
Rapids 0
Alvaro Saboria and Fabian Espindola scored as Real Salt Lake defeated Colorado.
• Lionel Messi scored twice to become the first player since 1973 with 60 goals in a season for a team in a major European league, helping Barcelona of Spain beat Zaragoza 4-1.


text:
Book by Local Author Wins One Read Vote
The community has selected "The Ruins of Us" by local author Keija Parssinen as DBRL's 2013 One Read book! Earlier this year, readers submitted more than 140 book suggestions. The reading panel helped narrow the list to the two finalists and people voted for their preferred title for this year's One Read selection. Read more »
New Microfilm Machines Activated
If you think that the days of microfilm are over, you're gravely mistaken. There are still a number of older records that haven't been digitized yet. The new microfilm readers come with new technology that make them more convenient for people to use and Daniel Boone Regional Library now has two new units you can use. Read more »
Hearing Stories = School Success
When you hear "Once upon a time," you know you're about to hear a magical fairytale. You learned that at as a little kid, probably before you could read stories yourself. Not only are stories about giants and princesses fun, but research proves that preschoolers who listen to stories have an easier time in school. Read more »
2013 Callaway Youth Poetry Contest Winners
Callaway County youth celebrated April's National Poetry Month by writing some creative verses. Enjoy some poems from this year's winners of the Callaway County Youth Poetry Contest. Read more »


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- Markets show indecisiveness
Energy markets continue to show indecisiveness despite continuing to trade around the top of the recent range. Questions remain as to whether crude oil has found a new trading band between $75 and 85. At the money implied volatility reveals the ambivalence of the market, with the remaining nine months of 2010 within half a vol of 30%.
Expect the strong gasoline crack to result in inflated inventories in the West, unless recent positive demand readings continue (weekly Mastercard consumption figures show US demand increasing to over 9.5MM b/d). On the flipside, Asian demand for crude feedstock remains anemic in the midst of seasonal refinery maintenance. This has partly resulted in Asian Middle Distillate cracks strengthening to almost a yearly high amidst firming demand and lingering questions regarding the future of Chile's refining facilities.
Consumer hedgers looking to protect against a rise in Singapore 180cst Fuel Oil prices during the summer months can purchase $50 of protection in June through August between $500 and $550 for zero cost by accepting a price floor around the $430 level. This hedge requires the posting of zero premium and no losses would be incurred if final settlement remains at or above the $430 level.
Jonathan Kornafel,
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text: IRS Scandal Page 1 of 6 Next Page > GOP extends effort to oust IRS chief By Evan WiltPosted May 24, 2016IRS Scandal | Republicans won't rest until they impeach the commissioner who covered up the agency's targeting scandal [http://www.worldmag.com/2016/05/gop_extends_effort_to_oust_irs_chief] Midday Roundup: With Lerner cleared, House GOP targets IRS chief By Lynde LangdonPosted Oct. 28, 2015Newsworthy | Tax man takedown. Republicans have introduced a measure to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform… [http://www.worldmag.com/2015/10/midday_roundup_with_lerner_cleared_house_gop_targets_irs_chief] Midday Roundup: IRS mismanagement blamed in targeting scandal By Lynde LangdonPosted Aug. 6, 2015Newsworthy | Red tape. In a report issued lated yesterday, a Senate committee said poor management by the IRS allowed agents to mistreat conservative groups that applied… [http://www.worldmag.com/2015/08/midday_roundup_irs_mismanagement_blamed_in_targeting_scandal] Midday Roundup: Federal agent's gun used in San Francisco murder By Leigh JonesPosted July 8, 2015Newsworthy | Bad policy. The illegal immigrant who shot and killed a woman on a busy San Francisco pier last week used a gun stolen from a federal agent in June. Juan… [http://www.worldmag.com/2015/07/midday_roundup_federal_agent_s_gun_used_in_san_francisco_murder] Investigators find proof IRS destroyed evidence in targeting scandal By Abby ReesePosted June 29, 2015IRS Scandal | Two Treasury Department inspectors general revealed last week someone erased computer evidence during the investigation into the IRS targeting… [http://www.worldmag.com/2015/06/investigators_find_evidence_irs_destroyed_email_evidence_in_targeting_scandal] New details emerge in IRS targeting scandal By J.C. DerrickPosted June 5, 2015IRS Scandal | House Oversight hearing brings to light new details about how the agency handled public information requests [http://www.worldmag.com/2015/06/new_details_emerge_in_irs_targeting_scandal] Midday Roundup: Germanwings co-pilot researched suicide, cockpit security By Lynde LangdonPosted April 2, 2015Newsworthy | Search history. Prosecutors have found Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz researched suicide and cockpit door security before he deliberately crashed Flight… [http://www.worldmag.com/2015/04/midday_roundup_germanwings_co_pilot_researched_suicide_cockpit_security] Midday Roundup: GOP parades presidential hopefuls at CPAC By Lynde LangdonPosted Feb. 27, 2015Newsworthy | Speech time. Conservative leaders and activists are gathering in Washington this week for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. The lineup for… [http://www.worldmag.com/2015/02/midday_roundup_gop_parades_presidential_hopefuls_at_cpac] House Republicans take year-end swing at IRS By J.C. DerrickPosted Dec. 31, 2014IRS Scandal | WASHINGTON—House GOP investigators blasted a "culture of bias" at the Internal Revenue Service in their final 2014 report on the agency's targeting of… [http://www.worldmag.com/2014/12/house_republicans_take_year_end_swing_at_irs] Midday Roundup: Ferguson violence simmers after post-grand jury explosion By Leigh JonesPosted Nov. 26, 2014Newsworthy | Night Two. Overnight protests in Ferguson, Mo., were less violent than on Monday, but angry rioters did torch one police car and vandalize several businesses. [http://www.worldmag.com/2014/11/midday_roundup_ferguson_violence_simmers_after_post_grand_jury_explosion] Midday Roundup: The IRS had Lois Lerner's emails after all By Lynde LangdonPosted Nov. 24, 2014Newsworthy | Found. The U.S. Treasury Inspector General has discovered 30,000 emails sent by former IRS official Lois Lerner—messages the IRS claimed had been destroyed… [http://www.worldmag.com/2014/11/midday_roundup_the_irs_had_lois_lerner_s_emails_after_all] The IRS gets off easy in conservative targeting scandal By Mary ReichardPosted Oct. 27, 2014IRS Scandal | Reining in government agency overreach concerns everyone, and the recent dismissal of taxpayers' lawsuits against the IRS disappointed many people. One of… [http://www.worldmag.com/2014/10/the_irs_gets_off_easy_in_conservative_targeting_scandal] Page 1 of 6 Next Page >


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Karen Flores wept throughout the several hour hearing as Judge George Eskin sentenced her to 10 years behind bars. She was immediately taken into custody. The 22-year veteran supervisor embezzled more than $600,000 from the city's parking citation fund over a span of seven years.
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Dani has outrode Jorge and Stoner this year. Sachsenring was a clear point when Stoner fell trying to beat him and failed. Jorge was 'Gifted' second by the Officials at Sepang (where it all could have fallen to Dani). And Dani showed true fighting grit (Something Jorge has lost this year) trying to push past & away from Jorge and Stoner at 'Stoners' Track to win.
I think we will see a battle between the Repsol boys this weekend and Jorge will be 'Playing it safe' again prior to his 2013 test!!! Or some other excuse as to why he could not mount a challenge. I hope dani cements this year by winning again and ending 2012 as the most successful (Wins) rider of this year!! It is the least he desrves


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Purple Loosestrife - Lythrum salicaria
Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council (SE-EPPC). 2003. Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Plant Manual.
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.) is a wetland perennial that forms large, monotypic stands throughout the temperate regions of the U.S. and Canada. This aggressive invader replaces native vegetation, degrades wildlife habitat, and obstructs natural waterways. Also known as Bouquet-violet, it belongs to the Lythraceae (Loosestrife) family.
Height: Purple loosestrife grows 1-3 m (3.0-10.0 ft) tall, with an average height of 1.5 m (5 ft). Established plants have 30 to 50 shoots that form wide-topped crowns and dominate the herbaceous canopy.
Stem: Stems are pubescent and distinctly four-sided. They may appear woody at base of large plants.
Leaves: The entire sessile leaves are primarily opposite or in whorls of three without teeth. Leaves are lanceolate and up to 10 cm (4 in) long and 1.5 cm (0.6 in) wide with an obtuse or cordate leaf base.
Flowers: Purple loosestrife has showy, attractive flowers with 5-7 purple petals (occasionally pink or white) occurring in dense compound, terminal bracted spikes that may be 15-20 cm (6-8 in) high. Three forms of the species are distinguished based on the length of the style (up to 7 mm) in the flowers. Blooms have 8-10 stamens. The calyx tube has hirsute lobes 0.5- 0.8 mm (0.02-0.03 in) long which, along with the bracts, are greenish. The self-incompatible, insect-pollinated flowers bloom from June to September and the flower stalks remain standing through the winter. Each plant may bear as many as 3,000 flowers.
Seeds: The capsules contain an average of 120 orange, minute seeds (0.06 mg). Each plant may contain up to 900 capsules. Seeds are dispersed from late summer through the winter. Seeds are commonly dispersed by wind, but are also dispersed in water and mud adhering to aquatic wildlife, livestock, and people. Seed germination takes 8-10 weeks. Seeds are long-lived and can remain viable even after 20 months of submergence in water.
Life History
Purple loosestrife has a vigorous rootstock that serves as a storage organ, providing resources for growth in spring and regrowth if the plant has been damaged from cuttings. New stems emerge from the perennial roots allowing the plant to establish dense stands within a few years. Each plant has an average of 30 stems which die in late fall but remain standing through winter. Under natural conditions, seedling densities can approach 10,000-20,000 plants/m 2 (12,000-24,000 plants/sq. yard) with growth rates exceeding 1 cm/day (0.4 in/day). Plants reproduce primarily by seeds, but also by vegetative cuttings. A single, mature plant can produce more than 2.5 million seeds annually. In addition, plant fragments produced by muskrats and by mechanical clipping can rapidly spread through river and lake systems.
Origin and Distribution
Purple loosestrife was introduced to North America from Europe and Asia during the early 1800s as a contaminant of European ship ballasts and as a valued medicinal herb for the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery, bleeding, wounds, ulcers, and sores. For nearly a century it occurred as a pioneer species on the northeastern seaboard. The range then expanded further inland in the 1880s as the construction of inland canals and waterways increased. The continued expansion proceeded with the development and use of road systems, with commercial distribution of the plant for horticultural purposes, and with regional propagation of seed for bee forage. Purple loosestrife reached the upper Midwest by the 1930s. The plant now occurs in scattered locations across most of the U.S. with the heaviest concentrations in the glaciated wetlands of the northeast. Numerous populations have been found in the midsouth area.
Similar Species
The native winged loosestrife (Lythrum alatum Pursh) most closely resembles purple loosestrife. However, winged loosestrife has alternate leaves, more widely spaced flowers, and is smaller in size (an average of 0.6 m or 2 ft tall) than purple loosestrife. Other species that might easily be confused with purple loosestrife on first glance include fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium L.), blue vervain (Verbena hastata L.), and blazing star (Liatris spicata L. Willd.), although their preferred habitats are considerably drier.
Purple loosestrife is an aquatic to semiaquatic species occurring in a variety of different shallow water wetlands including marshes, bogs, wet meadows, stream and river banks, shores of lakes and reservoirs, wet pastures, roadside ditches, and disturbed wet soils. Plants thrive under moist soil conditions and in full sun; however, they can survive in up to 50% shade.
Management Recommendations
Mechanical Controls
Hand Pulling: In areas that contain less than 100 plants, younger plants (1-2 years old) can be hand-pulled. Plants more than 2 years old should be dug out with special care to include the entire rootstock. Removal activities should take place before flowering to ensure that seeds are not dispersed during the disturbance. All plant parts should be carefully bagged, removed from the site, and placed in approved landfills or preferably burned. Any plant fragment that escapes proper disposal could spread purple loosestrife on your control site or along your travel route. In addition, all clothing, boots, and equipment should be properly cleaned to ensure that no seeds are transported. If feasible, native plants should be restored to the control area by seeding or planting. This reestablishment of vegetation will deter new loosestrife seedling development through competition. Do not cut or mow purple loosestrife. These methods will simply increase the spread of plants since they can sprout vegetatively.
Biological Controls
Long-term studies on the effectiveness of biological controls are being conducted at the New York Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit at Cornell University. Several phytophagous insects which specifically feed on purple loosestrife in Europe have under-gone a series of intensive lab and field testing. Three beetles-two leaf eaters, and one root miner-have been approved for release in the U.S. Experimental importation of these insects has been made in the northeast. Success of these efforts could pave the way for the use of biological controls to manage purple loosestrife in a permanent, cost-effective, and environmentally sound way. There is significant concern about other native species of the genus Lythrum that may also be fed upon, although to a lesser degree, by these insects. Since other control measures may harm a variety of non-target plant species, this non-target feeding may occur at a level which is preferable to alternative control techniques.
Herbicidal Controls
Cut Stump Treatment: In areas that contain more than 100 plants, a spot application of a glyphosate herbicide (one that is approved for use in and near water) is recommended. Individual purple loosestrife plants should be cut about 15 cm (6 inches) above the ground. A 20-30% solution of glyphosate and water should be applied directly to the cut surface either by a wick or injection into the stem.
Foliar Spray Method: If purple loosestrife covers a large area, a foliar spray can be applied using a 2% glyphosate solution and water plus 0.5% non-ionic surfactant. To be most effective herbicide should be applied just when plants have begun flowering. Where feasible, flower heads should be cut, bagged, and removed from the site before application to prevent the production of seed. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide, and extreme care must be taken to avoid contact with non-target plant species. The restoration of sites depends on these non-target species as they recolonize the area after the purple loosestrife is eliminated.
Photo Gallery
Bender, J.; Rendall, J. Lythrum salicaria: element stewardship abstract. The Nature Conservancy, Minneapolis; 1987.
Casebere, L. Marshland malady. Outdoor Indiana. 49:14-19; 1984.
Evans, J. E. A literature review of management practices for purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). The Nature Conservancy Midwest Regional Office, Minneapolis, 1-13; 1982.
Heidorn, R. Purple loosestrife; vegetation management guideline. Illinois Nature Preserves Commission 1(17); 1990.
Hight, S. D.; Drea, J. J. Prospects for a classical biological control project against pur-ple loosestrife [L. salicaria (L.)]. Natural Areas Journal 11:151-157; 1991.
Holweg, A. An adaptable immigrant. Conservationist 27:38; 1973.
Malecki, R. A.; Rawinski, T. J. Purple loosestrife: a need for concern. New York State Conservation Circular 17:1-5; 1979.
Malecki, R. A.; Blossey, B.; Hight, S. D.; Schroeder, D.; Kik, L. T. Biological control of purple loosestrife. Bioscience 43:680-686; 1993.
McKeon, W. H. Apreliminary report on the use of chemical herbicides to control purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) on a small marsh. Northeast Weed Control Conference 13:329-332; 1959.
Novak, L. C. Mechanical control of purple loosestrife. Report of Wildlife Management Study, Division of Refuges, Great Meadows, Massachusetts; 1968.
Rawinski, T. J. The ecology and management of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.) in central New York. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University. Thesis. 1982.
Smith, L. S. Some experiences with control of purple loosestrife at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. Northeast Weed Control Conference 13:333-336; 1959.
Smith, R. H. Experimental control of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). New York Fish and Game Journal 11:35-46; 1964.
Stokes, D.; Stokes, L. Stokes nature guides: a guide to enjoying wildflowers. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 222-229; 1985.
Thompson, D. Q.; Stuckey, R. L.; Thompson, E. B. Spread, impact, and control of pur-ple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) in North American Wetlands. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fish and Wildlife Research 2, Washington, D.C.; 1987.
Thompson, D. Q. History of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.) Biological control efforts. Natural Areas Journal 11:148-50; 1991.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Purple loosestrife alert. American Bee Journal. 119:383; 1979.


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Game Description: In Devil May Cry, a young man named awakes to his destiny—using his half-demon heritage to defeat an evil as old as humanity! You'll marvel at the engrossing stories, and your heart will stop when Dante enters the demon realm to avenge mankind!
Capcom is something of an enigma. Like so many of todays profit-driven developers, they shamelessly dilute the market with endless strings of sequels, spin-offs, and outright knock-offs. But occasionally, amidst the hordes of boring Resident Evil and Mega-Man sequels, something compelling emerges. The developers at Capcom, responsible for classics such as Street Fighter II and the original Resident Evil, have, on occasion, shown themselves capable of creating truly innovative, genre-defining games. Devil May Cry, the latest concept from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, injects new life into Capcoms stale action-adventure formula. While it doesnt quite reach the same heights of cohesive design as Resident Evil or Street Fighter II, it is nonetheless a wonderfully immersive adventure, radiating both the creativity and technical expertise of its experienced designers.
The story is about as cliché as it gets—a one-man army must fight to save the world from the forces of the underworld (while saving the girl, of course). But thanks to some creative characters, even the overwrought dialogue and predictable plot twists cant send the game plunging into B-movie oblivion. The hero, Dante, is an amalgam of such classic characters as Simon Belmont (of Castlevania fame), Solid Snake, and Shinobi, but somehow still manages to seem uniquely inspired. Hes a half-human, half-demon acrobatic killing machine with a dry wit and unwavering bravery. Sure, hes cocky—he snickers at a giant, fire-breathing scorpion and mocks the god of the underworld—but his wry tongue is offset by stalwart nobility that would impress even the aforementioned superheroes. The real stars of the show, though, are the demonic hordes that Dante must single-handedly vanquish. Devil May Cry features a fantastic lineup of ferocious villains, including shape-shifting animals, living sludge, icy werewolves, and scythe-wielding specters. This charismatic cast exemplifies what the game is all about: style.
The gameplay revolves around fast-paced, almost non-stop action interspersed with simple puzzles similar to those found in Resident Evil. Dante is armed with an oversized sword and a pair of twin pistols (affectionately dubbed "ebony and ivory"). There are numerous melee and projectile weapons to be collected, but all point to the same goal: kill the enemy, and do it with panache. The object of the game is to use combinations of the moves afforded by Dantes arsenal to accomplish stylistic kills. For example, Dante can slash his opponents with a quick one-two combo, follow it with an uppercut to launch the opponent into the air, leap in to the air and then, while in "flight" (so to speak), pummel the helpless demonic spawn with his twin pistols. Depending on the variety of moves implemented and the frequency of their execution, the player will be rewarded with a ranking of sorts. Words such as "dull," "action," "braw" (no, thats not a typo) and of course "stylish" appear in the upper right area of the screen to indicate the players performance. As they are slaughtered, the demons leave behind "orbs" that Dante can use to purchase new moves and power-ups. The more stylish the kill, the more orbs that are rewarded, meaning more moves and a more formidable Dante. A handful of bonuses can be collected during play, but generally the extent of Dantes repertoire and the strength of his defenses are determined by the players ability to exploit the games combat system. Unlike Resident Evil, where the limited supply of ammunition and health boosters made combat an affair best worth avoiding, the gains to be had from combat make repeated confrontations in Devil May Cry rewarding and occasionally necessary.
The caveat of action-oriented gameplay is that unless the combat system is intuitive on the outside and complicated on the inside, the gameplay will grow old faster than an 80s action hero. In this respect, Devil May Cry takes many steps in the right direction, but a few in the wrong direction. Dante has a significant number of moves at his disposal. Even at the onset of the game, a reasonable variety of moves can be executed by varying the timing of sword attacks and incorporating a mixture of gunplay and sword-slashing. Dante controls very smoothly—the analog stick will move him in the direction it is pressed, unlike the Resident Evil formula wherein pressing up will always moves the character forward. The ease of movement and simplicity of the basic controls make the game accessible to the novice player. A little study, though, will reward dedicated players with a variety of moves (most of which are purchased with the red orbs) that can be incorporated into all sorts of creative combinations. Just figuring out different ways to create stylish combinations can provide hours of enjoyable gameplay.
The only difficulty this system runs into is that although a variety of moves are available, players can easily progress through the game using a fairly limited repertoire (although advanced enemies will block the more basic attack combinations). The enemies are wonderfully varied in their design and attack patterns, but there is little need to vary Dantes offensive approach. Additionally, the game doesnt always reward players for creativity. Occasionally, I pulled off what I though were some pretty eye-catching combos, only to be slapped with a "dull" ranking. Once players figure out how to exploit the style ranking, combat runs the risk of degenerating into a series of repetitive combinations and unimaginative button-mashing.
Fortunately though, the impressive variety of enemies and large number of moves available make the games enjoyment the responsibility of the player. Sure, you can progress by using the same combos over and over, but do you want to do that when there are so many other moves available? The game could have been better had it put more pressure on the player to use a bigger variety of combinations, but nevertheless it gets high marks for simply giving players the option to approach combat in different ways.
The entire gameplay package is wrapped nicely in a fine technical presentation that successfully utilizes the power of the PlayStation 2. The worlds are visually astounding, not because of high polygon counts or eye-popping textures, but because of their moody, pseudo-gothic design. Pillars pulsate like living things; leaves and fog sweep through lush forests, and castles radiate a menacing, evil aura. The combat makes good use of special effects as well. Dante can use special attacks that surround him with a translucent purple light; his movements are subtly blurred when he uses his twin pistols; enemies may be transparent, breath fire, or turn the ground into ice. The game also packs some quality audio, with some respectable (if not campy) voice acting and a nice mix of clangs, booms, and groans. Everything in Devil May Cry has personality—style, if you will—lending the game a feel thats all its own, distinct from any other action-adventure in recent memory.
While the narrative builds suspense effectively, the game is ultimately too short and the characters are left too shallow to give the game the emotional impact it could have delivered. However, the excellent fighting system, the appealing characters, and the unique stylistic approach to both the presentation and the gameplay make Devil May Cry a worthy next step in Capcoms tradition of genre-defining games. By ignoring many of the clichéd elements of similar action titles, it successfully propels this genre past the recycled concepts that, ironically, Capcom is often responsible for perpetuating. Now, we just have to wait for the sequels...
For the most part, I find myself agreeing with Mike's review of Capcom's Devil May Cry. The one element that seems to come up at numerous points in that appraisal revolves around just how stylish the game is—and I agree wholeheartedly. The game is stylish—in many ways, its a heady mélange of cinematic influences as diverse as the Hong Kong action film aesthetics of directors like John Woo and Ringo Lam crossbred with the surreal and menacing atmosphere of a Dario Argento horror film. The influences arent only cinematic, however. There are also numerous elements culled from earlier games—most notably Konamis Castlevania series, but also Capcoms Resident Evil games, Mega Man, and even Metal Gear Solid. Its the way that Shinji Mikami and crew have integrated these disparate elements into a semi-cohesive whole that makes the game so intriguing. Yet, I still cant shake the feeling that Devil May Cry is ultimately an exercise in style over substance.
Theres no denying that the game is often breathtaking to look at. Its rich and expansive environments are quite impressive and go a long way toward making the gaming experience an immersive one. Couple that with a battle system thats both simple enough so you can pick up the controller and begin playing immediately—but still deep enough that youll be working on perfecting combos hours after youve started—and youll see why this games generated the hype and early praise that it did.
Unfortunately, though, aside from those elements, there are several problems that mar the overall experience.
As Mike points out in his critique, the battle system allows the player to master a multitude of moves and combos. While this is certainly a good thing (and brings in elements of numerous fighting games), the fact that you can essentially run through the game without using the majority of the moves makes learning most of them seem pointless. The game would have been far more interesting had it required the gamer to master all the moves instead of just re-using the same few combos over and over. Further compounding that problem is the combo rating system. Killing enemies in the most stylish way possible earns you more of the red orbs that function as the games currency—and once you master one impressive combo, the game doesnt give you many reasons to deviate from it throughout the rest of the adventure. This can make the games combat quite repetitive.
Several of the other problems stem from Shinji Mikamis involvement with the Resident Evil series. While the control scheme is much more natural than Resident Evil's, the camera is just as annoying. The problem is that the camera cant be adjusted—it adjusts automatically, making it really easy to get spun around in rooms or hallways, and making combat occasionally more difficult than it has to be because you cant see whom youre fighting.
The other problem is less bothersome, but still a negative. The game features numerous puzzles that are so simple and generic (again, like Resident Evil) that calling them puzzles is probably giving them too much credit. The game sends you on a variety of fetch quests in order to acquire items that you need to advance to the next area. Disappointingly, the game eliminates the need to use your brain entirely—whenever you go up to something that needs an item to be put into it, the game asks if you want to place the specific item in the slot. Theres not even any need for trial and error since the game spells it all out for you. Granted, most gamers probably werent expecting a bunch of brainteasers, but why include it at all if its going to be relegated to such a minor role?
Im sure it probably sounds like I was unhappy with Devil May Cry, but thats not really the case. Mike did such a great job of pointing out the things that the game does well (and mentioning some of the problems that Ive tried to expand upon here) that I figured it was better to spend some time pointing out the flaws instead of just writing yeah, what he said and being done with it. While the game certainly does have some kinks in terms of the combat system, the camera, and the puzzles, theres no denying that its a good game overall. Honestly, this is what Konamis attempts at a 3-D Castlevania game for the Nintendo 64 should have looked like. While Devil May Cry's atmosphere, graphics, and button-crunching gameplay more than make up for the majority of the titles shortcomings, its flaws should not be overlooked. One can only hope that Capcom will tweak the formula a bit for the inevitable sequel.
According to ESRB, this game contains Blood and Gore, Violence
Parents may be best advised to keep the children away from this one. It is not as graphic as some of the more gritty, realistic games that have been released recently, but it contains enough gore and dismemberment to make it inappropriate for children. It also contains many pseudo-religious concepts that may be discomforting to those of faith.
PlayStation 2 owners, particularly those who are fans of classic games such as Resident Evil and Castlevania, should definitely check this one out. A rental is a must, and the depth of the gameplay makes a purchase a reasonable choice. If you're looking for a deep story or an emotionally charged epic, stay away. This ones all about the action.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing gamers will not miss out on anything that will significantly mire the gameplay.