mystifying oracle

Hey, This Still Works

2007-08-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

But if you have me linked here, I'm using my main site, PARKERSPACE.com for the blog now. So please update if you have a minute. And while you've got that template cracked open, you might as well change THEINTERMAN.COM to .NET (assuming you linked to my book's site at some point). Because I didn't get the notice that it was expiring and Bam! I lost the dot com. So come on over to the main site and poke around, have some lemonade.

Update Those Links!

2007-02-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

"Please." If you haven't checked in here in a few days, I've moved the blog over to my main website, PARKERSPACE. It's something like 73% more nifty, according to studies. And if you have absolutely nothing else to write about and want to post an entry on your own blog, you could do me a solid and mention the move. We'll all be happier over there.

So Long, Fare-well, Auf Wedersehen-Good-byyee...

2007-02-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

That Von Trapp Family number is dedicated to the beloved Mystifying Oracle, which we now must leave to drift around at the mercy of the internet tide, until it's buried in the sediment forever. As promised, I'm finally folding the blog into my main website, PARKERSPACE.com so the site will actually be updated frequently again. Though I knew a blog was a keen thing to have three years ago, (just two years behind everyone else!) I didn't realize it would emerge victorious as the web paradigm. But it has, and thanks to Steven Gettis's steely resolve at beating a WordPress theme silly, I now have a hybrid home site and weblog. You'll remember him from his massive collection of literary figures drawn by comics luminaries. Which is the most revealing site online about cartoonists, because you can tell who reads and who doesn't.

I know what a pain it is to make changes to the blogroll, but I hope you'll do it for me- I've had Parkerspace for seven years now, so it's really unlikely the blog will make another rail hop. And those of you who have been nice enough to link both sites can trim it to one. I'm finally actually using the visual metaphor appropriate for the name, with old science book art that portrayed the future as it was supposed to turn out. Soon I'll have the covers column at left clickable for the respective publisher pages, and some of the other categories will be live within a week or so. That's how Mystifying Oracle (named for my lap-drawing Ouija board, see very first post) will live on, as the Newsletter you can join the mailing list for. Maybe I'll get up the gumption to write the "About" section tomorrow, and try to use it to trick people into filling in my Wikipedia entry for me.

Those of you who have switched locations- should I do referrer posts for a while?

Stinky Cheese Templates

2007-02-08T11:04:00.000-08:00

Finally, we have official corroboration on a phenomena that has vexed my drawing friends and I for a decade. For me this began at Artamus Studios years ago whenever Chuck Wojtkiewicz would break out his set of ellipses and circle templates (which he kindly lent me all the time!) and the room would fill with a cheese smell. We puzzled over this many a day.

Flash forward to the present and Mercury Studio (with no S!) when Steve Lieber broke out his fairly new set of ALVIN templates. Wham! The smell is back. Much speculation ensues again. Finally Steve decided to write the Alvin company and ask them.

And they answered! Go read the correspondence at the Mercury Blog. "We know this is not a prank."

Fantastic Five

2007-02-06T14:33:00.000-08:00

Time to talk Spidey and the Fantastic Four.Yep. And I ain't a-stoppin' there. This one's with Dave Richards who did such a great job on the Agents of Atlas articles at COMIC BOOK RESOURCES.

Karl, Victorious

2007-01-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

It's official, the comics reading public loves KARL, the chill AIM agent. Unfortunately I also had a cameo by him in the upcoming Sons of the Serpent storyline, but it got cut because the Adventures books are so anti-continuity, even their own. Keeping up the Adventures line focus, the best place to turn to now (for my stories anyway) is Warren Peace Sings The Blues, where blogger Matt Brady (the one that isn't the Newsarama potentate) gives a play by play of some of the Adventures Fantastic Four stories and wraps up with "A Not So Beautiful Mind". Thanks for picking some of the most fun bits, Matt, your check is on the way.

Mental Organism Designed Only to SELL OUT!

2007-01-24T08:17:00.000-08:00

I don't know if it will actually make one of those little comics press releases, but I've just heard that Marvel Adventures Avengers #9, known to you as the ALL MODOC issue is completely sold out. Now I usually make fun of those announcements because generally publishers have print runs based on the orders, so they should all sell out. But for the news to come back in so fast I think, means retailers have been trying to lay hands on more. Which for the Marvel Adventures line is big news! While the books do well out in the world of Target and Walmart (and Fred Meyer here in Portland) it's been a gradual acceptance in the Direct Market. It took about a year to convince readers we weren't the Marvel Age line and that we weren't doing simplified retellings of stories in a manga-esque style. Some of you early adopters embraced the books right away and have been a great help in getting the word out on the line. I'm pretty excited about our Avengers book for 2007- thanks to Juan Santacruz I think #12, the Ego The Living Playah (or whatever I called it) story may rival this Modoc story for attention, and after that the four issue arc teams me with the man who made Agents of Atlas work, Leonard Kirk! So let's badger some retailers and go back to press...

Shout Outs Galore

2007-01-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

Tim O'Shea and I talked about comics for SilverBulletComicBooks, and he gave me the chance to talk about people other than myself! SEE as I blab about creators like:
Steve Lieber
Tomm Coker
Jeff Smith
Leonard Kirk
Mike Wieringo
Gail Simone
Eddie Campbell
Alex Toth
Sandy Jarrell
Carla Speed McNeil
Paul Tobin
Colleen Coover
Leland Purvis
Yep, we talk trash about others all the livelong day!

While You're Out...

2007-01-17T13:41:00.000-08:00

MARVEL ADVENTURES: THE AVENGERS #9 and X-MEN FIRST CLASS #6. I'm just sayin'.

It's Here! It's Here!

2007-01-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Go to your store, and get some closure! Report back if you like.

The insidious Mr. Lao has a message and a preview of the final issue of AGENTS OF ATLAS over at NEWSARAMA right now! Get it, get it, and get it.

Tomorrow!

2007-01-09T00:43:00.000-08:00

It comes to an end tomorrow. In the meantime you can preview the first three pages here. I'll be fidgeting...

Marvel Organisms Designed Only for Coolness

2007-01-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

The time has come. All will become MODOC. Click the link to read a few pages from the story at NEWSARAMA.

Walk-In Reviews

2006-12-28T17:12:00.000-08:00

While we're waiting to see what 2007 holds for us all, I guess we could be reading reviews of the first issue of WALK-IN from Virgin Comics.

Broken Frontier

Comic List

Comic Pants

And this one I appreciate even though they think I drew the book instead of wrote it. IGN.com

If you find any you think I might like (that's code for All Positive!) pass them on, because with the common word "walk" in our title and the touchy word "virgin" in the publisher's name, it's kind of hard for me to find things that are actually relevant.

G-Pod

2006-12-27T07:32:00.000-08:00

You know, it was worth participating in the Leave Your Spandex Christmas Roundtable just to have Manolis Vamvounis mock up a Gorilla Man iPod ad.

A Very Special Christmas Message

2006-12-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

It was December 24th on Hollis Ave after dark
When I see a man chilling with his dog in the park
I approached very slowly with my heart full of fear
Looked at his dog, oh my God, an illin' reindeer
But then I was illin' because the man had a beard
And a bag full of goodies, 12 o'clock had neared
So I turned my head a second and the man had gone
But he must have dropped his wallet smack down on the lawn

I picket the wallet up then I took a pause
Took out the license and it cold said "Santa Claus"
A million dollars in it, cold hundreds of G's
Enough to buy a boat and matching car with ease
But I'd never steal from Santa, cause that ain't right
So I was going home to mail it back to him that night
But when I got home I bugged, cause under the tree
Was a letter from Santa and the dough's for me

It's Christmas time in Hollis Queens
Mom's cooking chicken and collard greens
Rice and stuffing, macaroni and cheese
And Santa put gifts under Christmas trees
Decorate the house with lights at night
Snow's on the ground, snow white so bright
In the fireplace is the yule log
Beneath the mistle toe as we drink egg nog
The rhymes that you hear are the rhymes of Darryl's
But each and every year we bust Chrsitmas carols

Rhymes so loud and proud you hear it
It's Christmas time and we got the spirit
Jack Frost chillin, the orchids out
And that's what Christmas is all about
The time is now, the place is here
And the whole wide world is filled with cheer

My name's D.M.C. with the mic in my hand
And I'm chilling and coolin' just like a snowman
So open your eyes, lend us an ear
We want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

-CHRISTMAS IN HOLLIS, 1987

Aw heck, now I have to see the video...

Have a First Class Christmas

2006-12-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

Having a good day, and then saw this very welcome review of X-Men First Class at Silver Bullet Comicbooks. And I'm temporarily caught up on deadlines, and have tickets for that steam train I posted about earlier! I hope you all have a great time with your families and friends this weekend and we can all read lots of reviews of 2006 as a year next week. Later!

PREVIEW the WALK-IN

2006-12-20T11:05:00.000-08:00

Virgin is really puttin' it out there, so along with other books, there's several pages from the book WALK-IN over at NEWSARAMA. Of fuzzy quality so don't rub your eyes or clean your glasses trying to make them clearer. That's a preview for ya. Should be in stores today!

WALK-IN To Your Comics Shop...

2006-12-19T12:36:00.000-08:00

...and see if they have the title I'm working on from Virgin Comics with Dave Stewart (yes, of the Eurythmics!). Both he and I are talking about it now over at NEWSARAMA. C'mon, it's got octopi and strippers in it. C'mon.

George Bailey Was Right

2006-12-18T06:31:00.000-08:00

Train whistles ARE one of the greatest sounds in the world, and he meant Steam Train whistles. The 700 here has been chugging around Portland during the holidays and something about that long build of water vapor tones hits a hard to access spot in my brain. It's aural time travel. Fingers crossed I can get ahead on work this week so I can drag my family down to Oaks Park and ride one of the excursions. One of you brainiacs out there hurry up and figure out a new power source that will involve us using steam to motor around again!

Sputter-Sput-- That Violates The Prime Directive!

2006-12-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

A new Star Trek animated series on the web? Hmm, I wonder if Trek fans will have any opinions about that? You can read the piece talking with mastermind Dave Rossi at Trekmovie.com. Oh and look, it appears I designed the early pitch pieces.

Seriously though, I don't know how any of this is coming along, so don't ask me. There's no show yet, and I can't hire you. I did my bits back in the summer. Scanning through the comments you can see some folks enraged that it might be anything other than the talky yawnfests that have brought the franchise to it's current state of stasis. I can vouch for Rossi's love of the ST mythos though, and his ideas to create a show with a pulse sound very entertaining to me. And of course all that art is very preliminary and may not resemble anything that ends up happening. Carry on.

MY Bruce Campbell Casting

2006-12-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

Yeah yeah, everyone has some role they want Campbell to play, but none make as much intuitive sense as THE NEW JIM ROCKFORD. That's right, I said it. Hmm... who would play Angel...

Friend My Bad Self

2006-12-11T15:52:00.000-08:00

Okay, I wouldn't be a very useful part of the comics blog hive-mind if I didn't run over and start a ComicsSpace account, now would I? I've avoided MySpace like the Black Death, but this creation of the mysterious "Josh" narrows it down to something useful. At least for a lot of the comics industry folks I've seen on there, this could function as a far less annoying connector than Linked In, that naggy cross-referencing eternal job search that makes you pass on referrals through people who don't know or have nothing to do with them. Maybe I can use it get the word out on projects too, like I don't shill on every website already. I do wish we could use another term like "Homies!" instead of friend, even though many people I've seen on it are actual friends. So "Homey" me because I'm far too lazy to track you down.

Read 5 Yet?

2006-12-07T07:11:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd see if everyone's gotten Agents of Atlas #5 yet. It's in stores- go ahead and pick it up, I'll wait. Also wanted to finally try the embedded video thing, so if my website revamp ever happens I'll be clear on how to YouTube every movie trailer mix that comes along. But first I'll practice with the video I never get tired of, "Little Superstar"... Dance, Li'l Superstar, dance!

PULSE Talks X-Men First Class

2006-12-04T08:59:00.000-08:00

That's right, all the X-Men are wearing Cyclops visors! Jen at The Pulse talks with me about the original X-Men and the follow-up miniseries. Go read, and post if'n you're registered with Comicon. And no, I don't know what that previous post's image is all about. What previous post?

Uh... Oops

2006-12-04T08:27:00.000-08:00