Marty Featured in Delirio E-Zine

Marty is featured in the latest issue of Delirio, a cultural e-zine from Spain. The article appears on pages 134 - 140. Check it out here.

Booklist

Red by John Logan - Mark Rothko is in his New York studio in 1958-9, painting a group of murals for the expensive and exclusive Four Seasons restaurant. He gives orders to his assistant, Ken, as he mixes the paints, makes the frames, and paints the canvases. Ken, however, brashly questions Rothko's theories of art and his acceeding to work on such a commercial project.*
I borrowed this from a friend to read. I had heard about it on a podcast and wished I could see the show. Reading it is as close as I'll get for now. I enjoyed it. I feel like I need to read it again...slower. I read thru it pretty fast and I think I need to really absorb it and visualize it in my mind as I go. I really want to see this show live now.

*Link

Booklist

Preacher: Salvation by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon - This series is weird. I had hoped it would go in one direction but it's veered off into some strangeness that doesn't seem to relate to the story arc that was started back at the beginning. Only 2 more volumes to go. I have to see it thru.

The Circumference of Home by Kurt Hoelting - An interesting read from a fellow who gives up his car for a year and limits his travel to within 100 miles of his Whidbey Island home (Whidbey is just north of Seattle) in an attempt to lessen his carbon footprint on the planet. Although the book got a bit "new-agey" at times I still enjoyed reading about his adventures hiking, biking and kayaking around Puget Sound. It made me want to get out and explore more.

Living by Water: True Stories of Nature and Spirit by Brenda Peterson - Again, a bit too "new-agey" for me but I did enjoy reading her stories of exploring the NW. I love it out here and it bugs me when people don't appreciate it. I don't take it for granted. I want to explore as much of it as possible. Reading books like these give me ideas for exploration.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay - I'm a fan of the Dexter tv show and thought I'd read the novels. After reading one I'm definitely more a fan of the show than the book but it was interesting to see the differences. Oddly enough, the show is more layered and textured than the book which was fairly straightforward.

Fractured Fables from Image Comics - Picked this up at the library. Weird takes on fairy tales. Some good, some not.

Costume Queen

We found out tonight (via Jeff Berryman who just happens to be Quixote in the picture) that Sarah has been nominated for a Gregory Award in the category of Outstanding Costume Design. The Gregory Awards are Seattle's theatre awards...like the Tony's I suppose. (I don't know...I'm a visual art person) Anywho, so Jeff tells us and we're a bit perplexed as to why Sarah wasn't notified. When we got home she checked and the email had been sent to her spam folder at work.
So, that's very cool. She's excited and so am I. It's about time her outstanding work here in Seattle gets some notice. I may be just a bit biased but I also know how good she is at her job. And...it's not the first (or last) time she's been nominated for an award. In grad school she was nominated for a Barrymore which is Philly's theatre award. She was the only one nominated in the category that had not designed for Broadway. (she was still in grad school!)
Very proud husband here. Guess I'll have to buy a ticket so I can go to the awards ceremony with her. (no "plus one?") Cliche as it might sound, it IS an honor to be nominated.
Way to go, baby!

Discovered Artist

I got an email just now saying, "You've been discovered! A video called Discovered Artists just got released and you're one of the artists." Here's a link to the video since the ability to imbed the video doesn't seem to be working.
I'm flattered to be discovered. There's no such thing as bad publicity. If I had my druthers, I'd have had them use different images and it's not good that the images are blurry.
Oh, well. Like I said, can't complain about free publicity. Oh, wait. I guess I just did.

Booklist

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith - I almost didn't read this because, let's face it, it just seems a little bit ridiculous. I thought, "Why waste your time on something you know is going to be silly." I was wrong. This book is quite good and the reason it works is because it handles the subject matter very seriously. What could have gone way over the top stays subtle and you find yourself almost wondering if it really didn't happen that way. I recommend it.

Ghostopolis by Doug Tennapel - Found this one at the library. A quick but fun read about a boy who accidentally gets pulled into the land of the dead.

3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man by Matt Kindt - Interesting tale of a (gasp) giant man. Heard it was being turned into a movie. Could be interesting.

Dead High Yearbook by various artists and writers - Weird anthology-style graphic novel I picked up at the library. Strange, macabre, gross...these are a few of my favorite things.

Lucy by Laurence Gonzales - I really enjoyed this story of a half-human, half bonobo chimp female. Typical in that you know the world will find out her secret and the religious right will go ape. All this does happen. What I liked about the book was the characters. You cared about Lucy, her friends and family. And it's a little bit odd to think that humans have tried to cross breed chimps and humans unsuccessfully...so far.

The Passage by Justin Cronin - This apocalyptic pseudo-vampire virus tale is one of this summer's hot reads...and I don't get it. I found it to be too long and boring. I didn't care about any of the characters and the story didn't make a bit of sense. If you want to read a fantastic apocalyptic tale, pick up Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon. You won't regret it.

The Way We Play

I've been listening to a podcast this morning from Radiowest called "The Way We Play." Click on the title to go there and listen yourself. Here's the synopsis of what's being discussed.

"Tucked into a neighborhood in west Salt Lake City is a bit of movie history. In the summer of 1992 a small, vacant field was the set of "The Sandlot." It's about a brand of baseball that's just not played anymore and about a kind of childhood that might not exist anymore. Almost 20 years later the lot's still there, but there aren't any kids in it. Monday on RadioWest, guest host Matthew LaPlante looks at how child's play has changed and what it means for growing up."

This has got me thinking about the difference between play when I was growing up and what I see now. When I was a kid, we were kicked out of the house and the neighborhood became a wonderland limited only by our imaginations. In fact, I did a collage about this very subject called "The Imagine Nation." (I'll insert it into this entry so you can see it) I haven't been blogging very much lately but I think I want to write about how my friends and I played when I was growing up. Stay tuned. I hope to begin very soon.

Booklist

Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis - Making my way thru the Narnia books I haven't read. Since Dawn Treader is the next movie, I figured I'd better get it read. More a series of vignettes than a continuing storyline. I'll be interested to see how they adapt it into a movie.

Red by Warren Ellis & Cully Hamner - Pretty great graphic novel about a former CIA operative who becomes active again and goes on a revenge driven killing spree. This is going to be a movie but based on the trailer they have expanded the story quite a bit.

JLA/Avengers by Kurt Busiek and George Perez - I love George Perez as an artist but this story was so dense it was impossible to penetrate. Too many characters doing too many things. Still, Perez's art is incredible.

Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer - This is a pretty good urban fantasy book that I ran across on the shelf in the library. I liked the concept and the characters enough that I hope there's a sequel. Basically the story revolves around a group of guardians keeping demons under lock and key in an old amusement park. Kinda fun.

Preacher: War in the Sun by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon -This series keeps my interest. It's very strange but interesting enough to continue. Really curious about how it will end.

The Astounding Wolf-Man Vol. 2 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard - Pretty cool comic about a werewolf superhero. Kirkman is a hot commodity right now w/ Frank Darabont turning his The Walking Dead comic into a TV series. I wouldn't be surprised to see this book turned into a movie or something like that.

Area 51 by Robert Doherty - So boring and confusing I finally put it down.

Booklist

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey - This first book in a new YA series (although it was very intense for a YA book) centers around a scientist who concentrates on the study of monsters and his young ward. The story is set in 1888 when an infestation of anthopophagi (cannibalistic, headless monsters) hit American soil. The book started slow but I enjoyed it. The tone is dark and suspenseful. The book is very graphic and it shocked me to learn that it was a YA novel.

X-Men: First Class - Knights of Hykon - These X-books, set in the timeline when Claremont, Cockrum, and Byrne were working their magic with Marvel's mutants, are very enjoyable. The stories are very reminiscent of that time period. If only we could get Claremont, Byrne and Austin to return to the book. That would be incredible.

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden - Australia is invaded by a foreign power and a group of teenagers wage guerilla warfare to survive. Sounds like an Aussie version of Red Dawn, doesn't it? It's a YA series and I didn't enjoy the first book enough to continue.

Facebook: Blessing and Curse

Wow. I don't blog much anymore. I guess you can blame that on Facebook. Since there are 500-some-odd people following me on there, I don't feel the need to share too much on a blog that gets only a few hits a day. Facebook has been great for connecting to long-lost friends and keeping people up-to-date on my art career. What isn't so great about it is that I have to censor myself quite a bit. There are people I'm friends with that probably wouldn't appreciate some of my thoughts and feelings. I guess that's my fault. I should have been more choosy about who I friend on FB. But it's also good in a way. When I find myself wanting to be nitpicky and mean about something someone said on FB, I hold my tongue. There's no sense alienating every person I know on the planet just because I don't agree with their theology, politics or the fact that they can't spell.
So, I will continue to bite my tongue and keep the peace as I'm sure they are doing with me. I'll just keep ranting in my art where only a few can understand.

Booklist

I like doing these mini reviews better than the long, boring ones I was doing. So, I'm going to keep it up. In case you're wondering why I'm reading so many graphic novels, it's because a) I like them for the most part and b) I can't find any regular books to read that I like. Got any suggestions?

Kick-Ass by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. - The movie is better than the comic. I've never been a big fan of JRJR's artwork.

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan - These books are entertaining but very shallow when it comes to story and character. It's going to be awhile before we see another YA series that's as good as Harry Potter.

Welcome to Tranquility: Vol. 1 & 2 by Gail Simone and Neil Googe - It's about the fictional town of Tranquility, CA which is home to retired superheroes. Interesting premise (I understand there is a book by Stephen King that's similar) and good artwork. I liked it.

The Avengers: Nights of Wundagore by David Michelinie and John Byrne - This originally saw print in 1979 so I read it when I was in high school. I'm a huge fan of Byrne but didn't remember that they let Klaus Jansen ink his pencils. Jansen's inks are too dark for Byrne's work. The story is interesting though because it's the beginning of finding out that the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are Magneto's kids. Lots of crossover with X-Men back then...you know...when you could keep up with all the storylines because there weren't 1000 books per character being published per month.

Preacher: Ancient History by Garth Ennis, Steve Pugh, Carlos Ezquerra. - This book presented back stories of existing characters. Interesting to see the origin of the Saint of Killers and Arseface but the other story was crap. I didn't like Pugh's art at all but Ezquerra was all right. I'm ready to get back to the regular storyline.

Preacher: Dixie Fried by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon - More weirdness but back to the regular storyline. I'm going to keep going.

Uncanny X-Men: First Class/Hated and Feared by various writers and artists - I liked this. It hearkens back to the days when Claremont, Cockrum and Byrne were working their magic with Marvel's mutants. It's too bad we can't have Claremont, Byrne and Austin back to do some new stories. That would be something.

Sample Page from Masters: Collage Book

The book is officially published as of today. Here's the first of eight pages about me. At the suggestion of a friend, I think I will buy an extra book, pull the pages out and lay them flat for a high quality scan.
Anywho, still pretty exciting in an odd way. While it's way cool to be featured in a book, I'll be curious to see if this does anything to boost me into bigger and better things. Meanwhile, buy a book or better yet, buy one of my originals. Or both.

Booklist

Again, no time for long reviews. Here's a short look at what I've been reading lately.

Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman - Pretty cool novel in the superhero genre. Can't help but say it would have been nice to see it in comic form but it was great to use my imagination visualizing everything.

Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness, Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe by Bryan Lee O'Malley - Read these in prep for the new movie coming out. I hope Edgar Wright does something creative with this material. I'm sure he will.

The Hunt for Atlantis by Andy McDermott - Pretty standard action story in the vein of Clive Cussler, Preston/Child, James Rollins or Matthew Reilly. I may continue w/ the series. May not. Depends on how thin my reading list gets.

Hack/Slash Omnibus by various writers and artists - Picked this up on a whim at the library. Kinda fun in a bent sort of way.

Immortal Iron Fist Vol. 1 & 2 by Ed Brubaker, etc. - I loved Iron Fist when I was a kid especially the run John Byrne did on the series. This story was okay. Enjoyed the second more than the first.

THE BOOK!

I just got my comp copies of Masters: Collage via UPS! It looks amazing! I'm kinda stunned.
I was doing my back stretches when our buzzer went off. The phone thingy is broken so I can't communicate with whoever's down there so I don't usually buzz people in unless I'm expecting someone. I guess someone else buzzed him in because I looked out the window and saw the UPS guy leaving. We weren't expecting any packages so I went downstairs to see what was up and I discovered the box from Sterling Books with my name on it. It was then that my body and brain kinda went numb. I came back upstairs, opened the box, and pulled the book out. I then, slowly, found the pages featuring my art. Wow! I don't know what to say. It's really cool! Then I looked thru the rest of the book and saw all the other amazing artists and there work and I immediately thought, "What is my stuff doing in here?" I'm honored to be counted among all the talented artists that are also in the book.
Ha! Then reality snapped in after I found a typo on one of my pages and in my bio. It says I show extensively in Washington and California. I've never had a show in California. I guess we'll have to remedy that.
So, anyway, I'm a little excited. I don't know what this will mean for me and my art career down the road but for right now, it's pretty dang cool!
If you want to pre-order the book, there's a link here on my blog and at www.whatwouldjesusglue.com. It will be available to everyone else in June.
Okay, I'll stop now before I hyperventilate.

Booklist

Been busy. No time to write about what I've been reading. Here's a list w/ short comments.

Rising Stars: Volume 1 by J. Michael Straczynski - Meh. I'll pick up Volume 2 and see if it goes anywhere.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World by Bryan Lee O'Malley - Reading these in prep for the Edgar Wright's film that's coming out this summer.

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman - Short story collection. I liked some, didn't like others. Favorites were the one about the months of the year and the American Gods related story.

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher - Thought I had given up on Butcher but I read that his next book really shakes things up so I thought I'd catch up and see if that's true. This one was better than the previous 2 or 3. He's been in a rut. I hope he gets out.

Preacher: Book 1 & 2 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon - Interesting comic about a preacher possessed by a half-demon/half-angel who's searching for the Lord so he can tell him off. There's more to it than that but...you get the gist. It's weird, quirky, violent...so...right up my alley.

Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming - I read this before but forgot it. I re-read it so I can read the whole series.