by Joshua Luna (writer, layouts, letters) and Jonathan Luna (art)

The Story: Malia further manipulates the media and public opinion as Dara races to New York City to confront her.

What’s Good: It’s great to see an issue of the Sword on the racks again.

The opening scene may very well be the strongest bit of the book.  I enjoyed the Lunas’ putting Dara’s previously indisputable hero status into question.  It really adds a very unique tone to this final arc, while also encouraging the reader to look back on the rest of the series.  We’re forced to re-examine Dara’s progress, and it’s hard not to be struck by how much she’s changed and what she’s become.  That said, the Lunas leave much of this up to the reader, and I do feel some of their trademark flashbacks would have further augmented this element.

I also enjoyed Julie’s suggestions of the Sword almost being some sort of addiction.  It adds a darker feel that the book definitely benefits from.  Certainly, it adds another layer of complexity to the series.

On the action-front, there’s a scene involving Dara’s battle with a pair of fighter jets that’s a great deal of fun.  While I know not everyone is a fan of the Lunas’ work, they do know their way around an action scene.  It’s insane, bordering on over-the-top, but as with many of the Sword’s better action scenes, it works all the better for these reasons.

Justin’s dialogue was also particularly strong this month.  As the series grows darker, Justin provides that necessary comic relief, very effectively deadpanning the book’s grandstanding while highlighting many of the more impressive, super-powered moments.

What’s Not So Good: While the action sequence is good, there are a few botched faces on Jonathan Luna’s part.  One headshot of Julia crying out is unforgivably bad.  At other times, characters’ faces simply don’t carry the emotion they should.  When characters are caught in more rueful, subtle emotions, Luna often draws them far too close to a neutral expression.

Also, I can’t help but be irritated by Joshua Luna’s writing of the “crowd dialogue.”  Luna has opted to present the crowd noise around Malia in the form of a few select quotes being bubbled without a speaker.  This is already a bit ham-fisted on his part, but the actual content of this pseudo-dialogue can unfortunately only be described as moronic.  The quotes just sound far too stupid and thus expose themselves too fully for what they are: Luna’s method of capturing developments in public feeling regarding Malia and Dara.  This “crowd noise” is a weak method of accomplishing this as is, but Luna’s poor writing of these faceless characters doesn’t help any.  I wish he stuck purely to the newscasts.

That being said, Luna’s actual dialogue in this month’s newscasts isn’t great either.  As was the case with the crowd’s dialogue, the quotes are simply too obvious in their authorial purpose.  For this reason, they lack believability and the people speaking feel more like narrative tools than human beings.

Finally, while the Lunas have really done well with their use of flashbacks throughout the series, this is not one of those times.  The flashback isn’t bad, but it’s nowhere near the standards the Lunas have set for themselves.  The moral lesson is weak and uninspired, and the whole situation depicted feels clichéd.

Conclusion: An inoffensive issue that is a bit rough around the edges.

Grade: C+

-Alex Evans

by Joshua Luna (writer, letters, and layouts) and Jonathan Luna (art)

The Story: Malia makes her presence known to the world and a huge reveal is dropped regarding Demetrios’ secret history with one of the elemental siblings.

What’s Good: Wow…what an atom bomb of a reveal this month.  Not only is it a shocker, but it’s also one that feels natural rather than one that was done purely for shock’s sake.  Despite its gravity, it goes along with everything we’ve seen rather than running against contradictions.

Better still, the reveal changes the entire landscape of this final arc of the series, while also carrying a lot of emotion behind it.  It also suddenly makes this series a lot less black and white, which has probably been the biggest knock against the Sword thus far.  The series has followed a very rigid narrative structure, and this reveal threatens to shake all that up.  Things are suddenly a whole lot more grey, and as a result, the fight with Malia definitely won’t be a re-run of what we’ve seen with Knossos and Zakros.

And that’s what makes this issue great, really.  It takes a series that has been so structured and straightforward, and suddenly makes things a lot cloudier.  Better still, Dara, the unquestionable heroine of the series, suddenly seemed a lot less likable.  She’s spent the entire book as an incredibly sympathetic character and a definitive underdog.  This month, I found myself having a lot of trouble backing her.  As Julie brings up, Dara just isn’t the same.  She’s sounding increasingly like an irrationally, even two dimensionally, murderous character, increasingly empty and monotonous in her cries for blood.  Instead of sounding sympathetic, she just sounds violent, and that that loss of character is raised by Julie is a nice move by the Lunas.

Art-wise, if you like the Lunas as I do, you’ll like this book, as it’s really just more of the same, anime-tinged style.  However, if you’re of the minority that can’t abide their style, this won’t change your mind.

What’s Not So Good: The biggest problem with this book though is one of formatting.  Simply put, there is often just too damned many words on one page.  A couple pages of are absolutely swarmed with textboxes/captions, while other pages have some grotesquely over-sized word-bubbles.  I’m not someone known for having a low attention span, but at times, this did feel like a bit of a chore.

One of the most wordy sections is Malia’s telling of her history, which is of course distorted to make her look good.  I found this overly drawn-out and also completely uninspired.  Essentially, take the entire history of Demetrios, and remove Malia from it.  That’s her story.  That her brothers were bad, and she never ever stood with them.  That’s it.  Not only is it not a believable story, but also I expected the Lunas to be able to come up with something better for such a cunning character.

Finally, as has at times been the case with the Sword, some things happen just a little too conveniently.  Why is it that everyone in Mexico that Dara runs into can speak absolutely perfect English?  What are the odds of a random cop Dara takes hostage knowing the location of a nearby private jet field that can carry them to NYC?

Conclusion: A change of pace, but a generally good one that shakes up the whole series.

Grade: B

-Alex Evans

by Joshua Luna (writer & letterer) and Jonathan Luna (art)

The Story: Dara’s battle with the Earth god Knossos comes to its brutal and bloody conclusion.

What’s Good: Goddamn this was a brutal comic.  Once again, the Lunas prove that the Sword is sharp.  Damn sharp.  Limbs fly and people are gutted.  That said, it’s not brutal in a “random people exploding all over the place” sort of way.  It’s brutal because every single act of violence is loaded with emotional intent.  Every chopped limb actually means something.

The sheer scope and size of the battle is nothing short of ridiculous.  Its impossible to talk about the story of this issue without also mentioning the artwork, as the two go hand in hand in depicting the battle.  The Lunas do an amazing job of conveying the size of Knossos and the unbelievable odds against which Dara is fighting.  It’s the sort of awe-inspiring stuff  we’ve come to expect, and it leads to some unforgettable images.

I also loved the ending of the issue, which delivers a twist that provides the landscape for the coming battle with Malia.  It really is an unexpected turn that reshapes the world of the Sword.  It also guarantees that this series will have a very different feel as it heads into its last arc, and that the battle with Malia will be like none before; this time, with the world watching.  Not running the risk of repetition, the Lunas have changed the rules in shocking fashion.

What’s Not-So-Good: Unfortunately, the bottom-line is that this battle just wasn’t as fun as the one with Zakros.  In that battle, I marveled at the sheer creativity of the Lunas, giving the gods endless ways to use their powers.  Not so much in this issue, which sees Knossos stay in his rock man form.  It’s just a little more one dimensional than I’ve come to expect.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of Malia’s continued interference in Dara’s battle.  It made the conflict between Knossos and Dara feel less personal and less important.  The one-on-one dynamic was lost and thus so too was some of the impact.  I wanted Dara vs Knossos, and having it be Dara and Malia vs Knossos needlessly diluted the conflict.

The rock man form is also a bit of a double-edged sword as well.  While it provides some amazing visuals and an incredible obstacle for Dara, it also means that Knossos is encased in a giant suit of rock, unable to exchange banter with Dara while the fight goes on, which was part of what made the Zakros fight so awesome.  The one exchange of words at the end of the fight is perhaps the high point of the issue only serves to illustrate this fact.

Conclusion: By no means a bad conclusion, but it wasn’t quite as personal as we’ve come to expect.

Grade: B-

-Alex Evans

Whoa, I can’t believe we’re a week into June already! This month should be packed with content!

For now, you can check out my monthly Showcase article. This time around it features reviews of BATMAN AND SCARECROW YEAR ONE, the Luna Brothers’ Girls Volume 1: Conception, and Fallen Angel Vol. 5: Red Horse Riding. Enjoy!

by Joshua Luna (writer and letters) and Jonathan Luna (art)

The Story: Dara vs Knossos – Round 2.

The Good: As I expected, this is an issue that’s packed with lots of action.  What I especially liked with the action here is how the Luna Brothers gave a great sense of the collateral damage and the wide effects of the battle between Dara and Knossos; in what is a personal duel between two people comes to be a natural disaster that spreads across Mexico and Texas.  It’s an interesting idea, as it causes us to again ponder the relationship of gods and men.  Due to its magical nature, Dara’s private conflict unleashes an ever widening ripple effect, here, turning into a media event and nation-wide catastrophe.

Readers of the Sword know that Dara’s flashbacks are often some of the best written parts of the comic, and this issue is no different.  The hardships Dara faced as an ordinary girl again come to be relatable to her struggles in her new “superheroic” life.  The flashback here is, like most Luna flashbacks, apt, emotionally poignant, and tied to her battle with Knossos in a very smart fashion.  In fact, it may very well be my favorite flashback yet.

The issue’s conclusion was also a jaw-dropper as it definitely made me incredibly anxious for next month’s issue.  It’s a very subtle twist that could quite possibly change the route of the rest of the series.  While a surprise, more than anything else, it’s intriguing.  Certainly, it’s the first time we’ve seen Dara get any real, supernatural assistance and considering the ancient history of the sword, the source of that assistance is interesting to say the least.

Lastly, the artwork here is especially good.  The Sword’s art is consistently at a high level, especially with the distinctive style that the Lunas bring.  This issue’s art is especially stunning, featuring drool-inspiring images of awe-inspiring combat.  The sheer size of what’s being depicted here is praiseworthy enough.

What’s Not-so-Good: As is the case with all action-based issues, this is a quick read. Given the tantalizing ending, this can be a bit frustrating. Then again, there’s nothing wrong with wanting more of a good thing, is there?

Also, again due to that all out action, readers should be aware that outside of two one-page flashbacks and another single page of frantic media reports, there really is pretty much zero dialogue in this issue.  This banter-less action also comes due to Knossos turning into a giant stone man, which while awe-inspiring, comes at the cost of the back-and-forth that made the battle with Zakros so entertaining.

Moreover, the lack of dialogue will also have fans of Justin’s sardonic humor disappointed, as he he is silent in this issue, only appearing in the issue’s first panel.

Conclusion: A quiet issue, but explosive in terms of action, this is another solid issue of the Sword. Frankly, I don’t think there’s ever been a bad or disappointing issue of the Sword.  Stunning art, awesome combat, and a really cool ending make this a comic that will definitely please the Luna-devoted.

Grade: B

-Alex Evans

See what articles I wrote for the Girls Entertainment Network this week, and check back at the end of each week for more GEN updates.

Much rumour rising about Marvel adaptation Thor with Alexander Skarsgard being touted for the lead role. He brilliantly played Brad Colbert in David Simon and Ed Burns’ Generation Kill and is currently in Tru Blood. Separately to that, the film joined Captain America and The Avengers in being pushed back in the release schedules with 2011 now housing Thor, Captain America and Spiderman 4 within three months. In further Marvel news, Mickey Rourke has signed up for Iron Man 2 along with Scarlett Johansson, the latter replacing Emily Blunt as the Black Widow. As if not to be outdone, this week also saw rumours sparked of a possible reboot for the Fantastic Four series.

Juan Antonio Bayona, the director of the excellent The Orphanage, has reportedly been signed up to direct the third Twilight movie. This comes hot on the heels of previous rumours that Drew Barrymore was a candidate to helm the movie. I don’t care a huge amount, but if we are going to have to live with these movies for the coming two-and-a-half years, it would be nice to have some real talent behind the camera. Other reports though suggest that it will be directed by the other Weitz.

Sam Raimi’s return to the horror genre with Drag Me to Hell has a trailer; Axel Foley could die in Beverley Hills Cop 4; Nick Nolte and Tom Hardy will star in a mixed martial arts movie. Oh yeah!; Bryce Dallas Howard has expressed an interest in bringing the Luna Brothers’ The Sword to the screen; Heathers has been jumped into gear in musical form; Robin Hood has found his merry men.

See what articles I wrote for the Girls Entertainment Network this week, and check back at the end of each week for more GEN updates.

My first encounters with GIRLS were online. (Ha!) The covers depicting nude women? Yeah, that’d be difficult to find on the internet. Not so easy in the local comic shop… well you’ve got plenty of sexy covers standing side by side… you know… I do NOT prefer comics over chicks! I don’t! (I do.)
Beautiful covers. That’s all. How was I supposed to know what was between them?

I am a member of Spill.com, a movie and comic review site. Well, the primary focus is on movies, but the site being made for nerds by nerds, there are special podcasts that cover comics as well.
One cast pre-Christmas recording had a brief mention of GIRLS, which I sought to find more information about immediately after.

I just finished reading the series a few hours ago. Holy shit. Holy shit, that is the best… BEST small-town science/horror story I have ever, EH-VAR spent more than a few minutes paying attention to. I spent all night reading up to issue 21, and waited twenty-four hours for the last three issues.
The story had me so blown away, man, I had too look into the Luna brothers. I’m looking forward to starting on ULTRA, and I’m hoping to read THE SWORD all-at-once as well.

So the only person I really have to blame for the lack of posting is myself. I should really keep up on this thing, otherwise it’s a complete waste of my time and minimal if not near-nothing efforts. I’m sorry, I will do better to write things worth reading — or at least write things at all.

Check this out if you’re into graphic design or just like pretty images: see them here.

I stayed up all night learning new techniques and whatnot, since I’m doing graphic work that I’m actually getting paid for — even if it’s a minor amount. I enjoy it and would like to produce better images, so practice was almost a requirement. Plus, it gets another creative part of my brain turning, which is never a bad thing.

In other personal news that may or may not interest you, I’ve played a shit-ton of World of Warcraft in the past week. Let’s keep this short:

Leveled 74-77 Draenei Death Knight

Leveled 1-33 Human Priest

Leveled 1-27 Draenei Hunter

Basically, I discovered that the recruit-a-friend triple kill/quest XP makes leveling through old-world content a lot more enjoyable. Blizzard really needs to do more of this, if you ask me — a whole fucking truckload more. Between this shit and the re-customization service, I’d just like to see the option to pay for a character slot that would start me create a level 58 character with blue gear equivalent to the stuff a Death Knight gets. We already know it’s possible and I personally think that those who want to re-re-re-re-experience the 1-60 content can do so all they like.

Give. Me. My. Fucking. Level. 58. Character. Slots. Thanks. Bye.

Strange that I’m coming off so hostile in this post, since I’m listening to The Beatles while writing it. I don’t mean to sound or write hostile, but I guess that’s just how ready I am for this sort of elder service.

I’ve also been semi-neglecting my Twitter updates because of my recent WoW-a-thon. This is much easier to maintain, and my reason for not doing so has largely been because I don’t really like to tell people following me on Twitter about my time in Azeroth. It’s kind of like telling average people about how awesome motion pictures or music is: fucking redundant beyond reasonable belief.

In the realm of Blu-ray and such, I’ve been given Wall-e and The Incredible Hulk for birthday presents. Glad I got them, because both movies are testaments to owning an amazing HDTV and PS3 aka Blu-ray player aka machine I sometimes game on as well. Wall-e is much more a tour de force for HD content than anything else, which makes me all the more pissed that Disney/Pixar hasn’t put out all their previous movies on Blu-ray yet.

JUST GIVE ME THE INCREDIBLES AND THANK YOU GOODBYE, K.

Sorry, I’ll stop demanding things in un-enjoyable text now.

Oh yeah, also been reading more comics. I highly recommend NO HERO and cautiously recommend All-star Batman and Robin TPB Vol.1 and the newest issue of Invincible Iron Man that happens to be a decent jumping-on point in the story. Frank Miller and Jim Lee entertained me with the Batman and Robin stuff, but Miller definitely likes to make all his characters into this weird “I’M A MAN WHO HAS BIG HAIRY BALLS AND FUCKS WOMEN, HARD, A LOT … ” crazy types of characters. It’s even weird when this kind of dude his taking a little kid under his er, bat-wing, as it were. Marvel is on shaky ground with me right now, after the current “SECRET INVASION” bullshit and especially after making Tony Stark a big gaping, bleeding asshole throughout and after the whole Civil War debacle. However, with Issue 8 of Invincible Iron Man it seems like the character is going back to his roots of defying a government who’s spurned him with the kind of smarts you’d expect from a dude who build the world’s most destructive mobile weapon/armored suit with his bare hands.

As for comics you should be reading (and will be hung over a massive pit of blood-thirsty mutant boars for not doing so):

FreakAngels (free and awesome, free and awesome, you’re a set of testicles wearing a bonnet if you don’t check this thing out!)

Invincible

The Walking Dead

The Sword

The Astounding Wolf-Man

Doktor Sleepless

Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern (Rebirth is the start of his run, and he’s still going into next year’s awesome-sounding BLACEST NIGHT summer event)

So there, a hefty post to keep the two or three of you reading this entertained. Hope you got something out of it other than a slight bit of dribble down your chin!

For the sake of understanding, just in case you don’t know, these are the key elements to this blog:

‘The Boys’ – a current running comic book, written by Garth Ennis and Illustrated by Darick Robertson.

‘Girls’ – a 24 issues series by Jonathon and Joshua Luna that concluded in April 2007.

TPB – a Trade PaperBack, a collection of previously published comic books distributed in a softcover book.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get to it.

I love comic books. No, I don’t live in my mother’s basement and yes, I do have full time employment. I just love comic books. I don’t really know why. I like art, writing and crazy characters/stories. There are a lot of talented people working in comics and it when it’s done well, it’s great entertainment. Expensive, but entertaining all the same. I read a lot of comics, so therefore I’m always on the lookout for new material. I’ve been reading ‘The Boys’ since the beginning. I liked it, so I tried to turn one of my non-comic book geek friends on to it by buying him the volume one TPB. He liked it as well and I had to buy him volume two and three, (when 3 came out). How did he get me to buy his TPB’s? I don’t know, but you’re right, it’s ridiculous.

A while back, another friend, a comic book geek friend, told me to check out ‘Ultra’, the Luna Brothers first title. I read it and thought it was pretty cool. So one day, while at the comic book shop, I noticed all four ‘Girls’ TPB on the shelf. I picked up volume one and started reading it. I couldn’t put it down. Eight pages into it, I decided to just buy it. I took it home, sat down and went cover to cover in no time. I liked it so much that I wanted to track down the original issues. I found the whole series for sale on some auction site for cheap, 73 cents an issue, including shipping, (for those of you who don’t know, cover price on a new comic is $2.99 or higher. Once it goes to back issue, two weeks or older it’s $3.50 or higher). So I was excited, but of course the bids kept coming and eventually the price got high. My comic book shop was having a sale, so I called and asked what the remaining three TPB’sI needed would cost. $32, (roughly) which was what the auction was getting close to. I made an impulse decision and told him to put them in my bag, (hold them for me) and I’d buy them next time I was in. Ironically, the bidding stopped and I won the original 24 issues for less than $32.

So I called the comic book shop back to tell him I couldn’t buy the TPB’s. Then I remembered my non-comic book geek friend who wanted volume three of ‘The Boys’.

So, I actually called up the store and said to the owner… “I don’t want ‘Girls’, I want ‘The Boys’”.

Maybe I should move in with my mother. Too bad she doesn’t have a basement.

Egg On!

Ramblin’ Rooster

See what articles I wrote for the Girls Entertainment Network this week, and check back at the end of each week for GEN updates.

Posts of interest: An exclusive interview with the Luna Brothers on The Sword comic! Plus, a new layout and graphics for Comic Junkie (Virtualgirl did a beautiful job with those headers)! Be sure to check it out.

Because The Sword is AWESOME.

One of the interviews I’ve been cooking up—in which I talk with Joshua and Jonathan Luna about their comic for Image called The Sword—is now online for your reading pleasure (just click the banner below). If you haven’t checked this comic out, please do. It’s fantastic.

Big thanks to Image and the brothers for the opportunity!

UPDATE: The brothers have linked to it on the main page of their site!

Yesterday I spent the day at Comic-Con International in San Diego serving as Barbie’s professional photograher. I’ll let her walk us through these and provide captions. Take it away, Barbie!

Thanks, Corey! I’m sure a lot of you are wondering what a super-cute and cool chick like me was doing at “Nerd Vegas”. Normally I wouldn’t be caught dead there but that all changed this past weekend!

This is My Comic-Con Adventure!

It all started Friday night… I got back from shopping early and found Ken reading something weird. Like, gross weird.

That’s right, he was reading PORN! (And I think he was doing something with those big green fists, too.)

I couldn’t believe it! It must’ve been something he picked up when we split up. I mean, I know that was a real dark period for him but still, have some class.

He made some lame argument about it not being porn. “It’s a suspenseful sci-fi graphic novel called Girls by the Luna Brothers that examines gender roles and the battle of the sexes,” he said. I don’t know why he was talking like a press release, but whatever. All I see are lots and lots of boobies. Naked ones, at that!

Then he said that comic books and graphic novels are the next big thing. And that most of them don’t have naked boobies. Well you know how much I love the next big thing! So I asked, “Where can I find out more?”

Apparently there’s this big convention every year in San Diego called Comic-Con International. And it just so happened to be going on as we were talking. What a coincidence! Even though San Diego is like a million miles away from Malibu, I said I’d go. But this better not be a trick to get me into porn.

Here’s me in the big crowds of Comic-Con! I arrived Saturday morning super early. There were WAY too many people. More than I could count. Math is hard. Anyway, I had no idea there were so many perverts out there. And with weird fetishes like dressing up in weird costumes. I would NEVER dress up in so many strange outfits.

I walked around a bit and saw tables where they were selling movies. Hey, I like movies!

Uhm… this isn’t the right picture. That’s not even me, I was looking at the Disney movies!

Anyway, as you can see, more porn! How many of these does Ken have? I bet these “examine gender issues”, too. Oh, I was getting so mad! I had to talk to someone. And then I met a kindred spirit.

Flo Jalin was SO sweet! She made me feel much better! (And her outfit was super hot!) She told me that this wasn’t a porn convention or anything and that the convention was about real Hollywood movies and TV shows and video games and all sorts of stuff. She said I would feel better if I walked around and met some people. I was still a little nervous, so she had me loosen up by doing some quick modeling.

Isn’t this fun? I’m standing in for the girl on the cover of Five Color Comics #1 from The Art of Fiction. I don’t know what that weird symbol is at the end of his stick but it looks neat, doesn’t it?

The first real-life comics creator I met was Gris Grimly. His art is creepy but cute and lots of fun! I don’t think he believed that I liked it. He seemed kind of shy, but maybe these comic book people aren’t used to normal, good looking and popular girls liking what they do.

I next snuggled up to Rick Geary. He was a sweet man. He makes these fun postcards and also does these scary books about real-life murder mysteries that take place a million years in the past. Kind of creepy but he was super nice. I don’t think he would’ve murdered me at all!

Scott Shaw! (yes, he really has “the yelling period,” as I like to call it, at the end of his name) was really excited to see me! He was very welcoming and affectionate. He’s drawn like every cartoon ever since ever! He also does this really funny panel called Oddball Comics that I went to and it made me laugh tons! At one point when we were talking I thought he was going to lick my face or something but he said that he was just really thirsty. I thought that was kind of weird but I know he was really busy, so I guess it makes sense.

Scott being thirsty made me realize that I was really hungry! Normally I just ignore hunger, but all this walking around was working up my appetite. The food choice wasn’t the greatest. Fortunately I’m totally rich so the prices didn’t bother me.

Once we finished eating, I heard the most sexy music. This guy was playing saxophone right in the middle of the convention. Who knew? I just had to sit down and listen. It felt like he was playing right to me!

I was looking for toys for my little sister Kelly when I saw my old rivals packed away in a dusty box. I know this probably seems petty but it made me laugh!

I totally forgot I used to have a comic book! I guess people loved them because every table we asked, they said they didn’t have any. I’ll have to talk to my business manager and find out how much money we made on those.

Hey girls, we can make comics, too! Comics aren’t just for boys! Jill Thompson gave me some pointers on how to draw comics. She’s done tons of amazing stuff, like her own graphic novels Scary Godmother and Magic Trixie. And she said I had a knack for drawing comics!

Sitting at the same table was Brian Wood. He’s a super-talented writer. He pulls off the sexy bald thing pretty good. He wrote a comic called Local about this girl who keeps moving to different towns and taking on different jobs and identities. A part of me really relates to her. I thought all comics were naked boobies or muscle-men fighting or fantasy stuff. But the more I’m here, the more I see that comics can be about anything!

Next we met Becky Cloonan, another super-cute, super-cool and super-talented girl in comics. We became fast friends and she turned me on to a bunch of great stuff. She draws American Virgin, which I thought might be more porn, but she said it was about this minister trying to stay pure with all these temptations. I don’t know, it sounded really good and it made me think that maybe Ken wasn’t lying.

Just as things were starting to make sense, I was arrested! This Stormtrooper questioned me for what seemed like hours. I guess I gave him what he wanted because he finally left me alone.

I felt so happy I felt like dancing on someone’s hat.

Fortunately Ben Lichius was there to help me out. He writes The Black Coat, a dashing hero from the Revolutionary War. I don’t know what kind of hat that is, but it was fun grinding on it.

While I was talking to Terry Moore I wanted to show him what Jill Thompson taught me but I didn’t have a pen! I guess artists are really attached to their pens because I had to bug him for an hour to get him to lend me his! God, what happened to encouraging fellow artists? By the time I finally got the pen, I forgot what Jill taught me. So we talked about Terry’s comics. Strangers in Paradise is about two women who like each other. I mean they like like each other. I thought, “Oh great, here comes the naked boobies.” But the story was really good! I hate to say it, but I think the comic was dealing with gender roles. Maybe Ken really WAS reading his comic for the story.

I had to sit down and think. Everything was moving too fast. And then, boy did it!

I thought this giant Optimus Prime robot was going to kill me! But then, some shirtless firefighters saved me!

I thought they were being heroic, but then they started fighting over me!

Fortunately cartoonist Chris Giarrusso saved me and let me put my clothes back on behind his cute and funny graphic novel Mini-Marvels: Rock, Paper, Scissors.

After all of that excitement, I had to take a break at the G4 booth. The day was coming to an end, and I just needed a little power nap to make it home.

I guess I zonked because when I woke up, Christian Gossett, creator of the sci-fi adventure The Red Star had safely brought me to my car.

I learned a lot at Comic-Con. I learned that comic book people weren’t scary sex addicts. They weren’t porn pushers. They were talented and caring people with wonderful stories to tell.

I drove back to Ken and explained to him everything that happened. Then I read Girls and found out that it really WAS a suspenseful sci-fi graphic novel that examines gender roles and the battle of the sexes. I apologized for jumping to conclusions, and he apologized for not telling me about it sooner.

Then we had great make-up sex.

The End

[See the Flickr page for these pics.]

]]> http://electricityandlust.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/hot-links/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:00:43 +0000 Sam Unsted http://electricityandlust.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/hot-links/

(Picture from here)

Generation Kill writer Evan Wright has signed up to script Cocaine Cowboys.

The Dark Knight is doing some incredible business, now outgrossing the entire domestic run of Batman Begins.

Robot Chicken are going to a galaxy far, far away again.

Here’s an interview with the Luna Brothers.

Is The Devil’s Advocate a modern cult classic?

Footage from Tron 2 has been revealed at Comic-Con.

DiS talks to The Hold Steady, as all should be given the brilliance of their new record.

They also chat to Noah and the Whale, a charming upcoming group.

Aaron Eckhart talks to The Guardian.

Songs to slack to.

Not much love for the return of CSS. Time passed?

Neil Young is all about high-resolution sound.

How can print adapt to the digital age?

Most romantic gestures in movies, in list form.

Russell Brand is taking over the VMAs.

The second season of Mad Men is reviewed here.

Here’s a 1990 profile of Barack Obama from Vanity Fair.

Keitel joins Life on Mars.

A coffee table and a learning experience.

Is porn star Buck Angel a new feminist hero.

Robocop is officially coming back, with Aronofsky in the hot-seat.

Season 3 of Dexter is also being previewed at Comic-Con.

So is Alan Ball’s True Blood, the new HBO vampire deal.

Twitch has a review of Death Race with Jason Statham.

Tim Burton has found his Alice to venture into Wonderland.

Fiddy is pissed with Taco Bell.

Jim DeRogatis shows some praise for Canasta.