D  E  R     F  A  L  L

P I C T U R E – B O X

TATABEND:
19. September 2009   –   19:00 Uhr

TATORT:
Küche

OPFER:
ein paar alte Schachteln

TATWAFFEN:
Scheren, Stempel, Motivstanzer, Unmengen von Kleber

VERDÄCHTIGE:
4 Bastel-Fanatikerinnen und 1 Ersttäterin

TATHERGANG:
Frau Christina  H., stolze Besitzerin eines Online-Bastelshops,  lud am 19.09.2009 zu einem privaten Bastelabend mit Schwester, Schwägerin, Schwiegermutter und Freundin (Ersttäterin).

Nach kurzer Überlegung der Anwesenden, stand fest:

DIE ALTEN SCHACHTELN
MÜSSEN DRAN GLAUBEN!!!

Wie von Sinnen ergriffen die Täterinnen Papier, Scheren, Glitzersteine, Satinbänder, Kleber … und gingen damit auf die unschuldigen, wehrlosen  Schachteln los. Es ist nicht in Worte zu fassen, was den Opfern angetan wurde (deshalb gibt´s auch Beweisfotos).

BEWEISFOTOS:

Auf die Kärtchen werden natürlich noch ein paar Fotos geklebt, dann ist die Picture-Box perfekt – das perfekte Verbrechen ;O)

PS.:   Tatwerkzeuge findet ihr unter:

http://www.scrapbooking-papier.de/

“I promise I shall never give up, and that I’ll die yelling and laughing.”

Jack Kerouac, Journal Entry 1949

En el blog Comics Comics no se cortan un pelo. Tras cargarse, justificadamente, el Parker de Darwyn Cooke (que ya va en USA por la segunda edición), Frank Santoro la toma, con más razón todavía, con la dirección que están tomando los tebeos de Archie, os pego el comienzo de su entrada porque no tiene desperdicio:

The new Archie sucks. And the people who publish Archie have got to be mentally challenged. I mean, c’mon, Archie married Veronica? Archie would never marry Veronica! He’d, of course, marry Betty. And, of course, Veronica would marry Reggie. (Archie’s own creator, John L. Goldwater, said as much, and if I can find the quote, I’ll add it here later.) And now, Archie and Veronica are having twins? What?

And I haven’t even mentioned the “dynamic new look” drawing style it’s all drawn in. Archie Comics has one of the most recognizable house styles in existence and they choose to go “realistic?” That’s just retarded. I’m sure they sold a few extra thousand copies and they are a happy little corporation because of it, but to fans of the franchise this is just the last straw.

Via: Comics Comics

A simple bomberman created using Visual Studio 2008 c#. The basic idea is that you have a matrix of pictureboxes, a key press event and a timer. The b0mberman’s board class constructor “builds” the game table on a Windows.Forms.Panel, the square sizes being relative to the Panel. The specified table size can be no less than 5, and not an even number. Some bugs, such as both players commit suicide are yet to be fixed.

First, these images shown here at their actual size, I’ve added in my projects /bin/debug folder in a new folder /img:

images used by b0mberman

Any images will do, because the PictureBoxes have auto-size. Then I used these:

using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Drawing;

Then I’ve made a Player class. Each player has its own array of integers, representing the bomb placement time, relative to the game time. Initially 0ed, when a player sets up a bomb, it’s corresponding value in the array at the same coordinates as the map, the Board.m_nGameTime value is placed. So, in order for a bomb to go off, within the Board.OnTimerTick event the arrays for both players are checked to see if a value, v, from the array, added to another value, b, the bomb time, is greater or equal than the game time. If so, the bomb goes off with a recoursive function, Board.Explode. The explosion depth is kinda like the “power” of each player. The power can be improved by taking “Power Bonuses”. Also, players can increase their bomb count by taking bomb bonuses. That’s about it, actually. Here’s the code:

public class Player
    {
        public String m_szName;
        public Board m_board;
        public Image m_imgPlayer;
        public int m_nStartLine;
        public int m_nStartColumn;
        public int m_nLine;
        public int m_nColumn;
        public int m_nScore;
        public int m_nExplodeTime;
        public int m_nExplodeDepth;
        public int m_nBombCount;
        public int[,] m_tBombTimes;

        public Player(String name, Board board, Image player, int start_line, int start_column)
        {
            //init variables
            m_szName = name;
            m_board = board;
            m_imgPlayer = player;
            m_nStartLine = start_line;
            m_nStartColumn = start_column;
            m_nScore = 0;
            m_nBombCount = board.m_nStandardBombCount;
            //init bomb times table
            m_tBombTimes = new int[board.m_nSize, board.m_nSize];
            //init score
            m_nScore = 0;
        }

        public void Respawn()
        {
            //initial line &column
            m_nLine = m_nStartLine;
            m_nColumn = m_nStartColumn;

            //put player at start
            m_board.SetImage(m_nLine, m_nColumn, m_imgPlayer);

            //init parameters
            m_nExplodeTime = m_board.m_nStandardExplodeTime;
            m_nExplodeDepth = m_board.m_nStandardExplodeDepth;
            m_nBombCount = m_board.m_nStandardBombCount;

            //init bomb times
            for (int i = 0; i < m_board.m_nSize; i++)
                for (int j = 0; j < m_board.m_nSize; j++)
                    m_tBombTimes[i, j] = 0;
        }

        public void Do(String action)
        {
            //first check bomb action
            if (action.CompareTo("place bomb") == 0)
            {
                //can't place bomb if is already one here
                if (m_board.IsBomb(m_nLine,m_nColumn)) return;

                //can't place bomb if he's out of bombs
                if (m_nBombCount <= 0) return;

                //place the bomb
                m_tBombTimes[m_nLine, m_nColumn] = m_board.m_nGameTime;
                m_nBombCount--;

                //done
                return;
            }

            //check movement
            int next_line = m_nLine;
            int next_column = m_nColumn;

            if (action.CompareTo("move up") == 0)
            {
                //can't move up if it's on the first line
                if (m_nLine == 0) return;
                next_line = m_nLine - 1;
            }
            else if (action.CompareTo("move down") == 0)
            {
                //can't move down if it's on the last line
                if (m_nLine == m_board.m_nSize - 1) return;
                next_line = m_nLine + 1;
            }
            else if (action.CompareTo("move left") == 0)
            {
                //can't move left if it's on the first column
                if (m_nColumn == 0) return;
                next_column = m_nColumn - 1;
            }
            else if (action.CompareTo("move right") == 0)
            {
                //can't move right if it's on the last column
                if (m_nColumn == m_board.m_nSize - 1) return;
                next_column = m_nColumn + 1;
            }

            //can't move to an obstacle
            if (m_board.IsObstacle(next_line, next_column)) return;

            //if he placed a bomb, put a bomb image, otherwise grass
            bool placed_bomb = (m_tBombTimes[m_nLine, m_nColumn] != 0);
            m_board.SetImage(m_nLine, m_nColumn, (placed_bomb) ? m_board.m_imgBomb : m_board.m_imgGrass);

            //check for bonuses
            bool nextIsBonusBomb = m_board.IsBonusBomb(next_line, next_column);
            bool nextIsBonusPower = m_board.IsBonusPower(next_line, next_column);

            if (nextIsBonusBomb) m_nBombCount++;
            if (nextIsBonusPower) m_nExplodeDepth++;

            m_board.SetImage(next_line, next_column, m_imgPlayer);

            //refresh location
            m_nLine = next_line;
            m_nColumn = next_column;
        }

        public void Pwned()
        {
            m_nScore--;
        }

        public void Win()
        {
            m_nScore++;
        }
    }

And finally, the Board class. I have only 9 images which I assign to each of the Pictureboxes. The little images are stretched in such manner that they fill the whole area of the panel, whatever its size might be. Note that if you don’t have all the images, the program is pretty much useless. Thus, the Board.LoadImages function will pop an error message and exit, in this case. Further more, the OnKeyPress event could not be attached to the Panel, but to its parent. So when instancing the class, make sure that the Panel parent is a good parent. Here’s the code:

public class Board
    {
        public Panel m_panel;
        public PictureBox[,] m_tSquares;
        public int m_nSize;
        public int m_nStandardExplodeDepth;
        public int m_nStandardExplodeTime;
        public int m_nStandardBombCount;
        public int m_nGameTime;
        public Image m_imgGrass;
        public Image m_imgEarth;
        public Image m_imgWall;
        public Image m_imgFire;
        public Image m_imgBomb;
        public Image m_imgBonusBomb;
        public Image m_imgBonusPower;
        public Image m_imgPlayer1;
        public Image m_imgPlayer2;
        public Player m_player1;
        public Player m_player2;
        public Random m_random;
        public Timer m_Timer;

        public void LoadImages()
        {
            try
            {
                m_imgGrass = Image.FromFile(".\\img\\grass.jpg");
                m_imgEarth = Image.FromFile(".\\img\\earth.jpg");
                m_imgWall = Image.FromFile(".\\img\\wall.jpg");
                m_imgFire = Image.FromFile(".\\img\\fire.jpg");
                m_imgBomb = Image.FromFile(".\\img\\bomb.jpg");
                m_imgBonusBomb = Image.FromFile(".\\img\\bonusBomb.jpg");
                m_imgBonusPower = Image.FromFile(".\\img\\bonusPower.jpg");
                m_imgPlayer1 = Image.FromFile(".\\img\\player1.jpg");
                m_imgPlayer2 = Image.FromFile(".\\img\\player2.jpg");
            }
            catch (Exception)
            {
                String caption = "b0mberman :: file not found";
                String text = "make sure you have all the images in the .\\img\\ folder" +
                    "\n- player1.jpg" +
                    "\n- player2.jpg" +
                    "\n- wall.jpg" +
                    "\n- earth.jpg" +
                    "\n- grass.jpg" +
                    "\n- bomb.jpg" +
                    "\n- bonus.jpg" +
                    "\n- fire.jpg";

                MessageBox.Show(text, caption, MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error);
                Environment.Exit(1);
            }
        }

        public Board(Panel panel, int size)
        {
            LoadImages();
            m_panel = panel;
            m_nSize = size;

            //cannot use boards smaller than 5 (1 wall in the middle)
            if (size < 5) size = 5;

            //cannot use boards with even size.. think about it
            if (size % 2 == 0) size++;

            m_nSize = size;
            m_tSquares = new PictureBox[size, size];
            int squareWidth = panel.Width / size;
            int squareHeight = panel.Height / size;
            for (int line = 0; line < size; line++)
            {
                for (int column = 0; column < size; column++)
                {
                    m_tSquares[line, column] = new PictureBox();
                    m_tSquares[line, column].Parent = panel;
                    m_tSquares[line, column].SizeMode = PictureBoxSizeMode.StretchImage;
                    m_tSquares[line, column].Location = new Point(squareWidth * column, squareHeight * line);
                    m_tSquares[line, column].Size = new Size(squareWidth, squareHeight);
                }
            }
            m_player1 = new Player("one", this, m_imgPlayer1, 1, 1);
            m_player2 = new Player("two", this, m_imgPlayer2, size - 2, size - 2);

            //key events
            m_panel.Parent.KeyDown += new KeyEventHandler(OnKeyPressed);

            //generator
            m_random = new Random();

            //parameters
            m_nStandardBombCount = 1;
            m_nStandardExplodeDepth = 2;

            //timer
            m_Timer = new Timer();
            m_Timer.Interval = 100;//100 milliseconds = 1/10 sec
            m_nStandardExplodeTime = 20;// 20 * 1/10 sec = 2 sec
            m_Timer.Tick += new EventHandler(OnTimerTick);
            m_Timer.Start();

        }

        void OnTimerTick(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            m_nGameTime++;

            //start from (1,1) to (n-1,n-1) => not the edges
            for (int line = 1; line < m_nSize - 1; line++)
            {
                for (int column = 1; column < m_nSize - 1; column++)
                {
                    bool placedBomb = (m_player1.m_tBombTimes[line, column] != 0 &#124;&#124; m_player2.m_tBombTimes[line, column] != 0);

                    if (!placedBomb)
                        continue;

                    bool timeToExplode1 = (m_player1.m_tBombTimes[line, column] + m_nStandardExplodeTime == m_nGameTime);
                    bool timeToExplode2 = (m_player2.m_tBombTimes[line, column] + m_nStandardExplodeTime == m_nGameTime);

                    if (timeToExplode1)
                    {
                        Explode(line, column, m_player1.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player1, "up");
                        Explode(line, column, m_player1.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player1, "down");
                        Explode(line, column, m_player1.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player1, "left");
                        Explode(line, column, m_player1.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player1, "right");
                    }
                    if (timeToExplode2)
                    {
                        Explode(line, column, m_player2.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player2, "up");
                        Explode(line, column, m_player2.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player2, "down");
                        Explode(line, column, m_player2.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player2, "left");
                        Explode(line, column, m_player2.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player2, "right");
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        void OnKeyPressed(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
        {
            switch (e.KeyCode)
            {
                //player1 keys
                case Keys.W: m_player1.Do("move up"); break;
                case Keys.S: m_player1.Do("move down"); break;
                case Keys.A: m_player1.Do("move left"); break;
                case Keys.D: m_player1.Do("move right"); break;
                case Keys.T: m_player1.Do("place bomb"); break;

                //player2 keys
                case Keys.Up: m_player2.Do("move up"); break;
                case Keys.Down: m_player2.Do("move down"); break;
                case Keys.Left: m_player2.Do("move left"); break;
                case Keys.Right: m_player2.Do("move right");break;
                case Keys.Return: m_player2.Do("place bomb"); break;
            }
        }

        public void Restart()
        {
            //time
            m_nGameTime = 23;

            //squares
            int squareWidth = m_panel.Width / m_nSize;
            int squareHeight = m_panel.Height / m_nSize;

            //edge
            for (int i = 0; i < m_nSize; i++)
            {
                m_tSquares[0, i].Image = m_imgWall; //up
                m_tSquares[i, 0].Image = m_imgWall; //left
                m_tSquares[m_nSize - 1, i].Image = m_imgWall; //down
                m_tSquares[i, m_nSize - 1].Image = m_imgWall; //right

                m_tSquares[0, i].Location = new Point(0, i * squareHeight);
                m_tSquares[i, 0].Location = new Point(i * squareWidth, 0);
            }

            //middle
            for (int line = 1; line < m_nSize - 1; line++)
            {
                for (int column = 1; column < m_nSize - 1; column++)
                {
                    //wall obstacle position
                    if (line % 2 == 0 && column % 2 == 0)
                    {
                        m_tSquares[line, column].Image = m_imgWall;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        // 2/3 chances for earth
                        m_tSquares[line, column].Image = (m_random.Next(3) != 0) ? m_imgEarth : m_imgGrass;
                    }
                }
            }

            //clean player start locations
            m_tSquares[1, 2].Image = m_imgGrass;
            m_tSquares[2, 1].Image = m_imgGrass;

            m_tSquares[m_nSize - 3, m_nSize - 2].Image = m_imgGrass;
            m_tSquares[m_nSize - 2, m_nSize - 3].Image = m_imgGrass;

            //players
            m_player1.Respawn();
            m_player2.Respawn();
        }

        public void SetImage(int line, int column, Image img)
        {
            m_tSquares[line, column].Image = img;
        }

        public bool IsObstacle(int line, int column)
        {
            //check for earth
            if (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgEarth) return true;

            //check for wall
            if (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgWall) return true;

            //check for bomb
            if (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgBomb) return true;

            //a player is also an obstacle
            if (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgPlayer1) return true;
            if (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgPlayer2) return true;

            //not an obstacle: grass, fire, bonus
            return false;
        }

        public void Explode(int line, int column, int depth, Player player, string direction)
        {
            //done exploding?
            if (depth <= 0) return;

            //if it's a wall, we cannot explode that
            if (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgWall) return;

            //is it player 1?
            if (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgPlayer1)
            {
                if (player == m_player1)
                {
                    m_player1.Pwned(); //suicide
                }
                else
                {
                    m_player2.Win();//frag
                }
                Restart();
                return;
            }

            //is it player 2?
            if (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgPlayer2)
            {
                if (player == m_player2)
                {
                    m_player2.Pwned();
                }
                else
                {
                    m_player1.Win();
                }

                Restart();
                return;
            }

            //a square containing earth will automatically be replaced with fire, or a bonus
            if (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgEarth)
            {
                //40% chance to find something
                if (m_random.Next(0, 100) < 40)
                {
                    //flip a coin to see which bonus
                    if ((m_random.Next(2) != 0))
                        m_tSquares[line, column].Image = m_imgBonusBomb;
                    else
                        m_tSquares[line, column].Image = m_imgBonusPower;
                }
                else
                {
                    //not so lucky...
                    m_tSquares[line, column].Image = m_imgFire;
                }

                //only one earth square explodes
                return;
            }
            else if (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgBomb) //another bomb will also go off
            {
                //a bomb exploding on grass will always leave fire
                m_tSquares[line, column].Image = m_imgFire;

                //who placed it?
                bool placedByPlayer1 = (m_player1.m_tBombTimes[line, column] > 0);

                if (placedByPlayer1)
                {
                    m_player1.m_tBombTimes[line, column] = 0;
                    m_player1.m_nBombCount++;
                }
                else
                {
                    m_player2.m_tBombTimes[line, column] = 0;
                    m_player2.m_nBombCount++;
                }

                //not the first bomb
                if (placedByPlayer1 && depth != m_player1.m_nExplodeDepth)
                {
                    Explode(line, column, m_player1.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player1, "up");
                    Explode(line, column, m_player1.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player1, "down");
                    Explode(line, column, m_player1.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player1, "left");
                    Explode(line, column, m_player1.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player1, "right");
                }
                else if (!placedByPlayer1 && depth != m_player2.m_nExplodeDepth)
                {
                    Explode(line, column, m_player2.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player2, "up");
                    Explode(line, column, m_player2.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player2, "down");
                    Explode(line, column, m_player2.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player2, "left");
                    Explode(line, column, m_player2.m_nExplodeDepth, m_player2, "right");
                }
            }
            else //empty, bonus, or fire
            {
                m_tSquares[line, column].Image = m_imgFire;
            }

            int nextLine = line;
            int nextColumn = column;

            if (direction.CompareTo("up") == 0)
            {
                if (line < 1) return;
                nextLine = line - 1;
            }

            if (direction.CompareTo("down") == 0)
            {
                if (line > m_nSize - 1) return;
                nextLine = line + 1;
            }

            if (direction.CompareTo("left") == 0)
            {
                if (column < 1) return;
                nextColumn = column - 1;
            }

            if (direction.CompareTo("right") == 0)
            {
                if (column > m_nSize - 1) return;
                nextColumn = column + 1;
            }

            Explode(nextLine, nextColumn, depth - 1, player, direction);
        }

        public bool IsBomb(int line, int column)
        {
            return (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgBomb);
        }

        public bool IsBonusBomb(int line, int column)
        {
            return (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgBonusBomb);
        }

        public bool IsBonusPower(int line, int column)
        {
            return (m_tSquares[line, column].Image == m_imgBonusPower);
        }
    }

And now for an example. On a Form add a Panel and name it panelGame. Instance the class:

Board b = new Board(panelGame, 10);

and start the game:

b.Restart();

The result:

this is how it should look like

Assalamu’alaikum Wr.Wb.

Artikel ini untuk menjawab pertanyaan dari penanya, yang ingin tau bagaimana cara input gambar di VB.NET. Memang ada perbedaan yang cukup besar antara VB6 dan VB.NET dalam cara untuk menginput gambar. Dimana pada VB6, anda hanya perlu perintah LoadPicture untuk menginput gambar, sedangkan pada VB.NET, ada satu perbedaan yang sangat besar. Anda harus menggunakan Library System.Drawing untuk bisa menampilkan gambar.

Contoh Tutorial PictureBox VBNET

Berikut adalah langkah untuk membuat program berikut seperti di atas:

1. Buat Project baru, dan tambahkan komponen berikut ini

- OpenFileDialog1
- PictureBox1
- CheckBox1
- Button1
- Label1

untuk PictureBox1, ubahlah atribut BorderStyle menjadi Fixed3D, begitu juga dengan Label1, ubah atribut BorderStyle menjadi Fixed3D dan ubah juga atribut AutoSize menjadi false.

Sesuaikan dengan tampilan desain berikut ini:

Tampilan Desain

2. Selanjutnya, anda masuk ke dalam jendela kode program. Anda harus mengimpor System.Drawing.Bitmap supaya bisa menggunakan function FromFile. Tambahkan pada bagian paling atas program anda:

Imports System.Drawing.Bitmap

3. Selanjutnya, tambahkan kode pada event Form1_Load, berikut kodenya:

 ' pengaturan OpenFileDialog1
 OpenFileDialog1.Title = "Masukkan foto anda"
 OpenFileDialog1.Filter = "JPEG File|*.jpg;*.jpeg"
 ' pengaturan PictureBox supaya tampilannya strecthimage
 PictureBox1.SizeMode = PictureBoxSizeMode.StretchImage

4. Lalu tambahkan event Button1_Click pada Button1, kodenya:

If OpenFileDialog1.ShowDialog Then
 PictureBox1.Image = FromFile(OpenFileDialog1.FileName)
 Call CheckBox1_CheckedChanged(sender, e)
 Label1.Text = "Nama file: " & OpenFileDialog1.FileName
End If

5. Tambahkan pula pada CheckBox1_CheckedChanged:

 If CheckBox1.CheckState = CheckState.Checked Then
   PictureBox1.SizeMode = PictureBoxSizeMode.StretchImage
 Else
   PictureBox1.SizeMode = PictureBoxSizeMode.Normal
 End If

6. OK, simpan proyek anda dan tekan tombol F5 untuk mencoba program anda. Untuk jelasnya perhatikan kode program selengkapnya berikut ini:

Imports System.Drawing.Bitmap

Public Class Form1

 Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
 If OpenFileDialog1.ShowDialog Then
 PictureBox1.Image = FromFile(OpenFileDialog1.FileName)
 Call CheckBox1_CheckedChanged(sender, e)
 Label1.Text = "Nama file: " & OpenFileDialog1.FileName
 End If
 End Sub

 Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
 ' pengaturan OpenFileDialog1
 OpenFileDialog1.Title = "Masukkan foto anda"
 OpenFileDialog1.Filter = "JPEG File|*.jpg;*.jpeg"
 ' pengaturan PictureBox supaya tampilannya strecthimage
 PictureBox1.SizeMode = PictureBoxSizeMode.StretchImage
 End Sub

 Private Sub CheckBox1_CheckedChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles CheckBox1.CheckedChanged
 If CheckBox1.CheckState = CheckState.Checked Then
 PictureBox1.SizeMode = PictureBoxSizeMode.StretchImage
 Else
 PictureBox1.SizeMode = PictureBoxSizeMode.Normal
 End If
 End Sub
End Class

Moga Bermanfaat, Wassalam.

The weekend of my husband’s birthday was great fun – it started out with a perfectly international party, (the birthday party of the United Nations), and then a trip to the gorgeous city of Luzern, with its spectacular riverfront, churches, Altstadt, and overall laid back, relaxed atmosphere. And the fact that it was warm, and the sun was finally shining only added to the charm of this small yet urban town. Outdoor cafe life has been perfected to a science, and the riverfront was packed with tables, chairs, and people absorbing the sun, while sipping their authentic cappuccinos, or, as in most cases, espressos (nope, no frappe latte frappuccino, papuccino, cacaccino here). And most impressive of all…they all spent entire hours like this, in conversation, enjoying life, no pressure, no stress. Wunderbar!

My specific interest in Luzern on this particular beautiful day was to visit the Fumetto International Comix Festival, a 5-day event taking place throughout the Altstadt of Luzern, and including such varied and even alternative exhibition spaces, like museums, hotels, government buildings, schools, university halls, conference spaces, and of course, galleries. It so reminded me of the good days of street festivals in Chicago, and Around the Coyote specifically, when walking around from space to space offered the opportunity of discovery.

So here too, I picked up a map at the central meeting space where I also met Mark Newgarden, the artist of The Little Nun, one of the sharpest, most provocative, poignant, and bittersweet comic strips I have seen in a long time, and started my trip through the spaces featuring exhibitions and projects. It was a tour of discovery not only of new artists with loads of interesting comments, perspectives, and of course aethetics, but also of the architecture of a very old and culturally rich city.

Central Treffpunkt with Mark Newgarden in the background

A close-up of a The Little Nun strip at the Picasso Museum

An installation shot of the exhibition at the Picasso Museum, on the first floor. One can see the gorgeous frescoes on the wall in the background.

In the Picasso Museum, every floor featured Comics artists, including Mark Newgarden on the ground floor, Rutu Modan and many other Israelis on the second, Ever Meulen and Blutch on the third. I was very familiar with Rutu Modan’s work, having read and been entirely enthralled by her book, Exit Wounds, about a girl setting on a journey to find her boyfriend in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on a bus in Hadera, with his estranged son.

Rutu’s work captures daily life in a visual and literary fashion, entirely synthesizing her drawings with her narrating ability. Her drawings are subtle, and she plays with both empty and full space with striking results. An accompanying documentary of the Hadera attack and the missing man, a case that was publicized on Israeli TV and is the basis for Rutu’s book, was extremely interesting and presented Israeli reality as an investigation, ultimately leading to a tragic conclusion.

Throughout the festival the exhibitions were extremely well integrated into the architecture of these old buildings. The contrast was spectacular, and one really felt the continuation of history while pondering these contemporary pieces.

On the third floor was the work of the very famous Belgian illustrator, Ever Meulen, whose work might be familiar to many from the covers of The New Yorker, but he has had a long and exciting career.

Also of interest was the work of Blutch, whose disturbingly poetic narrative paintings attracted my attention and kept me analyzing the work for some time.

After the Picasso Museum, I went to Festsaal Maskenliebhaber, where I discovered the work of an artist I had never known before, but with whose work I immediately fell in love: Shary Boyle. The young Canadian’s fantastic settings, fairy-tale like characters, and precise technique reminiscent of Old Masters’ renderings evoke a past, romanticized art-form, but on closer inspection her subjects are more like nightmares than fairy-tales, and the characters reveal themselves as peripheral and marginalized, unaccepted and rejected by society. They are the wounded, the crippled, and the terrorized, those to whom we mostly turn a blind eye. I was most impressed with her sculptures as the contrast between the delicate porcelain rendering, with its intricate details, like lace, and hair, and the horror of the subject – girls with cut hands, bleeding profusely on white lace dresses, or deformed faces of adolescent girls with beautiful figures, and lovely 18th century attire. All morbid and masterful.

From Shary’s space, off to the next stop: the School of Art And Design – aka HSLU – Kunst & Design. This space was so fun! Lots of different stuff to see, from comics zines and self-published artists’ books, to huge installations of fantastical environments, to sculptures combined with text. Everything had the feeling of the exaggerated realms in hero stories: big, colorful, bold, and fun.

In one of the rooms of the School of Art and Design were several artists from the American publisher, PictureBox, featuring Frank Santoro, Lauren Weinstein, C.F., and Ogden Whitney. I was most impressed by Lauren Weinstein’s Godess of War. Wow, that story was quite something, and the drawings were powerful, reminiscent in certain instances of church frescoes from the Renaissance. I also enjoyed Frank Santoro’s installation – it was great looking at all the details and trying to figure out the connection between the symbols and drawings.

Lauren Weinstein’s Goddess of War

Frank Santoro

My last stop was at the Hotel Löwengraben, where I caught a wonderful group show featuring the work of Luca Schenardi, a local from Luzern, Alex Baladi from Geneva, and Daisuke Ichiba from Japan. Luca’s work was intriguing in its commentary on the world of consumption, and the complete absurdity and lack of recognition that we live in. And his arrangement of work, on a dark green background, was eye-grabbing.

So many new artists, and so much great art – not traditional painting or sculpture, but new and innovative forms and combinations that open up great possibilities and ensure the continued excitement, and contrary to mainstream consensus, the accessibility of contemporary work.

For another article on Comics, please read:
From the Newspaper to the Gallery: How Comics Entered the World of Fine Art

: i’ll be your pet

: word of command

: tetris

: yucky tuna

: battling pink robots

: pootee

: aisabi

: dead girls

]]> http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/picturebox-tuesday-dec-23/ Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:32:32 +0000 strangeink http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/picturebox-tuesday-dec-23/

: 1987

: yimmys yayo

: Ak-tumblr

: word of command

: undead film critic

: pootee

: X.T.C – tumblr

: chagrin

: scans daily

]]> http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/picturebox-saturday-dec-20/ Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:55:00 +0000 strangeink http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/picturebox-saturday-dec-20/

: nightmare brunette

: muchomurta

: pinche gente podrida

: muchomurka

: bebe le strange

]]> http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2008/12/17/2046/ Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:09:50 +0000 bheater http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2008/12/17/2046/

Powr Mastrs Vol 2
By CF
Picturebox

“The answers I’m searching for, I find behind the Brown Door,” Buell Kazee says and descends into the cellar of the Plex Knowe Crypt. He inserts the key and opens the door. “Buell,” exclaims a blister-headed monster behind the brown door. One skeletal arm and one green tentacle emerge from the monster’s shrimp-shaped carapace.

“Viskoser Tod. Are you hungry?” Buell asks.

“Yesss . . . Hungry . . ,” hisses Viskoser Tod.

Buell explodes with laughter, “Ha, ha, ha!”

Holding the green tentacle in one hand, Buel laughs.

Answers?

Buell must have been asking a rather simple question, or maybe Viskoser Tod could destroy Mosfet? I wrestle with questions. The shiny blue first volume I hold in my hands. The great questions lead to greater awareness, and I have possession of Powr Mastrs Volume 2.

Reading through the book, I soon notice I have already reached page 100. There’s a bit more to come, but what happened? The events make sense in the same way a dream makes sense. It’s an internal logic. It’s strange, things happen in Vol. 2 but not in the conventional sense of one unfolding narrative idea. I like the open space, the clear line, the avoidance of rendering. There’s no crosshatching or filling in space with black. This creates a fluidity and fast pace to the art. It’s easy to look at and very readable.

Looking at the cover, there’s no visual cue that this is a “comic book”, no homage to any convention of traditional book design. Though the back cover has a picture: a kind of circus performer in frilled short shorts, elven boots, and a gloved hand holding a bifurcated whip. His expression made strange by facepaint on one side of his mouth. By page 100, I knew this character to be Ajax Lacewing, a homicidal maniac. He ejaculates as he pokes out the eyes of a giant. “Giants . . . rip off the head, the limbs pop off—works every time,” Ajax declares.

Powr Mastrs. The title itself is something to decipher. But let’s try: Power Masters. “Our plan to create a super warrior is on its way to completion once more,” says Cool George Herc. “Soon we will have Mosfet on his knees.” Now, I recognize the power struggle. It is a comic book. Enter the need for a character with something he desperately must obtain, the necessity of conflict. Sure, it’s a comic book trope, a narrative device, a man in a room must have something he wants, even if it’s just a glass of water. Most stories have a character or group of characters that have some identifiable purpose they struggle to achieve.

A difficulty with Powr Mastrs is evidenced in the number of characters, all quite unique. Subra Ptareo, Naphtha, Laz, Bui, Hondo, Ahphsia the Witch, Ajax Lacewing, Windlass Wendy Wheeta the Witch, Cool George Herc, Darman Orry, Lady Minirex, Pico Farad, Constable Liederkreis, Mechlin Men, Steven, Buell Kazee, Mosfet Warlock, Tetradyne Cola, Jim Bored, Hannah the Witch, Viskoser Tod, and the Sub-Men.

That’s an ambitious roster of characters. Impressive and inventive. This book is calling out its epic from the first pages. A new and strange world. It is populated by many unknown beings. The challenge presented to the average reader of Powr Mastrs is quite simply to discern where the narrative is going. The map of Known New China at the front of the book is evidence that we’re not on Earth; it doesn’t readily resemble a landmass. What we seem to be inhabiting: it’s two circles, Ice and White Block, connected by a land bridge in the shape of a perfect arc called Oxbow Bridge. This illustrates the story’s general ambiance of abstraction. The map does list the disparate location of events in the story and connects them in space.

The characters’ relationship one another coheres in the episode beginning on page 73, “Pico’s Cabinet.” Pico Farad offers the reader some explanation of what were dealing with in Plex Knowe Crypt, “A more or less comfortable prison, Plex Knowe Crypt’s resentful inhabitants represent some of Mosfet’s ill-fated schemes.” Buell Kazee is a super-warrior and guardian of Mosfet. Cool George Herc, a prisoner of the Crypt, enlisted Buell to overthrow Mosfet. And Mosfet? “He was, or is, so very strange, and so very unpredictable, and so old . . .” Naphtha informs us. And Naphtha? He is an elf, one of Mosfet’s only friends, and also close with Pico Farad. What are the nature of these relationships? Why does the assassin Ajax Lacewing give things to Pico Farad? Who are the ladies of Lace Temblor and why do they declare: “Hail, hail, the collapsing field . . . and hail to the true, intense guardians of the secret!?” Who are the guardians of the secret? It must be CF, the artist. CF must hold the secret. His subconscious is rife with mystery that unspools in his illustrious line.

CF’s short episodes are cruel and beautiful depictions that stand alone with strange resonance; the artist creates a shorthand link to the subconscious. This works well in the short form. Each episode is a problem-finding exercise, each goes deeper into the subconscious and requires the artist to solve the narrative impulse, to create meaning. Pico’s Cabinet is a where the pieces of the puzzle are stored. “What are they for?” Pico implores. “I just don’t know . . . but I store their charge. I have the will to try to understand them . . . But I guess it’s more like the will to know what I ams (sic), or what I’m here for . . .” Readers attracted to Powr Mastrs are likely comfortable with uncertainty, ambiguity, newness. It’s on the level of figuring out a puzzle.

Enter the necessity for Major Grubert. Moebius often drew pages straight into pen without any preliminary drawing or scripting. A pencil drawing is intimate; it is a first response to the creative impulse. It hasn’t been refined or worked into a technique designed for reproduction. It is unmediated. We see the mind at work. The artist finds the story by allowing a dialogue with the subconscious through an unfettered play of the imagination. The hermetic is self-contained; the Airtight Garage has it’s own reasoning accessed in the glimmerings of the subconscious.

“It’s nice at home,” Pico says, “because you can set things up the way that you want them. Outside . . . when you get stuck, it can be much harder to find an escape hatch.” Ultimately, the comic book itself is the escape. The imagination, the hermetic garage, the artist’s studio. That is the escape from the world. It’s where the power struggle has ended and everything is where you want it. The artwork is a gift to us from that place of power.

When I picked up Kramers Ergot #4 the thing was fairly dripping with hallucinogenic verve. I don’t care if the artists never touched a single psychotropic substance in their collective lives; the drugs aren’t what I was seeing, I was looking at the uninhibited imagination. I could take it all, but what most drew my attention were the pages of CF—Chris Forgues, originally from the Boston area. His credits include work with the Fort Thunder collective and Paper Rodeo. In the noise music scene, he records and releases music as Kites. It’s exciting to see the artist’s attention turned to the creation of Powr Mastrs. With the appearance of Volume 2 we receive the promise of more. The artwork develops; the color fairly drips; and the book does end in the tradition of an old serial: to be continued.

–Arthur Smid

: loveless ramblings

: bebe le strange

: the bunny army

: a chymical wedding

: badlands

: suicide blonde

: ffffound!

: littleghost

: If Charlie Parker…

: Indie Porn

: Tetris

: Tetris

: Young, gifted, and black

: Word of Command

: counterforce

: Carnal Knowledge

: Constant Siege

: Daily Pickings

]]> http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/picturebox-wednesday-dec-10/ Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:40:34 +0000 strangeink http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/picturebox-wednesday-dec-10/

: Monster Brains

: heatnap

: filmopia

: Au carrefour étrange

: That Obscure Object

: Synthetic Pubes

: one by one

: tetris

]]> http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/picturebox-monday-dec-8/ Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:44:35 +0000 strangeink http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/picturebox-monday-dec-8/

: flying kites

: 1987

: 1987

: World of Kane

: X.T.C – Tumblr

: waif & co

: roshroshrosh

: roshroshrosh

Marcel van der Vlugt /  Traveling with the Ghost

]]> http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/05/picturebox-friday-dec-5/ Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:53:51 +0000 strangeink http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/05/picturebox-friday-dec-5/

: Yimmys Yayo

: Carnal Knowledge

: The Delta

: very special report

: waif & co

: SFTumblr

: lomography.com

: riot rite right clit clip click

]]> http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/picturebox-thursday-dec-4/ Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:16:14 +0000 strangeink http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/picturebox-thursday-dec-4/

: Tales of Future Past

: Tales of Future Past

: Life

: Uranium Cafe

]]> http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/picturebox-wednesday-december-3rd/ Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:04:44 +0000 strangeink http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/picturebox-wednesday-december-3rd/

: bebe le strange

: daydreams on vinyl

: Pulp of the Day

: Otomano

: Scrap book

: noir desir

: one by one

: ponyXpress

: RETrOZONe

]]> http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/01/picturebox-monday-december-1st/ Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:21:23 +0000 strangeink http://strangeink.wordpress.com/2008/12/01/picturebox-monday-december-1st/

:Tetris

:Things That Excite Me

:Alexander Denomay v Traveling With The Ghost

:la coliflor

:1987

:40 Fakes

:Battling Pink Robots

arker Sights and Sounds

aydreams On Vinyl

:aisabi

]]> http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2008/11/30/kgb-bar-comix-reading-113008/ Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:19:46 +0000 bheater http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2008/11/30/kgb-bar-comix-reading-113008/

It was standing room only on Sunday night—or kneeling, rather, as audience members contorted bodies around the projector’s beam cutting through the center of the room. The consensus, it seems, amongst nearly everyone packed into KGB Bar on Manhattan’s East 4th st. was that the bi-annual comics event had finally outgrown its old home amongst the strangely homey décor of Soviet-era Russian memorabilia lining the walls.

Over the years the event has become one of the best-loved in the New York indie comics scene, hosted by Tom Hart twice-yearly—on Easter Sunday and the Sunday following Thanksgiving, the latter of which happily boasts the tagline, ‘Come digest that tryptophan with comix!’

Despite said poultry-induced sluggishness, widespread jetlag, the stormy weather, and the innate desire to spend the bulk  of the weekend on the business end of a treadmill, the turnout seems to perpetual increase, year after year, thanks in no small part to the consistently stellar lineup of comics artists reading their work alongside panels projected large on a bedsheet pulled taut along the front wall of the bar.

This year Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel shared the headlining spot, the former reading from the duo’s recent Vertigo release, The Alcoholic. Also on board were fellow Act-I-Vater, Fishtown’s Kevin Colden; How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less author, Sarah Glidden; and Matthew Thurber, whose 1-800-Mice #1 debuted on Brooklyn’s Picturebox, last winter.

Colden stared the evening off with the first few pages of his recent IDW release, Fishtown. The book, which follows the based-on-real-events murder of a teenager in the Fishtown district of Philadelphia, highlighted the decided change in tone of this year’s selections, which were a touch more solemn than those of past events. All of the artists present, Colden included, however, made a point to bring a bit of levity to the otherwise serious nature of their works. Colden added sound effects to his piece, highlighting the already absurd nature of reading aloud from a comic book in front of a packed East Village bar.

Thurber was on second, with an innovative presentation that proved the surprise hit of the night. Armed with the one solidly comedic work on display, Thurber concocted a scrolling real of butcher paper to accompany the reading of 1-800-Mice. The artist directed the room’s attention to the rear window of the bar over which he had hung a large roll of paper. Panel by panel he unspooled it as he read from the work, crumpling the finished work in a large pile at the bottom, much to the audible chagrin of those empathetic audience members who could only imagine how much time the artist must have invested in the spool.

After a quick intermission Sarah Glidden read cheerfully from the opening of How to Understand Israel’s first issue. The portion focused on Glidden’s own idealistic optimism on the lead up to her Birthright Israel trip, following her journey to the airport where the narrator and her fellow travelers met with a fair amount of hassle at the hands of the security guards. At an appropriately climatic moment involving a piece of unaccompanied luggage, the slideshow app unexpectedly quit, revealing a large cartoon “Boom!” that Hart had chosen as his computer’s desktop for reasons unbeknownst to the rest of us.

Haspiel opted to stay at the bar as Ames took charge reading selections from The Alcoholic, the thinly-veiled semi-autobiographical book following the adventures of one “Jonathan A.” Having loosened up with the aid of a few vodkas, Ames launched into a few of the more comedic moments from the book, including a chance encounter with Monica Lewinsky, which, the author happily pointed out, was sufficiently meta, having taking place during a reading in the same bar in which we were all sitting.

Even Hart himself admitted begrudgingly that said bar was, perhaps, just not large enough to hold the event, should it continue to grow at the current rate. And while it would be a shame to have to leave the warm literati-friendly watering hole, the increasing popularity of the event is certainly an encouraging sign of things to come.

–Brian Heater

it’s not for you

Dead Girls

Sesso Bella

bebe le strange

do nothing

GHOST/PLAY

Only The Cinema

Ak-tumblr

Monkey Wrench