The Holy g-g-g-GHOST!

Warning: I was too lazy to do much fixing up on this sucker, but I wanted to post it anyways. Eventually I'll get around to making it prettier.

So I've been up to my annual test to see whether or not I could do a Piolog comic that is better than the crap they actually put into the Piolog. I've got 6 out of my planned 10 comics all sketched out. This one doesn't really fit the pattern of stand alone because it comes from a story arc idea I had involving a plan to start a campus legend. It had a running gag of Lewis (the boy under the sheet) never knowing popular cartoons and Clara's (the girl) understandable bafflement. Since the Piolog only comes out once a week a story arc doesn't fit the theme, but who cares? I love the idea too much to care. I had another great story-arc idea involving Lewis' quest to create a dinosaur themed floor as well, what a shame. I probably won't get all those all done till I get to school. So far the verdict is I can indeed beat the Piolog competition...but you don't have to try too hard to do that much.

In other news today I went to the Minnesota State Fair for the second time this year. Here is a list of all the weird stuff I ate:
+Deep fried pickles
+Deep fried green beans
+Chocolate covered bacon
+3 sno-cones
+Beer that tastes like fruity pebbles "Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat"

In a related note I have a crush on the sno-cone girl. Sure I only saw her that one time and sure the only words we exchanged were business ones, but who cares! She gave me like twice as much blue raspberry syrup on that sno-cone and has won my affections in the process. Obviously it isn't a very hard thing to win.

My camera also came today so once I figure it out you can expect some pictures in lew of comics.

Perhaps I will expand on some things later, but as for the moment I grow weary of typing and will take my leave.

What In Who's Backyard?

I keep partially drawing comics and then stopping. Some little thing always gets in my way. Most recently was a writing problem where I just can't seem to think of the right dialogue to get it to work the way I want it to. What a hassle. However, I need to get my ass drawing more so while I'm playing around with a couple things I'll just draw whatever. Any suggestions? The more creative the suggestion the more likely I am to do it and post it.

Near the top of my To-Do-List is to find where the hell those remaining prize letters went...hopefully they remain in the material plane. I'm really not sure what the hell happened to them. Shameful I know.

I have just now realized the music I had pressed play to isn't playing...karma at work? I wouldn't doubt it.

Dreams Are Mean

Recently my dreams have been very cruel to me. Yesterday I dreamt that my sister way casting a fishing rod in the house and inadvertently snagged my arm with it and then proceeded to reel it in quite a bit. Trying to get it out resulted in the gross mutilation of my hand.

Then today I had a relatively bizarre dream. However, it did include a very cute women who I apparently knew for quite some time and we had a first kiss worthy of being adapted into a Hollywood feature film. And then I woke up. What kind of freaky imagination provides you with a back story to make you have a crush on a dream person, then shows you the dream person likes you as well, and then wakes you up to realize none of it was real?

Seriously, Dreams what the hell is wrong with you? Making me witness the painful mutilation of a body part due to my sister's incompetence with a fishing pole, only to wake me up freaked out and slightly afraid to go back to bed is one thing. But trying to break my heart? That is just plain mean.

Either my subconscious is a well meaning child who is incompetently trying to spice things up, or just a malicious asshole. Only time will tell.I have two comics sketched out, but I won't be able to finish them up until I finish this CPR certification class. So until then enjoy this doodle telling you the differences between porpoises and dolphins.

Circus Pizza+Usher=Hilarious

Wow...I usually don't post links to videos, but this is just too bloody brilliant to resist. Sure, the Circus Pizza robot singers doing Usher is funny, but to see the hillbilly bear singing, "I wanna make love in this club" is just too much for my humor circuits to take.

Rock-afire Explosion Covering Usher

"Might as well give me a kiss, if we keep touchin' like this
I know you scared baby, They don't know what we doin'
Lets both get undressed right here, keep it up girl I swear, imma give it to you non stop
And I don't care, who's watchin'... watchin'... watchin'
(watchin' watchin'... ohhhh... in this club, on the floor, baby's just makin' love)"
-Make Love In This Club by. Usher

Cursed

I think my letter endeavor is cursed. First I lost my inking pens, then after finding them I soon lost the envelope itself followed by the actual letter. If this trend continues I fully expect to drop dead of a mysterious illness. Then you will be responsible for gathering together a motley crew and investigating.

I got a bit bored today so figured I'd bother Carolyn with silly pictures. Because of her knowledge of Greek stuff I figured I'd go with a Greek monster. Soon after I realized that I have no clue how to actually draw a Sphinx. I have just drawn one and, obviously, I still have no clue. Maybe next time I get bored I can try to show the world how I have no clue how to draw a Gorgon.

Randomly:
Sure Death Race looks pretty crazy. But can it really hope to out-crazy the classic Death Race 2000?

Status Report

So usually I have some update by this time in the week, and here we are with nothing. I was working on one on Sunday to do a Monday update and I pretty much sketched out the idea when I got distracted. I started doodling little personifications of different countries which consumed my imagination and makes me giggle thinking about it. And then I was helping my dad move a bunch of stuff into his new place so that didn't help comic matters. Perhaps I'll get around to it tomorrow, but at the moment I am super sleepy and I think bedtime is in my immediate future.

A Rant About Hellboy II

I'm kind of bored at the moment, so I figured why not do a post on this here blog. It'll give me something to do. I was just reading the blog of a webcomic I like and he was talking about the things he was looking to in the new Hellboy movie. One of them was about how the new one is more of Guillermo del Toro's (the directors) vision than Mike Mignola's (the creator). That just strikes me as a bizarre thought. "Wow I sure do love Hellboy, but I sure am glad this new movie will be less in the style of Hellboy." Say what?

As my aunt Rosemary can attest I have a few problems with Hellboy II. Don't get me wrong, it is a great movie. The vast majority of the population will not have the same problems with it I did. My annoyances all stem from the fact that I liked Hellboy long before it was ever a movie. So the Hellboy I know and love comes from Mike Mignola's comic. The first Hellboy movie is my second favorite movie (Amelie is number 1) and that's because it sticks to Mignola's version. del Toro has a wonderful imagination and seeing the things he creates is a lot of fun, but Hellboy II sacrifices both the essence of Hellboy and plot to show those imaginative scenes. It might be an interesting take, but it isn't going to make it on my list of favorite movies.

People seem to enjoy that this new movie shows more of the monster world. However, Hellboy is all about a monster in the human world. Plots develop around the idea of the dark creatures that leak into the world of humans. If you want to see a movie about people in a world of monsters there are a ton of movies you can check out: Labyrinth, Neverending Story, Chronicles of Narnia, etc. Personally I've just always preferred movies that reinforce the idea that monsters lurk around in reality: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Signs, pretty much any monster movie ever made, etc. After all that's what makes monsters fun.

In summation Hellboy II is a fun movie. The creature effects/costumes are some of the best I've ever seen. There is a lot of fun humor in it as well. Just don't expect it to be like the first movie. Also don't expect the plot to be great...because it is kind of wimpy. If you've already seen Hellboy II and don't know what I'm talking about when I say the plot of weak, go see The Dark Knight. Then notice how all the action in that movie came from the plot and furthered the plot. Then notice how the same can't be said for Hellboy II.

Mike Mignola Interview
Ebert & Roeper Review