Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Grinder - January 9th

2010 will kick off with a bang. On Saturday, January 9th, I will have a table at Grinder, the creative art expo in Lafayette. I will be selling comics and more comics. I have brand new editions of "Guns McMenamin: Just Another Thursday" printed (and bound correctly!!) that will be for sale as well as plenty of copies of "Like That."

If you have never been to Grinder in Lafayette, then what the heck is wrong with you? There's vendors selling everything from original art to comics to jewelry and did I mention COMICS? There will be live art by Kody Chamberlain (who draws a bad ass comic about Trace Adkins) and Rob Guillory (artist of Chew, one of the hottest books out right now). No excuses people! It's only 45 minutes from Baton Rouge, it is during the day (for you maw maw's that don't drive after dark), and it is a non-smoking facility. Also, it is being held in conjunction with the city's ArtWalk that happens every second saturday of the month. Art will be all up in your grill! Just check out the poster!




View all Downtown events at Eventful

Friday, October 9, 2009

Louisiana Book Festival - New Release!

Next Saturday, October 17th, the Louisiana Book Festival will be going down outside the State Capital. It's been a couple of years since I've been an exhibitor, but we are back with a new book, "Guns McMenamin: A Day in the Life" (cover pictured below). It will be your first chance to purchase the new comic. We will be sharing a table with Sentient Studios, who will be selling their collection of poetry. To find us, we'll be at an outdoor table on the walkway from Fourth Street to the Capital building (the hedges).

If you are unfamiliar with the Louisiana Book Festival, it won't be just hacks like me, there will be real exhibitors and authors too. Check out The Advocate's extensive preview: http://www.2theadvocate.com/entertainment/magazine/63323327.html.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Recent Reviews

It's been a while since I posted anything, but here's a couple of reviews I did for 2theadvocate.com. I review The Final Destination and I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell last month. Enjoy and I hope you haven't seen either of these films. Here are the links:

Final Destination: http://www.2theadvocate.com/entertainment/movies/reviews/56733517.html

The Beer One: http://www.2theadvocate.com/entertainment/movies/reviews/62929267.html

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Guns McMenamin - Coming Soon

Coming soon - "Guns McMenamin"

A 24-page comic book preview.

http://www.gunsmcmenamin.com



The rebirth of Batman and Captain America

I'm a little late in posting this, but here's my article from 2theadvocate.com on Marvel and DC doing "Reborn Events" for major characters at the same time. Some good reading to get you in the mood for Comic-Con.

Link: http://www.2theadvocate.com/entertainment/books/49718787.html

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Animation Festival Blog

I will be blogging from the Red Stick Animation Festival again this year on 2theadvocate.com. My first two posts are already online. It will be updated everyday through Saturday.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/blogs/redstickblog

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Top 10 Films of 2008 (so far)

The Academy Awards are night and the speculation is that this years’ show is the most boring and anticlimactic of all time. I’d have to say I agree. Most of the major categories for all intents and purposes have already been decided (Ledger won best supporting actor in May when he ate sleeping pills like they were trick-or-treat candy). And this year’s releases have for the most part been uninspired. Despite it all, there were a couple of movies released in 2009 that are worth a viewing. Here are my top 10 (this list is only based on movies I’ve seen so far as of posting this):

1. The Wrestler (Aronofsky): I’ve always loved Aronsofsky is if he takes too many risks. But with “The Wrestler,” Aronsofsky returns to the basic of great filmmaking with a stunning character piece on an aging wrestler. No fancy special effects. No moral message. It’s just a great story that basks in its simplicity. It also happens to feature one of the top 5 film performances of all time (Rouke).

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Fincher): Of all of the Best Picture nominees, this one is the only film that deserves to win. Fincher weaves a touching and complicated tale of mortality into an equally heart wrenching love story. It is a modern fairy tale so beautifully and painstakingly shot by Fincher, you’ll never notice its three hour running time. Even if the story is a little reminiscent of Forrest Gump (it was the same writer after all), it is a far superior film technically.

3. Paranoid Park (Van Sant): Even though “Milk” was nominated for Best Picture, it wasn’t the best film made by Gus Van Sant to be released this year. Improving on “Elephant,” Van Sant takes another trip down the road of teen angst and uncertainty.

4. The Wackness (Levine): Like “Paranoid Park,” this film is a look into the world of teen slacker-dom, but from a humorous angle. It’s the best comedy of 2009. 


5. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (Mungiu): Whether you are pro-choice or pro-life, you can’t deny the emotion and heartache behind one’s decision to terminate a pregnancy, and this film uses a no-holds-barred approach in bringing that to you.

6. In Bruges (McDonagh): Who said action films can’t be smart? McDonagh makes the film Guy Ritchie has spent his whole life trying to make. It should run away with the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. You can read my review of “In Bruges” from earlier this year: http://www.2theadvocate.com/entertainment/movies/reviews/15957387.html

7. Redbelt (Mamet): Only David Mamet could merge his Hollywood angst with mixed martial arts and create one of the best “fight” movies of the last 20 years.

8. WALL*E (Stanton): Though suffering from a weak, villian-less, and hypocritical (especially coming from Disney), Wall*E is one of the most beautifully animated movies of all time. And even if it isn’t Pixar’s best movie, it still is leaps and bounds ahead of anything else the other animation studios are releasing.

9. The Dark Knight (Nolan): Nolan finally makes the Batman movie a fan (like me) would make. A serious portrait of a conflicted vigilante strikes a chord with our terrorist filled times.


10. Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle): I’ve always loved the way Danny Boyle brings a setting to life, and making Indian slums look beautiful is no easy task.

Honorable Mention: Choke (Gregg), Milk (Van Sant)

Films that might make the list when I actually get to see them: Hunger (McQueen), Ballast (Hammer), Gomorrah (Garrone), Waltz with Bashir (Folman), Happy-Go-Lucky (Leigh), Wendy and Lucy (Reichardt), Che (Soderbergh), The Class (Cantet)

Films that are getting a lot of Oscar buzz, but I have no desire to see them: Frost/Nixon (Howard), The Reader (Daldry), Revolutionary Road (Mendes)

Friday, January 23, 2009

Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival 2009

My review of the first two days of the 2009 Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival has been posted on 2theadvocate.com. There are still two days left of the festival, so if you like the article then get on down to the Manship Saturday or Sunday.

Link: http://www.2theadvocate.com/entertainment/featured/38246699.html