Happy FCBD!

Happy Free Comic Book Day!

Today is Free Comic Book Day. The first Saturday in May over the past few years has been filled with fun when I take Isabella and Melissa down to my local comic shop, Phantom Zone, and the FCBD comics are out on the tables and they have great sales and it’s just a fun vibe.

This is an international celebration of comics and not enough people I know get into it. For a simple trip down to Parramatta so many people I know could check out the stories of the characters they love to watch in movies in their original context.

This year though, is something special.

From late March 2011 through to June I co-promoted and ran an online petition requesting comic publishers IDW Publishing to bring back the original Transformers comics series by writer Simon Furman.

It wasn’t until San Diego Comic Con that they said anything publicly – and they announced that they were going to do a 20 issue run with Furman AND artist Andrew Wildman.

Many of my blog readers know all about this. We got lots of fan artists and pro’s doing promotional pieces of art that helped to promote the petition. We had a Facebook page and twitter account and put flyers in our comic shops. We even had some news sites report about the petition.

And now it’s FCBD 2012 and the first issue, a prologue issue 80.5 is here!

I sincerely hope that all the fans that supported the petition get out there and grab a copy and try to take as many friends in to get one as well!

The series starts in June at #81 and I can’t wait to see where the creative team will take the series!

Happy FCBD everyone!

Sunday Supanova Spectacular!

Supanova Sunday Spectacular

I love alliteration. And now I can definitely say I love Melbourne.

We only spent 4 days here but the culture, charm and coffee won me over.

I would have posted my Sunday blog on sunday night but had no 3G or wifi access in our hotel. It was a great room though. The Pensione Hotel about 100 metres from Southern Cross Station (fast becoming the biggest station x shopping area in the city) and our room had a bed for Bella and a double for us. It was partitioned with a wall creating two small areas that were surprisingly spacious – the elegantly tall ceilings did their job perfectly.

Anyhow, we dropped our big luggage at the hotel after having our slowest, relaxing morning at Renee and Bernie’s. (Wow, I just realised I should’ve titled this “Weekend at Bernie’s”. Sorry mate.)
They were extremely generous and hospitable opening up their bungalow for us and it was special for Isabella to meet and spend time with their girls Ava and Sienna. We thought we had everything packed but tragically left Bella’s prize teddy bear ‘Kevin’ behind – we had to buy a new cuddle toy at Supanova (a ‘Roo’ from Winnie the Pooh).

We dropped our luggage and went off to see a bit more of Melbourne city. Caught a couple of trams, got some coffee and a pistachio macaron – awesome – and then had lunch on the Yarra River.

Now it was time to head off to Supanova for some final panels about comics and tv.

Saturday was a very full day so I wanted to ease of the pressure on Sunday and we planned to only go for about 3 hours. We started by finding Roo and a couple of little bits n pieces and I then met Christopher Sequeira, a Sydney based comic writer and we chatted about the local industry, as small as it is, and he was very forthcoming with tips and ideas on where to start with my script writing.

Chris was very generous with his time and I grabbed a copy of horror-Sherlock Holmes series ‘The Dark Detective’ which I’m eager to read, but it had to be packed away with my other signed comics. (I’ve now read it and it’s an interesting take amongst the other Sherlock media)

A common theme amongst lots of people I talked to was how the communities in Melbourne compared to Sydney. After this weekend Mel and I could easily live in Melbourne, for totally different reasons. There are SO many comic shops all over the place and the people that read and also create them are supportive and it seems like a more valid part of society down here. Sydney, on the other hand, well, there are some shops but they are few and far between and the creative community seems much harder to get together regularly. Something that Chris, and Paul Abstruse on Saturday as well as myself, would love to see changed.

After chatting to Chris I wanted to head to the FilmInk Features room to hear from young actor Chandler Riggs. He is most well known for playing Carl Grimes, son of Sheriff Rick Grimes, in The Walking Dead TV series. He is a fantastic kid and all in attendance appreciated his candor and clarity when answering questions about zombie blood, tongue-zombies and lots of other awesome things. He loves his job and genuinely appreciates being in the privileged (fun) position he is travelling to Australia while his friends in Georgia, Atlanta worry about homework and tests. It was cool to hear he loves Sci Fi and hoped to be cast as Ender in Ender’s Game and looks forward to having some more intense moments in the TV show next season.

We then dashed to the other end of the con to the Seminar space and Brandon Sanderson was just finishing up. I know my brother would’ve loved to have heard from him and even get stuff signed, but I was there for more Bendis. Lis and Bella chilled at the back with the fresh air and I found a spot dead centre near the front to hear from the amazing creator for the third time.

He had been tweeting that morning that he was holding onto some special art that hasn’t been seen publicly anywhere and he wasnt wrong. Over the weekend he totally sold me on Spider-Men. A mini-series coming out from June which sees Peter Parker (the Amazing Spider-Man) from the regular Marvel universe crossing over into the Ultimate Marvel universe and meeting current Ultimate Spider-Man, the young Miles Morales. We were shown multiple variant covers and some interior pieces and Sara Pichelli’s artwork has never looked so gorgeous. Purely amazing. Now that IDW’s infestation 2 is over I can see a space in my budget for this series!

Bendis fielded lots more questions today and they ranged in topics from his creator owned works to Avengers and Spiderman comics. He continued the line that whatever he’s doing post his Avengers run is big. And still used his non-answer about X-men.

Well, that was it for Supanova. I’ve got lots of thoughts and inspiration to go over about creating comics which I’ll put together this week and post Friday night. And I am totally going to be at Supanova again when it comes to Sydney in June!

Supanova Saturday

What an awesome and frenetic day. It has been awe-inspiring to have chats with local and international comic creators, especially Tristan Jones and Brian Michael Bendis. I also chatted with Sydney artist Paul Abstruse which was cool.

We started the day watching people stand in line for the main exhibition hall, which we avoided because I wanted to hear from Tristan talk about Ghostbusters and TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the uninformed) comics from my fave publishers IDW Publishing. It was a quiet start in this room, there were heaps of people there but they were mostly there for the main hall. There was a keen group of people though and we got to geek out talking about the Tobin Spirit Guide and Walter Peck (willy) amongst other things.

It has been awesome to meet the real people who make comics and not just connect with them from afar over the Internet. This is one of my goals for the next year. To gradually connect and hopefully build some relationships with people that are like-minded and can also do great art too!

From here we rushed down to the Supernova Seminar area to hear from a live Skype chat with Iron Man, Thor and Avengers actor Clark Gregg, who plays SHIELD Agent Coulson in the films. We had a chance to find a seat and chill while they got the connection in order. It was a Q & A event, and there has been a lot of stuff popping up online about the film, tv spots and some interviews, but we were able to ask questions and only once did someone ask about the army that Loki has and he looked aside and couldn’t really give an answer (“they’re actually Oompa Loompa’s” was his eventual response).
He discussed the comparison of Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans’ biceps, with Aussie-boy Hemsworth winning that battle (played for the crowd but man, he is HUGE in Thor). I also asked a question regarding his own thoughts or visions for the character in any future movies. Honestly, the character can go anywhere and do anything cause in many ways he’s a blank slate. Gregg played the question nicely and mentioned the possibilities are endless, and that is very exciting.
The crowd was impressed and responsive, as Clark is a very charming, honest and humble man. He’s worked in showbiz for a long time (I recall an early cameo in The Usual Suspects as the doctor looking after the Hungarian burnt guy) but his candor and brevity are fresh and plain and simple, enjoyable. Melissa enjoyed it just as much as I did which was great, compared to the more comicy times amongst the rest of the day.

We pottered around a bit to check out the shops and artist alley was packed. Grabbed some bread rolls and cold meat and stuff to make our own lunch from the Coles next door and chilled outside. I bought the first volume of Ultimate Comics: Spiderman for Bendis to sign (amongst some other comics I brought) and got ready for the last major session I wanted to check out.

This was a Q & A panel with Bendis and two comic artists, Billy Tan and Carlos Pacheco. They’ve both worked in the industry for a while and are pros.
The questions were genuinely directed to Bendis and focused on his Ultimate Spidey and Avengers work, but the guys all gave insightful comments about their own challenges and experiences in the comics world. After reading transcript after transcript of these types of events I really came to love Bendis’ charm and way with the crowd. And later this afternoon I was able to grab his signature on a bunch of books and just thank him for coming down under for the fans. He (like the other guests) is an affable and generous man, and I’m looking forward to his final session tomorrow afternoon.

That was pretty much it. I’ve got some spending money left but I’m not sure what to grab tomorrow. There’s not too much Transformers gear, but I did see the Walking Dead board game and some Game of Thrones gear so I may grab something in that vein tomorrow. We’re also heading in to stay at Melbourne for one night and will be visiting an old friend at his church in the evening.

We’ve been truly blessed by Melissa’s cousins, Renee and Bernie (and they’re who awesome daughters!) who have put us up in their bungalow and let us crash here. It’s been awesome to hang with them and the kids and also the animals they have in their back yard. Check out this pic for a view of our comfy accommodation the past couple of days.

So, a huge thanks to Renee and Bernie for having us! We’ve loved Melbourne and your hospitality has been amazing!

Tomorrow, more comics PLUS Carl Grimes from The Walking Dead (Rick’s son), Chandler Riggs!

Sonic Troopers

Lots of fun characters and costumes at Supanova today! Managed to get some fun photos with Sonic and knuckles, plus a Storm Trooper was handing out Easter Eggs!!!

Supanova Friday

Problems can cause us to make excuses for a failure.

Or – we can USE problems to make excuses for Creativity.

Tonight was the opening night of Supanova and a couple of hundred people came to enjoy a few different guest sessions, an anime viewing (I think) and a charity auction (raised over $1000, was held by Richard Horvitz, the voice of Invader Zim – he sounded insane from where we were!). the very special part of this night were the comics masterclass sessions by Scott Kurtz & Kris Straub, and then Brian Michael Bendis.

I was there for Bendis. He is a prolific comic creator and has had much success with both his own creator-owned properties (like Powers and many others) and writing Ultimate Spider-Man and many Avengers comics. He is also on the Marvel Movie Committee (the brains trust) and is working on some various TV/Animation projects.

I could go on for ages about why I love his work, but long story short it has always been his work on Ultimate Spiderman that has had me hooked. It is brilliant.

Tonight was a chance to let the guests chat about the craft of making comics and take questions from the attendees. I had my Emery “We Do What We Want” little black notebook easy to take notes and I was excited to learn some new ideas and be re-invigorated from the wisdom that guys like Bendis have because they’ve been doing it for a long time.

Before I crash to sleep one particular comment from Bendis stood out. He was talking about the comic writing classes he runs and when students come in to tell him about their problems getting a project finished and said that people can let their problems be excuses for their failures.
Zing.
Man, have I been letting that happen. I think I’ve moaned to Melissa about time, tiredness and work so much in the past few months when it’s been my own lack of drive, focus or discipline that has gotten in the way.

Instead, he said that these problems can become excuses for creativity. Bendis mentioned the anecdote from Sir Ridley Scott about his work on Blade Runner. That it was a film he made with the least money, so he had to work on the script the hardest he possibly could (I’m trying to remember this part accurately).

I’ve had opportunities to write in the past term. I haven’t talent them and lost that time. It’s a lesson learned and I’m going to try to put some things in place for me to use the opportunities I have to write a ton of stuff in the next 3 months. It’s the only way I’m going to get better!

So, tomorrow is Saturday and there are lots of things to do. I’ll post some photos probably and will try to pick up some cool bits and pieces.

G’night, Melbourne

Gushing

We’re here!

“Where?” you may ask. Melbourne, for Supanova.

Supanova is a convention. A meeting place for people that love pop culture entertainment; from movies, comics, games, AWF, anime and cosplaying.

I’m very excited because this year the main comics related guest is Marvel and Indy writer superstar Brian Michael Bendis. He’s been writing Ultimate Spider-man for over 160 consecutive issues, amongst many other Marvel series (many Avengers titles) as well as his own creator-owned titles like Jinx, Takio and Powers.

The Australian comics business is very small scale. There are a few creators dotted around the place (Shane McCarthy, Tristan Jones and Trevor Hutchison spring to mind) but the market for comics in Australia is limited. The chance to meet and learn from someone who has been working in the business for as long as Bendis has is unique. So, we’re down in Melbourne!

Being part of the Comics Experience Creators Workshop is awesome, as I can regularly connect with and share work, ideas, story ideas, etc with like minded individuals from overseas, but the chance to meet some Australian artists and writers who love making comics is very enticing.

I’m hoping to meet a few people and give them my details, try to build some connections for future comic work. I want to hopefully produce some more scripts from writing to finished product in the next couple of years.

Just the chance to chat and talk with fellow creators is exciting. I hope Melissa and Bella survive the weekend!

19 days later

In 19 days the culmination of many years of film production, script-writing and checking, effects tweaking and mighty Marvel marketing (now with Disney!) will come to fruition.

 

In 19 days ‘The Avengers’ lands on Australian shores and in film theatres and we will be witness to a blockbuster franchise film first. Iron Man I & II, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger all building together to bring these heroes together against a threat one of them couldn’t face alone.

 

The war is coming and Loki is bringing it. Everyone seems to be wondering who the alien race is that has been glimpsed in some of the trailers and TV spots recently. However, I believe that the most interesting aspect of the film will be witnessing how the heroes come together and stay together.

 

If you haven’t seen ALL of the clips, check out the links and embeds. It’s gonna rock.

 

Hulk Smash

1-minute long TV spot

Why Good Friday?

 

Every Easter I cannot get one song out of my head (and it’s not because my wife has performed it a number of times). It’s a song that not only tells an amazing story and perspective on Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, but there is this video that creates such a dynamic response emotionally with me that has made it melted into my brain.

 

I hope that wherever you are this Easter, you can hear the message that Christ died for you. He paid the ransom for all of us and his resurrection promises a secure hope for all that follow Him.

 

God bless,

Luke

Kick It Out

Ahem… a bit of absence here, but onward!!!

Shorty is about to get chomped.

There has been a ton of new comics, movies and music keeping me busy in 2012 so far. Most recently it’s been John Carter, Thrice and Mutemath (always with Alter Bridge) and on the comic front, “Skullkickers”.

In fact, I want to spend a moment plugging this fantastic comic created by @JimZub and crew. They have been making this so-far-ongoing series for a couple of years now, and have built a great fan base through their print distribution. Last month on the Comics Experience Creators Workshop we had a fantasy inspired writing theme, and some script pages for the artists to try their hand at. Recently though, they have begun placing page after page of content online for FREE on Keenspot. I hadn’t heard of this website until some of the comic media reported SK was online, but man, it’s amazing.

I’ve been following a few web comics (notably Bearmaggedon and Axe Cop by The Eef, Ethan Nicolle) and love reading them on my laptop, but more often my iPad. I read the free #0 of Skullkickers on my iPad through Comixology and was hooked, but it didn’t reach my buying habits in print, mainly cause they’re pretty limited to Transformers comics. Through Keenspot I’ve been able to start catching up on this fantasy series filled with humour, bloody axe attacks and a mysterious duo that are quite effective at catching or eviscerating monsters.

It’s quite inspiring – both from a storytelling viewpoint and a fantasy reader one.

 

And now the awesome part:

A pretty massive, open invitation to compete to create a Skullkickers story. I’ve had my story skeleton running around in my head ever since I saw this posted a couple of weeks ago. And now I’ve gotta crunch out a finished pitch. It will be great just to send it in. I won’t be expecting anything, cause I’m sure there will be a HUGE number of contestants of a good-to-high quality. But once it’s over and announced, I’ll post my pitch here on my script samples page (coming soon).

 

So go check out Skullkickers! If you like any type of fantasy or buddy-cop genres, and don’t mind a bit of comic-blood or groin kicks then you’ll love it!

 

Cheers, Luke

An Autocratic Plug

You must do what I tell you!

This January, three (yep, three) new Transformer comics are being launched by IDW Publishing and look very exciting.

In fact, More than meets the eye #1 (MTMTE) came out last week and had quite a bit of buzz surrounding it, including a fun picture treasure hunt that had lots of fans scowering the net for the twelve of them.

Robots In Disguise is launched next week on the 25th (26th here in Aus) from senior editor/writer John Barber and artist Andrew Griffith (see Glove Studios).

However, I want to point your attention to a new, very special comic coming this week!
IDW are launching their first digital only transformers comic, Autocracy.
From the minds of Flint Dille (classic transformers writer), Chris Metzthen (blizzard!) and über-artist Livio Ramondelli (Transformers: Chaos – find him on twitter @livioramondelli) comes a story featuring Optimus Prime, Megatron and amongst others.

It is set in the past, during the beginning of the war between autobot and decepticon and will be the only place to see Megatron and Optimus in comics for a while.

Also, it will only cost 99c for each issue, it’s 8 pages long and coming out bi-weekly for about half the year!!!

I’m really excited by this, and IDW put out a cool plug over the weekend (see below).

So, if you have ea computer, iPad, iPhone, or iPod I would check this out this week!!!