Superman Returns

My brother and I finally got to catch this today after missing the first two showings we tried to make. But it was well worth the wait. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail because someone has already said almost everything I felt about the movie.

Cary Kelley reviewed the movie for SilverBulletComics.com, and you can read that review by clicking the post title. Be warned, there are spoilers throughout the review and this post.

As I said, I agree pretty much with his take on it, though I didn't think the changes were quite as drastic as he made them out to be. Regardless, it was a great movie.

The only thing I didn't like about the movie was that at points it dragged on a bit. And while Superman was a slightly darker, and definitely more relateable character, which I think is a positive change, I still thought the movie in and of itself kept the essence of the originals. Sure, it was updated with modern CGI and all that jazz, but the overall visual presentation echoed those first two wonderful Superman films. When the credits start rolling in the same way they did in the first two films and set to that same famous John Williams score, you can't help but to get giddy if you are the slightest bit of a fan.

Spacey as Luthor was perfect. He seemed to channel Gene Hackman and a little of Michael Rosenbaum and combined them together to make the maniacal Luthor we all know and love.

While I questioned the other actors at first, I have to admit they all completely sold me on them. Routh as Kent was like watching Reeve, it was so dead on. He even had that same tone of voice and same inflection. It was pure magic. As Superman, not quite the same heroic majesty that Reeve personified, but still very fitting. And you know what, the costume didn't even look bad on screen.

Kate Bosworth as Lois was the one that worried me the most, but aside from appearing much younger, she nailed the character and even took her to new levels. I actually preferred her over Margot Kidder.

Jimmy and Perry were great and really added to the film experience. And Marsden was an excellent addition to the cast and played his part very well.

While there were seeds throughout the movie, the whole idea of Supes having a son was not something I expected going in. I stayed away from spoilers prior to the movie, so it took me by surprise.

Seeing Superman in a new light as a somewhat tragic hero now grounded him while still maintaining his majestic aura. I personally think the movie humanized him while still making his character something to aspire to.

Great, great movie, and I'm kind of glad Singer left X-Men to do it. Yes, X-3 suffered because of it, but we got a really great and faithful Superman film that for me lived up to expectations.

And that would be my final word (and yes, it seems like I did go into a lot of detail after all), but one preview prior to the movie really relates to this subject. And no, not the Spider-Man 3 trailer, which was even better seeing it on the big screen.

But no, I'm talking about Hollywoodland (I think that's what it was called), which is the story about the supposed suicide of George Reeves, the guy who played Superman on the old TV show. While I question Ben Affleck playing and incarnation of Superman, the movie had that whole true crime, noir sense about it that really set it apart and made it very intriguing. Should be another good movie.

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Welcome to Fatherhood!

Chuck "Crazz" Kennedy, whom I've spoke of several times, and who is filling in on my column, is officially now a father! And not just any father, but a father of triplets!!!

I would like to publicly congratulate Chuck and Meva on their lovely newborn children and wish God's blessings to rain down upon them all!

While I'm not a parent yet I did help to raise my little brother and I can tell you from experience that for the next several years you will not sleep, nor do anything alone again! lol. But I know you will both love it, at least for now.

I kid. :)

Seriously, congratulations guys!

For anyone who wants to see pictures of the babies and read about their coming into this world, click the post title to check out Chuck and Meva's baby blog.

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Creating Time

That's the subtitle of a column I read yesterday that I'll explain in further detail in just a minute.

Looks like I missed posting all together yesterday. Sorry about that. I got busy with some corrections and reviews along with life stuff and time just slipped away from me. Even with the break from Indy-Pendant I find myself busy with so much other stuff and feeling a bit overwhelmed. Thankfully Round 3 of the Small Press Idol contest is over because it was draining me.

Which brings me back to the title of this post and the column it came from.

Mike Bullock, creator/writer of Image's Lions, Tigers and Bears, and current writer of The Phantom, writes a column over at SBC entitled Creation Fascination. As a result of several threads around the internet about creators not having enough time to give to their passion, Mike wrote an edition of his column on just that subject, aptly subtitled "Creating Time".

In the column, Mike is very blunt but very honest, and his words inspired me to take a look at how I do things and prioritize, and how I can cut back and change things. But I'll let you read it for yourself rather than explain his advice. Just click the post title.

As for me, I realized after reading that column that it had been several weeks since I had even written one page of script! I had only recently revised a couple of pages, but that's about it. I have three projects currently in the works that await writing from me. One is a full script for one issue, another is a revision of a detailed plot breakdown, and the other is basically anything at this point (sorry, Adrian). And because of all this other stuff, the columns, reviews, lettering, website, life, etc. I haven't had time to write! And this is what I'm trying to break in as - a writer! But yet I find the time nearly daily to post right here, and my columns are almost always on time, and I've been cranking out reviews and interviews left and right lately, and I've been lettering almost daily, and I've been moderating forums, designing websites, and whatever else I've been doing that I'm forgetting.

Bottom line is I need to write, and I'm talking scripts, novels, etc. - story writing. A big thanks to Mike for pointing that out to me.

Let's not even get started on my lack of drawing!

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Myth Conceptions

The new column just went up.

I thought I had one written in advance but I didn't, so I wrote this up in like 5-10 minutes. So I apologize if it's not up to snuff and for its length.

Regardless, I talk about what drives creators to create.

Go check it out by clicking the post title!

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Idol in Disarray

Well, looks like we had some drama occur Saturday. As I mentioned in a previous post the idol forums went down all day yesterday due to some server problem. As a result votes were apparently lost, thus corrupting the competition. So, Round 3 was ended a day early and the last official tally is where the votes ceased even though there were many more votes than recorded.

Anyway, because of this the officials decide to not just put the top five into the judges veto process, but the top ten! So currently the top ten projects are going through the judges veto process. The only difference between last round's and this round's veto votes is if a project gets knocked out no project moves up to replace it.

I'm telling you, they are making the rules as they go.

So far one judge, Hal, has nominated Wicket & Imp to be voted out, and another judge, Chris, has voted for Joe Zombie and Cross & Nails to be voted out. The way it works, though, is two of the three judges have to agree on an entry, then Ian, the overseer for lack of a better term, has the final say. Kathy, the third judge, has yet to state her votes, so it looks like right now those three projects are in danger of being voted out, which means at least seven projects will advance to Round 4 instead of five.

Man, this contest has been crazy, and I have a LOT of mixed feelings about it. But I can't complain because it looks like both The Kansas Hit and Warbreed will advance at this point. But it ain't over yet, so anything could happen.

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Indy-Pendant #53

Let the fill-ins begin!

Chuck did an excellent job with the column this week, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for next week.

This week he reviewed The Keep #1-5 and Living In Infamy #1-3.

Check out the column by clicking the post title.

Thanks, Chuck!

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The Three I's

Idol, Indy-Pendant, and Illness.

Idol
Well, after the SPA forums were down all day they finally came back up with an announcement concerning round 3. Evidently some data was lost or compromised, so instead of the top five advancing to the next round possibly the top 8 or 9 will advance and all get #0 issues! Of course the judges get to veto any of those 8 or 9 first, but Ian states he'll hold them to high standards.

This announcement is kind of bitter-sweet though. I have no doubt The Kansas Hit will last through the veto round as it was in first place and has had a strong showing since the very first round. But this increases the number of entries The Kansas Hit will have to compete with in sales.

On the other hand, this gives Warbreed another chance, should it pass the judges' vetoes.

Indy-Pendant
I haven't heard from Chuck today, so I don't know if the column will go up on time or not. Last I heard about it was Thursday when he told me he'd send it Friday or today. Well, Friday Chuck and his very pregnant wife, who is housing triplets, had a close call and made a long trip to the hospital in Chicago weekend traffic. So it's perfectly understandable if he doesn't get it done on time. No biggie, and I'll send out an email to the regulars as soon as I know for sure.

Illness
Not really illness per se, but I've been having some severe headaches as I mentioned a couple of posts ago, and they are getting worse. I've also been having some stomach problems the past couple of days, but that's because I think of a slight change in my diet, which added a lot more fruit, which has a tendency to mess with my stomach. Anything with tomatoes in it does the same thing, and just about everything I eat has tomatoes involved.

But it's nothing serious, I just couldn't think of another "I" to go with the title, which is a play on wrestler Kurt Angle's old phrase about the three I's, Intensity, Integrity and Intelligence. Plus The Two I's just doesn't have the same affect. So there ya go.

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Goodbye, Mr. Spelling

Aaron Spelling passed away today at age 83 and will be missed. He produced such shows as Beverly Hills 90210, Dynasy, The Mod Squad, The Love Boat and many more. He's survived by his wife and two kids. He lived a full life and was wildly successful in his chosen profession. God speed, Mr. Spelling.

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The Weekend Comes

And I couldn't be happier. This week has been...weird. Nothing really out of the ordinary, it just felt strange.

I've been getting bad headaches the past few days, and I think it's probably from the computer. Of course stepping away from it isn't really an option at this point.

Lettering work is steady. I wish I was getting paid for a lot of it, but right now I guess I'm still paying my dues and all so I can get enough attention to get the paying gigs. Hopefully they will come sooner than later.

I've got so much to catch up on this weekend it's not even funny. But I need to get it all out of the way so I'm free and clear to go catch Superman Returns next week!

The Small Press Idol contest is in full force as three entries so far have received over 100 votes. Granted on a large scale that's not much, but for this competition it's pretty decent. And thankfully The Kansas Hit is the one leading the charge by a narrow margin over the currently second place Wicket and Imp.

Warbreed is still way behind averaging a vote or two a day as opposed to the many votes per day the top five are getting.

My mom is doing much better now, driving quite a bit and getting around okay. She still can't bend and it hurts her to sit down and get up, but she's come a long way from when she first came home. Thanks to everyone who has asked.

I got a chance to play some video games with my brother this week. Let me say that Prince of Persia Warrior Within and Vexx are really good games. Yes, I know they have been out for a while, but it's not often at all that I get to play anymore. I used to be an avid gamer renting all the time, but it's been a while since that was the case. Now it's mainly wrestling games and the occasional adventure or RPG game. I love stuff like Metal Gear Solid and Syphon Filter, and stuff like Zelda and Final Fantasy also.

It feels weird not preparing for my column this weekend. Really strange, but relaxing knowing I don't have to worry about meeting that deadline.

But poor Chuck, who is filling in, he had to go to the hospital tonight in Chicago weekend traffic as his wife is pregnant with triplets! No babies yet, and they are all healthy, but it's still pretty stressful to say the least. Big thanks to Chuck though, can't wait to see what you have in store.

As for reviews, I read the latest issue of New Avengers today and was pretty disappointed. Spoilers ahead.


It was very anticlimactic. If you've been following the book, the New Avengers have been trying to take down this mutant who supposedly possessed all the lost mutant powers of all the mutants who are mutants no more. Last issue the guy, named Michael, landed on Genosha. This week the cover was excellent with a cryptic image of Magneto, who up until now has been depowered. Well, this Michael gave Magneto his powers back and maybe a little more, then revealed itself to be Xorn, the guy who had impersonated Magneto during Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men. But Agent Hill of Shield comes along and takes Magneto out just like that and Sentry drives the sentient force of Xorn into the sun while the absorbing mutant Michael who Xorn had inhabited stands naked realizing he killed Alpha Flight. So, Magneto is on a helicopter that blows up, but there's no sign of him.

Aside from the weak way they brought back Magneto, and the way they defeated him so fast, another problem I had with this issue is all the issues leading up to this issue featured Shield at odds with the Avengers, then all of a sudden their commander thinks she's joining the team until Cap turns her down.

Meanwhile, in Civil War, the same Commander Hill is sending Shield after a rogue Captain America. Talk about the left hand not knowing what the right is doing. I would expect of all books in the Marvel Universe for New Avengers to follow Civil War, but such is not the case and it really sucks.

Anyway, that's all for me for now.

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Dragonlance Interview

Yep, it's finally up! I got the chance to speak with editor Mark Powers, writer Andrew Dabb and artist Steve Kurth about the Dragonlance Chronicles adaptations for Devil's Due.

This is a very in depth interview with tons of exclusive pictures, so go check it out!

Just click the post title or head on over to www.silverbulletcomics.com and look for it in the features sidebar!

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Warbreed Needs Votes!

I have been lobbying hard for both The Kansas Hit and Warbreed throughout the entire contest, and for good reason...they're great projects! However, one is currently flourishing while the other is currently flailing.

I am appealing to anyone and everyone who reads this blog that has yet to do so to go vote for Warbreed and Kansas Hit. But Warbreed is in more dire need, so please vote for both!

Warbreed finished in first place last round, and now has only been able to break the five for a brief moment before dropping down to number seven. Only the top five will advance.

Of course there is the judges' vote, but I'd rather not leave Warbreed's fate in the hands of the judges if it can be helped.

Check out the Warbreed blog (linked in the sidebar) then click the title of this post to vote in the Warbreed round 3 thread.

Thank you!

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Pistolfist Review

I have a new review up at www.silverbulletcomics.com. This time it's the first issue of a new mini series from Alias entitled Pistolfist: Revolutionary Warrior.

This is a tale (obviously) taking place during the Revolutionary War featuring a man avenging his loss against his own countrymen by an unconventional means thanks to the hijacked journal of one Benjamin Franklin.

To read the review click the post title. Then head on over to the SBC forums in the reviews forum and let me know what you thought if you feel so inclined!

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Myth Conceptions

Inspiration.

It's where we get our ideas and how we get motivated to create.

This is what I talk about in this week's Myth Conceptions column.

Check it out by clicking the post title!

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Round 3 - Voting Ends in a Week!

We're one week away from the end of round 3 voting, and both The Kansas Hit and Warbreed are having a strong showing.

1. 66 votes (+7) - Wicket and Imp
2. 52 votes (+10) - The Kansas Hit
3. 50 votes (+4) - The Toledo Martins
4. 47 votes (+10) - Warbreed
5. 46 votes (+8) - Lost Target

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6. 39 votes (+3) - Skitter
7. 33 votes (+5) - Arcana Obscura
8. 31 votes (+6) - The Young PUPs
9. 27 votes (+3) - Joe Zombie
10. 19 votes (NC) - Badlands Taxi
11. 18 votes (+1) - Weirdsdale
12. 13 votes (+3) - Cross and Nails

It's not over as you can see. Things are still close, and The Kansas Hit and Warbreed still need your votes! Show us your love!

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Indy-Pendant #52

It's finally here! My one-year anniversary column!

It's been a long road, but it seems like just yesterday I was talking about up and coming publisher Kandora (who has since fell of the map) in my very first column.

It's been a pleasure. Please check out this last column of the first year.

Also read the closing as I make an announcement about the column.

Click the post title to read the column.

Thanks!

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Mmm-Sighhh

Things are not going well.

That lettering deadline I had Thursday I just now finished it and still have to make corrections.

Helping my mom out has been far more taxing than I anticipated as I guess I didn't realize it would include taking my brother fifty different places a day. She can drive now, but not for very long as her knee stiffens up and causes her a lot of pain.

Anyway, because of that and the lettering gig, and now another one I have to finish this weekend I have not been able to do anything at all with the website or my art or writing since probably Tuesday, which sucks. I have my one year anniversary column this Sunday and I haven't even started writing it!

All that being said, in all likelihood, and I HATE to even put this out there, I may postpone the site launch once again. I just hate it because I've already given it two dates. And the whole reason I set the date was to push myself to get it done.

If I do push it back I will leave it open-ended and just say July, which technically gives me several weeks. But I'm still shooting for as soon as possible. I know if I had a solid 3-5 days to work on nothing but the site I could get it done.

Sigh. I am going to be scaling back really soon on some things. I've got too many coals in the fire and need to concentrate on the most important things. Seems like that trend is going around and I'm just the last idiot to wake up and smell the coffee. Though I have always spread myself too thin.

I will say this for sure. It is very likely that Indy-Pendant will take a short hiatus after this week's column. I need a breather and a refresher. I've still got a couple of Myth Conceptions columns finished I think, so that one's already taken care of. Unfortunately I never got around to writing up the IP ones.

So I'll probably put it on hiatus for at least two weeks. Again, I hate to do that, but it's nearly a necessity as I don't want to get so overwhelmed I just want to quit, and that's the road I'm on-I can feel it.

The Small Press Idol contest is going on and we still need your votes for both Kansas Hit and Warbreed. If you had trouble registering for the forums last round, all those issues have been fixed. Please give it one more shot.

There's a lot more I could just chit-chat about right now, but I just don't have it in me at the moment. I didn't sleep much last night and I took an allergy pill, so I'm doublely tired.

If anyone from Platinum is reading this, I haven't forgotten about Lab Rats, I just had some deadlines and personal stuff that I have written about here frequently holding me up.

Adrian, if you're reading this, I will get in touch with you Monday about what we talked about.

Ugh, I've got so much to do. At this point my to-do list is null and void I'm so behind...

And on that note, I bid you all goodnight.

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Mid-Week Melee

Well, it's after midnight here making it June 15th, and if things had gone according to plan the site would be up right now. As it stands it'll be rough getting it ready by June 19th. I wish I hadn't overestimated my time and pronounced a later date to begin with, but such is life.

This week has been crazy, and I am way behind on my goals. I have managed to promote the heck out of Kansas Hit and Warbreed thankfully, but still not as much as I would like. Next round we plan on getting creative though, so it should be a lot of fun.

I watched Final Fantasy VII Advent Children tonight with my brother and it was decent. I actually haven't played FFVII, though I love the franchise, and the movie was pretty cool. The best parts of course were the fighting sequences, but man those artists rock! Everything looked so real, even the texture and freckling of the skin when zoomed in. Much props to those very talented graphic artists!

I need a haircut desperately. My hair is down to my nose now, and somewhere between Monday and today it just got too out of hand and won't lay right anymore. I don't look particularly great with long hair, especially with the few extra pounds I've put on and can't seem to lose.

I only picked up three books this week and haven't read any of them yet. I got Civil War #2, 52 #6, and G.I. Joe America's Elite #12, and I picked up the latest issue of Wizard.

Of course yahoo sort of ruined Civil War for me as they posted a news item earlier today that said something to the affect of "Spider-Man reveals his identity in the comic". I mean I knew it was coming anyway, but still.

Round three of the Small Press Idol contest is in full swing as votes continue to pour in. At last tally Kansas Hit was in third and Warbreed was trailing in 6th place. I sincerely hope both make it to the next round not because I'm lettering them, but because I truly honestly believe they are two of the best entries in the contest.

I sent an email today that could (hopefully) change something for me, so we'll see what happens. It's highly doubtful, but I'm trying to stay positive. I really need this change, so hopefully things will come through.

I watched The Ringer last night and man was that a hilarious movie. The mentally challenged actors they got were incredibly funny and very good. There are so many quotes I keep saying over and over again, but I think my favorite is any time Thomas says "Possibly". I also liked Billy's "You scratched my CD, you know. You picked it up in clear daylight and scratched it". Very good movie.

I have to complete one lettering assignment by tomorrow and it's going to be close. But it's going to the printer Friday, so I have no choice.

Heard some good news about a project I lettered recently, so I'm stoked about that one. It'll be a while before it sees print (it's looking like Spring of next year) but the way it's being handled is good and it's a high quality book all around. I also designed the logo for it, so you may see that soon depending on if I get permission to show it or not.

And that's about it for tonight. I'm about half out of it on allergy medication at the moment and still have a lot to do.

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Website Launch Date Pushed Back

Sigh. I was hoping to pull it off, and I was going to give it one more day to see how far I got with it, but it's just not going to happen I'm afraid.

I have two lettering gigs on deadline this week and my sequentials aren't where I want them anyway. Also, with Round 3 of the SPA Idol contest in full swing this week there's promotion to do there. And on top of all that, aside from still caring for my mother who still can't drive, I also have to babysit my brother and two cousins the day the site was to launch, which is also one of my lettering deadline dates.

So I just don't think it's feasible even if I worked on everything from this point and all day tomorrow and all night tomorrow night, which just isn't possible anyway.

So what I'm going to do is push the launch back to June 19th, which is this coming Monday, the day after Father's Day, and the day after the one year anniversary of my column, Indy-Pendant. So it's still a cool date to happen on, and it's only four days difference.

I deeply apologize for this inconvenience, but I'd rather have it done right and complete than have something of lesser quality up to fill space.

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Round 3 is a Go!

All the entries are up for Round 3 of the Small Press Idol contest!

Both The Kansas Hit and Warbreed need your votes!

Voting closes on June 25th and only 5 entries will advance.

There are currently 14 in round 3. There were supposed to be 15, but one didn't make it.

You can check out our entries for all 3 rounds at the following links

The Kansas Hit Idol '06 Page

Warbreed Idol '06 Page

And then you can drop your votes in the threads located at these links:

KansasHit.brantfowler.com

Warbreed.brantfowler.com

So what are you waiting for? Go vote!

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Myth Conceptions

This week it's Crossgen!

They were the only shared universe company that dared go toe to toe with Marvel and DC since Valiant, and they were the only one to come close to succeeding.

I remember CG fondly and will never forget what they did for me as it was because of Crossgen I got back into comics and am pursuing working in comics now.

Click the title to read the column!

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Monday, Monday

So this weekend wasn't as productive as I had hoped, but I got some things done. Yesterday and today I made quite a bit of progress on constraining this blog within my website design. Not sure if I like it though as it makes it even smaller than it is now. I'm going to continue to play with it, but if I still don't like it I may just use the header of the site instead. I just had to go and make the site like I did for some reason and now I like it. Kind of wish i had done it a bit differently. Oh well, that'll happen in the next revision.

I haven't been quite as successful with the forum integration. I got it to show up inside the site, but it looks all wonky and overlays some of the design, which doesn't work for me. Hopefully things will fall in place over the next THREE DAYS!

Today my mom went in for a follow-up appointment and they told her she would need to have therapy for three weeks then go from there. There's also a lot of inflamation on the knee, and if the therapy doesn't help she'll have to see a neurologist.

She's been in a lot of pain the past few days especially, but she has been up on it. My mother is stubborn and probably pushes it before it's ready, but that's her. She doesn't like to be helpless, God bless her.

Tonight at some point the Round 3 vote will be open at which time it will be promotion madness for myself and the rest of the Kansas Hit and Warbreed teams. This round it's three sequential pages, and both of these entries look great, I gotta tell ya. I think everyone will be impressed with KH and WB!

Heroes Con is coming up and I so wanted to go. I know several people who are going and really wanted to meet them in person and hang out. But it's just not possible for me right now.

The situation I mentioned a little while back has still got me bummed, but I'm functioning normally. It was a betrayal of the utmost impact in my life and it has probably wounded me for life, but it also opened my eyes to some things, so I'm actually grateful. I still haven't dealt with it as I am still lost for words. But it was a kind of closure for me as well, which was a very good thing.

My brother and I watched a Cheech and Chong movie over the weekend. Yeah, I know it's not the most politically correct or proper thing for my brother to watch, but it was hilarious. It's been a long time since I've seen one of their movies.

And that's about it for now. I've got a lot to do over the next few days, so I'll still be absent from messageboards aside from the occasional pop-in when I need a break, but I've really only been popping in on about four boards and very briefly.

My column goes up sometime today, so I'll post about that and anything else significant that happens. I doubt anything will, but ya never know.

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Getting Things Done

Whew! Thanks to a point in the right direction from Cary, I figured out a work around for the scrolling I needed for my website! I also figured out the pop-up thing for my images, so that's cool as well. Now I just have to figure out the forum and blog integration and then add the content and I'm golden!

The only thing holding me up beyond that is the artwork, which I've had little time to do. I hate the thought of launching the site without new artwork, so either I'll get at least a couple of pieces up or I'll push the date back. I'm pushing as hard as I can for the former.

Yesterday was a complete bust for my goals. I got one done. Today so far I've only gotten four done out of thirteen. But again, as long as everything's done on time it doesn't matter when it's done within the time frame.

So as of now, the website launch date is still in effect. If that changes I'll post here.

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Indy-Pendant #51

Another new column for your reading pleasure!

One week from my one year anniversary writing the column!

This week I review Alecto Song Book, Mouse Guard 3, and Death Comes to Dillinger 1.

I also have a couple of press releases, and update on Small Press Idol, and an update on my forthcoming website!

Check it out by clicking the title!

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5 Days and Counting

Ah, the weekend! I wish it was going to be a relaxing one. Of course working on web stuff and comic stuff is kind of relaxing for me. I love it!

But I've got five days until the launch of my website if I keep to schedule. I'm still having trouble with the stupid scroll thing as it has two problems. Problem 1 is that it adds both horizontal and vertical scroll bars. Problem 2 is it requires a full CSS file to work properly, something I don't have time for right now. So at this point I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I really wanted it contained within the header and footer, but I'm fearing I'm gonna have to remove the footer. It doesn't seem like I've had this kind of trouble before, so I don't know why I'm running into it now. Ugh.

On top of all that, I've had little to no time to draw and I don't want to rush my sequentials since I'm trying to make them the best I've ever done. And I really wanted to have some new art with the new launch.

Then there's the forums and blog. I made a little bit of headway with both yesterday, but not as much as I would have liked.

Last night was very trying. It was the deadline for round 3 of the Small Press Idol contest. I am lettering two entries, both of which weren't ready until the last possible minute. There was lettering to correct on both entries, and what made matters worse was I had to step out for 40 minutes an hour before the deadline! But luckily we got both entries off just under the deadline. Kansas Hit went in about 20 minutes before possibly with a page I wasn't happy about, but it wasn't my decision. Ugh. Warbreed slid under with about 5 minutes to spare thankfully..

Today after 1 lettering job I'm prepping I'm focusing on stuff for the website all day, which will consist of some coding, some writing, some layout and some drawing...if all goes well. I'm pretty sure some of my family will be popping in sometime today, but hopefully they won't take up too much time. Every day this week so far I've lost at least 4 hours or more to them. But family comes first, and if I have to push the site launch date back a bit it's worth it. I'm trying everything in my power NOT to have to do that though.

Superman Returns is now coming out June 28th, which gives me two less days to finish my sequentials that I wanted to have available on opening day just because I think it's kinda cool. Don't know if that will happen as coming off the site I will still have a lot to do for a couple of weeks before it slows down.

I didn't get the Atomik Mike lettering job after all. :( They said they had other stuff for me though. I just wanted that one because it was slightly higher profile than other stuff I've done as of yet. Still hoping to land that big lettering job to help pay some bills and all while I try to get my writing off the ground.

Sorry I missed posting yesterday, it was a very hectic day. I also fell yesterday and hurt my bad knee worse and can hardly make it down the stairs. My aunt tells me I'm having sympathy pains for my mom, who had knee surgery ironically on the same knee. My knee was injured a few years ago playing football with some friends and I never had it checked out because I didn't have money or insurance at the time. Then it got better and I didn't worry about it. Now it's swollen, very sore and I can hardly bend it, and I once again am low on cash and have no insurance. Good thing I have no aspirations for sports!

And again I've talked your eyes off, so I will leave it at that. More later. :)

B-Out

Crazy, Crazy, Crazy

Man, this has been a full week! As you all know, my mom had knee surgery the other day, and so now she's in a lot of pain and can't get around much. My little brother has pretty much spent the last week and a half at his best friend's house. So I've been taking care of mom, doing all the house stuff, the meals, etc.

In addition to that, my aunt and her two kids have been over here every day since Friday. Misha, my cousin who's the same age as my brother, spent the night over the weekend, then she and her little brother have been here during the day. Yesterday I had Wilhelm (9) for about 6 hours. Mom slept the whole time, so it wasn't that bad, but it left me very little time to get anything done.

So my goals have slacked a lot the past couple of days. Yesterday and the day before I got only 2 goals done each day.

Today I made up for lost time and got quite a bit done. The pages for Kansas Hit and Warbreed came in and I have been working on those like a mad man to meet the deadline. I still haven't had time to write that darn script or draw too much. I hope to take advantage of the MTV movie awards tonight and get some drawing done though.

I've got a wealth of poetry for the website. I think I'm just gonna put so many up, then put a new one up every week or 3 days or something for a while. I'm seriously considering putting together a poetry book.

I haven't gotten any further on my fan fiction yet. It's a challenge using comic characters in a prose format for me when I'm so used to writing them in comic script format. I'm trying to think of it as a comic script and piece it together as I go. So far it's working I think.

The blog and forum integration has been put on hold, and I'm getting frustrated with both. I'm getting frustrated with the whole website! I can't figure out how to make it scroll within a header and footer without a frame, and for some reason now the text won't word wrap. ARGH!

One week until my supposed website launch. Man, I hope I make it. I'll be so disappointed if I don't.

I've only managed to get one column ahead on Indy-Pendant so far, and that's this Sunday's column, which I finished days ago. The next one is a little harder since it's my one year anniversary. I want to give time to it and make it special, but right now I don't have that time. Luckily I have over a week to finish it.

I finally slept last night! I had taken an allergy pill yesterday morning/afternoon, but I had my cousin, so I couldn't rest. By about 8:30 I was falling over and couldn't keep my eyes open. I fell asleep and slept for about 11 hours! That's the longest sleep I've had in I don't know how long. It was nice.

Blogger is giving me major fits today and it's driving me crazy! I don't even know if this post will show. And all my formatting options have disappeared.

Someone did something to the Ronin Studios site also as it's been down for a couple of days.

For wrestling fans, ECW returns to TV next Tuesday on...the Sci-Fi channel? I may have mentioned that here before, but yep, it's true. Should be interesting.

Anyway, I still have lots to do and I've taken up enough of your time.

A couple of quick shout outs:

Chuck - I know things are crazy man. Hope you find time to pursue your dreams when things settle down.

Cary - Congrats on the book man, but sorry about the correction debacle. Good luck with it though, and with Fishbowl!

Jason - Can't wait to see Legacy: Rebellion and They & Them.

All three - I am still reading your columns, it's just taking me a while. I read Cary's while waiting for my own to load since they usually post on the same day.

Matt - Good luck on your gigs, cuz.

Everybody else who keeps coming back to read my babblings every day, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'll be here every day as time permits.

B-Out

The Surgery

Well, the surgery went okay. Mom's still in a lot of pain and has to ice it every couple of hours and stay pretty doped up on painkillers, but all in all she's good for now.

They told her she had busted her cartilage all to pieces, so that's what they took out, and they told her she had arthritis. There may be more complications and there was talk of maybe replacing the knee later on down the line if things worsen.

Thanks to all who kept her in your thoughts and prayers and asked about her. Much love and God bless.

B-Out

6 - 6 - 06

It'd D-Day today. My mom goes in for knee surgery on this very ominous day. She's been grumpy and stressed obviously meaning she's scared. I have faith everything will work out fine for her though. Her surgery is at 12:15pm Est and will take about 45 minutes. It's outpatient surgery, so she'll be home shortly after. I'll be cleaning up and preparing the place for her. Since she obviously won't be able to climb stairs (she's not supposed to now) I have to fix up the sofa bed for her, which sucks because there's no TV downstairs, so she'll just be sitting there. We're trying to work something out though.

My brother is going to see The Omen today. I saw the original and don't care to see the remake. Stuff like that, while completely fantasized still gives me the creeps. I've had some pretty intense spiritual experiences, so anything in a movie that feels close to them (like that movie with Denzel Washington, what was it, Fallen?) still gives me the heebie-jeebies.

I got several goals done yesterday, but due to a few things I still missed some. First, my toilet decided to start leaking everywhere and nearly flooded my bathroom. Luckily that was taken care of, at least for now. Then my brother came over and wanted to download all kinds of songs to his iPod that his aunt got him for Easter, so he took over the computer for about 2 hours or so. Then I got to feeling really ill. My stomach, head and everything else. I just felt very weird. I think it was related to sleep deprivation as I have only been getting 2-3 hours a night. Last night I slept for around 7 hours I think and am feeling a little better.

What I did get done was write an Indy-Pendant column, typed up 3 poems, and did some lettering. So the day wasn't a total bust. It wasn't as productive as I'd hoped, but oh well. As long as everything gets done on time it doesn't matter when it gets done within that time frame.

Raw (wrestling) last night was decent for the first time in a while. RVD and John Cena signed the contract for the world title match at ECW One Night Stand this Sunday. Then several ECW guys came to the ring and put the hurt on Cena. That would have been a cool start to the show if Sabu hadn't totally messed up his chair leg drop from the top rope. He couldn't get the chair under him so he landed awkward and had to force the table Cena was laying on to break.

Carlito vs. Benjamin was a cool match. And HHH finally gave it to Vince McMahon. So it was a pretty good show thankfully.

This Wednesday night they're airing a special ECW vs. WWE battle royal on USA.

Deal or No Deal had its season finale last night (I didn't even know game shows had seasons) and so it'll be off the air now. Now I have no shows to watch except for wrestling and Ultimate Fighter, which will probably wrap in a few weeks. It's just as well though with all the stuff I have to do.

So on today's list is revising Lab Rats, finishing up one lettering gig and starting on another, typing up a few poems, doing some drawing, finishing a script, and continuing work on my forums. I doubt I'll get all that finished considering what else is going on though.

I'm a little concerned about The Kansas Hit pages. The deadline is in 3 days and we've yet to see 2 of the 3 pages we need. It's going to be very tight on our colorist. Same with Warbreed. As of yesterday the colorist hadn't seen any of the three pages for that one.

Anyway, if you don't see me around or hear me on the boards you know where I'm at once again.

B-Out

Myth Conceptions

The new one is up!

This week it's all about the Summer Blockbusters.

Click the post title to read the column.

B-Out

URL Change

When the new website launches the url for this blog will change. It will be a small change, but a change nevertheless.

Basically I'm dropping the second blog in the url, so all you have to type is http://www.brantfowler.com/blog.

This will take you to http://www.brantfowler.com/blog/index.html of course.

This change will go into full affect on June 15th. Of course by then all you will really have to do is go to my website (click post title for url) and click blog in the nav bar if you wish.

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Indy-Pendant #50

The new column is up!

This week in my 50th column I do something a little different. I incorporated my usual reviews with some PR I have been getting and added in some news bytes, in what turned out to be a cool looking column I thought.

Featured are press releases on Virgin Comics, The Sire, The Lone and Level Sands, and Robert Roach.

Also included are a review of Mouse Guard #2, a preview-review of Alecto "Song Book", and news bytes on Super Real, the Small Press Idol contest and my website.

Click the post title to read the column!

B-Out