Elf-Help 21

At komikwerks now, in b&w -- color version to follow soon.
pie

Getting LOST

I think it's okay to mention this since the contract has been signed and money has exchanged hands: Getting LOST, an anthology of essays from BenBella Books about the hit show Lost, will feature an essay by me with the tentative title, "Doubt, Descartes, and Evil Geniuses."

Here's the blurb:

Polar bears. Black mist. Sinister lottery numbers. These are just a few of the mysteries on that odd little island inhabited by Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke and the other survivors of Flight 815. Theories abound about that enigmatic island and its complex characters on the supernatural television phenomenon Lost, which has been hooking audiences for two seasons. The survivors may want to get off that island, but boy, do we want to get on.

Getting Lost tackles the predominant themes, plotlines and symbols of the hit show, answering old questions and raising new mysteries for fans.

Podcastic Four

Yes, I have been bitten by the Podcast bug and have decided to descend from On High and share with you my wisdom.

For fiction, Escape Pod's got the goods. I've enjoyed all of their flash fiction (really short stories, some less than a minute in length). I'll point to Ben Rosenbaum's superhero tale The Death Trap of Dr. Nefario and Robots and Falling Hearts by Tim Pratt and Greg van Eekhout as particular favorites at longer lengths.

New Scientist has a weekly podcast covering all kinds of topics in science. The blurb for this week's reads:

A new picture of the early universe suggests the big bang got off to a rapid start. And what the surprise discovery of a giant virus reveals about the ancient history of life on Earth.

For comics talk and interviews, I check out John Siuntres at Word Balloon and the guys at ComicGeekSpeak. Interviews with pretty much everyone in the industry, big and small. iPod...

Go forth and listen.

Comics Jam

On Thursday night I participated in my first comics jam over at the Nathan Fillion-approved Happy Harbor Comics (you can view the fruits of our labor here; I'm sure anyone who knows me will be able to identify the sections I contributed).

It was good fun, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to attend next since I am car-less for a month.

The Matriarch... in Color!

Colors by Giuseppe Pica.

Go here for the panel in black & white, and here for the pencil pages and premise.

eat my shorts and wang

I like Wolverine as much as the next guy... boxers...
underwear...
...but I don't think I'd feel comfortable with his mouth so close to my wang.

superheroes/all ages/fantasy

I started 2006 in a superhero mood, excited to usher three submission projects, Twilight Precinct, Old School, and The Matriarch to completion.

Old School came together very quickly, and has been in the submission piles at Image for a few months (which I hope means they're seriously considering publishing it!). Couldn't be happier with how this one turned out.

The Matriarch is coming along nicely as well. As of this moment seven of the ten pages have been inked, and we'll be moving on to the coloring and lettering stages soon.

Twilight Precinct, on the other hand, has stalled badly. I'll have to decide how to proceed with this one soon. It's really unfortunate that the things that have happened with this one have happened.

. - ***
Anyway, superheroes are so first quarter 2006! These days I've been finding my interests going back to fantasy material, and all ages material in general.

On the fantasy side, I'm developing a new project with Elf-Help artist Martin Morazzo called The Pure Lands. This one is still in the early stages, but we should have something more solid soon. Martin's character designs for this one are outstanding.

The Erehwyna Destiny is finally getting back on track after being placed on the back-burner for far too long, thanks mostly to the enthusiasm of new inker Joe Pruitt. (This one is all ages and fantasy).

As for the all ages stuff, it's mostly just a spate of ideas, none of which are fully formed enough to talk about just yet. I'll revisit this post in a month, and it will be interesting to see which of these new ideas make it to the next stage.

And that's how second quarter 2006 is shaping up for me. How are you doing?

Elf-Help 20

At komikwerks.

"underwear perverts" and other stories

via BoingBoing:

Marvel Comics: stealing our language
Marvel Comics is continuing in its bid to steal the word "super-hero" from the public domain and put it in a lock-box to which it will control the key...

Here's a proposal: from now on, let's never use the term "super-hero" to describe a Marvel character. Let's call them "underwear perverts" -- as Warren Ellis is wont to -- or vigilantes, or mutants. Let's reserve the term "super-hero" exclusively to describe the heros of comics published by companies that aren't crooked word-thieves.

Works for me! :) ...sex...

. - ***

via Strange Horizons:

The Flying Woman
The flying woman didn't fly above the clouds. "It's cold up there," she'd say, "and there's not enough air." She skimmed the roofs and treetops. Her legs dangled behind her, and she wore her wheelchair strapped to her back...

This is a great little story by Meghan McCarron. In relatively few words she manages to deliver a satisfying slice-of-life/super-hero/romance story.

. - ***

via MattFraction.com:

22 pages of the upcoming graphic novel THE FIVE FISTS OF SCIENCE, by Fraction and Sanders -- this one looks good. Here's the solicitation copy:

True story: in 1899, Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla decided to end war forever. With Twain's connections and Tesla's inventions, they went into business, selling world peace.

So what happened?

Only now can the tale be told-- in which Twain and Tesla collided with Edison and Morgan, an evil science cabal merging the Black Arts and the Industrial Age. Turn of the century New York City sets the stage for a titanic battle over the very fate of mankind.

Googoogajoo

Somehow YouTube is able to upload my fevered dreams. 24

Jack Bauer's Romantic Aphorism #1

A blessing to take matters of the heart into your own hands, or just more jumbled zen from the master?

The Matriarch: 6 inked pages

Pencils/Pitch*Discussion of page 3



Other comic pitches*bibliography

Elf-Help 19 in colour

Check it out.

Elf-Help 19 -- Naked!

Running a little slow on the color version this week, but Elf-Help 19 is up now in all its naked black & white glory. Check these stark lines out now, 'cause they'll be draped in colors all too soon! Sex...

Chef, Super-Wrestlers, and Alan Moore

Here's the panel I promised a few days ago:
24

-_***

A few people have emailed to get my thoughts on the whole Isaac Hayes/Scientology thing, but I can't say I find it all that scandalous. It's probably good for the show to get a little press in any case -- I don't think most people know it's still on.

-_***

Also wanted to share a couple of links related to writing comic books: there are a bunch of Alan Moore interviews at You Tube, and J. Michael Straczynski analyzes a page from Watchmen (and talks generally about movement (and the lack thereof) in comics) in his column over at Newsarama. V For Vendetta... Babylon 5...

Leiber hearkening

Michael Fay at Tangent Online has reviewed my story, Jack Nimble & The Platypus: The Dead God's Puppet-Show:

“The Dead God’s Puppet Show” by Robert Burke Richardson is the second installment in a series of stories about Jack Nimble and his assassin partner, Phillipe. Phillipe bumbled his way through an assassination and is thinking about retiring, but Jack talks him into another job, in his charismatic and sly way. The job, it turns out, is to steal a holy artifact from a vicious, bizarre little cult. Jack smiles his way through the job, until Phillipe takes the time to rescue the apes being tortured in the cult’s religious practices.

“The Dead God’s Puppet Show” hearkens back to Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories. Richardson mirrors Leiber in his subtle use of dry humor and philosophical meditation, and writes a highly entertaining and occasionally thought-provoking story. One of the best in this issue.

I talked a bit last time about how I have two different personalities as a writer, one where I try my best to entertain, and one where I try to just explore ideas in the most truthful fashion possible. The Jack Nimble stories are meant to entertain, and I'm glad they seem to be succeeding in their aims, at least for a few readers.

Related links: "Jack Nimble & The Platypus: The Dead God's Destiny" (prologue) (story), "Garluss" (flash fiction) 24

Entrance of a Super-Villain

Well, okay, maybe not a super villain. Let's say an adequate villain.

I was looking over page 3 of The Matriarch, which introduces a villain named Crush, an ex-pro-wrestler with a mullet (who for some unsettling reason looks a tiny bit like Ed Brubaker), and I noticed that (penciler) Steven Yarbrough never shows Crush's face. What this does is set up the next page; Crush charges our matronly hero (hoping to "crush" her with his robotic arms), revealing his true intentions... and his face. Makes for a nice, dramatic moment (I'll post the panel in question as soon as it's inked).

Elf-Help 18

Live at Stan Lee's Sunday Comics.

For the start of our second story arc we're abandoning the overtones of elf porn and examining instead the lighter side of date-rape drugs. Can't say we don't keep things interesting... Free...

Mother is Watching.

Consider yourself warned.

Related posts:
Elf-Help: Elf-Help #1, Vote Elf-Help, Komikwerks comics on the PSP
The Matriarch: Superheroes in 2006, The Matriarch, Panel 1

"The Coming Years of Good" -- reviewed

Paul J. Iutzi of Tangent Online reviews my story, "The Coming Years of Good" from the fall 2005 issue of On Spec (order a copy) to decidedly mixed results.

I’ve long claimed to be a fan of the weird, and Richardson’s story about a woman named Lauren and her new apartment is truly that. In my thirty years, I have suffered neither acid flashback nor psychotic break, however were I to have one, I imagine it would greatly resemble the diminutive, copulating couple filled with Devonshire cream that came with Lauren’s new apartment. The story isn't the kind of weird that leaves me feeling wowed or amused. No, I felt more a vague queasiness. It’s not a bad story; it’s not good. It’s a curiosity, and one I’ll certainly never forget. Sex...

This is probably the worst review a story of mine has gotten so far (I've been lucky), but I'm still pleased with it somehow. I sort of feel I have two hats as a short fiction writer; half the time I write in the hopes of leaving readers "wowed or amused," but the other half of the time... I don't. Hentai...

Where Ideas Come From pt1: Unicorns

"Seeing the pages and getting into the tale makes our brain unicorns magically create more ideas. As everyone knows once a brain unicorn shoots a rainbow out of its butt and onto your brain you had better use those ideas lest you incur the anger of said unicorn."
_ - .writing _ _ - _ - - . - ^ - _ - . ^ - - _ -- Rick Remender

Hulk Slash! Planet Hulk Reviewed

Incredible Hulk v2 #92 kicks off a 14-part sword-and-planet epic, and does it in style. It's a fun story involving space-travel, sword-fights, mechanized armor, and shadow warriors.

Anyway, I've got a review of it over at SandS.org.



Check it out.

Elf-Help 17 live

Our first storyline concludes. *Sniff.* Sorta brings a tear to my eye.
It's all fantasy elf sex and free porn from here on out!