Art theft. Because if some millionaire bastard can't have it, then no one can.
Rumor has it that Munch's "The Scream," stolen in August of 2004, might have been burned by the thieves in a panic to destroy evidence with the cops closing in. Lovely.
I was never a huge fan of "The Scream" in particular, and I still think the quoted estimate of what it could get at a legal auction ($75 million) is goddamn absurd. But I really can't think of a more degenerate use of obscene wealth than paying a mob of idiots to run off with a painting.
Which, of course, was probably painted by some poor sap who died in pauperdom.
Page looks okay, approaching satisfactory. Comic section, you know the deal.
Not satisfied with the guts in the last panel. I think it's too hard to tell the lungs and heart are flipped over and backwards. But ah well, what can y'do.
Enjoy.
Page 19, up in the Comics section.
If you guys are liking what you see, it would be awfully nice of you to click through the various attention-whoring buttons and links I've added to the bottom of the Comics page. Blikada needs more readers, I think. A lot of people tell me they like it best out of all the crap I do, so maybe I'm on to something.
And in case you haven't noticed, I've started adding footnotes to the pages. There won't be one for every page, because every page won't need one; It'll mainly be for nods, acknowledgements, commentary, that sort of thing. And don't worry, I promise not to overdo it.
Ideally, I want you to be able to totally ignore the footnotes and still enjoy the strip. It's really, really easy for something like this to develop into a crutch, and I don't want to get lazy and just start writing a story instead of doing a comic, y'know?
Anyway, go read. I'm gonna have some tea. G'nite.
On May 7th, 2005, Girlamatic goes FREE.
For twenty-four hours, anyway.
May 7th is Free Comic Book Day, and GAM will be celebrating by opening up the archives for free viewing for a full 24 hours. So all of you out there that can't afford subscriptions, or just claim you can't afford subscriptions, or want a preview before you plunk down any money for a subscription, or read it weekly, but missed a few pages and got lost, or just plain think I somehow don't deserve to be paid for the work I do, mark your calendars!
It's up to each creator on the site to decide how much of their comics will go free for the day, but if I get my way, Sparkneedle and Lucas & Odessa will both be free IN THEIR ENTIRETY.
That's right. All because I love you. And my love is great and terrible.
I'll post another reminder on free Comic Book Day, too. But let's start getting excited now, okay?
I guess I can stop whining about losing my old Xeric rejection letter now, because a new one came in the mail. MY COLLECTION IS COMPLETE.
To take a good, long look at failure, check out the newest member of the Rejection Letter Showcase in the Misc. section. It's the only one I bothered to scan in color. It's that special. It's, uh, also the only one that's not... you know... white.
It's times like this that I occasionally consider selling original Sparkneedle pages to finance a print run. Then I remember that no one buys comics anymore, and I go get a handful of baby pickles and play Evil Genius for two hours instead.
PRODUCTIVE.
As I mentioned before, Girlamatic is staggering back towards functionality, and that means a new Lucas & Odessa is up, today. I recommend you check it out. It has a flash of areola. I know you kids love that.
Also, a new Blikada is up! Page 18, in the Comics section.
Before I let you go, though, something was recently brought to my attention as potentially confusing, so I'd like to clear up any possible misconceptions now.
Betini (in Blikada) is a boy. The name's a little misleading, but I assure you, where he comes from, it's a perfectly reasonable and masculine name, if a bit old-fashioned. (You'd expect a guy with a name that old and crusty to be somebody's toothless grandfather, not a young man. Comparable names from our culture would be stuff like Hiram or Wilbur.) Eki and Ta are also boys. Everyone you've see so far in the comic is male, with the exception of Blur.
When the girls show up, you'll know it. I promise.
Another request for movie recommendations.
Yeah, I know. I watch a lot.
Is there anything out there at all... a documentary, a biopic, anything... that might help me regard the Abstract Expressionist/Pop Art movements with anything other than remarkably violent loathing?
Because really, after enduring How to Draw A Bunny, I Shot Andy Warhol, the merest suggestion of anything Rothko, and an especially unpleasant year in art school, I'm beginning to wonder if there's something I'm just completely missing that's obvious to everyone else.
I have no idea what that something could be, but I'm assuming it prevents all of this uninspired crap from coming off as a raging torrent of self-congratulatory, circle-jerking horseshit pieced together by congentially incapable morons who made better party guests than artists.
So yeah. A little help, please.
EDIT: A review for the film How to Draw A Bunny from Netflix, by a guy calling himself queequeg. Far more elegant with its derison than I could ever hope to be, and quoted in its entirety.
I had some difficulty dredging up the purpose behind this piece of filmic treacle. Ray Johnson, the apparent subject at hand, is often an afterthought. My fury grew as the long-winded interviewees with the big names harped on and on about their own trivial mythologies. With my fist in the wall it all became clear. This movie is nothing more than a mawkish attempt to glamorize the most reprehensible movement in American history: the rise of the elite New York artist. It turns out (drum taps) that they're a delightfully incestuous society of waste and privelege, spending their days referencing each other's works and basking in the sinister knowledge that they've effectively duped an entire generation of wealthy jack-and-apes who blindly purchase "culture" and are handed crap. It's an ugly cycle deserving no pity. Save your Bile. Stay far away from this rank work.
<3.
Girlamatic is almost fully recovered from its php issues, which means I can begin uploading again, starting this Sunday. And that, folks, is a good thing.
The unplanned break actually gave me a little bit of time to get ahead on each comic, especially Sparkneedle. With any luck, I won't be uploading pages late anymore, at least not for a while to come. So in a weird way, the downtime was good. Funny how that works.
Oh yeah, one more thing: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reads my comics, comments on my comics, lists my comics as 'Favorites' in the various webcomic popularity contests, links to my comics, everything. I know I'm not the most punctual, prolific, or personable cartoonist in the world, but it's really nice of you all not to mind.
<3
San Diego Comic Con. Gotta see what I need to do about a pro pass, get a hotel room, get something together to sell. With superhuman effort, I might be able to get a new mini together.
SPX. Gotta see if I can find a cheap place to crash. I'll be sharing a table with Zack, so I need crap to sell here, too.
Wizard Con Chicago. Again, I need to register, get a table, etc.
Jesus. Stressful time of year.
And I WILL be answering email, today. Really.
I am so sorry.
A little sumthin' to keep you guys from going into withdrawal while Girmalatic's navigating a rough patch. Check the Comics section for page 17!
I really, really like their faces, nowadays, so I think they're done evolving for the time being. My next big problem is a pet peeve I've had for a while, that'll become relevant in the next few pages.
Whatever species these guys are, I absolutely, positively refuse to take the easy way out with the females.
There's nothing that makes me roll my eyes like supposedly alien species/beings with completely alien biologies where the girls of the race all have humanoid boobs and long, flowing hair, no matter how nonsensical it is. Bird-like creatures? GIVE 'EM SOME TITS, THAT TOTALLY MAKES SENSE! Lizard aliens? MAKE SURE HER SPINY CREST IS PULLED BACK INTO A PONYTAIL U GUYZ, K? And best of all? Boobified insectoids. Because some people are just that lazy.
So, no exclusviely human gender signifiers, here. None. I will fight that tooth and nail. Because I want to respect myself in the morning, dammit.
Anyway, enjoy.
Okay, locals. News-you-can-use time.
The Wizard World Chicago comic convention is looming on the horizon, and it's time to plan. A a few of us are getting a group together: Webcomics at Wizard World. W3. We need to stake a good-sized claim in Artist's Alley, and we need to start planning for it now.
Jerry of Secret of Mana Theater is the go-to guy on this. There's a page about W3 here, along with a list of links to the current participants. We're a crowd already, but don't let that stop you from throwing in. Most of us are pretty decent people. Or, at the very least, amusing drunks.
I love you and your 800-pound gorilla of a Democratic voting block. Especially when you manage to beat back the stupidity.
Can't believe we're bordered by Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, and Kentucky.
We should build a wall.