The Home of the Creative Mind

Welcome to PooBahSpiel, the online voice and home of the creative mind of Mark Monlux, Illustrator Extraordinaire. Prepare yourself for an endless regaling of art directly from the hand of this stellar artist. And brace yourself against his mighty wind of pontification. Updates are kinda weekly and show daily sketches, current projects, and other really nifty stuff.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Review of "Maniac", Report on Stumptown, and More News


I’ve wanted to see Maniac ever since I saw a before-and-after shot of a woman being scalped in “The Bloody Best of Fangoria, Volume 1.” Oddly enough, that was in conjunction with then-editor “Uncle” Bob Martin’s article on why Fangoria prints disgusting pictures. What he said in 1982 still remains true today: when hanging out in a morgue, some of us just want to look under the sheets. I put off my viewing for several years. I was surely doomed to watch it alone on DVD because few others shared my enjoyment of grisly, (and often pointless to the story) practical special effects. Then I learned that Justin Giallo was going to present Maniac at Grindhouse Theater, a monthly event currently hosted at Tacoma’s Grand Theater. How could I resist a chance to see this film in its 35mm glory in a theater filled with my fellow sheet-peepers? And how marvelous that one of the sponsors would be “Fangoria Magazine?” The next morning, I showed up bleary-eyed at Norwescon. My friend (and fellow table vendor) Matt Youngmark, creator of Chooseomatic Books, asked for a report. I told him that if you enjoy old grindhouse films involving maniacs and nothing else, this one would be a classic choice. I also confessed that I wanted to see the original so that I could make an accurate comparison to the 2013 remake, starring Elijah Wood.

I drew this strip while Matt Youngmark and I were sharing yet another table at yet another convention. This time we were in Portland, Oregon doing combo deals at the Stumptown Comic Festival. I drew a lot of sketches in people's books. If you would like to see photos - go here.

More news! A fun blog called "Sensational Adventure Club" interviewed me. The interview was posted just a few days ago here.

There's lots more to tell you, but it will have to wait until tomorrow's post.