Space Invaders! Reboot

This is a drawing I did at last week's C.L.A.W. meeting. The theme of the meeting was 'reboot,' basically taking an old property and giving it new life. I thought it would be fun to grab an old school video game and make it into a movie.

The Comic Critic Reviews Little Big Man - 1970

I wrote two different scripts for this strip and had a hard time deciding which one to use. I had a hard time writing a review to begin with. When asked to come up with my top-ten films of all time, Little Big Man is one of my first choices. How much do I love this film? Well, if I learned it was playing again on the big screen, I’d drop whatever I was doing, twitter all my friends that I was heading out the door and they should all meet me at the theater. So, if you haven’t seen this film, move it to the top of your must-see list. It is my obvious love for this movie that directed me to write this comic script to give as little away about the story as possible—while showing how deeply it affected young little me.

The Return of Stickman #1168

I loved this person described her drunken actions in court as "Mind Boggling." For timing purposes of this strip I left out how she drove a car to the fast foot place. Besides, saying that just makes her look bad. I wonder how many hits I'm going to get using key words to describe this strip.

The Return of Stickman #1167

Yes, a robber was stopped by a nun and after being confronted by her he handed over the wallet. But I left out the part where the nun went after him with his car (that would have been fun to draw), and I left the part where she was a school principal (which left an opening for more gags). In the end I decided to prune the story down to cliché overly-strong stereotypes and let you, the very smart reader, determine that there was a lot more going on here.

The Return of Stickman #1166

While I haven't had a rude waiter in a long time, the ones I did have stick out in my mind. I tend to get the waitress you is in middle of a mental meltdown. One example would be the waitress who sat my wife and I down without leaving any menus. Five minutes later she came back to take our order then went away to fetch the menus. Ten minutes later she comes back with two beers and sits them down in front of us without a word and leaves before we can get a word out. This is very odd as my wife and I don't drink. Fifteen minutes later she comes back to assure us the order is on its way. We reminded her that we never got our menus, didn't place an order, and what's up with the beers? I can't remember if we left at that point or if we tried to stick it out and she never surfaced again. At some point the evening got so bad you just start to block things as a form of self preservation.

The Return of Stickman #1165

I drew this strip last month. It's a little dated now. But the benefit of posting it now means two things:

1. I won't forget to post it next year if I post it today.

2. I get a day ahead on my strip buffer.

It's a win win for everybody. And by everybody I mean me.

The Return of Stickman #1164

No, I'm not going to tell you what this is about. If you live in Nevada you already know. And if you live someplace else, you can do your homework on the Internet.

The Comic Critic Reviews "Moon"

I was truly shocked when Moon did not receive an Oscar nomination. The only reason I can think it didn’t get a nod is because nearly all of the film involves only one actor. And while that might sound dull initially, the story is far from boring. In fact, the story is riveting. If your instincts tell you that some parts of the film might set you squirming in your seat, your instincts would be right. This film joins other overlooked notable sci-fi movies, such as “Dark Star,” “A Boy and His Dog,” and “Silent Running,” as highly deserving of recognition as great films. If you haven’t seen Moon, or the other movies I mentioned as classics of the genre, you should put them on your must-see list.

The Return of Stickman #1163

Before you even ask, yes, this did happen. Tip to muggers: When mugging somebody location is key. Good locations would be dark alleys and parking lots. Bad locations would be in front of Police Stations and Ninja Dojos.

The Return of Stickman #1162

The Return of Stickman #1161

When my wife started to read this she was wondering if it was going to go anyplace, then she started laughing and I knew I had a winner.

The Return of Stickman #1160

I took just a few liberties with the real situation that inspired this strip. I made the child older. In real life the child was a three month infant. Oh, and I left out the part about the father hiding behind a dumpster with the child.

The Return of Stickman #1159

This strip was inspired by a set of instructions I received for a meeting I had this morning. And while I made it to my meeting without making a wrong turn, there has been many a time when I was less fortunate.

The Comic Critic Reviews The Ballad of Narayama

The Ballad of Narayama is not a tale of noble samurai or skilled swordsmanship. It’s about a small, very poor, rural feudal Japanese village in the middle of nowhere, where avoiding starvation is the primary goal. Instead of glorious battles filled with banners flapping brightly in the wind, there is a far more intimate war being waged within the hamlet. And like any war, it’s not pretty. The unfolding story provides tremendous insight to a side of Japanese culture that few see. I was very happy with the DVD, which often had two sets of subtitles going on, one set for the dialog and another set for the definition of words and customs not well known outside Japan. A must-see for those who love films from and about Japan.

The Return of Stickman #1158

I hate American news media. Here the Chinese have done something fantastic, they've entered the space race. And the only thing the U.S. can find in way of response in the news outlets? They ate some dog. Most new outlets didn't mention the fermented rice soup, the spicy pig skin, or the other really yummy foods they had on the trip. (Don't knock fermented rice soup if you haven't had it.) The media was working the Asian stereotype angle so hard on this story I'm surprised nobody used the headline: "It's not Tang!" Hooray for the Chinese! Kudos to them for getting into space. And thank you American news media for once again making the citizens of our country look like a bunch of nimrods.

The Return of Stickman #1157

This is my favorite ketchup and I don't think I'm going to miss the salt at all. I hear that Heinz will also be enlarging the size of the little ketchup packets. I wonder if they are going to keep that change as quiet as the recipe change.

The Return of Stickman #1156

It's time for the name game.

The Return of Stickman #1155

This story is a supreme example of internet procrastination. There is absolutely no reason in the world to surf for this news story other than putting something off. Or in this case, putting off anything.

The Return of Stickman #1154

How long will it take for folks to realize that the police are not a taxi service? As you can imagine charges are pending.

The Comic Critic Reviews "How to Train Your Dragon"

My wife and I went to see “How to Train Your Dragon” in 3D. She has a soft spot for kid-oriented films and we both enjoy this new 3D technology. I was expecting a fairly standard movie with a predictable storyline. Then I was happily surprised by the storyline, the well-written dialog filled with dry wit, and also realized just how much I love comically large, muscular Vikings with strong Scottish accents. This movie, a real treat, will hold up well into the future, even without 3D effects. Don’t feel bad if you miss seeing it in the theater, but give it a view, definitely.

The Return of Stickman #1153

A strip like this one just writes itself. I heard that there is going to be a new television show coming out next fall called "JC", in which Jesus moves away from "home" to get out of his father's shadow. I'm kinda looking forward to seeing the promos for that one.

Cartoons and Poetry Together

In Tacoma was a poetry reading to celebrate the city's new poet laureate. Poets were encouraged to pull in other types of artists into their readings. There were musicians, dancers, and, yes, cartoonists. Elliot and I went old school with transparencies and an overhead projector.

The Return of Stickman #1152

I had a lot of questions about this guy who walks into a police station with two buckets, each with a human head in it. My questions concern the buckets. Was the guy just walking along with two buckets at the ready? Did he go home for them? Or were the heads...um...prepackaged? As you can imagine, the fellow who brought in the heads is a suspect.

The Return of Stickman #1151

The neighbors think that excessive force was used in "dealing" with the deer. Why animal control wasn't called I don't know. But it was more than a little obvious that the officer doing the shooting needs to visit the shooting range a little more often.

The Return of Stickman #1150

If you are looking for this story in the news, you will need to add China to your keyword search. Special thanks to a fan for sending me this little gem.

The Return of Stickman #1149

I hate non-story story Press Releases that pass for news these days. I found this one inspiring.

The Comic Critic Reviews "The Machine Girl"

Let’s not kid ourselves; The Machine Girl falls well into the category of Grindhouse, with big sloppy doses of gore. So, besides judging on the amount of gore, we are also judging on the amount of shameless violence (preferably involving plenty of gore) and the personal code of vigilante justice (most definitely needing plenty of gore). The fact that this little gem has the novelty of being relatively new and from Japan is just extra whipped cream and cherries on a blood-soaked dessert. This film may not be for the squeamish or those with a strict sense of anatomy, but it is gruesome fun for those of us who enjoy a splatterfest.