The Return of Stickman #1253

Ask Mark - Purpose of a Kill Fee

I've been writing and advice column for some years now called "Ask Mark." I answer questions about contracts, copyright, ethics and standard business practices for creative professionals. I've been thinking it might be a good idea to create some short videos and see how folks like them. This is my first one. I'm hoping my production values will improve as I do more. If you want to read some of my older article you can find them at the Graphic Artists Guild website.

I think I need some better lighting. And maybe a less goofy expression.

The Comic Critic Reviews The Green Hornet 2011

My love for the Green Hornet television show was always based on the  car and the gadgets. I always waited for that moment when those green headlights would be turned on or the gas gun would come out. The Green Hornet himself was more accessible to me than, say, Batman or Spiderman. He hadn’t spent years training in hand-to-hand combat. He hadn’t been bitten by a spider. Oh, sure, he fought, but he was basically a well-dressed guy wearing a mask who used his brains and gadgets to take down the bad guys. And while the gadgets are present in this Green Hornet, the brains are missing. I can see this one as a setup for another movie when smarts come into play. I can also see that folks who aren’t familiar with the franchise won’t be making any of these comparisons–they’ll just have a good ol’ shoot-and-blast fun time watching.

The Return of Stickman #1251

The Return of Stickman #1249

Yes, I have picked the First Circle of Hell as my theme this week. Again.

The Return of Stickman #1248

Due to a public outcry over his harsh sentence this man has been scheduled for a second trial.

The Comic Critic Reviews Aaah Zombies

The premise of Aaah! Zombies!! is pretty funny. A group of kids are accidentally turned into zombies. Here’s the twist: they don’t know it. From their perspective, they can understand what they themselves are saying, but everyone else is all hopped up and running around screaming like bees on cocaine. They see themselves as normal, but everyone else, of course, sees them for the walking corpses they are. To emphasize this, the film is both black-and-white and color, with black-and-white being normal and color being, um, zombie vision. This fun and silly film is more comedy than horror. It doesn’t take itself seriously and you shouldn’t either.

The Return of Stickman #1247

I've heard everything from the birds got drunk from feeding on yeast to the Nazi UFO theory. I thought it might be funny to mention the UFO theory in my strip. Yes, I didn't make this up. I only wish I had. Just think. It's the Nazis behind all of this. Damn Nazis!

The Return of Stickman #1246

The Return of Stickman #1244

I want to thank Tom Brazelton over at Theater Hopper for the inspiration behind this strip.

The Comic Critic Reviews "The Happening" 2008

I’m a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan’s work. Maybe one of the reasons I’m still a big fan of his is that I haven’t seen The Last Airbender yet. His best known trademark is the Sudden Reveal. What I enjoyed about The Happening is that the reveal is steady, like removing layers off an onion. The audience becomes comfortable with the pace to focus on the characters and how they process the horror that could catch them at any moment. And then he trips us up with some left field surprises. I found the film very enjoyable. I’m looking forward to more of his work. Though I’m on the fence about when exactly I’ll get around to watching The Last Airbender.

The Return of Stickman #1243

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Oh, Yeah. That name is enough to keep him from ever committing another robbery. I can't think of a worse name to have hanging around your neck in the big house, except for maybe Pretty Boy Floyd.

The Return of Stickman #1242

Have fun searching for the news story that inspired this strip.

The Return of Stickman #1241

I'm a bit under the weather today, so here is a guest strip by Kevin Boze.

The Comic Critic Reviews Land of the Lost - 2009

Sid and Marty Krofft produced a number of Saturday morning television shows. And how can I say this in a nice way? They produced the most whacked-out, fantastic, mondo-bizarro shows that ever graced an 8:00AM time slot. I couldn’t help but wonder if the intended demographic was high school and college students tripping and wondering if what they were seeing on the tube was real or drug-induced. And I hate to admit it, but I loved those shows. Whether it was a talking flute, hats walking around like people, bugs trying to get their garage band into a decent venue, or a Smith Family Robinson scenario in an alternate universe, it was all silly, wild and fun. I’d hoped a lot of that flavor would go into the production of the Land of the Lost movie. What I got was a jigsaw puzzle of a film whose missing pieces were filled with 3D effects and crass humor. It doesn’t work for me. I’m not sure if I watched the original morning shows again, I’d get the same kick out of them. At least not without medication.