The Comic Critic Reviews Safety Not Guaranteed

This movie’s premise of a man looking for a partner to join him in time travel is only a facade. That’s not to say the real story is hidden; it’s not. The real story very quickly takes center stage. Both the façade and the real story are all about doubt. I’m not a big fan of exposition. I’d rather have the movie tell the story through implication of scene structure, buried hints in the dialog, and the flow of events. Safety Not Guaranteed takes great care to make sure that doubt about ourselves, our actions, other people, and their actions are explored so gently that we aren’t aware of our constant waffling until the movie’s climax. And even then, when we have a resolution, we can’t help but waffle some more, and query what’s going to happen, did happen, or will happen. And since that was the goal of Safety Not Guaranteed, I count it as a successful film.

The Return of Stickman #1508

I decided to stop grabbing stories from the news as inspiration and visit back the cast of characters I've built up over the year. I thought I would start with stickman's family and reintroduce his evil brother Eddie and Uncle Eddie. Next week it's going to be all the folks at the office. That is if I get any strips drawn. I just landed a huge project with an incredibly nasty turn around schedule. I might not have time to breath.

This weekend I will be at the Rose City Comic Con in Portland, Oregon. There was a snaffu and they had me listed as cancelled. Which is why I'm not on the website or program. The staff is working to fix the problem and I will have a table - somewhere. I'm just glad I could give them a heads up and not have to deal with this at the door.

The next five weekends are going to be brutal events:
Rose City - Portland
QZ Con - Tacoma
24 Hour Comic Challenge - Tacoma
Geek Girl Con - Seattle
Bellingham Comic Con - Bellingha

Wish me luck. I will do my best to keep the comics flowing.

The Return of Stickman #1507

Sigh. Summer is over and done. I'm missing it already.

The Return of Stickman #1505 & 1506

I thought it might be nice is we would see Uncle Eddie again. And that thought was the inspiration for the them of this week's strips.

The Comic Critic's Review of The Jungle Book

There are a lot of Disney movies I could put into this compilation of blockbusters. In fact, I would be remiss if I didn’t include at least one. Because Disney’s were family-oriented films, most Americans would report that their first theatrical movie experience was from his studios. I was lucky. My first movie was The Jungle Book. Filled with memorable songs and highly charismatic animal characters, it had a very strong influence on this soon-to-be artist. Bill Peet had a strong influence on how these characters looked, but he had a falling out with Walt Disney during its production and, after 27 years with Disney, left the studio to write and draw children’s books. I was fortunate to have read his books when I was little. Peet’s drawings have continued to have a strong influence on me. Decades later I visited the Chicago Art Institute with my friend and fellow illustrator John Schmelzer and had the chance to see an exhibit of Peet’s work. Both of us were amazed at the man’s talent. The exhibit said that Peet kept all the fan mail he received from his readers. That warmed my heart, as I wondered if one of those letters was mine.

The Return of Stickman #1503

I'm thinking that it had to be an inside job.

The Return of Stickman #1502

I was just thinking the other day that too many people waste too much time on Facebook. Me included.

The Return of Stickman #1501

I can't believe that this was the first sign that his relationship was in danger.

The Return of Stickman #1500

To be honest, I did a crappy job keeping track of how many of these strips I drew or my fans drew. But I'm willing to say that there have been at least this many strips, if not more, entertaining the reader.