J Chris Campbell

San Diego Comic-Con is here and I could have gone. My friends at Comics Wanted had an opening in their room but I chickened out. AdHouse Books had a full slate of artists going and I probably couldn’t have gotten a table for myself. When I’m ready, I’ll charter a plane just to bring all the cool stuff back east. Have you seen all the killer things that will be there? No? Well my friend I’ll just make you a little list of 10 things to buy at Comic-Con with total disregard for money and space.

If you need to plan your course you may want to use this interactive map of the show!!!

10 - Jeffrey Brown’s Incredible Change-Bots hardcover

9 - Joel Priddy’s Besswax Bound with special doodle

8 - Jim Rugg’s Street Angel Art
(Then bug him about doing more Street Angel books!)

7 - Amanda Visell’s Ephunt sculpture & print
While you’re there grab her Poping Through Pictures Book from Baby Tattoo

6 - Dave Pressler’s Stupid Little Robot Buddy

5 - AdHouse Books’ Project: Telstar Ultra rare first in the trilogy of project books. If you get there soon enough snag the last copy of Project: Superior also.

4 - Scott Morse’s Scrap Mettle limited edition with watercolor

3 - Some really cool mini-comic with a screen printed cover by someone you’ve never heard of. Extra bonus points if it is from another country.

2 - Andy Runton’s (made by mom) Owly Hat
While you’re there maybe grab one of his tooth rottingly adorable Owly paintings!

1 - Scott Morse’s Tiger Sculpture

The best thing about Shrek the Third was the preview for the new live action Transformers movie for July 4th.

I’ve purposely stayed away from any pictures or information about the movie. So when the preview came on, I unexpectedly got giddy when Shia LaBeouf runs his fingers across the Autobot logo on the wheel of his new used car (Bumblebee isn’t a beetle [bad choice] and mega-tron isn’t a floating gun [good choice]). I wanted to look away and save it for the movie but I just had to watch.

It’s directed by Michael Bay (The Island, Pearl Harbor, Armageddon, The Rock). So I know it’s going to be high on action and most likely cheese. And after looking at all the writers, producers and editors I can pretty much say the special effects should be amazing. But it’s going to be choppy both visually and plot wise and pretty void of decent dialogue. But the trailer was super ultra cool. And the new bot designs are pretty neat if you are into that Gundam look.

My grandmother saved me this Beetle Bailey cartoon from today’s newspaper. She said it looked like something I would do.

It’s for sure not something I’ve seen done on the newspaper comic page before. Well, if you don’t count Where’s Waldo.

I like seeing movies on opening weekend. Usually I try not to watch or read anything about it before. But it’s really hard. I’ve even covered my ears and closed my eyes for during the Trailer for LOTR 2 (never read the book). I like to experience the movie without any preconceived notions or expectations.

With S3 I really didn’t know venom was going to be in the movie until I got a web link to the make-up test. I assumed he would be in it, because the black costume was. Then the toys came out and there he was. But it wasn’t until Wednesday of last week that I actually saw a clip of him. I wasn’t expecting it and didn’t search it out. It was edited into an episode of video podcast that I watch called Pulp Secret. I’m not sure if they got it from a recent trailer or what. But there he was. I almost made it to the movie! Oh well.

You should check out Pulp Secret. It’s actually really funny and gives you just tidbits of information in a nice little package. You can even fast-forward the commercials. My favorite episodes loosely involve some sort of “theme”. Give it a go, but don’t start with the 3 part Spider-Man week coverage. Except maybe the one where Justin does the trapeze and kisses a girl!

Mr Rob Ullman has just uploaded some new work for sale on his website.

Including some pages from That’s Just Super; a mini-comic he did with Wide Awake Press.

That’s my boy NAMLLU in the last panel.

www.flukeathens.com 

WHEN:
SATURDAY
April 7th 2007
12 PM - 6 PM

WHERE:
Tasty World (yes it’s a bar)
312 East Broad Street
Athens GA
706-543-0797(tasty world)

HOW:
Admission= $5.00
Tables= first come

Wowie! Finished Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters recently. It’s on PSP and was highly enjoyable, although it went by way fast. I’m working my way through the second time, trying to save up bolts to get the ultimate Ryno gun. R&C is for sure my favorite game series and it holds up very well on the small screen. Even when it’s done by a different game company, High Impact Games. The coolest parts have to be the collectable cutomizable armor, lazer gun and the slide boots (they’re back). Oh, and you get to fly a giant Clank through space. Man I wish it wasn’t so short.

The new season of the amazingly wonderful Jack’s Big Music Show is well underway. It’s made by Spiffy Pictures for Noggin and if you haven’t seen this amazingly-cool-puppet-music-show for toots, then you’re missing out. Some pretty good shows so far in Season 2, including a song by the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, who actually came off a little creepy in their video.

But the best so far has to be the triple whammy on the Ground Hog Day episode that featured a guest appearance by Jon Stewart and a rocking Ground Hog video by Steve Burns, of Blue’s Clues fame. Rocking alongside him is Steven Drozd master musician of The Flaming Lips.
Noggin has the full video online here.
Check out Steveswebpage and his myspace page for all sorts of music, vids and info.

They’re finally back! Steve Purcell’s kooky anthromorphic detectives have a new video game. Telltale Games will be releasing it in 6 episodes. Episode 1: Culture Shock is available. Looks and sounds pretty niffty, unfortunately it’s only for PC.

They’ve loaded the site up with all sorts of goodies. You can make your own Sam and Max comic strip, like mine. Make sure you also check out the killer watercolory interactive online comic strip by Steve Purcell. You might as well take a lookey at Graham Annable’s comic Dank: The Caveman Inventor. Then shoot over to the store and buy me a copy of Sam & Max sketchbook called The Age of S&M.

One of you comic publishers needs to reprint the Sam & Max collection. Do it, mine is falling apart!

Can’t get enough Sam & Max, well then jot on over to the Sam & Max Unofficial Website.

So Monday night at 11 on TBS I caught the first episode of “The Jim Henson Company’s Puppet Up!”

It’s basically “Whose Line is it Anyway” done with puppets. Confused? Well check out the clip over at www.puppetup.com

Going to the Movies?
You should go see this one.
I did.

The website is pretty neat also.
Stranger Than Fiction

October 28
Greenville Comic Con
Greenville, SC

Come on out and pick up a copy of Wide Awake 666 right from the hands of Upstate South Carolina’s best comic artists. Justin Gammon, Duane Ballenger, J Chris Campbell and a few other Wappies. We’ll also have a ton of Wide Awake Press mini comics and buttons and stuff. See yah there!