Wrassling...what I'd do with Wrestlemania.

All this talk of Paul Heyman being removed from the creative team and now being taken off of the bios page, is a travesty. Yes, he probably was listening in on phone calls to see where the creative process was headed but he ALWAYS looks out for the best interests of the business. He's not out to hurt anyone, expecially the mouth that feeds him.

Now, something a little different...what I'd do to get to Wrestlemania.

FIRST...I'd drop this early January PPV. Some of us only want to pay ONCE a month for Pay Per View, and if Royal Rumble and this hit the same bill, this is the one I'm dropping.

Main Event
Randy Orton vs. John Cena
Hero vs. Hero, and Champion vs. Champion. I'd put these two against each other AFTER their title wins at NYR and NWO respectively (though NEITHER will happen). Last year these two got into it at Summerslam and the place exploded. Now that both are the top faces on their respective shows, this would erupt beautifully. Won't happen, though, because both will end up against JBL and HHH, not so respectively.

RAW match
HHH vs. Batista
This would be what would happen if Orton DID get put into a match against Cena, and may still happen, if for the sole fact that Orton would put the idea of winning the title aside so that he could show he's the TOP COMPANY man rather than just champion of one brand.

Smackdown match
Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker for the Smackdown title
This would happen with them being the only other two "top" guys, with Angle being the heel and losing to Taker...why? The winning streak, of course. And it would allow them to then put the title on Cena, Booker or RVD (yeah right) when he wants to job.

US Title match
Kenzo vs. Renee.
Why? Because NEITHER are american...hehe. Winner? Who cares.

Cruiserweight title match
Hurricane vs. Tajiri
Two Raw stars? No...but damn if they aren't two of the best.

Intercontinental Title
Shelton vs. Christian LADDER MATCH
I'm just figuring they'll need it to make someone care.

Eh, my next post will probably say what I predict the REAL WM card to look like.

Bruce Campbell...Mysterio?!

No, not some blamed rumor, but a theory that would work WELL and allow them to exploit Mr. Campbell a little better.

What if Bruce Campbell, who played a wrestling ring announcer in Spider-man and a theatre attendant in Spider-man 2 became Mysterio?

He could have been rehearsing for roles he was trying to land, and works on the side as a special effects guy.

Something goes wrong, and BOOM...Bruce Campbell = Villain for Spidey-3!!!

Mr. Raimi, PLEASE! This is a GREAT plot idea!

Jason Todd...Hush? Red Hood? Both?

DC Comics has been trying to make you think Jason Todd has been alive since Batman was drawn by Jim Lee (issues #608-619) and then when Judd Winnick first wrote the book, (issues 626-630) and now in the solicitations for the return of the Red Hood story, where they've gone as far as to show that under the RED HOOD is...Jason Todd's face.

Well, my favorite DC book (when NOT part of the WAR GAMES crossover) is Gotham Knights, by AJ Lieberman and various artists. The story that went from issues #51-55 and #60 are a six issue story (only seperated by War Games, BAH!) that brought Hush into the light, only in a title not expected, the 3rd tier Batman title.

In issues 51-55, you get plot points that may seem of little relevence, but here's where it comes into play.

Hush hates Joker and Riddler, Riddler KNOWS the name of the man that killed Joker's wife, Riddler uses this to get protection from the Joker, who Hush must know about this already. Hush brings in Prometheus as a hired gun, who nobody recognizes the name of (a plot point for later, of course), but lets use these plot points.

They are trying to say that Joker was the original RED HOOD. Jason Todd is supposed to be under the Red Hood now.

They are trying to say that Hush is Jason Todd. As issue #60 shows, it is NOT Tommy Elliot, but rather someone impersonating him.

Do I believe the new Red Hood and Hush are one in the same? Why not? It would make a good story, as long as it was done right.

If Hush were Jason Todd, he would NATURALLY hate the Joker (as Joker Killed him in Batman #436?). He would toy with him, but one line stood out, and that is when Joker says "You'll be dead before the end of the day." Hush looks at him and tells him that doesn't scare him.

You see, Hush toys with them all, and Red Hood is a mockery of Joker. All the while, he has been using the Lazarus Pit which makes him even more crazy. It's only a matter of time, but I'd LOVE to see BOTH be true.

Monday, the 27th.

Well, I'm at home alone with two dogs, and right now at work, meaning one dog is sleeping on the bed, and the other is in his cage making a mess out of things.

That's all well and good, and come the first of the year, I'll be sending my package of art/story of LANDIS to Platinum Studios. I wonder if they'll pick it up, or if I'll have to stick with just Keenspot and their publishing plans for Convention season as well as online, while I begin to start looking at publishing my own webcomic right here for everyone...and I'll give a little insight to that.

If you want to see anything, let me know. I like to be a sarcastic comedian, but I think what I may do first will be just some sketches and some works I've done before just to give everyone a look at my art.

If you see something you like, PLEASE, send your friends to come check it out. You can ALWAYS contact me.

I'm not sure how many people have checked this site out, but hopefully a few have by now.

As soon as I have my scanner working again, guys and gals...I'll have some stuff on here.

Until I start posting art, check out one of my favorite art groups at gelatometti.blogspot.com for some really cool Jim Lee and Ale Garza art...with a couple others chiming in every now and then.

Tonight I'll try and post my thoughts on both RAW and the MNF game, but until then, check out my reviews on MEDIASHARX.com in the comic section from last week.

Happy Birthday to me...sorta.

So today's my birthday, and not to sound ungrateful, in order, let's get to who DID wish me one. My Aunt Geri, Aunt Marge, Aunt Helen, and their respective families sent cards.

My best friend from as long as I've lived here, Chris, called today, even after he took me out last night and gave me a very warming, "Happy Birthday ya old Bastid" to cheer me up. My buddy Mitch found time to call before he got on a flight to Michigan so see his family (and possibly his grandma for the last time) to tell me.

My mom, both sisters, my Brother in Law, Shane, my little brother Dave, my Dad, and everyone I worked with (even got some birthday licks, yay).

My fiancee Christy came back from NY to be here with me on my birthday, and that means more than most would think. Her parents made sure to get on the phone with me to wish the same while she was with them.

The people you only hear from once or twice a year anyhow from, I don't mind them not calling, since they have their own issues to deal with (one cousin just found they have breast cancer), so they can take care of themselves and I hold no ill will.

The people that I would have liked to just gotten a phone call from who didn't wish me one, Like Fubar and Derek, well...that hurts.

I'm not trying to bitch, but after living with these guys, and inviting them to almost everything I do because they are friends, they don't even call to say, "happy birthday." They can't make it to the birthday family dinner both had been invited to tomorrow night, so both received a text message saying, "What about hanging out tonight?" And NEITHER responded anything.

Thanks guys.

To everyone else, I'll probably post before Christmas, but if for some reason I don't, have a happy holiday.

JK Radke and Poker online

I was online last night, and I got to chat with one of my best online buds, who I don't get a lot of time to talk to, JK Radke (I'm probably spelling his name wrong, too).

He's doing wonders on his current website, LIVINGCORPSE.com, a website that he used to base movie and tv reviews, now he's moving more in the realm of SCI-FI, HORROR only genres. I'll probably throw a review or two his way when I review things like my weekly review this week for Mark Texeira's new PUNISHER book (not horror or sci-fi, but I'm sure it'll be gory)RED X-MAS, guess they had to throw an X in there to generate sales.

So I've now learned that online poker sucks hard. It's easy to win, but its VERY easy to lose...BAD. But heck, it is all a learning experience before good ol' poker night starts.

Tonight will be disappointing, as my fiancee is out of town, and RAW is a BEST OF show...which their haven't been that many good moments this year. Geez, I wish my application for WWE Writer had been given a serious look, as I think I'd be able to help push them back to the level they need to go. While they have some great talent (Orton, Edge, Hurricane), rarely are they given their shot at grabbing the crowd. There would have to be some transition, but I think I could write people better.

Rob

Christmas Presents and B-Day presents

Hey all,

Just wanted to give an update, since its probably been a couple days now (at this time of year, they all flow together since I work in retail). This is my favorite time of year, and my least favorite time of year, all rolled into one, because well, I work in retail (bad) and both Christmas and my Birthday happen at this time of year, with my fiancee, Christy's b-day falling in January.

Some presents larger than others have already begun showing up, since people were afraid I may not show up for something, they wouldn't see me, or "its just too big to bring to your birthday dinner."

So far, I've gotten great gifts, including players cards from my favorite Christmas movie, A CHRISTMAS STORY (you'll shoot your eye out), from ym brother Dave, a poker table (probably for 6-8 players) and chips from my sister and her husband, and the complete first and second seasons of Seinfeld from my buddy Mitch. All top notch, and I'm glad everyone listened to the hints I was giving, because I rarely want certain things, but this year, I wanted stuff, so I subtlely started talking about it.

So here it is...anyone who reads this from my standard circle of friends (you know who you are)...BEGINNING DECEMBER 29th, a WEDNESDAY, and one week after my birthday, will begin POKER NIGHT at Potsy's house!

BYOB, but the table will hold 6-8 for Dealer's Choice poker. This means No-Limit, Texas Hold'm, Day and Night Baseball, standard draw and any other Poker games that anyone wants to teach.

Time is up for discussion (I work until 9:30 pm that evening but have Thursday off, so I'm til playing until we can't play no more! I'm figuring a 10pm start time.

update...

Sorry, been having issues with the internet at home recently, and dealing with more and more crappy customers at work. It's one of those situations where there isn't much that can be done except hope and pray it ends when they all get zapped.

I have posted a Gotham Knights #60 review for Mediasharx.com, one of the best news report sites out there, and personally this was a great issue to get involved in.

Next week Astonishing X-Men #7, where Buffy creator Joss Whedon continues his tragic romance, hehe. Just kidding, his story has been decent, but I really do buy it for the John cassaday art...that dude's stuff is phenominal...spelling bad.

Platinum Studios

Today, I received an updated submission packet from Platinum Studios and Lee Nordling, their head of submissions. From only talking to him in passing, he seems very cordial to help someone find the next big story, which is good.

The upside is that the company is looking for materials to print into comics, only to then turn around and make movies or TV shows out of them. This means the ultimate thing to any new or aspiring artist/writer, exposure.

The downside...if a company takes a chance on one of these properties, the amount of money that can be earned has a cap, whereas most people who get discovered and sign a movie deal (take Steve Niles for example, who signed for his 30 Days of Night for $1 Million in signing bonus), and it is highly probable that is how they make all of their money.

I'll send LANDIS into them and see what they think. If nothing else, they may say that like one character more than another and that they want to look into doing something with them, or of course, worst case scenario, they throw another Erik Larsen at me, telling me that they aren't looking at it and have no interest in helping someone with a finished project trying to get published.

My biggest thing that I want people to realize is this, I am not looking to make millions on my story, but am looking to get my name out there and write good stories. Sure, I've got my Green Lantern story, I've got my X-Men story, and I've got my Wolverine/Captain America story, but the only way I'll ever get asked to write those is if my smaller more personal stories see print.

Adios all...til next time.

Identity Crisis #7 and this week's comics

So this week Identity Crisis #7 came out, to virtually no competition. Although this was probably a scheduling oversight due to December being a 5 week month, but I'll express a quick opinion before I probably review it later.

"It was a little disappointing for who it turned out to be, however, ALL the buildup was worth the ride, as the story tied everything back together and although a little campy, it made realistic sense considering what happened.

I just don't think 7 months of suspense should have ended that way."

The only other book I'll even be reviewing this week is Gotham Knights #60, as AJ Lieberman returns to the book to "close" his HUSH story that started with issue 51. Wonderfully done book, and leading into the next question.

RAW...

Well, I was right, as the NEW YEAR'S REVOLUTION from WWE RAW will feature the Elimination Chamber with HHH, Benoit, Edge, Batista, Jericho and Orton headlining. Ought to be interesting.

Letter 2 from Erik Larsen about Landis

This was received from Erik Larsen after I asked for Creative Criticism and anything that may help the project get picked up. I understand where he was coming from with his statements about not being able to critique it, but it shocks me the decision would come as fast as it did.

"Dear Rob,

I DO realize that it might be helpful to get some insight into the reasons that your book was rejected but frankly, there aren't enough hours in the day to give everybody critiques!

We get thousands of submissions and it's simply not possible to go through all of them and give out pointers to help creators determine where they neen to make improvements.

If there was a little tweak or fix that would take your proposal from being in the reject pile to the approved pile we would have made suggestions to help make that happen, believe me--but this was not the case.

-Erik Larsen Publisher"

I have no ill will towards Mr. Larsen, as he needs to do for his company what he sees fit, however, as a person who has been published, who has a cover drawn by one of the hottest artists today, as well as colored by a guy who works on at least ten Marvel books a month, I wonder if the work was given a fair shake...but I'll keep trying. This story NEEDS to be printed, and it will happen.

Original Art...? WWE Raw

Hey guys, if anyone is reading this (and I hope someone is) and knows where to get Travis Charest original art, please LET ME KNOW! This guy's art is amazing and makes me aspire to work harder on both my writing and my art.

In the coming posts, I'm planning on putting up the entire EboniX-Men story that you saw the cover for. Why? Just for kicks more than anything else. Chris Crosby of Keenspot (still the publisher of the soon to be released LANDIS TPB and online strips), who holds the rights to the property gave me the okay to republish it online if it is for non-profit, and well...like most, I'm not making any money on this...I just wanted everyone to get a chance to read some of the silliest stuff I've ever worked on.

If you have any suggestions about how to post it (one page at a time per day, or all at once) let me know. What I may do is just include a link to another site that I have it all posted at so everyone can take a look.

Tonight is also WWE RAW, a show that in the past few weeks has actually been pretty decent, except for those silly Simon Dean segments.

With Eric Bischoff coming back, tonight, expect him to make a note that the World Heavyweight Title will be held up in an Elimination Chamber match, where it'll be HHH, Orton, Edge, Benoit and possibly the likes of Batista, Shawn Michaels (if he's healthy) and Kane (if he's about to return) to make it the six man classic.

Watch for Jericho to try to interject himself into such a match, too...who knows, maybe we'll get another solid performance.

You can reach me at RobARDY@aol.com if you'd like to get in touch to let me know what you think of the blog, or if you can help answer any of my questions.

This is the cover for LANDIS #1 when it sees print. This could very well be the DIRECT MARKET only cover for a graphic novel, if thats the only way it sees print.  

Below are some images

Well, I keep telling everyone I'm a writer. Well these are two covers of prior works (BELOW). LANDIS, the book I want to continue to push into publication, and EboniX-MEN which saw print in the late 90's from the now defunct Blatant Comics (it rolled into Keenspot Entertainment, I believe).

The covers are produced by:

Landis #1 cover:
Ethan Van Sciver (art)
Rus Wooten (Colors)

(notice these names in any "Big Two" books?) Oh, Ethan, if you EVER read this...I'm having the original of that cover framed as we speak, since I'm proud of it. Hope you are too.

EboniX-Men #1 cover:
AP Furtado (art)
Jas Ingram (colors)

Furtado will grace the pages of Heavy Metal this year, and I urge you to check out APFurtado.com to see other beautiful pieces of work by him.

The cover of my favorite funny book, The Ungrammatical EboniX-MEN. Cover art by A P Furtado and colored by Jas Ingram (I believe) 

Identity Crisis #7 and DC Countdown

Y'know, it wasn't long ago that I NEVER read DC Comics. I would read everything that Marvel produced and nothing from DC. I'd say that my comic collection was 90% or more Marvel, and the rest being DC and Image.

Now, though, my monthly fix includes probably closer to a 45% / 45% ratio, with the other 10% being books from various creators.

With Identity Crisis, DC decided to grow up and tell GOOD stories, though I have no idea how it will end. Even before the final issue ships out this week, everyone is already talking about their next big event, and this one will be huge, DC Countdown. Just the cover of Previews says it all...

"Cover by Jim Lee and Alex Ross; 80 Pages; $1.00!!!"

Any time you get an 80 page comic written (at least partly) by Geoff Johns, you are getting a good book. The guy is incredible, and he's been one of the few writers that has been tying Identity Crisis into his titles because it makes for better reading.It also makes it feel as though the universe IS connected, making it revolve a little better, too.

Anyway, my money is on the culprits being Lex Luthor and Jason Todd, long believed to be dead, but he could very well be Hush...since this weeks issue of Gotham Knights is sure to shock MANY...(got an advance copy, and it was more than good).

Enjoy the comics this week, and heck, I was the one who brought DC Countdown to the attention of my retailer, since they didn't notice it on the final pages of all the new DC titles.

Til next time.

This is the real Ardy pic by Maus and Ingram. Sorry for the earlier mistaken post...it takes some getting used to. 

Ardy drawn by Bill Maus and colored by Jas Ingram 

MediaSharx.com

I've currently got two reviews up on Mediasharx.com. One for Marvel Knights 4 #13 and one for MK Spider-man #9. I was pretty awestruck by Spider-man, while my impression of what Aguirre-Sacasa while impressive at the beginning of MK4 was wonderful, it has fallen back to mediocrity. Hopefully the title will pick it back up, because in recent months it was one of the best reads available from any big publisher.

WWE Armageddon tonight

As this is a SMACKDOWN ONLY PPV, I will probably not be getting it myself, however, I did think I'd post my thoughts on what will happen leading Smackdown into the Royal Rumble. We'll start at the bottom of the card directly from WWE.COM

Spike "The Boss" Dudley (c) vs. "Smackdown #1 Announca" Funaki
Crusierweight Title Match

Has anyone cared about Spike Dudley being the CW Champ at all? I don't think so, and due to this, I really think Vince will do a smart thing and give Funaki the title in an ala Mikey Whipwreck kinda way...an accidental victory and a slew of victories that shouldn't happen before losing the strap at WM21 to who knows who.

Puder vs. Mizanin
Dixie Dog Fight (???)

Also known as a BRAWL FOR ALL Tournament match...oh sorry. Mizanin gets destroyed if this fight is really a shoot, otherwise, expect him to win outta nowhere if its scripted. The funny thing here is that WWE.COM actually MENTIONS the Bart Gunn vs. Butterbean disaster from a past WM. Crazy stuff.

Big Show vs. "The Honor Society" (Angle, Luthor and Jindrak)

My personal opinion here says that a team that the WWE is trying to push as huge badasses HAS to win this match...the odds are supposed to be TOO stacked against Big Show, and I see that, unless Jindrak has "had enough" and leaves, which could happen, but its WAYYY too early in the stages for that.

Dawn Marie vs. Miss Jackie
Charlie Haas as the special ref

Classically this would be the beginning of a heel turn and Haas would drop Jackie, but he has been injured and no one cares about this feud unless clothes come off, so I HOPE they leave him with Jackie...they're a good pair, unless they want to get Rico back involved (he wasn't fired, was he?)

John Cena (C) vs. Jesus
United States Title Match (Street Fight)

Quick Match, if Cena isn't going to be around, I see him dropping the belt, even though Jesus would be the SECOND guy that sucks to beat him, even if it is with help. I want Cena to win, but I want him to come back and actually be on the show...because he NEEDS to be.

RVD/Rey Mysterio (C) vs. Renee Dupree / Kenzo Suzuki
Tag Title match

God, get this over with...these are like Velocity Matches on this show. Man this PPV is going to suck. They ought to let RVD have Paul Heyman as his manager and make a title run, but it won't happen. In fact, to further bury him, he'll probably get pinned tonight...crappy, huh?

JBL (C) vs. Undertaker vs. Booker T vs. Eddie Guerrero
Fatal 4way for Smackdown WWE Title

I expect JBL to keep the title in a crappy fourway with one pin for the win. Expect something awful.

We Got'm!

Alright,

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL fan and that Rudy makes me cry (sorry, but its emotional, dammit), but this is news that almost makes me cry and is a celebratory moment.

Charlie Weis, the Offensive Coordinator for the New England Patriots that has helped them win two Super Bowls has signed a six year deal with the Fighting Irish in hopes of bringing back the winning ways of Lou Holtz and Nute Rockne (sp?).

Though I do not necessarily agree with the untimely dismissal of Ty Willingham from his 6 yr contract (after three years, two bowl games and a 21-15 overall record), I do agree that Weis is a winner, and having helped coach THREE teams to SuperBowl victories (the Patriots twice and the 1990 NY Giants with Parcells and Bill Bellichek (again, sp)), not to mention having graduated from the winningest College Football program in history (ND), he will bring a new sense of WINNING back to South Bend.

A little upset with Ty being let go, but overall...happy that ND should be able (within 3 yrs) get back to prominence and be attacking for BCS bids...and maybe...hoping here...a national championship.

Image out.

LANDIS, a title I created in 1997 and have retooled many many times since to attempt getting it published, and finally succeeded with the creation of A-BOMB publishing with Chris Crosby of Keenspot was turned down as a project from IMAGE COMICS (www.imagecomics.com) from publisher Erik Larsen after the submissions package was sent.

While this is disappointing, I will not stop attempting to get this story told, as it will probably see itself end up on book shelves from Keenspot by August 2005, but it may see itself as a special project on KEENSPOT.COM earlier in 2005 to establish an audience. Expect more news on this when I have it.

The packet which was sent to Image is being reworked to be sent to Platinum Studios as well as possibly Dark Horse Comics, and I'll give more information about that when I have it.

Wish me luck on that.

Time to Start Bloggingggggg...

Hey Folks, this is Rob Potchak. I write Comic books that do NOT seem to find their way to print, but that's not all I do. I'll pop in here from time to time with my thoughts on a bunch of different things. What typs of things will I blog about?

1) My own comic experience and where I'm headed.

2) NEWS and views on comics, including my reviews from MEDIASHARX.COM

3) Rumors on comics.

4) My personal view on my biggest vice, PRO WRESTLING.

5) From time to time I'll probably post a comic strip and maybe even jump it into a regular gig. Comic scripts that I've written and am attempting to get published.

6) Designs for characters and other pieces of "art" as I create them.

Hopefully this is something that people will begin to read, as I'm going to be giving as much information about how I feel about those things and keep everyone updated with my current creating scenarios as I can.

Until my first real post!