12-30-06: Who thought *I* would be on James (THE CROW) O'Barr's website?!

Just found this pic of me, and thought it was really cool...its from Heroes Con this year after I got James O'Barr to draw LANDIS in his sketchbook for me...(taken from http://www.jamesobarr.net/gallery.asp?page=2&id=24&cat=6)

12-30-06: And Inside look at where the PS3 will WIN and LOSE the wars...

Don't you find it interesting that people are shunning the $600 (or $500 if you are cheap) pricetag of the PS3, and they are wondering why it costs so much? What I am going to do is take a look at where the PS3 is in contrast to the X-Box 360 one month after launch and then give my inside opinions on where they will Pass and Fail respectively, and why...be prepared, however, since this blog will DEFINITELY contain a history lesson...

Let's start with what we know about the videogame industry since Playstation 2 and X-Box launched.

When PS2 launched, it was all alone on top of the industry with no end in sight, and why? There was no competition, and there was no X-Box. The pricetag was $299.99 and this was at the time the least expensive DVD player on the market (now for $129.99 it is one of the more expensive ones). Two major directors VOWED to NEVER place their movies on DVD before this launch, and their names just happen to be Spielberg and Lucas.

One year later, Microsoft is determined to beat Sony in the gaming world, launching their own massive box, at exactly the same pricepoint. The only problem is, that at this point, videogame store walls are covered with about 120 titles of PS2 materials, and we are still seeing PS1 games made at this point that play on the PS2. Microsoft NEVER catches Sony, and never is accepted in Japan.

The big thing to recall here is that Sony REMAINED at 299.99...but now, with the massive amounts of units available, and the large library, those two movie directors started noticing that A LOT of people had DVD players in homes now...hmm....

Sony wins this round, no doubt about it. Games like Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid (sure #2 finally made its way to Xbox, but come on, they never got to see #3), not to mention the year waits between getting to play Grand Theft Autos finally made people realize that the PS2 was the leader, and it didn't matter that the X-Box was a BETTER GAMING SYSTEM...if you don't agree, shut up, you are probably also the person that will then say, "But I miss my Dreamcast..." which proves my point...sometimes the best system does NOT win...or last.

Now that the history lesson is done, let's weigh the systems.

XBOX 360 PRO (launches November 2005) - $399.99
The core system was ONLY launched at 299.99 because Microsoft was afraid that NO ONE would forgive them for NOT hitting the 299.99 pricepoint of the prior generation, and is simply put...A FOOLS BARGAIN...its perfect if you are buying a gift, but if you are buying it for yourself, don't be an imbecile...buy the pro system...its $200 of accessories that YOU WILL BUY.

HD CABLES INCLUDED
HEADSET INCLUDED
ETHERNET CABLE INCLUDED
WIRELESS CONTROLLER INCLUDED
HARDDRIVE INCLUDED (20gb)

Does it go above and beyond in technology, nah...but does it need to? No...it utilizes TRIED AND TRUE mentality inside a nicely sculpted box...

By November 2006...160 games in the library...ALL IN HD, and ALL IN DOLBY PRO-LOGIC. Total video output suport...as of November 12th...1080P...that's right, P, not I as it was when the system launched...why is this important? Sony announced they were the only one capable of it.

November 2006 marks the launch of the PS3...Top Pricepoint 599.99...

Yikes...let's look back at that history lesson...Ps2 led and had the same price...XBox360 was now out, had 140 more games available AND ...AND...AND...a $200 pricebreak...IF you didn't want HD MOVIES available.

This is where the PS3 will fail...on the gaming end. Sure, it'll still be there at the end of this generation, and it is because the longstanding name both here and in Japan. But it won't be #1 this generation, and will probably send Sony back to the drawing board faster because of the fall to #2...a strategy that hurts everyone from Sony to us, the consumers.

alright, now lets look at the 599.99 system...

60gb Harddrive
WiFi enabled AND ethernet available
standard video cables included
memory card reader (SD, Memory Stick Duo and Compact Flash)
One wireless controller on one of the 7 BLUETOOTH channels
BLU-RAY video player
1080P resolution and 7.1 Digital Sound capable.

Okay, so for 599.99, you get one controller in the box, and one USB cable...but y'know what sucks? You have to BUY an HDMI cable to get 1080P resolution ($79.99), you have to buy a headset (Bluetooth, good headset...79.99) and if you need ethernet, add another $30 for that.
So literally another $200 in accessories to give you everything Microsoft has out of box... that's crazy...so sure, you can pay $50 a year for Xbox live, and pay $200 for the HD-DVD drive, but that's STILL LESS for everything...DON'T LET SONY FOOL YOU!

Okay...I've give you enough crap as to where Sony will fail, or IS ALREADY FAILING, and let's get to the last one...

BLU-RAY DISCS...OWNED BY SONY...PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE FORMAT...ARGH! Not another Sony Proprietary software piece...can we look at ALL THE FAILED ONES from the past? SURE...Betamax. DEAD. Mini-Disc. DEAD. UMD...might as well be DEAD. And finally, Blu-Ray...hm...

Anyone who says it will fail specifically because its a Sony Proprietary Software method may be onto something, but with me...I'm not so hard to judge, and let me explain...

Here's where Blu-Ray will FORCE success...

Right now, the Playstation 3 is the LEAST EXPENSIVE option for a Blu-Ray player, which shows very similar to that last DVD thingee...the PS2...But that's not why it'll succeed, its only something that someone with the HDTV and surround sound system will use to help justify the system to their wives, but it in no way is what will help it succeed.

Raw Numbers will. Think about this. Let's say Sony's sales EQUAL Microsoft from the 360 to the PS3 in their first years respectively...this would mean that there would be about 10million or so PS3's IN HOMES as early as the end of December 2007. Do you know what this means?

IF THAT WERE THE CASE...THERE WOULD BE 10 MILLION BLU-RAY PLAYERS IN HOMES ALREADY...

Let's be more realistic, however. Let's say 6 million by the end of business on December 31st, 2007...almost exactly one year from today...Blu-Ray would OWN the market. There'd be no choice at that point. And you can't argue that both would make it...the ONLY way that's going to happen is if Phillips patented disc that allows DVD/HDDVD/BLU-RAY all on one disc starts making its way to mainstream market AT A REASONABLE VALUE.

So there you have it folks, sure, it wasn't all the numbers I probably made it sound like it was going to be, but it is the cold hard truth...360 will win the game war this time, but I think if Sony can keep getting PS3s into homes, you will have a BLU-RAY player if you want HD movies...

What does everyone else think? Are my arguments valid?

12-25-06: Christmas and a ZUNE plug

Hello all you readers out there. I want to throw another shout out to Roscoe for reviewing DEAD SONJA and by placing a comment on the last DEAD SONJA blog entry, because it really touched me and made me feel great about what I wrote...it truly helped me realize that real readers will be inspired from such writings.

Now, subject matter. Want to throw a note out there to everyone that hasn't been able to get in touch with me recently...please, don't take it personally, I've been sick since my birthday (Friday) and can't seem to get well, and with no other days off from the day job this week, I have to take every real spare moment I have to sleep and rest. I haven't been this sick in a long time.

Alright, now to what I got for Christmas.

My mom and dad actually gave me THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 1 from DC comics...now this is great, because its one of the Absolutes I did NOT have since I started collecting them (I started with Batman: Hush), but this was one of the two I did not get recently (NEW FRONTIER being the other). It is an omnibus style oversized hardcover that clocks in at about 650 pages. It contains the first 20 issues of Neil Gaiman's series and the first 18 of which are completely recolored from Gaiman's personal notes. It also includes the entire script and sketches from #19, as well as an intro by DC Publisher, Paul Levitz and the entire premise for the series written by Gaiman that led to the series...this is a treasure for any true comic fan.

The parents also gave my wife and myself money for assorted needs.

I received quite a bit in giftcards from both sisters and their husbands, so that ought to help supply me somewhere...my brother and my wife's brother gave me FAMILY GUY and RED STEEL respectively (haven't played either)...Christy's aunt gave us a tv stand for the bedroom and her parents gave me some candy, some nicknacks, and then some really cool stuff... a Notre Dame placemat for outside, as well as..,oh yeah...THE GREEN BRADY QUINN jersey. Here's hoping that Jimmy Clausen decides that #10 is the number he's gonna want to wear.

Christy, not to be outdone gave me a kit of goodies for my nintendo ds lite with like 10 accessories in it, the first season of Prison Break from Brett Ratner, the second season of Entourage and then...the motherload...the ULTIMATE SUPERMAN COLLECTION...

This baby has it all. SUPERMAN...SUPERMAN THE EXPANDED CUT...SUPERMAN II...SUPERMAN II THE RICHARD DONNER CUT...SUPERMAN III...SUPERMAN IV...SUPERMAN RETURNS and then like 8 other discs...this thing is HUUUUUGE! It's awesome and just what I wanted!

Don't you love when you get exactly what you ask for?

Alright, and now my ZUNE plug. Ever since I received the Zune from Microsoft...no check that, ever since I heard about this product from Microsoft, I've thought its better than your standard iPod...now, please, don't tell my wife, because I gave her a NANO for Christmas, but this Zune... wow. Let's just talk about the features.

30 GIGS...yikes, that a lot of space. That's 1/7 of my harddrive.
music, pics and video...too many possibilities.
NO COMPRESSION and TV OUT...this means just hook up the right cable and watch your videos on your tv!
WIFI...streaming baby!
FM tuner BUILT IN!
and finally...$15 a month for UNLIMITED DOWNLOADS...are they crazy?! That's like only 15 songs from iTunes...

Guys, seriously...with everything this product has to offer, if you are considering an mp3/mp4 player, don't just go with #1 because it says its the best...do your research...I'm beginning to think this thing IS the best...

Well, g'night, all...I have to be up at 5:30 am, so I want you all to enjoy the rest of your holiday... I have to prepare for the nightmare that is the day after christmas.

Rob

12-25-06: Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas

Hello all, and as said in the post...Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.

I'll probably post a personal update later, but just wanted to make sure everyone has a safe and healthy holiday!

Rob

12-17-06: Critics and artists agree, DEAD SONJA IS A HIT!

Hey everyone, I figured I'd look up to see if people have been reviewing the parody DEAD SONJA: SHE-ZOMBIE WITH A SWORD, and I figured I'd post up some places I saw online reviewing it...

http://arellis49.livejournal.com/275860.html - Roscoe Ellis' livejournal where he said, "I'll give this delightfully delicious parody the review it deserves," and here's the actual breakdown from him...

http://www.arellis.net/roscoescomics/index.php/archives/category/dead-sonja/

I'll let Freddie J go after him for using full page scans and delivering too much of the plot, but I'll accept the positive review :).

The art you see is the "DEAD SEXY" version of the cover, from Remy "Eisu" Mokhtar, also the artist of part three, and here's a link to what he had to say about the story and everyone else's opinions as well...http://darkkof.livejournal.com/119960.html It gets noted that I am the sole writer later in what they say, but it's cool! I'm just glad to have worked with three ULTRA TALENTED ARTISTS!

My old buddies at Broken Frontier actually posted this bit:

• Dead Sonja: She Zombie with a Sword #1: Sword and sorcery comics are making a comeback, especially Robert E. Howard-based characters such as Conan and Red Sonja. Another popular genre that has gained popularity in more than one medium is the Zombie Story. Both story types are ripe for parody. But what do you do if you don’t have time to poke fun at each one individually?

If you’re like Owen Gieni and Robert Blatant, you combine the two and come up with Dead Sonja. Yes, it’s a zombie version of Red Sonja. Is it unique? That would depend on the execution. If it’s successful, does this mean we will see more zombie parodies in our future? Quite possibly. Use that as a determination on whether or not you want to buy this book.
Owen Gieni (W), Robert Blatant & various (A), Blatant Comics, $9.99. One-shot

Now, unfortunately, they didn't make mention of me being a writer on the book, but alas, its publicity for the title.

"Dead Sonja She Zombie With a Sword is just begging to be read... along with Zombies VS. Robots. " - From a poster on SILVERBULLETCOMICS.com

Hey, I also get blasted in LASVEGASWEEKLY.com....

"Dead Sonja, She-Zombie With a Sword No. 1 Blatant Comics
Writer Rob Potchak Jr. and publisher Blatant Comics get plenty of points for marketing genius, coming up with one of the best and most inspired titles for a comic book this year, and one that pretty much sums up the current state of the industry's mainstream. But then they lose those points and more for delivering a dreadfully unfunny and occasionally even shockingly offensive parody story.
The book takes zombie comics and barbarian comics, the two most popular non-superhero genres of the moment, and squishes them together into a book whose title is a clever rhyming riff on Red Sonja, whose current publishers no doubt wish they had thought of making a book by this title first.
But much like the already forgotten movie Snakes on a Plane, the title is the best part of the experience, and once you get past that, it's all downhill. "

But hell, at least they got my name right :). As to what this writer found OFFENSIVE... well, we cut out all those parts, so giminy...what book did they read?

And now finally one last bad review...

Dead Sonja, She-Zombie with a Sword #1 (Blatant Comics) Well, it had to happen sooner or later, didn’t it? I’m sure Dynamite Comics, who currently own the rights on Red Sonja comics and sell plenty of zombie-related comics due to their rights on Army of Darkness comics are kicking themselves for not thinking of this first. Hell, I know I am, and I don’t even own a comic book company. Writer Rob Potchak Jr. and Blatant certainly get props for coming up with a genius idea and title, but there’s nothing inside the book as remotely clever or well executed as the title, logo and covers (they even have several variant covers, ala Dynamite’s Red Sonja books). The black and white art, by Owen Gieni, Ap. Furtado and Remy “Eisu” Mokhtar (that’s Eisu’s cover pictured) is all decent, and done in a fun, loose style, but few of the jokes are very funny. Of course, seeing as the sixth page of this 48-page comic includes a rape-related joke, it’s hard to find anything that follows even remotely chuckle worthy, as that’s a pretty reprehensible thing to include in any story, let alone one as unserious as this.

and now a rebuttal...

Does anyone realize that I DOWNPLAYED the "rape" scene as much as one can DUE TO THE FACT THAT IT IS INSTRUMENTAL IN WHO RED SONJA *NOT THE PARODY CHARACTER, BUT THE REAL CHARACTER* is...? My god, folks...I stayed TRUE to the origin... was it a poor choice? No. It was integral in what makes the character. It seems obvious that the offensiveness spoken of from a city that PROSTITUTION is LEGAL is bogus, and unfounded. It is downright deplorable when you stay true to a character's origin and get blasted for it. Good thing these sites aren't reputable...hehe.

BACK TO GOOD REVIEWS!

"Dead Sonja, She-Zombie with a Sword: This is a black-and-white, 48 page indie book parody that is just incredibly funny. Witness, for instance, Zombie Sonja killing an enemy by crushing him between her breasts." - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=69130039 - Eric at Myspace.com

Well, this post has gone on long, and it seems only the people that really matter (FANS OF COMICS WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR) have enjoyed the book, but hell, I don't care...when I get placement next to Jeph Loeb and Darwin Cooke in lasvegasweekly.com, I'll take that as a positive...

12-16-06: Cool art and some other things going on...

So some really bad movie, called DEAD AND DEADER starring Dean (Superman) Cain is on in the background tonight, so you'll have to forgive me if I start rambling about horrible movies outta nowhere tonight.

I finished the 20 pages of HALLO! that I committed to earlier this week and have sent it to Freddie J Blatant III for approval. Its good enough work, and something that anyone who enjoyed Dead Sonja would like...and I've heard there are quite a few of you...heck, at my comic store, I noticed they ordered about 25 copies, and it is almost sold out, so this is a great sign.

Every so often, I get this urge to just get into a story, and with the positive praise that Dead Sonja has been receiving, I have begun writing the book I want to do next...DEAD SONJA VS. THE ARMY OF DARKTWITS. The first ten pages (or so) are to introduce the Army of Darktwits since we haven't seen them, yet, the next portion would be how he gets introduced to Dead Sonja...then it would be their big fight...then they clear up any misconception and fight a common foe...wow, sounds like a full blown crossover, huh? Mostly, except, make sure you add in Victoria's Secret's catalogs, really stupid zombies and a three legged horse (with a dangling eyeball) and you have the most insane crossover since ROBOT vs. MONKEY...or whatever that one book was called.

I'm really excited about the idea of this book, so please, write on the LANDIS board that YOU WANT ARMY OF DARKTWITS, and maybe someone will finally cave in and give me the book I want to write :).

Oh, also...tonight, something a little different. I am posting a piece of art by Ryan Benjamin from the upcoming GRIFTER/MIDNIGHTER miniseries, an dI have to say, if the art for the book looks as good as this cover image, it is going to be a must have....so I figured he probably wouldn't mind the plug on the art and book...

12/13/06: Dead Sexy...

Hello! Welcome to yet another one of these great days that I like to call, "A day without a day job..." That's right, I'm off from work, have told my assistant manager to NOT call me and have literally shunned myself away from the store...why? I don't want to think about it, and I'm not going to.

Today, I received copies of DEAD SONJA #1 from the publisher, and I have to say, I'm still really impressed with the book, and I'm even MORE impressed that they sent me 15 of the 400 limited edition copies...which I am trying to think of what to do with them.

I have discussed with Owen Gieni's collaborator, Chris Crosby, about offering the book on their website, somethumbsonline.com as a way to try to get people to see that as much as Owen likes drawing cutesy characters, he can draw one hell of a zombie, as well.

I've also offered to Chris to letter the remaining pages of LANDIS, so that we may yet see it in print form, since I'd like to start passing around a movie treatment, and I think the book in graphic novel format would help solidify us trying to sell a real project. I know some online comics have made it bigtime and even signed tv deals, but most of us get laughed at and worked over for trying to claim we're just as popular as the big boys in print.

Oh...before I forget...its PLUG time. Ryan Stegman, former artist linked to a title called LANDIS (originally scheduled to draw issues 5-7 of the series), has made his way to big and better things. He started working with Chuck Saterlee and Markosia last year, but this year, when he started drawing a title for the Dabel Brothers (Magician's Apprentice), I bet he never thought he'd be working indirectly for Marvel. Well, with Dabel's new agreement to print their books through Marvel, Ryan now technically works for them. I think this is great news for him, as it is definitely one of his dreams. And don't let him say he was never drawing Landis, either, because I've seen the pages...hehe. Congrats dude, you worked hard, got yourself to the speed and quality you needed to, and now you are there!

Achem...time for you to tell them about your friend who you think is a diamond in the rough writer, hehe...kidding!

Suggestions on what I should do with the copies of Dead Sonja?

12/9/06: Stop asking if we have it in stock...

Heh. Yeah, that's how I feel, but I don't get to say it to customers about the Wii or the Playstation 3. Our Corporate Offices have actually told us that we can tell people not to call because we won't have them by the time they drive to the store, which has alleviated some call volume, but for crying out loud, call volume is at like 300 calls a day now, and when we get them, we'll get like 3...so fat chance trying to get one, y'know?

So on the comic update thing, JK and I are talking about launching THE ARDY VANSTARR ADVENTURES sometime in January, and though he kind of wants to change the name, I like the long extensiveness of it, and think that it'll remain that long title, since calling it something simple like VANSTARR would be too cliche for me, since my other title is named directly after the last name of my other character. However, I've always wanted to call a series, ARDY, so who knows, we may yet do that.

Also, I'm currently writing the first portion of a HALO parody called HALLO! which is about a guy by the name of MASTER CHEF works on a cooking show for The United Planets Network (UPN) and it gets bought out by the COVENANT WORLDWIDE (CW). I'll leave the story there for now, don't want to give too much away, but needless to say, its a pretty fun story so far. Look for it to be a 64 page graphic novel due in the first quarter next year...

More Dead Sonja? Maybe. Right now, I'm lobbying to get Freddie Blatant III to actually publish a sequel to the hit oneshot, DEAD SONJA: SHE-ZOMBIE WITH A SWORD... and I'm really trying to get Blatant to let me do the DEAD SONJA VS. ARMY OF DARKTWITS story that I really want to write. I'd say we may see something like this in June ish, if they'll give it the greenlight.

Oh, BTW, DEAD SONJA #1 has been doing pretty darn well in the review department...at least with whom I've asked from the local shops. No real written reviews from any reputable places, but I'm proud of what I wrote, and I believe all those artists are really proud of what they drew, since I think its one of the best LOOKING parodies ever drawn.