Today, Erik Larsen posted his 8th article at CBR.cc (comic book resources) and it can be read here...http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=20
Personally, I really didn't like this article so I wrote a response, which I'll make public on my personal blog here today...enjoy it. Any comments and opinions can be made here, but I urge you to read his article (probably for the last time) so that you get the full piture.
Mr. Larsen:
All your recent CBR article did was bitch and moan that people want to work on characters thar were created by someone else…don’t you hire people to do the same thing? Don’t you also do the same thing when you work on NOVA or AQUAMAN? On top of that, aren’t you also the guy hat also rejects 99% of the proposals that come into your offices under your own volition?
You want everyone to show you what they’ve got? This almost sounds like you are speaking to current creators that are under exclusives, who in many cases got that way because they did work on their own creations, or because someone saw something in them and gave them the chance to create, which is what this industry is about, creating.
Overall, I don’t think its about creating your own projects, though they are always nice, most professionals WANT to work on X-Men, or Spider-man, or Batman because they grew up reading them and it’s a dream come true for them to do so. Some people want to put a take on Daredevil because they saw what Frank Miller did on the title, and some people want to write a compelling Superman story because Curt Swan inspired them to do something.
When you look back at this article, remember that yes, you did catch my eye, you did mae me read, but I looked at it as you, Erik Larsen asking for current professionals to create something and give Image an attempt to publish it. It looked sad. You looked like you were taking a negative approach similar to Joe Quesada did when he dared Todd McFarlane to draw Spider-man/Spawn, attempting to goad people into stuff they just may not want to do.
Some creators fall on their faces when they leave the guaranteed money of the big two. Crossgen and Dreamwave come to mind. Sure, Image may have deeper pockets, but then again, wouldn’t putting a project out through you have the same lack of creativity you get on these creators about?
Its sad to see that the publisher of one of the top comic companies stoops to this level of hypocrisy with no valid point made, since he’s done the same things himself.
Why don’t you put more time into getting the quality of Savage Dragon back to when people actively pursued it month after month, instead of bitching that other creators who are trying to make a living in an industry they respect and enjoy?
Thank you.
Rob Potchak
Robpotchak.blogspot.com
Elisalandis.com
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Just sitting at work, plotting away in my head.
I'm working on a newer version of Landis, and who knows, I'm probably going to have to find a new artist if it gets made into a comic because Owen is off doing his own thing (which I applaud him for). It's cool, though, I think its important hat he does his own thing at this point to establish himself. You should check out his other strip, sorethumbsonline.com if you like political gaming comics. It's an interesting one, to say the least
I'm finding it hard to sit in front of a computer and actually write stuff don, currently, since the stuff I like to write often times is something depending on my personal mood. Hopefully I'll fin a way to juggle the day job while still able to put the time into writing what I need to.
This weekend, Notre Dame plays Purdue, who got beat this past week, but is still a dangerous threat. Do I think the blue and gold will pull it out? I sure hope so. It'll be a nice hard test right before they go back home and play USC...where anyone who is honest with themselves knows that no team is going to keep USC below 40 pts this year, though I'd love to see my boys put 45 on them, too. No one expects ND to win, but I totally want theboys to show up for gameday.
I'm finding it hard to sit in front of a computer and actually write stuff don, currently, since the stuff I like to write often times is something depending on my personal mood. Hopefully I'll fin a way to juggle the day job while still able to put the time into writing what I need to.
This weekend, Notre Dame plays Purdue, who got beat this past week, but is still a dangerous threat. Do I think the blue and gold will pull it out? I sure hope so. It'll be a nice hard test right before they go back home and play USC...where anyone who is honest with themselves knows that no team is going to keep USC below 40 pts this year, though I'd love to see my boys put 45 on them, too. No one expects ND to win, but I totally want theboys to show up for gameday.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Post #150!!! A Story about Charlie Weis and his heart...
This post is a little different, and I hope I don't get sued for showing it in its entirety, but being a life long Notre Dame fan, and knowing the pressure Charlie Weis is under, I present an associated press article from today about how he took a dying wish from a little boy and probably changed his life for the last few remaining days.
Charlie Weis shouldn't just be an inspiration to football fans, he should be an inspiration to everyone. Thanks, Charlie, for making my 150th post so meaningful.
***
Weis grants little boy's dying wish
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Charlie Weis doesn't usually let anyone else call plays on offense. He made an exception for 10-year-old Montana Mazurkiewicz.
The Notre Dame coach met last week with Montana, who had been told by doctors weeks earlier that there was nothing more they could do to stop the spread of his inoperable brain tumor.
"He was a big Notre Dame fan in general, but football especially," said his mother, Cathy Mazurkiewicz.
Weis showed up at the Mazurkiewicz home in Mishawaka, just east of South Bend, and talked with Montana about his tumor and about Weis' 10-year-old daughter, Hannah, who has global development delay, a rare disorder similar to autism.
He told Montana about some pranks he played on Joe Montana -- whom Montana was named after -- while they were roommates at Notre Dame.
"I gave him a chance to hammer me on the Michigan State loss, which he did very well. He reminded me of my son," said Weis, whose son, Charlie Jr., is 12 years old.
Weis said the meeting was touching.
"He told me about his love for Notre Dame football and how he just wanted to make it through this game this week," Weis said. "He just wanted to be able to live through this game because he knew he wasn't going to live very much longer."
As Weis talked to the boy, Cathy Mazurkiewicz rubbed her son's shoulder trying to ease his pain. Weis said he could tell the boy was trying not to show he was in pain.
His mother told Montana, who had just become paralyzed from the waist down a day earlier because of the tumor, to toss her a football Weis had given him. Montana tried to throw the football, put could barely lift it. So Weis climbed into the reclining chair with him and helped him complete the pass to his mother.
Before leaving, Weis signed the football.
"He wrote, 'Live for today for tomorrow is always another day,"' Mazurkiewicz said.
"He told him: 'You can't worry about tomorrow. Just live today for everything it has and everything you can appreciate,'" she said. "He said: 'If you're (in pain) today you might not necessarily be in pain tomorrow, or it might be worse. But there's always another day.'"
Weis asked Montana if there was something he could do for him. He agreed to let Montana call the first play against Washington on Saturday. He called "pass right."
Montana never got to see the play. He died Friday at his home.
Weis heard about the death and called Mazurkiewicz on Friday night to assure her he would still call Montana's play.
"He said, 'This game is for Montana, and the play still stands,'" she said.
Weis said he told the team about the visit. He said it wasn't a "Win one for the Gipper" speech, because he doesn't believe in using individuals as inspiration. He just wanted the team to know people like Montana are out there.
"That they represent a lot of people that they don't even realize they're representing," Weis said.
When the Irish started on their own 1-yard-line following a fumble recovery, Mazurkiewicz wasn't sure Notre Dame would be able to throw a pass. Weis was concerned about that, too. So was quarterback Brady Quinn.
"He said 'What are we going to do?'" Weis said. "I said 'We have no choice. We're throwing it to the right.'"
Weis called a play where most of the Irish went left, Quinn ran right and looked for tight end Anthony Fasano on the right.
Mazurkiewicz watched with her family.
"I just closed my eyes. I thought, 'There's no way he's going to be able to make that pass. Not from where they're at. He's going to get sacked and Washington's going to get two points,'" she said.
Fasano caught the pass and leapt over a defender for a 13-yard gain.
"It's almost like Montana was willing him to beat that defender and take it to the house," Weis said.
Mazurkiewicz was happy.
"It was an amazing play. Montana would have been very pleased. I was very pleased," she said. "I was just so overwhelmed. I couldn't watch much more."
Weis called her again after the game, a 36-17 victory by the 13th-ranked Fighting Irish, and said he had a game ball signed by the team that he wanted to bring to the family on Sunday.
"He's a very neat man. Very compassionate," she said. "I just thanked him for using that play, no matter the circumstances."
Charlie Weis shouldn't just be an inspiration to football fans, he should be an inspiration to everyone. Thanks, Charlie, for making my 150th post so meaningful.
***
Weis grants little boy's dying wish
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Charlie Weis doesn't usually let anyone else call plays on offense. He made an exception for 10-year-old Montana Mazurkiewicz.
The Notre Dame coach met last week with Montana, who had been told by doctors weeks earlier that there was nothing more they could do to stop the spread of his inoperable brain tumor.
"He was a big Notre Dame fan in general, but football especially," said his mother, Cathy Mazurkiewicz.
Weis showed up at the Mazurkiewicz home in Mishawaka, just east of South Bend, and talked with Montana about his tumor and about Weis' 10-year-old daughter, Hannah, who has global development delay, a rare disorder similar to autism.
He told Montana about some pranks he played on Joe Montana -- whom Montana was named after -- while they were roommates at Notre Dame.
"I gave him a chance to hammer me on the Michigan State loss, which he did very well. He reminded me of my son," said Weis, whose son, Charlie Jr., is 12 years old.
Weis said the meeting was touching.
"He told me about his love for Notre Dame football and how he just wanted to make it through this game this week," Weis said. "He just wanted to be able to live through this game because he knew he wasn't going to live very much longer."
As Weis talked to the boy, Cathy Mazurkiewicz rubbed her son's shoulder trying to ease his pain. Weis said he could tell the boy was trying not to show he was in pain.
His mother told Montana, who had just become paralyzed from the waist down a day earlier because of the tumor, to toss her a football Weis had given him. Montana tried to throw the football, put could barely lift it. So Weis climbed into the reclining chair with him and helped him complete the pass to his mother.
Before leaving, Weis signed the football.
"He wrote, 'Live for today for tomorrow is always another day,"' Mazurkiewicz said.
"He told him: 'You can't worry about tomorrow. Just live today for everything it has and everything you can appreciate,'" she said. "He said: 'If you're (in pain) today you might not necessarily be in pain tomorrow, or it might be worse. But there's always another day.'"
Weis asked Montana if there was something he could do for him. He agreed to let Montana call the first play against Washington on Saturday. He called "pass right."
Montana never got to see the play. He died Friday at his home.
Weis heard about the death and called Mazurkiewicz on Friday night to assure her he would still call Montana's play.
"He said, 'This game is for Montana, and the play still stands,'" she said.
Weis said he told the team about the visit. He said it wasn't a "Win one for the Gipper" speech, because he doesn't believe in using individuals as inspiration. He just wanted the team to know people like Montana are out there.
"That they represent a lot of people that they don't even realize they're representing," Weis said.
When the Irish started on their own 1-yard-line following a fumble recovery, Mazurkiewicz wasn't sure Notre Dame would be able to throw a pass. Weis was concerned about that, too. So was quarterback Brady Quinn.
"He said 'What are we going to do?'" Weis said. "I said 'We have no choice. We're throwing it to the right.'"
Weis called a play where most of the Irish went left, Quinn ran right and looked for tight end Anthony Fasano on the right.
Mazurkiewicz watched with her family.
"I just closed my eyes. I thought, 'There's no way he's going to be able to make that pass. Not from where they're at. He's going to get sacked and Washington's going to get two points,'" she said.
Fasano caught the pass and leapt over a defender for a 13-yard gain.
"It's almost like Montana was willing him to beat that defender and take it to the house," Weis said.
Mazurkiewicz was happy.
"It was an amazing play. Montana would have been very pleased. I was very pleased," she said. "I was just so overwhelmed. I couldn't watch much more."
Weis called her again after the game, a 36-17 victory by the 13th-ranked Fighting Irish, and said he had a game ball signed by the team that he wanted to bring to the family on Sunday.
"He's a very neat man. Very compassionate," she said. "I just thanked him for using that play, no matter the circumstances."
Post #149
Well, it wasn't so long ago that I started this blog, and in that time, I've made quite a few updates on personal situations, opinions and work related and hobby related. I just wanted to say that a lot of things seem to really be picking up on a lot of those fronts rigt now.
We opened the new store for SunCom today...under bad circumstances, with the alarm not fully being set up, and all. Just a mess since no customers were coming in. I'm srue that'll change in the next couple days.
In comics, I'm still writing THIEF, ad I'm mostly done issue #3, and will finish that and start #4 shortly.
The big news is that I'm writing a treatment on LANDIS for a possible movie. Nothing guaranteed, nothing finalized, just trying to get it ready with the help of Chris Crosby to send it off and get it started. Who knows, if done right, this thnig could be the biggest thing I've done. I'm hoping the writing of it goes well, because I don't want me to not be able to write it and have them go, "That's te worst garbage I've ever read." I think the story Chris and I have passed off each other will go over well as long as the pacing and characterisation is believable.
Other than that, I'm just enjoying married life, and hopefully will find more time for the litle things. I'm playing X-Men Legends 2 and it's incredible. A must have. Hopefully it won't prevent me from getting everything I need done.
Oh yeah, and LANDIS #2 starts on elisalandis.com within the next week.
We opened the new store for SunCom today...under bad circumstances, with the alarm not fully being set up, and all. Just a mess since no customers were coming in. I'm srue that'll change in the next couple days.
In comics, I'm still writing THIEF, ad I'm mostly done issue #3, and will finish that and start #4 shortly.
The big news is that I'm writing a treatment on LANDIS for a possible movie. Nothing guaranteed, nothing finalized, just trying to get it ready with the help of Chris Crosby to send it off and get it started. Who knows, if done right, this thnig could be the biggest thing I've done. I'm hoping the writing of it goes well, because I don't want me to not be able to write it and have them go, "That's te worst garbage I've ever read." I think the story Chris and I have passed off each other will go over well as long as the pacing and characterisation is believable.
Other than that, I'm just enjoying married life, and hopefully will find more time for the litle things. I'm playing X-Men Legends 2 and it's incredible. A must have. Hopefully it won't prevent me from getting everything I need done.
Oh yeah, and LANDIS #2 starts on elisalandis.com within the next week.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Well, I've been trying to find time to work, and then on top of that, Write THIEF, a treatment for a possible BIG future project and all that, but today I wanted to play around with coloring in Photoshop a little. You may remember this piece from when I went to Heroes Con in June, but I wanted to see it in color. I have to say that if the comic of Landis ever became a cartoon, I'd try to get Cully Hamner to work with Owen on the character designs because this piece just screams "ANIMATE ME!" Anyway, I added a little haze shadow, but nothing crazy (except under the jawline for some reason). I think it looks pretty cool, especially for a novice like myself. Oh, and as soon as I feel a little more confident in the treatment piece I'm working on, I'll let everyone know what it is, because just to be asked to supply the publisher with this treatment is a dream come true.
Trying to put in a paragraph break, not sure if it'll work.
Also, kudos go out to Dynamic Forces (Dynamite Entertainment) for grabbing the rights to Highlander. I'd LOVE the opportunity to write that property as everyone knows that Landis pulls a lot of ideas from it, though now I feel Landis is more of a Highlander meets X-Men type, where the characters gain their powers based on becoming immortal. It was a nice little addition that I felt made logical sense.
Trying to put in a paragraph break, not sure if it'll work.
Also, kudos go out to Dynamic Forces (Dynamite Entertainment) for grabbing the rights to Highlander. I'd LOVE the opportunity to write that property as everyone knows that Landis pulls a lot of ideas from it, though now I feel Landis is more of a Highlander meets X-Men type, where the characters gain their powers based on becoming immortal. It was a nice little addition that I felt made logical sense.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
I'm back from the honeymoon.
And I'll definitely have pictures up from it so that everyone can see...if not here, than I'll let everyone know of the email address.
Now to the other piece of big news...I've been asked to write in a different format than I'm used to. Script formatting for either TV or Film... I won't divulge TOO much information to the story yet, but rest assured, this is a totally huge opportunity for me and one I'm hoping not to blow =).
Other than that, I'm already back to work (boo) but I should be finishing up THIEF soon. Eric has some personal things going on which have slowed his production, much like mine, but I'm still committed to giving a 100% performance, as is he.
check out ELISALANDIS.COM...#2 is just around the corner!
Now to the other piece of big news...I've been asked to write in a different format than I'm used to. Script formatting for either TV or Film... I won't divulge TOO much information to the story yet, but rest assured, this is a totally huge opportunity for me and one I'm hoping not to blow =).
Other than that, I'm already back to work (boo) but I should be finishing up THIEF soon. Eric has some personal things going on which have slowed his production, much like mine, but I'm still committed to giving a 100% performance, as is he.
check out ELISALANDIS.COM...#2 is just around the corner!
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Come to pass
Hello.
I am now a married man. I will be traveling to orlando tomorrow to enjoy my honeymoon. The ceremony was terrific, the food was wonderful, the bride gorgeous, all that...no lie.
Some things went wrong, but that does not matter to me. All that mattered was that Notre Dame beat Michigan, and...well...y'know...that marriage thing.
I'll be in orlando, but again, I'll try to find my creative stride and write some more. and I'll DEFINITELY be uploading digital photos from the night before and the night of the wedding. They are freakin beautiful.
Wish us happiness, and I'll update everyone if not while I'm there, than definitely when I return.
I am now a married man. I will be traveling to orlando tomorrow to enjoy my honeymoon. The ceremony was terrific, the food was wonderful, the bride gorgeous, all that...no lie.
Some things went wrong, but that does not matter to me. All that mattered was that Notre Dame beat Michigan, and...well...y'know...that marriage thing.
I'll be in orlando, but again, I'll try to find my creative stride and write some more. and I'll DEFINITELY be uploading digital photos from the night before and the night of the wedding. They are freakin beautiful.
Wish us happiness, and I'll update everyone if not while I'm there, than definitely when I return.
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