Todd Klein's Blog, page 288
January 27, 2013
Belize Day 4: Rain Day
Saturday morning began with some light rain after a night of heavy rain. We went out for an early morning birding walk, and saw some good things when the rain stopped, but I hadn’t brought my camera, so no pictures.
After breakfast we drove with guide Luis to The Escarpment, a high hill overlooking the Gallon Jug property, about 400 feet higher than our lodge, and near the border with Guatemala. We arrived in more rain and fog, and could see nothing! Fortunately after a while things cleared, and we had some good views and good birds to see.
The rarest bird was Hook-Billed Kite, one of which sat fairly close. Ellen’s camera was able to get this picture through Luis’s scope. We saw six of them in all, probably a one-day record for the property, and other cool raptors, all three Toucan species, and more.
The food here is great, and we returned to lunch on the verandah of the main lodge, where we’ve had most of our meals.
After lunch there was more rain, so we spent some time in our room, which is very nice, almost like staying in a large screened porch.
Ellen tried the hammock on our own verandah, but didn’t find it too comfortable. There are other chairs and a sort of low couch that are great, and often there are birds in the trees right outside.
After a while the rain stopped, the sun came out, it got warmer, and there was even some blue sky, almost the first we’ve seen here. I went out to walk around the grounds and take some pictures, like this of a White-collared Seedeater. Suddenly a black cloud moved in with thunder and lightning, so I took shelter at the main lodge, thinking it would soon pass. A half hour later, Ellen came to find me with an umbrella, rescued me, and took me back to our cabana. We had planned a nighttime birding trip, but it was cancelled due to the rain, so that was our Saturday. Sunday so far has been pretty rainy too, but just now things are clearing, so we’ll get out on the trails for a while.
More soon.
January 26, 2013
Belize Day 3: Mayan Ruins and More
Friday we did a day trip to the amazing Mayan ruins at Lamanai. This began with a three hour drive to the town of Orange Walk over some pretty rough roads, as well as some quite good ones, to the New River, where we boarded a small outboard motorboat with another tourist couple and Carlos, our driver and guide. He took us 25 miles down the river, pointing out wildlife and birds along the way.
This spider monkey is a regular stop, and here he is eating his lunch, a banana provided by one of the other tour boats..
One of the cool birds we were shown was Boat-Billed Heron, which is rare and hard to find, as they’re nocturnal, and stay in well-hidden roosts during the day. We saw five of them.
A Wood Stork, another cool bird. We saw many more, including a dramatic flight of aobut 50 parrots.
After our boat trip we landed at Lamanai, a very large Mayan site, occupied for about 3,000 years, but abandoned after the Spanish arrived in the area. Only about two percent of the site has been excavated and is open for tours, the rest is still buried by jungle. This is the Mask temple, with two large faces flanking the central stairs.
These huge heads and wonderful carvings are the most impressive artwork we saw at the site.
Here we are with the other mask.
The High Temple is even more impressive in size, reaching 120 feet in height. You can climb the central stair, though it’s very steep. The other couple did it.
Here they are going up. We only made it to the place the man in the yellow shirt is standing.
I found this section of stonework, moss and ferns interesting.
The Jaguar Temple is the third large one we saw, as well as several other structures, all very impressive and interesting.
This carving is meant to be a very stylized Jaguar head, though I can’t really see it myself. I like it all the same.
Another very long drive with our driver and guide from Chan Chich, Luis was enlivened by more good birds, including this Fork-tailed Flycatcher. A great day, though we were exhausted.
More next time.
January 24, 2013
Belize Day Two: Rain, Coffee, Climbing
Our cabana from the Mayan mound next to it. Chan Chich Lodge is surrounded by these Mayan mounds and there are plenty of other Mayan ruins all around, but nearly all are well buried by time and the jungle. A stiff climb up the mound, but worth it for the view.
Here’s Ellen on another of the mounds.
There was a lot of rain this morning, so instead of a morning nature walk we went on a tour of nearby Gallon Jug (here’s the post office). The town and farm of Gallon Jug is largely owned and run by the same family that owns and runs Chan Chich, the Bowens. Six miles east of our lodge, Gallon Jug is an area of about 3000 acres clear cut for farming cattle and other things.
Our driver was also a knowledgible nature guide who pointed out many more birds to us like this Social Flycatcher…
…and this Vermilion Flycatcher which, even on an overcast and rainy day is fiery red.
Overlooking part of the farm, African Tulip trees in bloom.
Gallon Jug also produces organic, shade-grown coffee, a grove is shown here with pruned coffee bushes under the tall forest shade trees.
They process the beans, roast them, and package them in town. Here’s Raul, the coffee roaster, with some of his machinery. I doubt he does all the roasting, but he does a lot of it, and mixed up a special bag for us to bring home. Gallon Jug produces between 150,000 and 180,000 pounds of coffee each year, supplying the entire country, though they don’t export it yet.
Back at Chan Chich after lunch, the rain finally let up, and we went for a two mile walk on the River Trail, very jungly.
We didn’t see many birds but did enjoy watching lines of leaf-cutter ants carrying their leaves, and strange fungi like this one.
It was a long walk, and we were glad to get back to the beautiful grounds of Chan Chich.
While we rested before dinner we enjoyed a flock of Ocellated Turkeys preening just outside our cabana. Such show-offs.
Tomorrow we’re doing a day trip that includes a boat ride to a much larger and better preserved Mayan ruins. More soon.
January 23, 2013
Here We Are In The Jungle
Ellen and I are in the jungle of western Belize, staying at Chan Chich Lodge, where we had a great walk this morning with another couple of birders and our expert guide, Marvin. Chan Chich is a marvelous place for ecotourism, deep in virtually untouched jungle with twelve luxurious cabanas set around a the central square of a former Mayan ceremonial site, and surrounded by massive mounds built by the Mayans, some probably still containing relics and remains. The birds and wildlife were our reason for coming, and it took all day yesterday by jetliner, then a four-seat Cessna airplane, finally a six-mile drive on this road in an all-terrain vehicle. While Chan Chich is remote, we are not roughing it. The food is gourmet delicious, the room and lodge are marvelous, and the staff is wonderful and knowledgable. This is not a cheap vacation, but it’s a great adventure. Here are my best pictures from this morning’s walk of about four hours.
One of the largest, commonest and most tame birds here is the Ocellated Turkey, a more colorful version of our wild turkey. A flock of them walked right by us today.
One of the most sought after types of tropical birds by birders are Trogons. There are three kinds here, and we’ve already seen all three. This Slaty-tailed Trogon was the best one I was able to photo.
Parrots are always great fun to see in the wild. This pair of Mealy Parrots gave us long, excellent views. A mated pair, they were acting affectionate, one snuggling close to the other. I got a video of that, which I hope to edit and show later.
There are beautiful butterflies as well, like this one which I am unable to recall the common name of. Mexican something.
Halfway through our walk, by prearrangement, breakfast had been brought out to this screened viewing platform for us, and it was delicious. Just behind the platform, on a high hill, the jungle drops off steeply to a small stream. We saw more cool birds here. As usual, only a small percentage of what we saw resulted in good photos.
There are half a dozen hummingbird species here, including this Rufous-Tailed Hummingbird.
A Banded Peacock butterfly.
The other common parrot here is the Red-Lored Parrot. There are a number of them on the lodge grounds, very noisy and entertaining.
Not long after we got back it began to shower off and on, and did so for the rest of the day so far. We didn’t mind, and spent most of the time enjoying the porch of our cabana, where we even saw a few more birds.
Not sure how often I’ll be posting from this trip, but more soon.
January 20, 2013
And Then I Read: DARK HORSE PRESENTS 16
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Image © Dark Horse Comics.
A new crime series, as cover featured, begins in this issue, reusing the name of a comics series from the 1940s-50s. Is that a result of Dark Horse licensing the name? If not, do they think it will help sell the feature? In any case, it’s a mob story by Phil Stanford with a very violent and modern feel if you like that sort of thing. The art by Patric Reynolds is kind of loose dry-brush with almost impressionistic coloring by Bill Farmer. Looks a little odd in places, but is generally effective. (The cover art is by David Lapham.)
I don’t care for the next two stories, a chapter of “Aliens” and one of “The Girl with the Keyhole Eyes.” Following those is the beginning of another series, “The Deep Sea” written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, art by Tony Akins and Paul Mounts. It’s about a deep sea research vessel mission from decades ago, as recalled by the one surviving crewmember, who didn’t make the descent into the very deep ocean because he broke his leg in an accident right before the dive. The dive failed, and all aboard were presumed lost, but new evidence seems to suggest something different! Well done, and I think Paul Mounts is a fine inker for Tony Akins, the art looks great.
Carla Speed McNeil’s “Finder” continues to be strange and at the moment baffling, but I like it anyway.
“Concrete Park” doesn’t appeal to me.
Then we have Richard Corben doing a very odd but very Corben adaptation of “Berenice” by Edgar Allan Poe. Loved it.
I’m also enjoying the goofy humor of “Buddy Cops” by Nate Cosby and Evan Shaner, and the unusual horror tale “Riven” by Robert Tinnell and Bo Hampton, which is becoming a psychological horror story now.
Finally we have “Dead Air,” a memoir of sorts by Chad Lambert, with art by Apri Kusbiantoro, about Chad’s career as a radio disk jockey. Entertaining, if not really a story per se.
Recommended.
January 18, 2013
And Then I Read: GHOSTS 1
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Images © DC Comics, Inc.
I lettered the “Dead Boy Detectives” story in this anthology, but hadn’t read the rest until now. It’s a nice collection of stories each giving an unusual twist to what we usually think of as a ghost story. The entries by Gilbert Hernandez, Al Ewing/Rufus Dayglo, Cecil Castelllucci/Amy Reeder, Neil Kleid/John McCrea and Geoff Johns/Jeff Lemire are all entertaining a good reading. What stands out for me, though is this one:
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An unfinished story written and pencilled by Joe Kubert, and on his drawing board when he died waiting to be inked. First, I’ve rarely seen Joe’s pencils, and these are so confident, lively and loose, yet still get everything across perfectly. Second, the story theme is one that hits home: an old man in a jungle tribe on the verge of death, and his young grandson trying to fight off death personified to keep him alive a little longer. All the more poignant now that Joe has passed.
Recommended.
January 17, 2013
Unused Logo: KAINE
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Here are some sketches I did for Marvel Comics some time in the 1990s for their character Kaine, who first appeared in WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #119 cover-dated Dec. 1994. I imagine they were thinking of a series for him, but if so it doesn’t seem to have happened. The only place I’ve found what looks like a logo for the character on a cover is on WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #124:
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The logo is developed from the cover lettering blurb, both I believe by Comicraft. Looking at the sketches, it seems like they were after something monumental and ancient in feel because they asked for a second version of sketch 1 with telescoping and stony cracks (and a more standard K and A), rather like the Hulk logo. I also offered sketch 4 as a stone-ish idea, though I have to say it looks more like turds to me now!
I have no record of a final version, so I was probably paid a kill fee for this. When they needed a logo they went with the Comicraft idea, which is pretty good, I think, though I don’t like the very thin center stroke on the E. I still prefer my sketch 2.
And Then I Read: RUINS by Orson Scott Card
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© Orson Scott Card, illustration by Sammy Yuen, Jr.
I’ve finally finished the second book in the “Pathfinder” series, after starting it before the first book, then reading that first book on my iPad. Getting back to this story, I felt I knew a lot more about the characters and their motivations, which helped me understand the relationships between them. Plotwise, I better understood the powers of the three time shifters and how they interacted, though that gets a lot more complicated in this book.
Rigg and his companions: sister Param, best friend Umbo, and former soldiers and friends Loaf and Olivenko have made it through the psychic barrier around their own section of the planet Garden, and into one where all the people are long dead. Only the artificial man Vadesh remains, an identical twin to the machine that Rigg once thought was his father. Vadesh seems tricky and unreliable, and despite their caution, the group falls for Vadesh’s plan to attach a symbiotic creature to Loaf’s face. Rigg manages to gain control of the buried colonizing space ship that began human life in this section or “Hold” of the planet (there are 18 more, one in each Hold), and also control of all the ships and all their artificial men. Or so he thinks. Eventually Loaf regains control of his own body and mind from the symbiont, and finds he has greatly enhanced senses, but has lost some of his humanity as well. The group decides to move on to the next Hold.
There they find a completely different scene, inhabited by ape-like humans, two of which offer to help them learn more about what’s really going on in Garden by giving them free access to their library. The library, and it seems much of this Hold are run using thousands of highly intelligent mice. Or are the mice really running things? That’s one of the mysteries Rigg and his friends must uncover. But the biggest threat to Garden is the impending arrival of new space ships from our own Earth, where the original colony ships came from. Apparently the mice have sent back messages from the near future telling of the complete destruction of Garden by the Earthers.
I enjoyed this book, though there’s a lot more talk and theorizing than action. I’ll certainly read the third and final volume when it comes out. The concepts and the complex use of time travel make this a good read more than the characters, who mostly seem less likeable in this book than the first. When the Earthers show up, it should get more interesting for everyone.
Recommended.
January 16, 2013
And Then I Read: FRANKENSTEIN ALIVE, ALIVE! 2
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Image © Steve Niles, Bernie Wrightson and IDW.
Though I hate to think about it, it’s been forty years since Bernie Wrightson blew me away with his wonderful art on SWAMP THING, making me a fan for life. We’re both still here, he’s still creating masterful work, and I’m still blown away. The art is presented ina range of painted sepia browns, delivering an accurate reproduction of every pen line and brush stroke, and allowing for every nuance to show. Really fine work, full of detail yet never losing sight of the drama and storytelling.
This new series, building on the original Frankenstein novel by Mary Shelley, is well written by Steve Niles, though not a lot happens physically in this issue. It focuses on the development of the “monster” after he’s rescued from his self-imposed prison in the arctic by an explorer, Dr. Ingles, who becomes a friend to the composite man. Dr. Ingles helps educate the fellow, allowing him free reign in his library, and giving him lessons to address his questions. For a while the creature is able to forget his own unhappy situation, until an encounter with someone else reawakens his awareness of how frightening he seems to ordinary people. We can imagine that things will no go so well for Frankenstein’s creation from here on.
I’m disappointed with the decision to fill the last eight pages with the beginning of Shelley’s 1818 novel, a work that’s widely available everywhere, instead of an original text story, as in the first issue. Perhaps Niles didn’t have the time for it, or IDW didn’t have the funds to pay for it. At any rate, the comics story is well worth having.
Recommended.
January 15, 2013
And Then I Read: MASKS 1
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Image © the respective character copyright holders.
Teaming up several 1930s-40s pulp heroes in a comics story? It’s been tried by DC with little success, but I think Dynamite has gotten it right, thanks to great writing by Chris Roberson and stunning painted art by Alex Ross (who did not do the cover shown here, that’s by Jae Lee).
We open with The Green Hornet and Kato on the streets of New York interrogating some thugs. They’ve come from home-town Chicago on the trail of a mob boss. In steps The Shadow, and after the usual initial scuffle, he convinces the Chicago vigilantes to meet him in a posh restaurant the next day. There, in civilian identities, the three discuss current New York politics that has a new political party made up largely of criminals taking power across the state. They vow to fight this new threat, and in doing so, are joined by The Spider, another vigilante. Meanwhile, a young Hispanic artist, just arrived in town, is unjustly arrested and soon brought to trial. In his art portfolio are drawings of another vigilante from the west, Zorro. Looks like he’ll be joining the group very soon.
I love the way this is handled. Not a lot of posturing and exposition, just letting the characters act and react together in a way that feels natural. The story is very much a period piece, and that helps it work well. Alex Ross does the best version of Lamont Cranston (The Shadow’s other guise) I’ve yet seen, and his art is all great, though some of the page layouts are a little hard to follow. That minor quibble aside, this is choice stuff.
Recommended.
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