Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 501

May 26, 2012: News of note and a mailbag!

13 acts done and only three to go on the miniseries front!  More or less.  I’m taking the rest of the day off to check out Vancouver OTHER night market.  Hopefully, this one will offer less than a half dozen variations of curly hurricane fries.

Some news of note:

Our friend Tara announces an exciting new mystery writing project: *Sparkle Sparkle*.  What could it be?

My fries are too angry!  For the inspired chef looking for something different: Season Your Food With Salt From Real Human Tears

Mama Mia! http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/2…eese-production

I’ve often said that, of all the possible deaths out there, the way I least want to go would be in some fashion that lands me in the News of the Weird section of the internet or as some fodder for late night comedians.  To wit: Man dies while getting lap dance at strip club « News and Views …  And this: Farmer, 2 sons drown in manure pit…  While not a unique death, we can nevertheless file this one under “as bad”: Man Loses His Penis to a Flesh-Eating Bacteria After Failed Penile Implant Surgery

No time for second thoughts, grandma.  You’re jumping out of this plane!  WATCH: 80-Year-Old Nearly Falls Out Of Harness While Skydiving  In retrospect, maybe you were right about the whole “second thoughts” thing.

Place your bets on who will be the new DC Comics gay superhero!  http://www.paddypower.com/bet/novelty-bets/comic-specials?ev_oc_grp_ids=689080.  I’ll take Guy Gardner at 14-1.

I saw this on South Park the other day and it pretty much sums up my opinion of a lot of the film and television being produced today.  Not for the easily (and even not so easily) offended: http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/388737/rated-arg-for-pirates

You know what?  Screw the night market.  I’m waiting for these guys to open: http://www.luckysdoughnuts.com/

AND the mailbag:

Randomness writes: “Speaking about writers for your mini series Joe, I was kinda hoping to see the name Brad Wright on something new on TV, any plans to hire him for your writing team Joe? I actually would love to see him writing more Science fiction stuff.”

Answer: The miniseries we’re presently working on is a freelance gig.  It’s a four hour event and, once we’ve completed work on the script, we’ll be moving on.  The Dark Matter miniseries, on the other hand, would be something we would want to produce as well as write – but, at this point, it’s just a pitch supported by a four-issue comic book and series overview.  If we’re fortunate enough to get the green light, then Paul and I would certainly be looking to tap the most talented writer-producers we know to help us – coincidentally, the same bunch we worked with on Stargate.  If they’re available and, of course, interested, we’d love to work with Brad, Rob, Carl, Martin, and Alan again.

Speaking of Brad, he’s got a number of SF projects in the works.  I’ll keep my ear to the ground for you…

Randomness also writes: “Secondly, watching any anime lately Joe?”

Answer: Akemi and I are working our way through Gintama.  We’re 132 episodes into its 250+ episode run.  The last anime series I watched independent of Akemi was Deadman Wonderland.  Meh.  Before Deadman Wonderland, I very much enjoyed Steins Gate.

Bolt Bait writes: “Joe, when you do a mailbag, do you ever answer questions from past blog entries or only the one directly previous to the one where you are answering questions?  In other words, if I’m really curious about something, should I post once or should I post every day until you get tired of seeing my question and finally break down and answer it?”

Answer: You should post again – especially if I give you the heads up that I’ll be doing a mailbag.  Prior to doing a mailbag, I’ll usually check out the past 3-5 days’ worth of questions.  Be persistent!

majorsal writes: “can you use your super hero/villain powers and make MGM green-light the stargate combo movie?”

Answer: Wish I could.

dasndanger writes: “Joey, I’m pretty sure you’ve had Vosges chocolate, and I know you’ve done the bacon thing, but back when you last tried the chocobacon bar, was it available in dark chocolate?”

Answer: I’ve tried both the milk and dark chocolate versions.  While good, I much prefer the truffle version I used to get for my chocolate parties.  When it comes to the Vosges bars, I’m partial to the Habana (milk chocolate and plantain).  I also love their peanut butter bonbons.

JeffW writes: “I guess my mailbag question would be, if you could only visit one on a trip, which restaurant would you recommend? Diva at the Met, or Fat Dragon? Or someplace else altogether?”

Answer: Hmmm.  That’s a tough one.  I suppose it depends on your food preferences and budget. Lately, I’ve become a big fan of Gastown’s L’Abbatoir.  Quercia is always great for Italian but you have to book in advance.  For more casual fare, might I suggest Peaceful Restaurant on West Broadcast (corner of Cambie) or La Tacqueria for some awesome tacos.

Lee writes: “I’d like to know your thoughts on SyFy canceling Sanctuary? I tend to agree with most people on Facebook with Stargate and Sanctuary gone I will not have any reason to watch SyFy once Eureka wraps this season.”

Answer: I never watched Sanctuary.  I can only weigh in insofar as I knew a lot of the people who worked on the show and, on that personal level, I feel badly for them.  After years of working on a show, your co-workers become like family.  During my time on Stargate, I spent more time with my fellow writer-producers than I did with my own wife and I’m sure it was no different on Sanctuary.

Ponytail writes: “1. Joe can you say anything more regarding what your horror script is about, except that it is a horror script?”

Answer: Not yet but, once I finish work on this miniseries, I’ll be jumping on the rewrite so that I can hopefully get it out before summer’s end.  I’ll tell you more about it in the coming months.

“2. What did you finally decide two open doors and the alarm going off was?”

Answer: I decided to go with “forgot to lock the back door”.  ”Lulu playing a practical joke” was a close second.

shaneac1 writes: “Question can you give a hint as to the network the SF mini series might be airing. Also have you any thoughts on new yomato series (space battleship yomato 2199) chapter 1 was just realease on DVD/blu ray today.”

Answer: I don’t know whether a North American sale has been made yet.

Patricia Stewart-Bertrand writes: “A question I would like to ask you is, do you ever use your dreams as fodder for your writing? Edgar Allan Poe was known to take advantage of the trips he’d experience from taking drugs to create his macabre stories. Where do you get your ideas?”

Answer: On the rare occasions I can remember my dreams, they are usually so weird that the defy use in any sensible narrative.  My ideas usually come from discussions with friends or spring from other completely different notions.  Occasionally, they’ll come about as a result of my misconstruing the direction of a t.v. show I am watching or a book I am reading – I’ll think to myself “What a great idea!” only to realize that’s not the direction they’re going at all.

llyes writes: “Hey Joe, what did you think of house’s series finale?
personally i was a little confused”

Answer: Hey, I’m still trying to figure out how the police were able to lift House’s fingerprints from some tickets that had been flushed down a toilet in the last episode.  The last episode did leave a bunch of questions unanswered, questions like: “How did House end up in that burning building with the patient?  How did the fire start?  How did House know the exact moment Wilson was delivering his eulogy so that he could send the “shut up” text message?”  And, the biggest question of all: “How the heck did House switch the hospital dental records and fake his own death?”  He wouldn’t have had a chance to do it after the fire which suggests he already had the plan in place before he went to the warehouse.  Meaning the patient was already dead?  And if that was House’s plan all along, why was most of the episode dedicated to his deciding whether or not to save himself and live – especially since living meant helping to make Wilson’s last few months all the more  meaningful.  The latter would have been a huge issue and, since a lot of the discussion was a physical manifestation of his internal debate, the fact that it was never mentioned felt like a huge cheat.

profmadmax writes: “Joe any chance of getting Michael Shanks to drop by the blog? Looking forward to seeing Saving Hope on NBC here!”

Answer: Why, yes.  I’ll drop him a text once I’ve finished work on the miniseries.

May 25, 2012: News of note and a mailbag!

13 acts done and only three to go on the miniseries front!  More or less.  I’m taking the rest of the day off to check out Vancouver OTHER night market.  Hopefully, this one will offer less than a half dozen variations of curly hurricane fries.

Some news of note:

Our friend Tara announces an exciting new mystery writing project: *Sparkle Sparkle*.  What could it be?

My fries are too angry!  For the inspired chef looking for something different: Season Your Food With Salt From Real Human Tears

Mama Mia! http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/2…eese-production

I’ve often said that, of all the possible deaths out there, the way I least want to go would be in some fashion that lands me in the News of the Weird section of the internet or as some fodder for late night comedians.  To wit: Man dies while getting lap dance at strip club « News and Views …  And this: Farmer, 2 sons drown in manure pit…  While not a unique death, we can nevertheless file this one under “as bad”: Man Loses His Penis to a Flesh-Eating Bacteria After Failed Penile Implant Surgery

No time for second thoughts, grandma.  You’re jumping out of this plane!  WATCH: 80-Year-Old Nearly Falls Out Of Harness While Skydiving  In retrospect, maybe you were right about the whole “second thoughts” thing.

Place your bets on who will be the new DC Comics gay superhero!  http://www.paddypower.com/bet/novelty-bets/comic-specials?ev_oc_grp_ids=689080.  I’ll take Guy Gardner at 14-1.

I saw this on South Park the other day and it pretty much sums up my opinion of a lot of the film and television being produced today.  Not for the easily (and even not so easily) offended: http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/388737/rated-arg-for-pirates

You know what?  Screw the night market.  I’m waiting for these guys to open: http://www.luckysdoughnuts.com/

AND the mailbag:

Randomness writes: “Speaking about writers for your mini series Joe, I was kinda hoping to see the name Brad Wright on something new on TV, any plans to hire him for your writing team Joe? I actually would love to see him writing more Science fiction stuff.”

Answer: The miniseries we’re presently working on is a freelance gig.  It’s a four hour event and, once we’ve completed work on the script, we’ll be moving on.  The Dark Matter miniseries, on the other hand, would be something we would want to produce as well as write – but, at this point, it’s just a pitch supported by a four-issue comic book and series overview.  If we’re fortunate enough to get the green light, then Paul and I would certainly be looking to tap the most talented writer-producers we know to help us – coincidentally, the same bunch we worked with on Stargate.  If they’re available and, of course, interested, we’d love to work with Brad, Rob, Carl, Martin, and Alan again.

Speaking of Brad, he’s got a number of SF projects in the works.  I’ll keep my ear to the ground for you…

Randomness also writes: “Secondly, watching any anime lately Joe?”

Answer: Akemi and I are working our way through Gintama.  We’re 132 episodes into its 250+ episode run.  The last anime series I watched independent of Akemi was Deadman Wonderland.  Meh.  Before Deadman Wonderland, I very much enjoyed Steins Gate.

Bolt Bait writes: “Joe, when you do a mailbag, do you ever answer questions from past blog entries or only the one directly previous to the one where you are answering questions?  In other words, if I’m really curious about something, should I post once or should I post every day until you get tired of seeing my question and finally break down and answer it?”

Answer: You should post again – especially if I give you the heads up that I’ll be doing a mailbag.  Prior to doing a mailbag, I’ll usually check out the past 3-5 days’ worth of questions.  Be persistent!

majorsal writes: “can you use your super hero/villain powers and make MGM green-light the stargate combo movie?”

Answer: Wish I could.

dasndanger writes: “Joey, I’m pretty sure you’ve had Vosges chocolate, and I know you’ve done the bacon thing, but back when you last tried the chocobacon bar, was it available in dark chocolate?”

Answer: I’ve tried both the milk and dark chocolate versions.  While good, I much prefer the truffle version I used to get for my chocolate parties.  When it comes to the Vosges bars, I’m partial to the Habana (milk chocolate and plantain).  I also love their peanut butter bonbons.

JeffW writes: “I guess my mailbag question would be, if you could only visit one on a trip, which restaurant would you recommend? Diva at the Met, or Fat Dragon? Or someplace else altogether?”

Answer: Hmmm.  That’s a tough one.  I suppose it depends on your food preferences and budget. Lately, I’ve become a big fan of Gastown’s L’Abbatoir.  Quercia is always great for Italian but you have to book in advance.  For more casual fare, might I suggest Peaceful Restaurant on West Broadcast (corner of Cambie) or La Tacqueria for some awesome tacos.

Lee writes: “I’d like to know your thoughts on SyFy canceling Sanctuary? I tend to agree with most people on Facebook with Stargate and Sanctuary gone I will not have any reason to watch SyFy once Eureka wraps this season.”

Answer: I never watched Sanctuary.  I can only weigh in insofar as I knew a lot of the people who worked on the show and, on that personal level, I feel badly for them.  After years of working on a show, your co-workers become like family.  During my time on Stargate, I spent more time with my fellow writer-producers than I did with my own wife and I’m sure it was no different on Sanctuary.

Ponytail writes: “1. Joe can you say anything more regarding what your horror script is about, except that it is a horror script?”

Answer: Not yet but, once I finish work on this miniseries, I’ll be jumping on the rewrite so that I can hopefully get it out before summer’s end.  I’ll tell you more about it in the coming months.

“2. What did you finally decide two open doors and the alarm going off was?”

Answer: I decided to go with “forgot to lock the back door”.  ”Lulu playing a practical joke” was a close second.

shaneac1 writes: “Question can you give a hint as to the network the SF mini series might be airing. Also have you any thoughts on new yomato series (space battleship yomato 2199) chapter 1 was just realease on DVD/blu ray today.”

Answer: I don’t know whether a North American sale has been made yet.

Patricia Stewart-Bertrand writes: “A question I would like to ask you is, do you ever use your dreams as fodder for your writing? Edgar Allan Poe was known to take advantage of the trips he’d experience from taking drugs to create his macabre stories. Where do you get your ideas?”

Answer: On the rare occasions I can remember my dreams, they are usually so weird that the defy use in any sensible narrative.  My ideas usually come from discussions with friends or spring from other completely different notions.  Occasionally, they’ll come about as a result of my misconstruing the direction of a t.v. show I am watching or a book I am reading – I’ll think to myself “What a great idea!” only to realize that’s not the direction they’re going at all.

llyes writes: “Hey Joe, what did you think of house’s series finale?
personally i was a little confused”

Answer: Hey, I’m still trying to figure out how the police were able to lift House’s fingerprints from some tickets that had been flushed down a toilet in the last episode.  The last episode did leave a bunch of questions unanswered, questions like: “How did House end up in that burning building with the patient?  How did the fire start?  How did House know the exact moment Wilson was delivering his eulogy so that he could send the “shut up” text message?”  And, the biggest question of all: “How the heck did House switch the hospital dental records and fake his own death?”  He wouldn’t have had a chance to do it after the fire which suggests he already had the plan in place before he went to the warehouse.  Meaning the patient was already dead?  And if that was House’s plan all along, why was most of the episode dedicated to his deciding whether or not to save himself and live – especially since living meant helping to make Wilson’s last few months all the more  meaningful.  The latter would have been a huge issue and, since a lot of the discussion was a physical manifestation of his internal debate, the fact that it was never mentioned felt like a huge cheat.

profmadmax writes: “Joe any chance of getting Michael Shanks to drop by the blog? Looking forward to seeing Saving Hope on NBC here!”

Answer: Why, yes.  I’ll drop him a text once I’ve finished work on the miniseries.

May 25, 2012: An inspired dinner at Diva at the Met!

Yesterday, I hit the 151 page mark of the SF miniseries Paul and I are working on.  That’s 12 acts down and four to go!  I celebrated by going out for a nice dinner.

Surprisingly, it’s been a while since I sat down to an inspired multi-course meal.  Even more surprisingly was where we enjoyed it last night: Diva at the Met, the somewhat staid restaurant in the Metropolitan Hotel where the Stargate gang and I used to go for their signature burgers topped with foie gras, short rib, crispy onions and white truffle oil (on the occasions when Chris Judge would join us, he’d actually have two!).

It had been a while since I’d been to Diva, but I’d heard intriguing talk of a new chef, Hamid Salimian, seasonal ingredients, and touches of modernist cuisine.

We (who am I kidding?  I!) elected to go with the seven course Chef’s Tasting Menu.  Not every dish was a home run, but the thought that went into their creation and presentation made every one an entertaining and, ultimately, delightful experience.

To start, we were served five “diva snacks”, small bites to tantalize the tastebuds…

Olive oil marshmallows with marshmallow powder.  The olive oil flavor was very subtle, slightly more pronounced in the powder that possessed a touch of sweetness.

Baked potato and chive – served in chip form.  Akemi loved this one. The little sour cream dollops in the center gave it a real Sour Cream & Onions Chip flavor.

The foie gras walnut.  Nope, it’s not a walnut.  It’s a tiny of foie gras shaped to resemble a walnut.  The shavings adorning the quince puree?  THAT’s walnut.

Beet ice with goat cheese and hazelnuts.  This one was a lot of fun.

Elderberry foam.  Akemi liked this one a lot with its partially-melted cotton candy consistency, but the elderberry triggered my gag reflex.  Sorry, it’s a flower thing and the same reason I avoid any of the rose syrup desserts at Indian restaurants.

My dining companion on this evening.

My dining companion’s dining companion on this evening.

Wasn’t crazy about the bread, but liked the butter – sprinkled with a brown butter crumble.

First course: Green almond, radish, heart of palm, and yogurt vinaigrette.  The most beautiful dish of the night but it happened to be my least favorite.  It was my first time having green almond.  Crunchy, slightly sour, it paralleled a lot of the tartness going on in this dish.  I wasn’t a fan of the earthy hearts of palm, but both Akemi and I enjoyed the cucumber.

Second course: Scallop tartare served with taramasalata, black radish, and cilantro.  This dish was a marvel of flavor and textural contrast – a little sweet, a little sour, a little bitter, a little salty, crunchy, creamy.  It even had a hint of spiciness.  I asked my waitress about it and she attributed to the taramasalata, but taramasalata isn’t traditionally spicy.

Third course: Razor clams with crispy sunchokes, hon shimeji mushrooms, and tarragon.  A clever combination of some similarly subtle and textural ingredients.

Fourth course: Spot prawn with fava bean, chermouta, and basil.  One of the top plates of the evening features lightly grilled local spot prawn (in season) served with a smoky, spicy Middle-Easter twist.

Albacore tuna with salsa romesco, artichokes, quail egg, and eggplant.  The tuna was cooked sous-vide and brushed with a dark sauce our waitress informed us was squid mayo (squid ink mayo?) and was imbued with a strong olive flavor.

Course six: Duo of lamb served with saffron crisp, kidney beans, an dstone-dried lime.  Damn, that lime cream packs a wallop.  Still, it married nicely with the lamb.  One of preparations was a lamb neck (possibly braised?) that proved fall-apart-tender and utterly delicious.

Course seven: Rhubarb foam and pearl served with gin jelly and spruce.  Technically accomplished, Akemi loved it, but I would preferred to hardier (ie. chocolate) dessert.

Serving was great.  The only real thumbs down I would give would be to the ambience of the restaurant.  Like I said, the dining room is very staid and quite dark – this despite the fact that, by the time we got out of there a little after 7:00 p.m., it was still very sunny.

An enjoyable meal.  According to our waitress, Chef Salimian changes up the menu items every week, so we’ll definitely have to plan a return visit for late June.

I’m going to try to get around to doing a mailbag this weekend, so if you’ve got a question, post it!

Today entry is dedicated to blog regular Chev.  Happy Birthday, Maryanne!

May 24, 2012: My tortured soul. And eyes.

If what they say is true about the eyes being the mirror to the soul, then my soul must be tortured because my eyes are positively tortuous (April 6, 2012: Tortuosity and Dark Matter!).

Yes, it’s true.  My last visit to the opthamologist confirmed it.  My eyes are, indeed, tortuous – meaning my retinal vessels are, in layman’s terms, “all squiggly like”.  This could be indicative of a number of alarming medical conditions: diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a lack of oxygen to the brain (which, quite frankly, would explain a lot). OR it could be genetic and perfectly normal (in 13.3% of cases.  I don’t like them odds).  Anyway, on the advice of my opthamologist, I followed up with my doctor who, after declaring my blood pressure perfectly normal, in turn referred me to an eye specialist – who I visited yesterday.

I arrived ten minutes early for my appointment in the unlikely event they were making good time and wanted to bump me up (I say unlikely but it’s never happened in my lifetime).  I took a seat in a surprisingly packed waiting room where I filled out one of those “First Time Visit” questionnaires (Do you do drugs?  You checked yes?  Great. You’ll be in Room 4 meeting with Officer O’Malley) and then passed the time listening to the muzak being piped through the speaker directly above my chair.  I’m not sure, but I think it might have been “Greatest Lute Hits”.

Finally, they called my name and I was ushered into a tiny room where I was informed I would be getting drops to “freeze my eyes”.  I imagined the thin liquid surface of my eyeballs crystallizing to twin cataract-like shields, cracking into intricate spiderweb fissures with a double flick of the assistant’s fingers.  ”This may hurt a little,”she warned as she applied the drops.  Hurt?!  As it turned out – yes, a bit. I sat up and wiped the liquid from my eyes (and by liquid I mean the excess drops and not my actual tears because, of course, I don’t cry) at which point she produced this tiny pen-like instrument.  ”Now I’m going to check your eye pressure,”she informed me.  ”I’m going to tap your eyeball with this.”

“You are?”

“Don’t worry,”she said.  ”Your eyes are frozen and you won’t feel anything.”

Do you realize how hard it is to keep your eye open will getting your eyeball poked?  Very hard.  Go ahead, try it.  Just give your iris a light tap with your pinky finger.  Try not to blink.

I blinked.  A lot.  So she ended up having to do both eyes twice. “How’s it looking?”I asked.

“You doctor will discuss the results with you,”she replied.

What did THAT mean?!

I was then instructed to peer through a machine, first one eye, then the other, and read a row of numbers and letters.  I was feeling fairly confident until I realized that, while my answers for the first two easy rows were the same for both eyes, my responses for the more challenging final two rows different significantly: 8?  No, B.  No, 8. Wait…it’s a Caduceus!

It was back to the waiting room for more lute music.  I was able to pass the time in fairly consistent anxiety, first doing a google search for “eye pressure test” on my cell phone which led me to a second google search for “glaucoma” which inevitably led me to a third search for “glaucoma treatments”.  It didn’t look good for your truly.  From what I could read – and given my sudden blurred vision and inability to focus, it wasn’t much – the pressure check was a test for glaucoma.  The fact that the assistant who performed the test was unwilling to reveal a normal reading (after all, if it was normal why wouldn’t you?) suggested I’d failed.  Now, the question was how serious the glaucoma and what kind of irreversible damage had already been done to my vision?  Also, what kind of treatment would I be looking at?  Had I caught it in time?  Would medication suffice? Or would I require laser or more invasive surgeries?

Another fifteen minutes wait before I was summoned into another room.  I was asked to peer into another machine and asked to focus on the picture of a distant hot air balloon that came in and out and back into focus, then asked to repeat some more lines – first the right eye, then the left eye.  Again, the answers didn’t match up.  I tried to joke around with this second assistant, but she’d have none of it.  She was either a highly unpleasant individual or, more than likely, had already heard the results of my eye pressure test and been stricken by an overwhelming sadness.

It was back to the waiting room for more of the  lute serenade, then my name was called again and I was directed to take a seat in a narrow hallway.  My chair was so low I felt like I’d been exiled to the kids’ section.  As I sat and waited, I vowed to make the most of my good seeing days.  I’d no longer put off reading those books I’d been meaning to get around to.  I’d accelerate my productivity and complete those half-finished scripts languishing on my laptop.  I’d get around to watching the last few seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia!  I’d live life to the fullest!

The door in front of me swung open.  A patient left and my name was called.  I walked in and took a seat.  As the doctor shut the door, I braced myself.  Here it came.

“So, when did you first notice the toruosity?”she asked.

I told her it had been brought to my attention while I was in Toronto, then confirmed by a local opthamlogist just last month.

“There could be a number of explanations,”she said.

“High blood pressure,”I offered helpfully.

“Have you had your blood pressure checked recently?”

I told her I had.  My blood pressure was normal.

“Well, aside from high blood pressure, you could be looking at other possibilities.”

“Diabetes?”I suggested.

“Did you have a fasting blood test when you went in for your physical?”

I told her I had and, now that she mentioned it, I realized the doctor had never called me with the results.  Maybe no news is good news.

“Or it may mean they misplaced the results,”said Debbie Downer.  ”You should follow up.”

I said I would.

“Okay then,”she said.  ”My first concern would be blood pressure.”

“My blood pressure was fine,”I reaffirmed, suddenly struck by a sensation akin to tuning into an episode of your favorite series only to discover it’s a clip show.  ”What else?”

“That’s it,”she said.

“What about the eye pressure test?”I asked.

“Your eye pressure’s fine.”

No glaucoma but my eyes are tortuous, that’s what this visit to the specialist revealed.  In other words, it reconfirmed what my local opthamologist had already confirmed what the opthamologist in Toronto had discovered.

P.S. I followed up with my doctor’s office and was told that they had received the results but the doctor hadn’t asked for a follow-up appointment.  This, she told me, usually signified the results came back normal.  Or, I thought, they were so bad that he assumed I’d passed away in the interim and what was the point.

May 23, 2012: Lulu scampers loudly and carries a big stick!

I was sidetracked today by an eye doctor’s appointment, several phone calls, and a slew of emails that kept me from the task at hand – that task being, of course, the SF (near future) miniseries I’m writing with Paul.  In order to keep to my act a day pace, it looks like I’ll have to work through the night, so this will be a short but undeniably sweet dog-focused blog entry.

Ooooh, lookit the doggies!

Tagged: french bulldog, french bulldogs, pug, pugs

May 22, 2012: Running the miniseries marathon! And the Dark Matter TPB is on its way!

If this miniseries were a marathon, these last two legs would have been all uphill.  I’m exhausted but have passed the halfway mark and, while I forge ahead, keeping to my grueling act a day pace, Paul is following a few steps back – reading, revising and making sure everything actually makes sense. Once I complete my rough first draft, I’ll start going over his revised version, make any necessary tweaks (rare given my writing partner’s talent for solid, tightly structured narratives) and then it’ll be smoooooooooth sailing.

Until we get the script notes.

But they shouldn’t prove problematic.  While production preps, we’ll address the notes and, in no time at all, turn around a second draft everyone can get behind afterwhich it’ll be smoooooth sailing.

Unless they want us to do a polish.

One of the nice things about this one is that it’s just a writing assignment.  No producing involved.  No concept meetings, casting sessions, budget discussions, early morning calls and late night wraps, long afternoons in the editing room.  We just deliver the script and move on to the next thing – and the next thing for me will be either Vegas, San Francisco, or Hawaii.  My agent informed me we’re about to close a deal to develop a show with another production company, which is fine – provided I can do it from the beach, a black jack table, or a picnic table by a wharfside restaurant that sells oyster po’boys on sourdough buns.

OR it can wait until I get back.

Also waiting for me when I get back will be a rewrite on that horror script and some discussions on the Dark Matter front.  By the way, the release date for the trade paperback that collects the first four issues of our Dark Matter comic book series hits the stands October 10, 2012. It will include all four issues of the opening arc as well as a sketch gallery in which editor Patrick Thorpe walks us through the early character, costume and ship designs, AND a kick-ass, never-before-seen alternate cover for issue #1.

Speaking of kick-ass covers, artist Garry Brown (who was kind enough to swing by the blog and take part in a reader Q&A.  Check it out here: May 18, 2012: Dark Matter artist Garry Brown answers your questions!) runs the table by doing the honors on the cover for the trade paperback as well.  Here’s a sneak peek:

DARK MATTER VOLUME 1: REBIRTH TP

Joseph Mallozzi (W), Paul Mullie (W), Garry Brown (A/Cover), and Ryan Hill (C)

On sale Oct 10

FC, 104 pages

$14.99

TP, 7″ x 10″

It goes without saying that your continued support would go a long way toward helping make the Dark Matter television series (or miniseries) happen.  So pick up a copy and be sure to tell your friends!

You know what, your friends are forgetful.  Better pick them up a copy. They’ll pay you back.

 

Tagged: comic, Comic Books, Dark Matter, Dark Matter comic book, film & television, scriptwriting, writing for television

May 21, 2012: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Blankman!

Calling dis movie “a comedy” be like calling orange soda “juice”. Blankman aktually offer less den 5% of de daily rekommended serving of laffs.  It start promising enuf, den go downhill faster den a carob birtday cake delivery truck wit no brakes.  Or a movie written by a ten year old – which me suspekt dis is.

Movie open wit great scene of two boyz trying to watch Batman. Recepshun bad so little genius create antenna using aloominum foil, string, and toilet (coinsidentally, dis also eqwipment Grover use to make his Blue Belly Crank ®All Rights Reserved, White Crunch Productions – a subsidiary of Grover Inc.).  It work!  Den toilet overflow.  When grandma find out, she storm into room and we cut to opening creditz wit old-style Batman sound effekts – POW! BAM! – substitooting for grandma’s ass-whooping.  Monster tink dis great stuff. Could it be dis movie get even higher rating den Rocketman and bring rath of angry blog reader Das down on Cookie?

Fast-forward.  Kidz grown up.  One, Kevin, a player with de ladies.  De other, Daryl, a nerd.  Damon Wayons play him wit all de skill and suttlety of aktor who flunk out of De Jerry Lewis Akademy for Performing Artz.

NEEEEEERD!

Daryl invent all sort of useless tings inkluding a green poshun dat make his clothes bulletproof.  Monster don’t know how and don’t know why. And neither does writer of movie becuz he not bother to explain.

Like most sucksessful nerdz, he invent someting.

At dis point, movie turn surprizingly poignant, like dat time Andrew Dice Clay cry on Arsenio.  Grandma killed by gangster.  On way back from funeral, Daryl save woman from purse snatcher.  He catch de bug. No, not taxoplasmosis dat mebbe explain his stoopid behavior (brain damage).  Me talking about de “superhero bug”!  Daryl sew hisself an outfit, attach some gadjets to his belt, and go off to fight crime!

Ready to kick it – lame style.

He try to fight crime and get beat up, but saved by brother Kevin. Den trown in jail for akting crazy.  Kevin bring him to visit psykiatrist but doktor tink Kevin de crazy one.  Dis scene aktually work well and almost convince monster mebbe dis IS a comedy, but den rest of movie convince me otherwize.

Daryl get big brake when he help deliver baby in elevator.  Suddenly, he a real superhero: Blankman!  Everybody love him inkluding seksy reporter who Kevin in love wit.  She go on date wit him, kiss him, and in movie’s biggest WTF scene, Daryl get his first erektion and dance around like he have poopy cramps.  Ah, comedy gold!  For some reazon, seksy reporter find dis adorable.

Hilarious horniness

Everyting great for Daryl until mayor taken hostage in bank by gangster (same one who kill Daryl and Kevin’s grandma).  Daryl goes into bank to save Mayor but place rigged wit ekspolsives and he have to leave.  Bank blow up.  Mayor die.  For some reazon (aka de plot call for it) police and publik blame Blankman.  Daryl decide to hang up his cape and give up on life.  What he do?  Become hermit?  Worse.  Kill hisself?  Worse even!  He get job at McDonaldz!

And tings get even worse for Daryl when fate (and demandz of lame script) intervene.  Gangster  kidnap reporter!  Daryyl have to retire from fast food bizness and join Kevin to save de girl!

Partnerz in dorkiness

Dey save girl wit help of robot dat look like cyborg Cookie Monster.  But gangster get away so we can stretch out dis painful movie even longer. Daryl and Kevin show up.  Kevin dare bad guyz to shoot him.  Dey do. He get shot.  Den Daryl say to Kevin: “Forgot to tell you: only my clothez bulletproof.”  Hohoho.  Is funny because he not shot in face, crap his pantz, and scream like guy who cross Oscar de Grouch dat one time.

Daryl/Blankman use rocket bootz to catch gangster.  Gangster arrested. Blankman a celebrity again.  Kevin to lesser extent.  Daryl worried dat reporter not love him for who he is but really only love Blankman.  However, turn out everyting okay becuz he just love stoopid socially awkward guyz like most women monster don’t know. She kiss him and movie end wit extended poopy cramp dance as Daryl get another boner.  Sure.  Why not?

Nerd gets de girl – only in de movies

Verdikt: Rocketman dis aint.  Heck, it not even Meteor Man.

Rating: 1 chocolate chippee cookie frontloaded in first five minutes of movie.

Letz refresh our palate wit Fantastic Four.  Monster big Jessika Alba fan and really looking forward to…

Wait?  What?  Dis movie not have Jessica Alba?  It earlier verzion? Mebbe still good though…

Nope.  Mebbe not.

Tagged: Blankman, Cookie Monster, Cookie Monster reviews Blankman, film reviews, movie reviews, superheroes, SuperMovie of the Week Club

May 20, 2012: Disappointing Dinners!

The plan was to get together with the boys this afternoon and continue our Game of Thrones season 2 marathon (this is how guys spend Sunday afternoon’s during the NFL off-season), but schedules didn’t line up (Ivon has a meeting with his parole officer, while Lawren’s girlfriend is hosting her Oprah’s book club meeting and he promised he’d stay home and bake scones) so I ended up working instead.  As a result, I ended up completing the eighth act of the miniseries Paul and I are writing.  That’s two hours, eight acts, and 106 pages down – and roughly the same amount to go.  I’m only at the halfway mark!

Between these fairly intense and exhausting writing sessions, I’ve taken the occasional break to head out with the dogs, do some readings, and go out for the occasional meal.  There was a time in my life I would eat out every night.  Now, the majority of my meals are enjoyed at home, and my last few dinners out haven’t exactly made me nostalgic for the old days.  It’s been disappointment after disappointment after disappointment.  Not even the food offerings of the annual Summer Night Market were able to live up to my relatively low expectations.

Last night, Ivon joined Akemi and me in checking out the annual Summer Night Market (not to be confused with the very similar Richmond Night Market we’ll be checking out next weekend, now with even lower expectations).  No one goes to these things for the flea market sales.  They go for the food.  And the food on this night was mostly unmemorable or downright disappointing.  I’m not why the organizers felt they needed half a dozen food stands all serving the same fried potato sticks.  On the other hand, I felt bad for the sushi vendor who, despite the crowds, was seeing no business at all.  I felt sorry for them, but not sorry enough to buy and eat night market sushi.

Akemi, daintily eating her corn.

Ivon and I sample The Hurricane Potato, not to be confused with The Original Hurricane Potato which was even busier. I think that next year, Ivon and I will open our own stand and call it The Original Original Hurricane Potato.

Akemi finds the extra spicy curry fish balls extra spicy indeed.

A selection of skewers. Cold bacon-wrapped asparagus, way-too-fatty lamb, and tender but kind of bland chicken.

I consider the Taiwanese sausage. It was actually quite good.

While Ivon enjoys the enormous pork bun he picked up.

What would a night market be without some takoyaki? When I saw that one of the options was “cheese”, I wasn’t thinking parmesan.

The mini waffles came in matcha (green tea) and original flavors. I found them unremarkable, but Ivon and Akemi seemed to enjoy them.

Another disappointing dinner took place the other day when we checked out a new(ish) seafood restaurant in Gastown.  Among the lowlights: a bland lobster salad containing nominal lobster, some overdone tagliatelle with crab, some terribly underdone brussel sprouts, and a couple of desserts I actually felt sad eating because they looked  like they’d commanded a fair amount of effort but the results had been so disastrous.

These would’ve been more successful had they actually been cooked through.

And then there was dinner the other night at an old (sort of) favorite. Following a salad that tasted like it should be good for you (and I mean that in the not nicest way possible), we followed with three pasta dishes we shared.  The first, a spaghetti, was perfectly al dente and the accompanying sauce was simple and flavorful, if not a little less thick than on our last visit.  The second, a rigatoni, was also nicely cooked, but the accompanying sauce was unremarkable.  The third, a tagliatelle special (what is with tagliatelle?) was an overcooked mash that inevitably clumped together.  We decided to take the pastas to go, figuring Akemi might enjoy them the next day, if not the last two then certainly the spaghetti.  Moments later, our waitress returned with two boxes and informed us that one of the other servers who’d helped clear our table had mistakenly tossed our leftover spaghetti in the trash. The guilty server swung by our table to offer a half-hearted apology, then suggested our lack of leftovers should prove ample motivation for us to return and try the dish again.  I was…surprised, especially given the fact that they know me.  Granted, I didn’t expect them to go through the trouble of eating the $3 cost of the plate and making me a fresh serving, but it would have been nice to have been comped a dessert. Anyway, we left and I vowed it would be a long time before we made a return visit.

All three of us enjoyed the spaghetti – Akemi, myself, and the trash bin.

And those were just our last three dinner outings.  Equally underwhelming were past visits to other restaurants, a few of which had always consistently in the past: three Italian, one Vietnamese, and Caribbean place (What was I thinking?  This is Vancouver!).  The only luck I’ve had in the past month has been with lunches.  The porchetta sandwich at Meat & Bread and the tacos at Tacqueria never fail to impress.

Ultimately, a disappointing dinner outing stings on many levels. There’s the waste of time, the waste of money and, perhaps most maddening, the waste of calories.  I could’ve just stayed home and braised a lamb shank.

May 19, 2012: Amateur Blogging Made Difficult: My Top Ten Tips for the Online Personal Journalerer. Er.

So, despite having done this for over five years now, I apparently break all the fundamental rules of successful blogging.  I don’t market my blog, make money off it through advertising, stick to a single niche or dedicated theme, and, perhaps worst of all, do not limit myself to the recommended weekly entry.  Instead, my daily ramblings cover everything from Tokyo maid cafes to my hatred of ceviche and kiwis (not to be confused with Newsies, the people of New Zealand).  Sure, I could make it easier on myself by not being so prolific, but I’m on a roll here – five years’ worth of continuous daily blogging! – and just can’t bring myself to stop now.

Daily blogging is not without its challenges.  Yes, I’m a writer, but you’re sorely mistaken if you believe (like my ex sister-in-law) that I “just sit around all day, making stuff up”.  I can’t just turn it on and off like my friend, Martin Gero, does comedy (P.S. If you ever run into him on the street, ask him to say or do something funny.  You won’t be disappointed.).  I need to be inspired.  Or, if not inspired, then at least have a somewhat interesting topic to discuss.  Every day I wake up wondering “What am I going to blog about today?” and, eventually, it hits me – sometimes right that moment, sometimes late in the evening when I’m in a half lucid state from eating too much chocolate and ice cream.  Sooner or later, something comes.

Like today, for instance, when I received the following question from KevininNS: “Was wondering if you could comment sometime on your blog preparation/planning process? Do you have a set schedule/routine for it? Since you’ve written every single day, with a wide variety of content, i’m thinking you probably do.  Although since you’re also a writer by occupation, maybe you don’t.”

And that’s when it hit me, today’s blog topic: I would write about having nothing to write about.

Well, that’s not exactly true.  Although it seems like a lead a glamorous and exciting life filled with eroticism and high-adventure, the fact is my life is not all that different from yours (minus your funny hats but plus my awesome collection of supervillain statues).  I do have an edge however.  Being a writer, I can make the most mundane experiences sound interesting and inviting, like traveling to Tokyo and visiting 29 restaurants (totaling 34 Michelin stars) in two weeks or, say, working in television. It aint easy, but it can be done.

So to answer your questions, Kevin, little if any preparation goes into this blog.  I blog at all hours of the day, covering a variety of topics, with no schedule or routine because I am in a perenially panicked state. When will I have time to update my blog?  Is this topic interesting enough?  Will my failure to comment on her comment for two successive mailbags offend blog regular Das?

The reality is that coming up with a constant source of material for daily blogging can be tough.  Fortunately, I have some tips to make the daunting and drudgerous task of writing for others a simple and relatively pleasant experience:

1. Try to do at least one interesting thing a day (ie. making your own oatmeal or watching old episodes of Vampire Diaries out of order) and write about it.  In the event what you do isn’t interesting, then take a picture of it and post that.

2. Upload embarrassing and potentially incriminating photos and videos of yourself.  Don’t worry.  The internet is a place where nameless individuals come together in love, respect, and mutual support.  That’s why it was invented, after all.

3. When blogging, always try to write something you know nothing about.  Take the reader along with you on your journey of discovery.

4. Drink while blogging.  Booze makes you more charming.  Not most people, but you.

5. Schedule one epic rant every 7-8 months to bring in new readers. Choose an easy target most people can line up against (ie. Polygamous Walruses or Buddhists Who Don’t Tip).

6. Set your blog apart from all the others by adopting a unique writing style.  Old English would be ideal but, if you’re not fluent, then try peppering your articles with random words in Welsh or Tagalog. Alternately, you might want to consider writing in another accent. British for instance: “I say, that was a positively smashing entry, wot?”.

7. Come up with catchy titles for your entries (ie. “White-faced Saki Monkey Wins Parcheesi Championship!” or “Five Easy Steps to Wealth, Weight Loss, and Marriage to that Celebrity You’re Obsessed With!”). Don’t forget the exclamation marks!!!

8. Leave comments on other high-traffic sites and don’t forget to include backlinks to your blog.  Make sure your comment is succinct and engaging (“I think we may hooked up the last time I was in town!).

9. Readers today have the attention spans of caffeinated meerkats so make sure your blog stands out.  Grab their attention and keep it by festooning your home page with hyper-kinetic multi-colored visual elements: emoticons, funny gifs, flashing borders and multiple frames and sub-frames.  Take a page out of MySpace’s success story.

10. This goes without saying, but there’s nothing more frustrating than reading a sloppy article.  Before you hit publish, make sure you’ve prfread your work!

Tagged: Amateur Blogging Made Difficult, blog, Blogging, blogging advice, online journal, top ten tips for the online personal journaler, Writing

May 18, 2012: Dark Matter artist Garry Brown answers your questions!

When my editor at Dark Horse, Patrick Thorpe, asked me which artist I wanted to work with on Dark Matter, I had a difficult time offering a name.  Yes, there are plenty of comic book artists whose work I greatly admire but, being a relative newcomer to the field, I didn’t feel right pitching someone for the project.  Rather, I preferred to pitch the visual style I envisioned for the series.  I sent Patrick some samples of the look I was hoping to achieve, comic book covers and panels from a variety of artists.  Soon after, Patrick emailed me a name: Garry Brown.  As is turned out, I was familiar with Garry through his work on Incorruptible and thought he would be perfect for Dark Matter.

And he was.  Also, a pleasure to work with.

Garry did the art for all four issues (including the covers), and also did the cover for the trade paperback (that collects the opening four-issue arc) which hits the stands October 10th.  And for those of you wondering when we’ll see the next chapter in the Dark Matter comic book series, well, that’s entirely dependent on how the trade sells.  So, if you want more Dark Matter, then support the series by picking up the TPB in October.  In the meantime, Paul and I are hard at work trying to set it up as a t.v. show.

But, for now, I hand this blog over to the uber-talented Garry Brown…

Sparrow__hawk writes: “@Garry Brown: I’m in awe of your amazing talent! Thanks for bringing Joe’s story to life.”

BG: Thanks so much. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks to everyone who picked up the book. I had a great time working on it and I hope you enjoyed it.

Ponytail writes: “Do you work mostly with pencil and pad or on the computer?”

GB: I work both traditionally and digitally. I’ll do pencils digitally with my cintiq, then print that out blueline on the art board and inks it traditionally. I prefer the look of real inks.

“What has been your favorite character to illustrate over the years?”

GB: Well, i’m relatively new to comics so I haven’t illustrated many different characters. I had a lot of fun with the Dark Matter characters.

“What was your most fun project ever?”

GB: Probably Dark Matter. Getting to be involved in the creation of a whole new world was exciting, plus working with talents like Joe and Paul was really great.

“Who is your boss, the writer or publisher?”

GB: Both, the editor and the writer(s), i think.

“When working, what is a typical day like for you?”

GB: Checking/replying  to emails first thing. Then checking over the previous day’s work for mistakes or clean up, then onto a new page. I try and get at least 1 page penciled and inked in a day. 

“Have you ever suggested a dialogue change to the writer?”

GB: No, that’s not really my place. I’m there to bring the writer’s vision to the page.

“Who is responsible for the sounds effects, (wham!, krsh!, foom!), you or the writer?”

GB: The writer mostly, but the artist can add a few if needed.

“Did you or have you ever hidden humorous images in Dark Matter or your other drawings just for your personal amusement or entertainment? (I thought I saw a picture of Joe’s dog in Dark Matter 4 – pg 1, 3rd pic)”

GB: Ha, not on purpose. I’m not against it, though.

“What did you draw as a kid and when did you know you were pretty good?”

GB: I think I drew mostly my own random stuff. My town didn’t have a comic store so I didn’t really know that many characters as a kid. I think I eventually started drawing Batman, Spiderman and Judge Dredd.

“Thank you for taking the time and answering our questions!”

GB:  You’re very welcome.

Dasndanger writes: “Firstly, let me say that I really enjoyed the art in Dark Matter. I think it captured not just the essence of the characters, but also the gritty atmosphere of the story, from pencils to colors. Well done!”

GB: Thank you very much. I’m glad you enjoyed it. It was fun working on it.

“1. Thank you for making the samurai lad so pretty. Did Joe coach you on that, perhaps suggesting that there may be a couple female readers in need of a long-locked, manga-esque character?”

BG: Yeah, that was in the scripts. We went through a few different designs of that character until we hit the right note. The script called for a slightly androgynous look.  

“2. Who determined the coloring for Dark Matter – you, or your colorist?”

GB: It was all the colorist [RYAN HILL].

“3. Do you ever do your own coloring?”

GB: Yeah, when I do covers mostly. I did all the covers for Dark Matter, including the colors. Plus I did about 20 covers for the Incorruptible series and a few others.

“4. Have you tried your hand at writing a comic? If not, is it something that interests you?”

GB: I have. I’ve got a few projects I’ve created. Some are just ideas, some have full scripts. It’s just getting the free time to work on them that’s tough.

“5. What are your thoughts on the state of the comic book industry, and the future of the medium?”

GB: I’m not sure really. I’m still kind of on the outskirts of the industry. I’ve been ‘pro’ for a few years now and I still don’t know much about the mechanics of the industry. I’m pretty sure people shouldn’t be afraid of the inclusion of digital comics. I know a lot of pros and publishers don’t give them much credence, but I think it’s a good way to open up the industry a bit more.

“6. Do you think that the over-sexualization of female characters in comic books, especially when it comes to the artwork, keeps female readers away?”

GB: I do, yes. It can be a little strange to see all the male characters in fullbody armor/suits and have all the women wearing nothing but a bathing suit. Add in the fact that the women are all drawn radically out of proportion and I could see how it might put people off.

“7. I understand you’re Scottish. So, what’s really under a kilt? ;o)”

GB: Ha, as i remember, Kilt etiquette is you only go commando when going to war. If women are present, you remain contained.

Spendrup writes: “Do you listen to any type of music when you work to get inspiration?”

GB: Yeah, I set my ipod on random. So I get everything from Black Keys to CCR playing. Although, lately I’ve been listening to a lot of audiobooks. Mostly Stephen King.

“Did you came up with the look of the Ferrous Corp guys on your own, or was it all in the script?”

GB: I think that was a collaboration. I came up with a few designs and we picked what we liked. I just like drawing gas masks, haha.

Airelle writes: “Garry Brown, thank you for the great work on Joe and Paul’s project.
Did you have a favorite character to draw in this project?
thanks for your time!”

GB: Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you liked the book  I liked drawing all the main players actually. I guess if i had to pick it’d be Marcus Boone [THREE]. He had a good face.

Randomness writes: “What drew you to Dark Matter?”

GB: I was told about a possible sci-fi miniseries by my editor at Dark Horse. I’m a huge sci-fi fan, so I was really excited about the prospect of it.

“What do you think of the story?”

GB:  I really enjoyed reading the scripts. I didn’t get all 4 at once, so I was reading them almost like you guys were. I’d finish drawing one issue then get the next script. It was a great read. I think it’s got a lot of potential to expand the universe we created.

“What’s your favorite Dark Matter scene?”

GB:  I actually enjoy the scenes were people are just talking to each other. Having debates/arguments. I guess that’d be the dramatic scenes.

“What character do you like the most?”

GB: I probably like Griffin Jones [SIX] the best. I think he’s got a lot of depth and conflict in him.

“What has it been like working with Joe and Paul, two greats behind Stargate?”

GB: It’s been great. Being involved in creating something with these guys has been a blast.

“Are you a Stargate fan?”

GB: Yes, since the movie actually. So that’s a while now. Really liked Universe. I would have loved to see where it went.

“Do you hope Dark Matter will be a long running series?”

GB:  Sure, I’d love to get back into that world. Also I’d like to know where the story goes from here. A lot of possibilities.

“What’s your favorite hobby?”

GB: I’m slowly getting back into songwriting/music. 

“On a whole what has it been like working on Dark Matter?”

GB:  A great experience. One of my more creative to date.

“Are you a foodie?”

GB: Yes, i think.

DP writes: “What happens to a project if an artist drops out partway through its run, given the need for stylistic continuity for this kind of work?

GB: I don’t think stylistic continuity is a must. It’s certainly nice to try and keep a flow going, but it doesn’t bother me.

“What can be done within a work group to minimize the risks of losing stylistic continuity in a project?”

GB: I think editors would make sure the new guy had all the previous artist’s pages and designs to keep him more on model. You would certainly have to keep the look of any previously designed characters/environment the same.

“Please correct the jargon I used in the above questions. I need to know how to express this correctly. You really don’t want to know how much I already cleaned up the language from how I’ve heard it expressed.”

GB: Ha, seemed fine to me.

“How much do you use computers in the early stages of submitting a rough draft of a drawing? How digitized is your final product?”

GB: I do layouts, pencils and coloring digitally. I do the inks traditionally.

“How many iterations of a drawing do you go through working with Joe and Paul? Is that more or less than is typical in this kind of work?”

GB: If it’s a character design, then it’ll go through a few different iterations until everyone is satisfied. I think it’s the same with every new series.

“What do you think of those internet sites where artists can bid for freelancing jobs?”

GB: I haven’t heard of them, but it sounds terrible to me. Artists don’t really get paid much, so if you have a lot of people lowballing jobs, then it hurts the rest of the industry. Artist should have a price and not feel like they have to take scraps in order to get a job.

“Are there any cryptic signatures in your work, like a Stargate director putting a pineapple in each of his SG-1 episodes?”

GB: Not yet, but that pineapple idea is a good one.

jojo writes: “For Garry: Do computers affect or help your work in any way? “

GB:  I work a lot on the wacom cintiq which has increased the pace at which i can work by about 50%. So it has helped me a lot. In comics the deadline is king. You can’t afford to miss it. Your editor has trust in you and you’re contracted to do certain work by a certain time.

“Do you do other work besides comic books and graphic novels?”

GB:  Yeah, I’ve done a few album covers, posters, storyboards and concept designs.

“Is it difficult to get jobs?”

GB: It’s extremely difficult to get work. It’s a lot like acting or writing. A lot of it has to do with being in the right place at the right time and being ready to go.

“Is it possible to do your work from any location or do you have to be located in a certain city?”

GB: Yes, in comics you can work from absolutely anywhere.

Ponytail writes: “Joe I had one more question for artist Garry Brown, if you don’t mind… I think some others have touched on coloring but what exactly is the job of the colorist and why can’t the Artist do that too? Why the separation of duties?”

GB: I think it’s the same reason that sometimes there’s an artist who pencils, then another guy inks and another guys colors. It’s all to do with time. The thought is that while I finish a page of inks, I the give it to the colorist to color as I am still working on another page, that way cutting down on the time it takes. A production line sort of thing.

Tagged: Comic Books, Comics, Dark Horse, Dark Horse Comics, Dark Matter, Garry Brown