Life After The So-Called Space Age

The Teams Are In Place...

2011-02-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

So the writer/artist teams are in place and the due date for the art has been given. The ball is rolling and this is exciting.

Check out a couple of the kick ass artists who are participating:
Brad Thingvold

Ahmed Sanusi

Chris Valle

Lee Giles

On The Hunt...

2010-12-30T20:02:00.000-08:00

So I've got some fantastic writers lined up for Volume 1 AND Volume 2. The only problem is I am having trouble finding artists to pair with the writers. A couple of them know artists that they can work with, most do not. So I am joining message boards in a desperate attempt to find some artists who can contribute. Keep you posted.

Times They Are A Changin'...

2010-12-21T05:57:00.000-08:00

So initially this was going to be a comic book review site. Then just a blog about my interests. Well both of those fizzled and now this is going to to the temporary home to the "Life After The So-Called Space Age" online comic anthology. A proper web page will be coming in the future but until then this blog will serve as a preview space for the upcoming stories. Check out preview art and writing, character sketches and other extras.

Behind The Times Again...

2010-08-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

So once again I'm super behind on something popular. Just recently discovered and watched the entirety of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I'm curious about the M. Night Shyamalan movie but heard it was terrible. I can't imagine it being worse than The Happening but I can still be proven wrong.

MISFITS... I have never wanted to be a foul mouth British teenager more in my life

2010-06-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

I may be behind on this series which came out a year ago on the other side of the pond, but better late than never. This is a series of 6 episodes featuring 5 teens who have been given super powers from a freak lightning storm. The twist being they're all juvenile delinquents. Think of it like the Goonies with telepathy, time travel and an extreme amount of swearing. Crappy thing is I'm done watching all 6 episodes of the first series. Good news though is its coming back... but not till November. I can't wait to see how they pick up the next series after the first finale. But definitely check it out.

Now That LOST Is Over...

2010-05-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

Follow the ongoing adventures of Ben and Hurley on Ben and Hurley's Magical Island.
Its a sweet webcomic that only has about 2 strips up so far.
I know everyone's got an opinion on the finale and they're entitled to it (even if they're really wrong), but personally I loved The End. The Ben/Hurley partnership was probably my favorite part. Hurley is the heart of the show and I'm glad they paid it off.

Time Bandits... It's like Little People Big World, but with 67% more time travel.

2008-12-02T17:23:00.000-08:00

Perhaps Terry Gilliam's greatest movie (second only to Brazil) Time Bandits is a much watch for anyone who loves midgets, time travel or Sean Connery fighting Minotaurs (well just one minotaur really). It's like being on acid while being accompanied by the guy who was inside R2D2. This has to be one of the greatest movies about a boy who is taken by midgets and travel through time as they steal from various historical figures. You have to wonder where Terry Gilliam would come up with the concept for time travelling midgets who get into a labour dispute with essentially God over repairs to the Space/Time continuum. Oh also great cameos by some of Gilliam's old Monty Python buddies cement this movie awesome pure awesome.
Through out you can't help feel sorry for the Kevin (the little boy protagonist) as he tries to find a father figure to latch onto. And thats the thing about Time Bandits it really is a journey about a boy trying to find a place in his family. He can't seem to connect to his parents so he goes searching for a substitute. Instead Kevin finds that his parents are really the only ones he has and he loves them, regardless of how detached they may be at times. And like any good journey it culminates with... well... I won't spoil it but damn if its not one of the saddest endings to a movie ever. Its like someone kicking you in the stomach while having a dvd of Schindlers List taped to their foot.
Definitely a buy if you can find it on DVD. It's like $30 on amazon.ca so someday I'll break down and replace my old worn VHS copy. You can also watch it on youtube. That is if you want to squint at the really small video.

I give this 5 Kenny Bakers out of 5.

Hope Sandoval Was Cute 15 Years Ago...

2008-10-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

Now most of you out there probably don't know who Hope Sandoval is, but she was the lead singer of a band called Mazzy Star about 15 years ago. This is during the days of Pearl Jam and plaid shirts tied at the waist and Matthew Fox when he had a mullet on Party of Five. At this point I was 13 and wouldn't start appreciating good music for at least another year (despite the best efforts of my brother and sister). Now as I'm older and realized what I missed I also missed the hot days of Hope Sandoval. I have no idea what Hope looks like now. For all I know she may be just as hot, but there is something very appealing about the early 90's grunge chick. The short floral print dress, the combat boots, and the downward stare broken only by the occasional need to shake a tamborine. Ahhhh to be 13 again.

Animated gif of the day/week... whatever I feel like... 10/04/2008

2008-10-04T17:18:00.001-07:00

I just wonder where lighting your crotch on fire was a good idea? Really?
Whats awesome about this is his buddies use this as an excuse to kick the hell out of his junk. Now thats whate friends are for.

How Do I Shot Comic? (I know its a crappy title. It's late. Sue me.)

2008-10-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

So for a long time I've been working on a comic called Loche. It's been like 10 years since I started working on it. Over time the stories changed, evolved. Characters were added, some were written out. And the biggest change is the format of the book. Initially the book was going to be a monthly series with a 22 to 24 page format, the traditional "floppy" format that is the standard of mainstream comics. While this works for Marvel and DC being big corporate entities it doesn't necessarily work for a pov-ass independant creator like me. So now the book will be published (when its finished) in a graphic novel form, measuring in at around 150 pages. The book will be backed up with supplemental material online. Sort of like the backmatter in Watchmen or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (not that I'm comparing myself to Alan Moore) the stuff you'll find on the site will be short 6 to 8 page comics, character bios, the back history of some of the settings and events. It seems that nowadays the resources that a creator has available is kind of underutilized. A story can be told in much larger "brushstrokes" than a 22 page serialized story. Now that being said, with the change from a floppy format to a OGN format I'm not going to being using a bunch of covers. Which kind of sucks... cause coming up with a strong cover is a hard thing to do. Some artists are fantastic cover artists: Neal Adams, Jack Kirby, Will Eisner are pretty obvious then there are some contemporary artists like Frank Cho, Alex Maleev, Marko Djurevic, all come up with fantastic and compelling covers. I would kill for the ability to create some of the iconic images some artists can come up with.
Well anyways here are some covers that aren't going to be used. They're all unfinished. Which seems to be a running theme in my work.
Anyway. Enjoy. Hope you dig 'em. And keep checking in for more stuff about Loche.

(Oh needless to say... Loche and subsequent characters and stories as well as the images posted on this blog are copyright Nick Ardill, 2008. Like anyones gonna steal it but I gotta cover my ass.)

Animated gif of the day/week... whatever I feel like... 10/01/2008

2008-10-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

That's gotta hoit! One of the Mythbusters takes it right on the punnam. I'll give him this, he took it like a man. If I knew that a huge ass slap in the face was coming I'd probably be flinching at the slightest sound I heard. If that makes me a pussy... then I guess I'm a pussy.

A Mouse, A Vampire, And A Kid With A Board Walk Into A Bar...

2008-10-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

Okay some random stuff. Some of its old, some new-ish.

The first is me just playing with my tablet after reading the fantastic Mouse Guard mini-series (Which I can't recommend enough). I need to get around to finishing this piece. You'll find that a lot with my work. It's bad I know. I'll start something then lose interest and start something else. I gotta learn a little more discipline.

This here is a rough cover idea for a book I was going to work on for a really nice guy named Travis Bierwagen. I couldn't continue working on the project with Travis unfortunately. But of all the stuff I did for the book I loved this one the most. I was definitely channeling Mignola at the time.

And lastly a doodle of a character from one of the greatest PS2 games: ICO.
Go find a copy if you can. The biggest mistake I ever did was not keeping mine when I sold my PS2. Of course I didn't know I was getting a PS3 6 months later.

Animated Gif of the day/week... whenever I feel like it. 09/30/2008

2008-09-30T17:04:00.001-07:00

BEWARE THE POWER OF JOEY LAWRENCE!!!

Animated gif of the day/week... whatever I feel like... 09/29/2008

2008-09-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

What does this tell you?

Thats right. That we should all watch The Price Is Right more often. Man she's looks happy to be up there. And you just KNOW Drew Carey is happy too.

An EXTREME Failure?

2008-09-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

So... It's been an incredibly long time since I posted. (Does anybody actually read this?) And its pretty apparent that I didn't manage to review an issue of Ultimate Spider-Man a day. So I'm starting fresh with the blog. I'm gonna still review comics, movies, music when my life allows. (course one would wonder where I get off reviewing anything but hey... it's the Internet and everyone posts their opinion whether the world likes it or not.)

On top of reviews of various stuff that tickles my fancy I will also be posting some art of mine. I want to make this a regular thing which hopefully will kick me into gear and get me back drawing on a regular basis. Now whether this will work or not, I have no freakin' clue. (cause the second attempt at daily Ultimate Spidey reviews worked so well.)

So hopefully if anyone stumbles on this they'll enjoy. If not... well... I'm a loser.

Ulitmate Spider-Man #1: Powerless

2007-09-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

*Disclaimer: As I review the issues there will be spoilers and references to other issues. So if you haven't read the issue and don't want to be spoiled... DON'T READ THIS.*

A little less than ten years ago Marvel released a drastic relaunch of one of their core characters. In hopes of modernizing and making the character more accessible to a new generation. They chose a controversial creator who they hoped would jump start the book and make it a success again. This book was called... SPIDER-MAN: CHAPTER ONE.And it sucked. Sucked balls. John Byrne who had one time revitalized one of the greatest franchises of all time (Superman), dropped the ball. Big time. Chapter One while indeed retold the origin of Peter Parker and his transformation into Spidey, it failed miserably to become modern and connect with audiences. John Byrne then pushing 50 was just unable to make Spider-Man a relate able teenager again. The book suffered from poor art and stories that start in one issue only to be resolved next issue half way through, and then starting a new story through the second half of that issue. Issue 12 shipped October 1999. And Spider-Man's main titles continued to flounder.
Well oddly enough, less than a year later Marvel tried again. And got it right.
Again they started the Spider-Man universe again, this time selecting Spider-Man alum artist Mark Bagley on the art chores and choosing an odd selection for a writer. Then independent comic writer Brian Michael Bendis. Being only 32 at the time Bendis was much more adept at connecting to the modern comic reader. His trademark dialogue and fresh feel, made what many thought was going to be flop like Chapter One before it, an "Ultimate" success .(sorry for the pun)
Ultimate Spider-Man took place out of normal Marvel continuity and placed it in a new universe that had a 15 year old Peter Parker, and took an almost Simpsons-esque approach in that as issues passed and time passed Peter remained un-aged. Giving the character a more timeless feel.
In the first issue: "Powerless", Bendis took a 15 page origin story and managed to stretch it out to not just the first issue, but the for 7 issues. In fact Peter doesn't appear in costume in the first issue, he doesn't realize he has powers until the last page, and most importantly Uncle Ben LIVES. (Well for now at least)
Issue 1 opens in Oscorp laboratories where familiar Spidey nemesis Norman Osborn relays the myth of Arachne while holding (while wearing gloves mind you) the spider that will eventually turn Peter into a hero. He is interrupted by a phone call from his lawyer who is calling on behalf of a mystery man (who will apparently be revealed soon in the upcoming Ultimate Origins mini-series) who is asking how testing at the lab is progressing. Looking around the lab one can't help but laugh at the where other test animals are being kept and how close we could have come to having Cat-Man, or Frog-Man or even Dung Beetle-Man.
Issue 1 also fleshes out Uncle Ben to a more viable character. Making him a bit hippy-ish and showing the tenderness of the character and his relationship with Peter makes the shock of his eventual death all the more powerful.
Over the issue Peter is shown as an outsider in high school who's only friend is Harry Osborn. Harry seems at first a bit of a fairweather friend as he is the cool kid who is part of the basketball team who everyone respects and admires, and seemingly on hanging with Peter so Peter can do his homework for him. Honestly though I think Harry hangs around with Peter more for the fact that Peter is honest and genuine and doesn't throw up any false pretenses. Also the environment that Peter lives is polar opposite of Harry's home, where Norman is abusive and beligerent and his mother is nowhere to be seen (my guess having a drinking problem).
Peter's class goes on a field trip to Oscorp where he is inevitably bitten. Peter freaks out flinging the spider onto Mary Jane who knocks it off and is stepped on by new character Kenny "Kong" McFarlane. Who 1: is one of my favorite characters in the book and 2: did something that they should have done in the movie. He killed the freaking spider. That always pissed me off about the movie. The spider crawled away and was never seen again. The spider could have gone on and bit like 80 more people... sorry... just a plot hole that always bugged me. (god... sorry about the other pun)
The issue continues on with Peter having his Spidey-sense tingle for the first time, but quickly passing out afterwards. A blood sample is taken but is stolen Norman's right hand man Shaw. They discover that Peter is dying, the spider venom and Oz formula is slowly killing him, setting the scene for one of the classic origin scenes where Peter is almost run down by a car, this though driven by Shaw who was sent by Osborn to take him out. But when Peter jumps the car Osborn shouts to Shaw that Peter is to be studied, to find the effects of the Oz.
Issue 1 closes with Peter in his room crawling up the wall for the first time and closing with the simple line: "Whoa-- cool."

By extending the origin beyond the original 15 pages, and making Peter seem like an actual and relatable teen, Bendis and Bagley manage to craft arguably the best re-telling and re-imagining of a character. And issue 1 leads the series off to a great start.

Failure to launch...

2007-09-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

Yeah so... I didn't post an issue a day. I fail. I'm finding it easier to read the issues in chunks and will do reviews not daily but weekly at this point. Work and a new comic that I'm working on are keeping me from getting the reviews done as fast as I'd hoped. But the the first block of reviews will be up this weekend. I swear... really. Honest.

The Ultimate Spider-Man Challenge...

2007-09-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since I've actually posted anything here, so I thought I'd finally do something with the blog. I am presenting myself with the challenge of re-reading the entire Ultimate Spider-Man series from start to the current issue which is number 112. This being the first full issue with Immonen. As well as the annuals and the special. And as I read the issue I'm going to review said issue and rate it overall for the series. Starting tomorrow with the first issue. Let's do this!!!

Yeah I realize its not really that challenging. It's not Proust or anything... but hey why the hell not?

Nooooo Captain America.... Spoilerz!!!

2007-03-09T15:43:00.001-08:00

Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, The Colbert Report... all reporting the tragic news: Captain America is dead. And until today I hadn't read the bloody issue!
Thanks to the spoilertastic reporting of major media outlets I was spoiled for one of the biggest comic events in the past ten years.
Perhaps one of the best written comic deaths ever, Captain America was gunned down on the steps of a New York courthouse and I find out when I log onto the internet and there on my main page: Yahoo.ca, has it as their main news feature. And apparently I'm not the only one, a large amount of comic readers were spoiled when the logged on or read the paper before the had a chance to make it to the LCS on Wednesday. Not cool media. Not cool.

And I am very aware of the irony of me possibly spoiling the tragic death of the American Icon in this blog.

Life After The So Called Space Age...

2007-03-06T20:30:00.000-08:00

Okay so I've got a livejournal which is gonna be for my art... although I really should change it to a deviantart... or maybe I'll keep both, and this site is gonna just be for thoughts and random crap. Maybe some writing and some book or movie, game or comic reviews. Who the fudge knows.