ULTRAIST STUDIOS

First let me state that I do not like Ann Coulter.

Last Friday’s Law & Order was an interesting one.
Interesting in that the target of the homicide was loosely based on the aforementioned political commentator, and even more interesting in that I happened to agree with just about everything she said.

And let me repeat: I do not like Ann Coulter.

Now I’m not sure if the writers were just too liberal, and thought that the opinions they were writing were honestly vile and evil, or if the writers were simply trying to accurately express a conservative point of view. Prehaps actress Charlotte Ross was just too charming in her role as political commentator Judith Barlow. Perhaps her dialog was just too intelligent. However the net result was; I found myself nodding in agreement with the Judith Barlow character while every other character in the show would respond with shock and outrage to her comments.

Some memorable quotes:

Female Student: Bitch!
Judith Barlow: Which brings us to the feminist problem.

Judith Barlow: I’ve got a ten-year-old niece who can’t even tell you who the vice president is, but she can sure as hell put a condom on a banana in two seconds flat.

Judith Barlow: I mean, Give a liberal a gun, he’ll shoot himself.
Lt. Anita Van Buren: There’s a reason for gun control.
Judith Barlow: I thought we’d at least get a Cheney joke.

Judith Barlow: The left’s been castrated by the church of Phil Donahue, they don’t carry weapons, hell, they won’t even play dodgeball for God’s sake.

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Watch some clips:

CLIP 1

CLIP 2

CLIP 3

CLIP 4

The Creature From Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin is a book I heavily referenced for my next comic, Spud & Harry.

It discusses the The Federal Reserve System, Fractional reserve banking, fiat money and precious metals, etc. One of the best reads I’ve had on the subject.

From Amazon: This book is about the most blatant scam of all history. It’s all here: the cause of wars, boom-bust cycles, inflation, depression, prosperity. Creature from Jekyll Island will change the way you view the world, politics, and money. Your world view will definitely change.

Here is an mp3 lecture with the author G. Edward Griffin. <172mb version>

Here is an mp3 radio interview with the author G. Edward Griffin.

In some cases, the audio quality is quite poor, however once you become immersed in the subject matter, you won’t even notice…

I just finished watching this documentary film last night.

It’s a good one.

You can watch the whole thing, by clicking below.

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One of my biggest stumbling blocks at the moment is that I’m not drawing. I’m doodling. Partially due to time constraints and partially due to being scatter brained. It’s tough drawing comics when there isn’t time to get into the grove.

However, to reach the next plateau, this is something I have to overcome.

And Walt Stanchfield had a couple good lessons on the subject.

17. Doodling

32. Lazy Lines

The above .pdf files are once again from Animation Meat where they have all sorts of good instructional stuff from the masters of animation (located in the notes section).

One interesting thing about this webcomic experiment is that my stumbling blocks are becoming painfully obvious. There are specific things that (more than others) are causing me to draw slow. One of those is folds. And for a comic that has the majority of the characters wearing suits, that’s a problem I’ve got to solve for myself.

A good place to start is the following drawing class note from Walt Stanchfield, the drawing instructor for Walt Disney Studios.  This is handout number 19, titled: A Simple Approach to Drapery.

The above .pdf file is from Animation Meat where they have all sorts of good instructional stuff from the masters of animation (located in the notes section).

Alex Jones’s Terror Storm is available for viewing at Google Video.

It discusses some of the topics I brought up in SPY GUY: Minis.
Watch the film and decide for yourself.

For the original Creator’s Rights journal post: click here

My latest response to Dave Sim: click here

Also, there are some interesting developments regarding both a Dave Sim Cartoon Network Project as well as a CEREBUS (semi-authorized?) 3D Animated Film.

Feel free to comment.

Following the aftermath of the Toronto Comic Book Expo 2006, some interesting articles and interviews have appeared. The following is a podcast interview conducted by Paul French in which he interviews a variety of people involved with independent comics and film, including my bro. Blair Kitchen as well as myself. Click the banner below to visit Poptopia.

The Playlist goes like this:

The Possum by Blair Kitchen
Love and Capes by Tom Zahler
Sidekick starring Perri Mucci
Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Spy Guy by Mike Kitchen

Click Here To Listen

Another article, written by Steve Layton has appeared over at Heroic Arts Comics and features both Possum Press and Ultraist Studios. We appear in part 2 (of a 5 part series). Also included in the article are the sketches we drew for them at the convention. Mine is pictured below.

Click Here To Read The Article

Also, for more in depth coverage of the excitement that was the Toronto Comic Book Expo 2006, you can check out my brothers Possum Press blog for his exclusive coverage.

Click Here For Possum Press

Here is a pic my bro. took of me selling the Spud & Harry preview comic to the Dark Lord Of The Sith himself.

… oh, and if you have’t seen it already, click here for the comics I aquired from the show.