8/30 show

Tonight (Live!) on "The Comic Book Novice" radio show, Belkis, Hassan, Peter Palmiotti and yours truly will be interviewing "King!" creator Tom Hall. Join us 9pm est @ www.am1240wgbb.com

hypNOsis

So despite my best efforts, out of all the stuff I had planned to shoot for the TV show this past weekend, I only managed to do the hypnosis shoot with Belkis. It could have gone better, but I think I can squeeze a few segments out of it. If I manage to get the other stuff shot, I may have to ask her back to do more, but that can wait. She really wasn't into it and only did it for the sake of the show, so to ask her again with no real outlet would be a waste.

So now I have to push back the debut of the TV show (again) until I have everything shot and I start editing (which can take me up to the end of the year).

10/21/08 update: I still think the TV show is a good idea. but maybe it is just not meant to be. I have had numberous false starts and all I have to show for it is aome footage of the hypnosis segments (and most of that with no sound!)

The King and I

So I was on the train today and decided instead of listening to my ipod I would read a comic book. I took the liberty of reading THE KING by Thomas Hall whom we will be interviewing this Thursday on the show. I had the pleasure of speaking with him at the New York Comic Con this past July. Therefore, I'm very eager to chat with him again. It definitely was a pleasure to read something on the subway besides a novel or the newspaper like any other New Yorker. I liked the way children looked at the comic book with that stare that read, "I want to read that to." I also attracted the attention of the male species. I guess they aren't use to girls reading comic books on the trains. Must have been an odd sight for them. This reminded me of the time when two cops stopped me at a magazine shop because I was buying wrestling magazines! Yes, wrestling magazines. At one point, I took out my license and people were wondering what I did wrong. The funny thing was that the cops only stopped me because they thought it was attractive to see a girl buying a "guy" thing. I have to do the guy thing more often. So I think THE KING and I should have trips on the subway more often.

Your Public Eye
Belkis

MFCbustour1.wmv

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8/23 show

Tonight (Live) on "The Comic Book Novice" radio program, Hassan, Peter Palmiotti, Belkis and your's truly will be interviewing Sky Pirates creator Everett Soares. 9pm est www.am1240wgbb.com

Afterwards leave your comments here!

Forces

You know, being involved in the comic book-fantasy world tends to help with one's imagination. And anyone who knows me knows that I already have a vivid imagination. So when i start talking about "forces" (not "The Force") you'll know where all this is coming from.

It seems that (to me anyways) every time something that comes along to help me (or my company) out, the forces seem to do something to help negate that fact. For example, every show after a convention (which should yield our biggest "new" audience) something goes wrong. Usually, we lose the online feed. Two weeks ago, we had trouble with the phones when we were trying to give away free tickets to the Wizard Chicago con (another "big" event.).

But last weekend was a major blow.

I have mentioned (quite a few times) about "The Comic Book Novice" TV show. This past Saturday was set aside to shoot the panel portion of the show. Now Pete (who just came back from the Chicago con) had forgotten to bring back our banner (which was going to be used as a backdrop for this segment) so I had to postpone that until I got a new banner (seems there is no recovery for forgotten banners at a con). Since I had already took the day (well night) off from work, I decided to do the hypnosis segment with Belkis instead.

She over slept. Her Apt had no hot water. She went the wrong way to meet me. By the time she was back on track, it was too late to come to do the shoot. A wasted day.....

It wouldn't be so bad, but the place i have set aside for shooting will only be available till the end of the month (and not only that, the chances to get together to shoot anything will be reduced because I am now living really far away from her) and the only free day she has is set aside for the panel shoot.

Brian Ferrera (The New Gal Jess's husband), was set to do the animation segments, now he s getting swamped with work and is unable to do it.

So the show may (once again) be postponed.

Do not despair tho.. there are other forces at work to keep me going. How else would you explain that I have gotten this far?


10/21/08 update: ah yes, the "Forces". What can I say about them? I ran into a person who claimed to be psychic. We talked and she told me "just because you don't believe in soething doesnt mean it does not exist.". I told her about my theory regarding the forces, she was skeptical, and I told her the same thing. She said "true enough".

8/16 show

Tonight (Live) Belkis, Peter Palmiotti, Hassan, and yours truly will be interviewing big time artist Jamal Igle (www.jamaligle.com) tune in! www.am1240wgbb.com 9pm EST

afterwards, leave your comments here!

Ringo

I was a fan of Jim Aparo. I passed him by during a convention many years ago thinking I would get him next time (I was there on business, so I didn't have anything for him to sign with me). A few years later he died.

I mentioned death in an earlier blog, and really I don't have more to say on the subject. But this death. Mike Wieringo (signed his name Ringo! however) dying of a heart attack needs to be addressed. While I have all the Fantastic Four issues he drew, I was not a "Fan" of his work. That's not to say that it wasn't dynamic, or any good, it was just not my cup of tea.

They say he was very healthy, and a vegetarian. They also say he was very dedicated and loved his work. I never met the man (nor did I ever pass him by), but the fact that he died still affects me. Maybe it's because it was a sudden thing. Maybe it's because he was so...young (44). Maybe it's because he is a "name" that I can associate with (since I have his comics). But regardless, I can sympathize with his family and those close to him.


8/21/08 update: There have been so many deaths since then yet no one is any worse than the one you are associated with. At times I think about how there are so many things that can kill you any given day. Yet we (as a race) still beat the odds.

Japanese Newspaper looking for Cartoonist submissions

So a good friend of mine passed this information on to me. Here's the scoop....
The Yomiuri Shimbun, one of Japan's leading newspapers, seeks submissions for their 29th Yomiuri International Cartoon Contest. The contest is well known among renowned cartoonists from all over the globe. Winning cartoons will appear in the New Year's edition of The Yomiuri Shimbun and in early January in The Daily Yomiuri. Amateurs and professionals from all nationalites are encouraged to enter. Visit www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/info/cartoon for more information. The deadline is Sept. 21, 2007.

-Belkis

2 Free 3-day passes to a Con

That's right! Tonight (Live!) on "The Comic Book Novice" radio show Belkis, Peter Palmiotti (calling in from Chicago), and yours truly will be agiving away 2 FREE pases to the Wizard con this weekend while discussing the "Underdog" movie. Make sure you are the first caller after I make the announcment to win the tix! As usual, this is a free flowing conversation, so spoilers may be heard. 9pm EST www.am1240wgbb.com afterwards leave your comments here!

1408

A while back we did a 1408 show. I liked the movie so much I went out and read the short story that it was based on. This is the first time I have ever read "the source material" of any movie. It was an unique expierence. For one thing I had a difficult time remembering that the movie came after the story I was reading, so I was like "Hey, they left this out!" or, "They changed that" referring to the book as opposed to the movie. Another thing was that the characters in the book (regarless of how they were described) were the actors in the movie. So it was Sam Jackson and John Cusack.

Now I have only read "The Stand" (then saw the movie), and I have seen only a handful of Stephen King's movies. I even watched "Kingdom Hospital." And I have always had a problem with the way he ends the movie (with the exception of this one, 1408). We met Stephen King at the NY Comicon and he said "You know the problem is that no matter what ending you come up with, it won't beat what the reader already has in his/her mind".

But (on our show) You can hear that I said I really liked this ending. and I liked the movie. Turns out that 90% of the movie was not in the book. It really was a short story and soooo much was added for the movie. The ending was completly different, there was no daughter, and almost nothing that happened in the room happned in the book! I have to say that I really didn't like the story at all. I wonder if I had read the story first would I have even went to the movies to do and do a show on it?


10/21/08 update: Recently I saw the movie "The Ruins" (based on the novel by the same name). It was really bad. A friend of mine who didn't see the movie had read the book told me that alot of points that I had mentioned to her in the movie were in the book. Yet the (SPOILER) fact that the girl got away at the end didn't happen. I am actually curious to see what happens in the book. Peter David, my favorite comic book writer once said that the whole point of any movie that is based on a book (or even comic book) is designed to make you go and read the source material. So I guess "The Runis" did its job (only sort of seeing as how I don't plan to go run out and buy the book, but if it ever crosses my path, I'll give it a read.

My Calendar Project Update

James Rodriguez from Nova Studios and I have been working on this calendar project for a few months now. We are taking our time with it because we don't want to rush. It has to be done in a timely and proper manner. Basically, it will be a calendar with about 12 artist collaborating together for a self-promotion. If the schedule goes well, the calendar should be done for 2009. I'm very excited to be working with all the artist because I feel that they are very talented. So I recently got the final artwork from them and I fell in love. The work is gorgeous and really believe it will be a huge success. The next step is to shoot. I found a lovely and great photographer for this project. She is great with light and I saw more of her work today. I am confident that she will get the job done. She is more than willing to help us. We decided we could shoot in the next two weeks. I can't wait for it because that will let me know in what direction this is going. I finally feel that this is coming all together.

posted by Belkis

8/2 giveaway show

Tonight (Live!) on "The Comic Book Novice" radio program, join Belkis, Peter Palmiotti (from the Vegas strip), "New Girl Jess" (well, actually her hubby Brian Ferrera will be sitting in for her) and yours truly as we talk about the Simpsons movie. This will be a free flowing discussion, so spoilers may be heard.

In addition to us talking about the Simpsons movie, we will be giving away 2 3-day passes to the Wizard World Chicago convention (www.wizarduniverse.com/conventions/chicago.cfm)! Listen in for your time to call!

9pm est (www.am1240wgbb.com)

afterwards leave your comments here

A little bit of everything

So as I take a break from packing a box to sent to Peter Palmiotti for the Wizard Chicago (http://www.wizarduniverse.com/conventions/chicago.cfm). I decided to let everyone know about any updates to "The Comic Book Novice" (and MFC Studios) world.

First off, the website is updated. We have added our "Official" theme song. It was composed and recorded by Brian Ferrera ("The New Gal" Jess' husband) from Terminal Press (www.terminalpress.com). I had always wanted a theme song, but it wasn't ready when we first started the radio show. so while the radio show will always have the "Spider-man" song, everything else will have the "Official" song.

All the archives are updated so you can hear all of our most recent shows that you may have missed (and shame on you if you did!).

We Have some contests. The folks at Wizard have given us 4 3-day passes. I'm going to give them away (Live) on the shows leading up to the con (2 this week, 2 the next).

"The Novice" Belkis has started posting in this very blog! (Hopefully) she will be updating every Monday while I will continue to post on Tuesday and Thursday.

The TV show (well, web-tv show...I know there is an official name for it....) is coming along nicely. I am working on the subject topics for the shows and everyone else seems psyched. The way I see it we "should" have the shows ready to put up on the site late September. Fingers crossed!

Lastly, Pete has put up some more of his pics on the "Pete's Pics" section of the website. Drop him, or us a line and let us know what you think!


10/21/08 update: Wow, it's funny how things were going nicely just before they weren't. I guess that is true with everything ("He was always alive until he wasn't", or "I always tell the truth 'cept when I am not"). Belkis didn't do much blogging, she (like Hassan and even Pete with his Pics.) just had too much a their "real" jobs to deal with. Maybe that is the problem there. I shouldn't be calling it a "real" job, I should be calling it a "paying" job.... Even better, I'm going to call it their "main" job. So their "main" jobs were taking alot of time away from this job (which part of it was blogging). Hell, this is my main job and I only posted once a week (mostly because I don't have much to say quite so often).

The Dark Knight

Hello everyone. I'm Belkis and this is my first blog posting...weeeee!! So my good friend, James Rodriguez, totally send me a link to the movie trailer for the THE DARK KNIGHT which is a sequel to BATMAN BEGINS. I wasn't particularly impressed with BB. I guest I was too in love with Tim Burton's style to picture anyone else working on this series (considering the fact that Joel Schumacher did not live up to my expectations as Burton's successor). However, I did see the trailer for THE DARK KNIGHT and I must say...it looks good. Even though the trailer doesn't give you much visual, here are my reasons as to why this particular BATMAN movie will be a box office hit. First, let's thank Christopher Nolan for putting the dark back into Batman and coming back to direct the second installation of this reprised franchise. Secondly, Christian Bale is back playing the title role. Nothing beats having the main actor coming back for the sequel especially when he did a good job in the first place. Sorry Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Also, he's still young and could definitely appeal to the next generation. Again, sorry Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Next, our favorite villian is back and this time he will be played by Heath Ledger. This will be something to look forward to considering the fact that I would never picture Heath Ledger to be the next Joker. However, he is a good actor and Jerry Robinson who co-created the basic concept of the Joker was his consultant. This means that they wouldn't expect anything less from Ledger. Don't want to give too much away. It will only make me more eager to see it knowing that it opens NEXT summer! Here is the link for those of you who want to watch.... http://youtube.com/watch?v=5lPz9qFZ8EI or go to www.whysoserious.com. ENJOY!

-Posted by "Just" Belkis

7/26 show

Tonight (Live!) on "The Comic Book Novice" radio show Hassan (finally back in the studio), Belkis, Peter Palmiotti (calling in from The San Diego Comic con), and yours truly will be interviewing journalist Bill Baker (http://www.pmkane.com/bb/bios.htm) 9pm EST @www.am1240wgbb.com. Afterwards leave your comments here

rejuvinated!

A long time ago I had planned to make a TV show to go along with the radio show. there are so many reasons (that i won't go into right now) which stopped that from happening. But recently "The Novice" Belkis brought new information which now makes it possible to record and have our TV show as a web cast.
The show will be broken into 5 parts with a small animation as a bumper between segments. the first part will be just like the radio show where the four of us (Peter Palmotti, Hassan, Belkis and myself) will have a round table discussion. The second part will have Belkis on the "street" interviewing comic book fans. the third part will have "The Masked Ranter" where he will just rant about anything and everything comic book novice related. The fourth part will have Peter Palmiotti going behind the scenes at either Marvel, DC, or maybe even Wizard entertainment. The fifth part will have me doing hypnosis. I plan to do some type of hypnosis demonstration with Belkis as my lovely assistant.
Filming will be happening soon, but I figure the finished product will be done maybe sometime late September. Keep and eye out for updates on the site!


10/21/08 update: While trying not to sound like a broken record, the TV show just couldn't happen. I got as far as actually recording a few bits of hypnosis with Belkis, but one of the cameras had no sound, so even that footage was useless. While I think the TV show would have been a great thing, it is just too much to put together with people working for free. Maybe if I was still in high school, it would be easier. Tech has caught up with today's youth and it looks like everyone is making something. Just look at Youtube.

7/19 show

Tonight (Live!) on "The Comic Book Novice" radio show Belkis, Hassan, Peter Palmiotti, and yours truly will be discussing the movie "1408". As with all of our "movie" shows, this will be a free flowing discussion, so spoilers may occur. 9pm EST (www.am1240wgbb.com)

Helping others while helping myself

I always wanted to have my own comic book published. Never wanted anything else. Well, more specifically, I wanted to work in comics, but after years of orbiting the outside I now see that your own book is the way to go (not that I wouldn't jump at a chance to work on the big 2) .
Next year is my shot. Not only is my book going to come out ("The Chosen Few") but one of my characters (Sunburst) is going to be featured in the Multi-company crossover called "War of The Independents". To top it all off, I'm supposed to co-write a one shot lead-in to that aforementioned crossover using 3 characters (Ezra, Talon, Bright Eyes) none of which is mine!
But before any of that happens, One of those characters (Talon) has a shot at her very own series. Her creator (Scottie Ray Watson) is involved in "Small Press Idol" a contest from Dimestore productions (www.dimestoreproductions.com).
The Prize? A 4 issue run. Not a bad gig. All the rounds (there have been four) were all based on voting. This round is the same but you have to pre-order a copy of the book as your vote. I haven't voted (but that's because I'm not really into voting as a process), but I am going to order a copy of "Talon". "Why?" you may ask. "What about the others?", "Don't they deserve a chance also?" may be your follow questions. Well, If "Talon" wins, not only can Scott achieve his dream, but it helps me in my dream. So why not?



10/21/08 update: Swat won! Dimestore is waiting on him to publish the book an I'm still waiting on the collaboration with him and Peter Palmiotti. Funny thing is that the runner up "Sky Pirates" has already published and are constantly promoting their book.

7/12 show

Tonight (live!) on "The Comic Book Novice" radio show Join Hassan, Jennifer Smith (back from Cap watch '07), Peter Palmiotti, and yours truly as we discuss the new Transformers movie. This will be a free flowing conversation so spoliers will flow freely. 9pm est www.am1240wgbb.com . Afterwards leave your comments here!