Hasslein Blog: February 2013

REFERENCE GUIDES BY GEEKS, FOR GEEKS

Hasslein Blog

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

GUEST BLOG: Of God and Monsters

Today, Hasslein welcomes novelist Greg Mitchell, author of the upcoming Back in Time: The Unauthorized Back to the Future Chronology, to discuss some of his recent works. Greg, you have the conch!


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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Palitoy’s Star Wars Ads: The Forgotten Comics

by Rich Handley

It's the collector's universal dilemma: No matter how much stuff you amass, there's always something left to find, always one more cool item you didn't know about. If you're a Star Wars fan who didn't live in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early '80s, that something could be a handful of advertisements created by British toy company Palitoy.

This week, starwars.com posted an article by yours truly discussing a number of these strips (see article). For those interested, here are scans of all the "comic ads" discussed in that article (click on each image to view or download a larger version), since the Star Wars official site included only a few of them.

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Monday, February 25, 2013

THIS Is How You Put Together a James Bond Tribute Worth Watching

by Rich Handley

Dear Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,

Please take note: A proper Oscars tribute to the James Bond mythos should not be a collection of poorly chosen clips without rhyme or reason, favoring one or two Bond actors over all others. THIS is how it should be made. Thank you.



Video by Kees van Dijkhuizen Jr.

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

If You're an Artist Looking for Work, Here's a Chance to Do the VooDoo That You Do So Well

by Rich Handley

Model Acid PopTart, a friend of Hasslein Books, is looking for a sequential artist to illustrate her online comic book, VooDoo Baby. Click here to submit samples of your artwork. Additional information is provided below, courtesy of Acid PopTart herself:


Looking for a sequential artist to take over the duties of illustrating the VooDoo Baby comic. Dark and moody styles are a plus! Please let me know if you ink and colour your own work, or if you have people you prefer to work with. Email theVooDooBaby@gmail.com for more information, submission materials or questions. Please enclose links to your work with your query. If sequentials are not your strong suit but you still are interested in the VooDoo Baby project, we are accepting pin up illustrations as well. Email for more information. Thank you! Deadline for submissions will be March 18th. Please also keep in mind I will be holding a casting call for two male models/actors to play two very important roles in VooDoo Baby’s universe. We will be doing photo shoots along with a special photo project as well as some film work. Portraying emotion is a huge plus.



(Photos above taken by Fan the Flame Photography. The model for VooDoo Baby is Acid PopTart. Make-up by Tonya Taylor. Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/theAcidPopTart. VooDoo Baby is ™&© Acid PopTart Productions 2009-2013.)

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

If You Prick Me, Do I Not Bleed Cool?

by Rich Handley

I've been doing a lot of work lately for Avatar Press' Bleeding Cool Magazine, and it's been a fun gig that looks to be growing into something long-term. So far, I've written articles about the history of Star Wars comic books and a comparison of Battlestar Galactica and Firefly for issue #3, a piece offering back-issue collecting tips for the Free Comic Book Day special issue, and a retrospective about 40 years of Swamp Thing for an upcoming issue.


My next piece will examine how the cosplaying industry has helped bring the comic genre out of the geeky shadows and into the mainstream, for which I'll be interviewing a number of great cosplayers. I don't know which issues will carry the Swamp Thing and cosplaying stories, but I'll post info when I have it, for those interested. Stay tuned.

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Friday, February 15, 2013

Review: The Walking Dead Episode 3-9

by Rich Handley

This week, I began reviewing AMC's The Walking Dead for Forces of Geek, a great Web site run by Stefan Blitz that describes itself as a "geek culture community with columnists and contributors celebrating their own obsessions." Here's my review of last night's excellent episode, "The Suicide King."


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Monday, February 11, 2013

The Bane of Sports Fans Everywhere


 

Friday, February 8, 2013

Go Ape With John K. Muir!

by Rich Handley

It's "Go Ape" Day over at John Kenneth Muir's Web site, where John is celebrating Planet of the Apes' 45th anniversary with a series of fun and informative posts. Grab a banana and a glass of grape-juice-plus, and enjoy all of the ape-y goodness.


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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Proof That Jurassic Park Rocks

 

The Breakfast Avengers

Here's a very funny mash-up to enjoy during your lunch hour:

 

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Nancy Collins on Exploring Cajun Culture and Breaking Up Swamp Thing's Family

by Rich Handley

Swamp Thing's epic second series set the standard for horror comics in the 1980s and '90s, with solid and critically acclaimed runs by Martin Pasko, Alan Moore and Tom Veitch, and helped to launch Vertigo Comics. Unfortunately, the series lost a lot of its steam during the much-maligned tenure of Doug Wheeler. Hoping to remedy the situation and bolster declining sales, DC Comics brought in novelist Nancy Collins (who has made headlines in recent weeks for her awareness-raising regarding the sex-abuse allegations against Dragon*Con cofounder Ed Kramer) to rejuvenate the series. Collins quickly set about deconstructing Swamp Thing's family life, revealing a darker side to the earth elementals and examining Louisiana's Cajun culture, and in doing so crafted a wonderfully written (and sadly oft-overlooked) chapter of Swamp Thing lore quite unlike those of her predecessors. Collins recently discussed her work with Hasslein Books.


Nancy Collins

HASSLEIN BOOKS: You joined Swamp Thing at a crucial time, as the letters section (back when comics still had such a thing) showed fan reaction to Doug Wheeler's exploration of elemental history becoming increasingly negative. Were you aware of this, and how daunting was it to come aboard a series that had once featured iconic creators (Wein, Wrightson, Michelinie, Moore, Bissette, Totelben and Veitch) but had since begun to lose its traction?

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Friday, February 1, 2013

Back on the Bayou: Stephen R. Bissette Revisits Swamp Thing's Roots

by Rich Handley

Vermont-born writer and artist Stephen R. Bissette is an icon in the comics industry, particularly in the field of horror comics. Currently a teacher of comic art history, drawing and film at The Center for Cartoon Studies, he is perhaps best-known for his work on DC Comics' second Swamp Thing series, The Saga of the Swamp Thing, alongside writer Alan Moore and inker John Totleben. Steve recently chatted with me regarding that period of his career, offering fascinating insight into the creation of Swamp Thing's golden years.

A muck-encrusted mockery of a man

HASSLEIN BOOKS: Your tenure on Swamp Thing series #2, with Alan Moore and John Totleben, is widely regarded as Swamp Thing's best, and is often credited with having permanently changed the comics industry. Putting modesty aside for the moment, do you agree with that assessment—and why?

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