This week, I downloaded Procreate and started experimenting with drawing. At minimum, this will help me understand the challenges I put to artists whenever I put something in a script. But also, I’m hoping, to maybe learn how to do some simple cartooning for a series of indie slice-of-life shorts I want to do someday. The above is a tribute to Akira Kurosawa’s “Ikiru” - I tried doing a few homages to movie pieces and they mostly turned out poorly. That one was okay. I experimented with cartooning, trying to learn how to draw eyes and shapes and it’s all pretty difficult.
The Tale of a Frog Who Became a P̶r̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ Nazi
“Feels Good Man” is a fascinating documentary about the labyrinthine journey of Pepe the Frog - and its creator, Matt Furie. Pepe began his existence as a slacker frog, chill and happy, just hangin’ out and eating pizza with his roommates. The film chronicles the journey as Pepe morphs into something entirely different: a symbol of disaffected 4channers and eventually Nazis. It’s a deep dive into Internet subcultures, memes, what happens when an artist’s creation gets beyond its creator, and the futility of putting a genie back into a bottle. (Now available on-demand for rent)
Tweet of the Week
Radar ping
Away is a binge-friendly, semi-addictive, sometimes entertaining, uneven, and often frustrating Netflix series about a hypothetical first mission to Mars and the toll it takes on the astronauts and their families. I tend to love just about any astronaut-driven story, and there are many storylines and performances to admire in the series, but often the show just doesn’t live up to its potential. It feels more like a generic character drama that happens to be set during a pioneering space voyage, but I’d prefer a bit more emphasis on the space-travel stuff. YMMV.
New Podcast Episode
New episode now online with David Pepose - David (@Peposed) comes onto the radar to discuss his upcoming comic “The O.Z.,” now on Kickstarter. David is a comic book writer of many acclaimed series, including “Going to the Chapel” and “Spencer & Locke.”
Comic Pulls of the Week
Bill and Ted Are Doomed #1
The S Factor (#1-#4) - (Action Lab - digital)
The Rise of Ultraman #1
Wasted Space (Vol. 3) TPB - (Vault)
Discussing the M.C.U. with Daniel Kaufman
This week, I was a guest on the Sophia program hosted by Daniel Kaufman. We discussed the MCU in its totality and speculate about its future: