Something About Today - comic

by Alvin

This was a submission to a magazine that didn't make the cut.  Originally it was coloured & for a magazine competition, but the magazine mysteriously vanished off the face of shelf-earth - so that was that, who woulda thought there was a literary Bermuda Triangle out there.

So I recycled it for another (said) magazine submission, omitting the colours for some nice stark contrasts.  It serves its story-telling with just 2 pages, but I could extend it one day & tell the rest... one day. 

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And now a word from the bros:

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Discomfort: One Path to Becoming a Better Writer

By David

One thing I do to become a better writer is to continually put myself in uncomfortable situations.

Look beyond what you’re taught. Do things beyond your routine. Great artists never became great artists for being comfortable all their lives.

I think our mistake comes from the fact that we think our celebrity role models merely make a lot of money and have a lot of fun. Great artists have struggled to get where they are and continually struggle to remain doing what they do. Believe it or not, there’s a lot of pain behind what they show the world.

Here's some stuff I recommend:




Scar Tissue details the life of Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer of Red Hot Chilli Peppers. 

Fuelled with sex, drugs and highly fucked up situations, you'll gain a stronger insight into the life behind one of my favourite bands.










Ham on Rye, by Charles Bukowski, is a terrific book. It provides a more relatable message than Catcher in the Rye.

Charles Bukowski is the ultimate outcast.  I love him for his honesty. The world isn't a poem and people aren't perfect. He doesn't pretend to be anyone else. His writing is simple, honest, funny, raw.
 







Californication follows the messed up life of writer Hank Moody as he half-heartedly tries to get his life back together by drinking and having a lot of sex. I recommend watching season one. Season two and three aren't as good.










Bye!



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A Like Story

By David

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5 Awesome Webcomics that aren't Cyanide & Happiness...

by Alvin


Don't get me wrong, I love, love, lurve Cyanide & Happiness, but some other webcomic icons deserve the limelight this time.

So, in no particular order of greatness...


Uno!
The Abominable Charles Christopher

Karl Kerschl magnificently renders a touching comic of magical & lovable characters, mixing moments of chuckle with heart warming backgrounds of the main casts, as well as slowly unravelling the "un'putdownable" plot serving as the destiny of the titular Charles Christopher... Note: one scene; if you've invested a lot of heart in one particular character, will make a dent.

Dos!
Savage Chickens

Bite-sized laughs drawn on real Post-It notes.  If you're after something random in the office, trek through the Amazons, break from that finance lecture leeching the soul out of you.  I really recommend this novel series by Doug Savage.  Never before has chickens and yellow changed the way I've looked at the insane world.

Tres!

Space Avalanche

I have a thing for ridiculous and random humour expressed in quirky, sequential art.  And this one takes the cake in orgasmic quantities.  It probably helps that (if I remember correctly) there are maybe 4-5 comic strips with Batman in them; often to heckle, but nonetheless.  There's a few particular ones here that if I had been drinking milk at the time, would've spurted it out my nose - though I can't remember which...

Quatro!

The Perry Bible Fellowship

When you spend almost an hour trying to find a comic strip from its archives that would best represent the awesome'ness of this webcomic - you know that one couldn't do it justice.  This ain't no goody-two-shoes Christian pious strip, oh no oh no don't let the title lead you down that path.  The numerous art styles make this an extravaganza for the eyes, & the naughty, ungodly, f**k'n hilarious hilarity will never let your face muscles rest - I swear it!

Cinco!

See Mike Draw

Looks innocent & childish don't it, minus the occasional "inappropriateness".  First eye'ing this comic, I fell in love with the children's book & nostalgic comic strip art. But what made it more was the sometimes "sick" & modern twist with laughs; often subtle and often direct (I'm making things up now, hehe).  You wont find another reason to log online and not "fap" away (I know, a bit out of character for you) than this.  God bless funny bones.

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Brian Wood & Becky Cloonan's "DEMO"

by Alvin

Starting off with a concept that was more akin to the TV series "Heroes", but with more gritty teen angst and young adult themes.  Brian Wood & Becky Cloonan's, and more importantly "My favourite" comic series grew to encompass more themes surrounding relationships - than how super powers affect the lives of ordinary Americans - the further the series met the end of its first run.

And boy oh boy was I hooked, after I read my first issue of demo (the 6th? issue in) about a young, half asian outcast who has enough of his neighbourhood's discrimination against him and his family - unleashing a deathly power in response to his pain.  As a whole "Demo" immersed me in stories deeper in humanity's psyche than the Fantastic Voyage taking a detour up grey matter.

Now in truth, not all the issues captured me, but I did have a favourite:

MIXTAPE's love story was in my eyes an original, subtle feast of captivation and heart - tragic, but cleverly told in an original concept.  I really recommend you read the Demo compilation if only for this one story, or through the lucky fates, find the one issue in your local comic stockists, friend's stash, online seller, or God forbid: planted in the nest of a Roc up in the Himilayas.

A series already a few years old; what relevance does it have now?  Well "Volume two" is already up and running - single issues already on shelves, with the paperback due sometime next year.

So if anyone loves trends, this is one to follow and one to line my Christmas stocking with if you're fresh out of ideas for what to get me.

 














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And now a word from the bros:

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Forbes: James Patterson as the Highest Paid Author

By David

According to Forbes, James Patterson was the highest paid author last year, scoring a sweet US$70 million.

His current $100 million book deal requires him to write 17 books by the end of 2012. According to an article in my paper, he has admitted that he doesn't even write his books - instead, he has a team of five to help him with his storytelling. Wow. Great.


The top 10 highest paid book authors (according to Forbes) are as follows:

1. James Patterson, $70 million

2. Stephanie Meyer, $40 million

3. Stephen King, $34 million

4. Danielle Steel, $32 million

5. Ken Follett, $20 million

6. Dean Koontz, $18 million

7. Janet Evanovich, $16 million

8. John Grisham, $15 million

9. Nicholas Sparks, $14 million

10. J.K. Rowling, $10 million

Below is a copy of James Patterson's Along Came a Spider, featuring the popular hero Alex Cross. My father loved this book; this was published back in the good days, when Patterson still (at least I hope) wrote his books and didn't shit out a mass number of them within a short period of time.
 

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We are now on Twitter!

By David


Hi all. Alvin and I have decided to spread more of the good seed by starting a Twitter account. Follow us for fresh updates and occasional drunken, misguided or overly emotional ramblings.

Follow us here: http://twitter.com/nighttimebros

A page of our graphic novel, Urban Monster

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For Keepsake

by Alvin





     About less than two years ago, I took a film elective @ university; feeding my/one/too many of my dreams of being a film director.
     Now, I didn't actually get a chance to direct anything, an opportunity I didn't have the experience or competency to flawlessly execute, which I soon realised during the production process.  But I did grow to enjoy and love screenplay writing - I LOVE STORIES, and telling them has always been a passion of mine, regardless of the medium.
     So I wrote a ten page, short film script about:

     a widow visited by the ghost of her late husband, who had begun to make his ethereal presence known on their anniversary; determined to finish one piece of "business" before finally moving on.

     The story wasn't a horror in nature, but was more of a supernatural, romantic movie with - as one fan put it - the narrative feeling of an anime.
     I was stoked that the group I was shotgunned with loved it enough to choose it as our project, and lo and behold: within 4 or so months, we had projected from paper - my story - onto the amateur silver screen.
     As I didn't direct, I still was fortunate enough to have some say/suggestions on some shots and elements of the look, etc.  And was very happy with the result.
     I've written another romance script since then, inspired after seeing my story capture enough worth to make a hassle of producing.  So maybe one day, I'll send it in to be funded... but for now, enjoy this blast from the past:


For Keepsake

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"The Last Exorcism" chatroulette viral campaign

by Alvin

I love great advertising & marketing.

The campaign that went behind The Dark Knight was my fave thus far: online and "offline" cryptic clues to decipher and a treasure hunt that used them with various rewarded tools linked to the Dark Knight universe (e.g. a mobile phone where The Joker would send messages and clues to the player).

As usual I don't do the explanation justice, but here's a unique campaign that uses pop culture to effectively tease and market a horror film with great effect.

*warning* the video does contain some strong language and very disturbing haunting imagery.

So if you're squeamish, you have been warned...

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Kitchen design for disabled clients

by Alvin

Posed like a lying adonis on the sofa that is my pedestal, garbed in the 'nakedness alternative' of my tracky daks and 90's tee (actual accuracy is debatable). I figured - as my mind raced between hawt girlies and even hotter winter coats features in catalogues in my mind - I'd share the lastest designs I've been working on for class since my friend filled, vacation in Queenstown NZ.

and don't worry: I'm not masking a post about my holiday under the guise of a design showcase. But truly, if you live in this hemisphere of the world, then you must ski, eat, drink, stay, board, marvel, view, skydive, tour, raft, boat, cruise, marvel, find peace, do what you want, in Queenstown sometime in your life - it's my new fave place.

but I digress...

the assignment decree was asking us renaissance peons to come up with a befitting kitchen design for a fictional, disabled client (ie wheelchair considered).

I didn't have any specific influences, but was fortunate enough to knock off the design in less than a day; a week behind from the rest of the class - and pretty much finish it in a "last minute" sort of perspective.

All in all, I'm very happy with how it turned out. Of course, "room" designs don't usually bring much excitement or creative daring'ness in me than character or architectural designing. But I haven't broken out in a torturous pang of anxiety in my gut and the gut in my mind yet, so what I've regurgitated on paper must've been good enough for the eyes to eat.

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Bret Easton Ellis - Imperial Bedrooms

Cover of the book.



By David.




All my friends know I'm a big fan of Bret Easton Ellis. I loved Less Than Zero. I loved Glamorama and Rules of Attraction and American Psycho. But I’m not so sure about Imperial Bedrooms.

Written as a "sequel" to the author’s debut novel, Less Than Zero, the story follows Clay as he returns to L.A. and bla bla this bla bla that.

I’m sleepy. The bottom line is this: Clay sounds different and the plot seems lazy, just like this post. Now a little whiney and self indulgent, Clay’s once bleak and minimalist voice sounds like a mix of Victor Ward from Glamorama and Bret Easton Ellis (who wrote as himself) from Lunar Park. The mystery is gone. He no longer tries to hide the violence and the evil lurking within L.A. and its people; he points it out directly, which, to me, ruins the poetic subtlety present in Less Than Zero. He doesn’t sound like Clay. He sounds like Bret Easton Ellis.

I like the title though.

Anyway I’ll still keep reading his books because I can’t help but still be a fan and he's still a great writer bla bla bla good night.

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You can buy Imperial Bedrooms and/or Less Than Zero (or read their reviews) from Amazon here:

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Sucker Punch Trailer!

by Alvin

Me: ahem, excuse me?

Not Me: ...?

Me: were you going to punch me in the diaphragm?

Not Me: um... if you mean the new fillum by Zach Snyder where all manner of awesome stuff from the desires of every nerd monster, amalgamate with crazy wonder and-

Me: wait, wait. stop right there. what are you talking about?!

Not Me: ... crazy wonder and anachronistic insanity!... then yes!!!

Me: ...

Not Me: do you like giant samurai robots with mini-guns and samurai swords, a dystopian 1930's like setting with explosions, dragons and anime like fight scenes, as well as hot, burlesque like girls in skimpy black, fighting with machine guns and katana blades!!!

Me: ... serious?

Not Me: does a bear poop in the woods!

Me: insane!

Not Me: word.

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And now a word from the bros:

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