A personal diary keeping people abreast of what I am working on writing-wise.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

FEEDER UPDATE

Noon today, Pacific Time, I'm going to some feed maintenance. Right now, RSS is going through the old blogspot address. I'm switching it over to the confessions123.com url. If you're on subscription, you may want to double-check later today that you're still receiving. You might have to update, too (this is your fair warning, a last shout to the old feed).

Update: Noon has passed. I don't know what I'm doing. Stay tuned.

Live Journal, I believe, should continue unhindered. (If it ever stops regurgitating out random posts. I should just leave well enough alone...)

Current Soundtrack: Elvis Costello, "Little Palaces"
CLEVER GIRLS LIKE CLEVER BOYS MUCH MORE THAN CLEVER BOYS LIKE CLEVER GIRLS

Terry Blas did this fantastic drawing of the Love the Way You Love gang as a surprise for me.



Terry has seen the little bit of script I have for issue #7, so he knows a little something about a new character, who actually appears in this drawing. He's the brother of someone else in Cut My Hair. I'll say no more, as we must not have spoilers!

Current Soundtrack: Pelle Carlberg, "I Love You, You Imbecile/Middleclass Kid"

Current Mood: happy

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

LOVE EVERYBODY, LOVE OF THE WORLD

As was let slip in that recent interview, there is a Love the Way You Love collection forthcoming. It has had some burps and hiccups on its way to publication, but Love the Way You Love, Side A: Songs of Faith will put the first three issues under one cover and hopefully be out at the end of September, in time for Stumptown. This has not yet been in Diamond Previews, but bookstores already have the ability to order it, and as far as I know the details in the Amazon listing are correct: $11.95, ISBN-10: 1932664661 vs. ISBN-13: 978-1932664669. The comic book store situation will be fixed toot sweet, I am sure.

It's going to be a pretty straight collection, about 200 pages. We are going to have two new pages of filler comic strips to patch some pagination holes. A new "Behind the Scenes" cartoon and a new Polar Opposites. Marc Ellerby has promised to post these online for those who already have the issues. He's good like that. All about sharing and playing nice.

Speaking of playing nice, author and comics scribe Cecil Castellucci has blurbed us! "Sweet, sassy and star-crossed, Rich and Ellerby know just how to make an indie girl’s heart sing for her rock and roll boy."



Current Soundtrack: Style Council, Modernism: A New Decade & Singular Adventures


Current Mood: groggy

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Monday, August 27, 2007

I WISH IT WAS SUNDAY

A couple of links today.



First, the Wright Opinion posted the second part of its interview with Joëlle Jones and I today, featuring the first look at a handful of You Have Killed Me pages, such as the one above.


Also, the blog Syndicate Product Cover HQ has the first official review of Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?, an excerpt of which: "An extremely layered novel of self-imposed exile (physical and creative) of a young talent, and the person who wants to figure out why."

Also, since it passed without note the other day, Brendan had a page up from the story "Reverberation (Doubt)" that Joëlle and I did for Alien Safeword. It was in the first part of the interview. Did you notice it? There's another one today, as well as a sneak at "Me & the Cat Own the Lease on the Flat" from Popgun.



Current Soundtrack: shufflin' Suede, "Whipsnade/Modern Boys/Together/Everything Will Flow (Rollo Mix)"

Current Mood: exanimate

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Saturday, August 25, 2007

I'M MISSING YOU LIKE CANDIE



Sometimes the internet works, believe it or not. Snooping around my the profiles of my friends on Last.FM, I noticed one of them was listening to a gal named Candie Payne (official site & MySpace, both with samples). Curious, I clicked through, listened to some samples, and was instantly intrigued. I tracked down her album, I Wish I Could Have Loved You More, and low and behold, I had gotten a recommendation off a music tracking site and discovered someone to get excited about.

Payne is one of those talents that is most easily described by what she makes me think of, as cheap and as lazy as that may be (and usually only surfacely accurate, too). In these term, Candie Payne is a "what if?" What if Portishead had produced '60s girl groups and written all the James Bond themes. Her sound is futuristic and contemporary, but more in an updating of the Wall of Sound with heavier beats. Lee Hazlewood with ProTools. Her vocals are breathy, like a Sandie Shaw or a French Ye-Ye chanteuse. Both girlish and worldly, innocent and wise. (Cross-referencing to Amazon, the album is described there as "a retro-futuristic gem that sounds like the Neptunes collaborating with Phil Spector on the soundtrack to a sixties Kitchen Sink drama." So, I'm not crazy, at least.)

Like the girl groups, while the up-front sound is one of longing and love, the wide-eyed romantic has actually seen a lot with those wide eyes, and there is as much darkness, as much disappointment in men and their manly ways, as there is light and the hope of a better kiss tomorrow. While there is self-pity, yearning, and doubt (the surf-guitared "In the Morning") or recrimination for one's own failings (the title track), there is also the requisite girl power, such as the raised eyebow of "Why Should I Settle For You?" Singing over a melancholy horn sample, Payne may sound demure, but she's not afraid to stand up for herself. Alternately, this track is followed by "Take Me." Built on big-beat sounds, it's a challenge to give the girl more of what she deserves. No more wondering why she didn't love you more, but an insistence that you love her more.

Not that everything is either a let down or a punch-up, there is also true love on tracks like the almost ironically titled "One More Chance" and "Hey Goodbye." It doesn't matter how tough you are, you still want someone to hold you. Even that can be tinged with cynicism, however. The breezy, finger-snapping "All I Need to Hear" is willing to accept love even if its false. Better to have a semblance of it than nothing at all. Hence, the nighttime searching of "In the Morning," which Payne knows could yield less than healthy results. "Different You," built on a rhythm track that is reminiscent of Rita Pavone's "Heart," calls out a fickle lover for his rotten changes, but then explains why Payne isn't running like the wind. (If he hit her, it felt like a kiss--but one suspects Candie Payne would hit back.)

Appropriately, by the final track, "Turn Back Now," a certain resignation has set in. The backing track is simpler, just some softer beats, some piano, but a slow build of acceptance. We know who we are, we know what we did, and hey, it's okay to say good-bye. Or maybe we've figured it out enough not to.



As it stands, I Wish I Could Have Loved You More is only currently available on import. It wouldn't surprise me if that is likely to change as some label out there is going to want their own counterprogramming to Feist (in other words, countering bland-flavored vegan cream puffs with sugared pastry full of gooey goodness that may be bad for you but who the hell cares, life is short, right?) and Candie Payne is more than ready to go. Then again, maybe not, as plenty of other great artists have never been imported. It's up to you, but ask yourself, can you really keep the girl waiting? You're not the only fish in the sea, you know.




Current Soundtrack: the girl of the hour, as well as The Decemberists, The Tain

Current Mood: in love

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Friday, August 24, 2007

HOLD ON TO WHAT?



THIS WEEK IN THEATRES...

* The Nanny Diaries, a thoroughly average but inoffensive new movie in which Scarlett Johansson proves her muscle, but the American Splendor directors don't match her (or their) potential.

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* As You Like It, Kenneth Branagh's latest Shakespeare adaptation.

* House of Games - Criterion Collection, David Mamet's hardboiled, intellectual take on the con man genre.

* The Milky Way - Criterion Collection pits Luis Bunuel against religious dogma in a giddy celebration of heresy.

* Popeye the Sailor, 1933-1938: Volume One, a marvelous collection of symphonies of violence and the triumph of the little guy.

* Spring in a Small Town, a terrible DVD of an otherwise excellent Chinese film from 1948.

Current Soundtrack: Carla Thomas, Stax Profiles - Carla Thomas

Current Mood: annoyed (with my own bad handwriting)

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Thursday, August 23, 2007

GIVE ME A GOOD FILM NOIR AND A BOTTLE OF GIN



On Brendan Wright's new blog, he has posted the first of a two-part interview with myself and Joëlle Jones. It's pretty extensive, and the rarest of the rare these days, he actually sat us down and talked to us in person. See if you can tell that we get drunker as the session goes on.

Part 2 is going to have a handful of You Have Killed Me pages. The above image is from Joëlle's Minx book with Alisa Kwitney, Token.

Current Soundtrack: Lily Allen, "Nan, You're a Window Shopper;" Long Blondes, "Weekend Without Makeup" & "Swallow Tattoo"

Current Mood: embarassed by how much bigger my mouth is than Joëlle's
DARLING, WE GO A-DROWNING, DOWN WE GO AWAY

or

GOOD MORNING, COMRADES, THERE'S WORK TO BE DONE



So, I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing that I don't update the blog unless I actually have something to say. I'm not a person who sees the value in this new Twitter site, for instance. Celebrating the ephemera of my everyday life seems to me the sort of behavior that will eventually cause one to draw elaborate maps of imaginary nations on the walls of one's apartment with crayons, spaghetti sauce, and feces. While it's a safe bet I'll end up there one day anyway, I don't see the purpose in hurrying it along.

I'm also not sure I should be breaking this string of posts full of links and whatnot just to say, "I've got nothing to say, but I feel guilty giving you nothing but links and reviews and commercials, so I'm going to let you know it's nothing personal." It's either ironic, or the whole apology is disingenuous, I'm not sure which. Can we just leave it at "I've been thinking about you" and not worry too much about what that means?

The thing is, I have been working. Over the last couple of weeks I finished up two manga volumes, wrote a longer outline for something I've been pitching, and started the early stages of a couple of other ideas, putting some stuff on paper (or screen) to see how the chips fell. Taking Fish Creek to Fun City is turning into something surreal, almost dadaist, and I don't know that I like it, but it makes for a nice counterbalance to the very straightforward part of my brain that I have to use to ferret out review venues for Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?--which I now sit back and patiently wait to see what percentage of the people who we've sent the book to actually say something about it. Good or bad.

The result of this is that I've been in a pretty interior place. My days are spent thinking, staring, scribbling, and everything that is in my brainspace ends up in these things, and thus, no outside trains of thought to load into this station.

Never fear, though, as life ebbs and flows, and things will change.

Unless you prefer it when I shut up. In which case, enjoy it while it lasts.



Current Soundtrack: Manic Street Preachers, "Autumnsong" B-sides

Current Mood: creating

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

DOES YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY CARRY MY BOOKS?

People don't underestimate the value of a book being the library system. In Portland, for instance, they might buy a copy of my book for eight or more different branches, and if you think that each city across the U.S. could do the same, that adds up. This not only is a sales increase, but it also puts my material in an accessible place, allowing me to pick up new readers.

So, if you use your library at all, or even if you don't, consider requesting they get in Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? (ISBN: 978-1-932664-73-7). If you regularly visit a branch, they probably have request forms. You can also look online, as so many of the library systems now have internet databases. I love the one here in Portland. I reserve the books I want online, and they e-mail me when they come in. (And my home-towners, don't ignore this message. They don't buy my books automatically and don't show they have ordered Horizon as of yet.)

Please, take a moment and look and make the request if it's needed. It should only take a couple of minutes, and if you like my stuff, this is a way you can directly help get it in more hands!

Current Soundtrack: David Bowie, Heathen

Current Mood: thinking

Thursday, August 16, 2007

(NOT) LOVING THE ALIEN



THIS WEEK IN THEATRES...

* The Invasion, a new remake of the Body Snatchers starring Nicole Kidman that will hopefully be kicked out of multiplexes like so much outer-space ass.

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* The First Films of Samuel Fuller - Eclipse Series 5, boxing up two decent efforts with one full-fledged classic.

* Peach Girl, vol. 4, a dip in quality for the anime soap opera.

Current Soundtrack: background noise

Current Mood: indecisive

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

THE MILK GETS DELIVERED, WE SIT BY THE FIRE, YOU COULD SAY THAT WE'RE HAVING THE TIME OF OUR LIVES

Our story for Popgun is all finished and turned in. We're pretty stoked with how it turned out. Here is the title page:




Joëlle Jones
also continues to gather fans. I found this little ode to her online the other day: Jesse Richards lists her as one of his favorite artists. "She specializes in drawing the most incredible women I've ever seen - I think it's the lips."

Of course, a few people like me every once in a while, too. I was well chuffed to see this post from Bryan Berg about selections from two of his favorite writers and the passages that ease the troubled times. (Hint: I come after the Neil Gaiman pages. Neil Gaiman!)

And Love the Way You Lovers, click on the image below to go to Ellerby's blog and see another preview of #5:



Marc also lets loose with some good news, so at least scroll to the bottom!

Current Soundtrack: Longpigs, The Sun is Often Out

Current Mood: fuck summer

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

VIOLENT LOVE

Love the Way You Love #5 is on sale this week. Marc and I definitely have hit our stride at this point, and it's another issue we're really excited about. So, definitely look for it in comics shops tomorrow.









Current Soundtrack: Mansun, Kleptomania discs 1 & 3


Current Mood: ecstatic

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

Monday, August 13, 2007

REST IN PEACE, MIKE WIERINGO

Wow. What a heartbreak of a morning.

When I read the headline at the Newsarama blog that said "Mike Wieringo Passes Away," my soul sank. "Please," I thought, "let this be a play on the title of some book he's working on, a bad joke, anything..."

But unfortunately, it's true. The excellent artist Mike Wieringo has died at the age of 44 from a heart attack. He was a talented guy with one of the best reputations in comics.

I'm sad to say I never met the man in person, but like probably so many people in the industry, I received nice notes from him or saw nice things he said about books I was working on in various places. He worked on one of Oni's Sidekicks books for practically nothing, a volunteer on the project because he was a fan. He was so talented, so sweet...this really hurts.

Please check out his blog. He updated it on Friday. It's weird that his final post was about mundane things, but I guess that's how life works, and hopefully means he was having a good time and doing what was important to him.

This picture really says a lot, doesn't it?



Good luck, Mike, in whatever afterlife you chose for yourself.

Friday, August 10, 2007

YOU CAN TOUCH ME IF YOU WANT



THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* Absolute Garbage, a video collection from one of the best bands of the 1990s, along with a retrospective documentary

* Film Noir Classic Collection, vol. 4, this year's Warner Bros. box, this time with ten hardboiled flicks

* Paradise Kiss, vol. 2 and Paradise Kiss, vol. 3, the last two discs in the top-notch anime adaptation of the Ai Yazawa manga

* When They Cry, vol. 1, the start of a creepy little horror anime series

* The Woody Woodpecker & Friends Classic Cartoon Collection, the massive, yet disappointingly poorly aged collection of Walter Lantz Cartunes



Current Soundtrack: Garbage, Absolute Garbage 2-disc edition

Current Mood: bored
POST SOOTHING OUT

Happy Birthday, Marc Ellerby!



The confessions123.com site has been dismantled, and depending on how you got here, you may notice that you're actually now at confessions123.com if you're actually on the blog right now. (Due to how my domain is hosted, the blogspot addy is also still in effect.) I wanted a more concise and obvious website for myself, the Lance joke that never really took off was lingering far too long. Eventually, I'll restore this to a full-service Jamie Rich base of operations, but that will have to wait until I figure out what I want and then figure out how to make it happen.

In the meantime, I've upgraded this place with links on the side and a little advertisement for myself courtesy of Amazon.

To entertain you, however...they have leaked the real cover for Popgun, the Image anthology Joëlle Jones and I have a story in. It's by my very own Mike Allred!



And speaking of websites, two of my favorite artists have just started sketchblogs. Click Joëlle's name above and you'll be taken to hers. But you know who else?

Chynna Clugston.

That's right. This girl:



Who draws stuff like this:



Current Workload: Proofreading my rewrite on Gatcha Gacha vol. 7; scripting the final chapter of Ark Angels vol. 3; promotion for Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?; pitches and proposals

Current Soundtrack: shuffle


Current Mood: nurturing

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich