Other Comics News Parade-O-Links 11282013

(John Wayne Adventure Comics #25 from 1949.  Image stolen from My Comics Shop.)

Here are some things I found interesting in the world of minicomics, comic books, graphic novels, small press, self publishing, zines, webcomics, cartoons, digital comics, other, etc. during the week weeks months ending 11282013:

"Don't get caught with your tailgate down."  -My dad, David Nelson Smith.
   

(My dad and I, probably in 1974.  I'm the one in the diaper.)

• Hello brothers and sisters of teh intronets.  I've been away from the Parade-O-Links for a while.  A lot has been going on with me.  The biggest thing was that my father died in a farming accident on September 5th of this year.  He was a good man.  He was my best friend.  I miss him.  The text below is from his obituary, which I wrote. 
• David Nelson Smith of Saint Paul, Virginia died Thursday, September 5, 2013 in Cleveland, Virginia at the age of 64.  He was born in Lebanon, Virginia the son of the late Geneva Ray Kiser Artrip. He grew up in the Spring City area on the Smith family farm.  He was a graduate of Lebanon High School where he played basketball and football and was active in the 4-H Club.  He studied Environmental Science at Clinch Valley College and earned a Regency Bachelor of Arts degree from Bluefield State College.  In his career he showed cattle and worked as a Herdsman Manager in New York state.  He worked at Stewart’s Furniture and was the owner of the Montgomery Ward store in Saint Paul, Virginia.  In 1985 he began work with the U.S. Forest Service as a Forest Technician and Law Enforcement Officer.  He worked primarily in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forrest out of the Clinch Ranger District office in Wise, Virginia but also traveled across the country with the Forest Service.  He was an arson investigator.  He worked on forest fires in California.  He worked on the recovery of natural disasters including Hurricanes Hugo and Katrina as well as working on the recovery of the Space Shuttle Columbia in Texas.   He retired from the U.S. Forest Service in 2006 after 22 years as a Law Enforcement Officer.  He received multiple honors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as recognition from the Wise County Sheriff’s Department for his work and service.  He is survived by his wife, Sally Smith; one son, Shannon David Smith and wife, Jeri of Saint Paul, Virginia; two granddaughters, Kassidy Smith and Alana Smith; father and step mother, Lowell Nelson Smith and wife, Jackie of Cleveland, Virginia; one brother, Greg Smith and wife, Sandy of Lebanon, Virginia; several nieces and nephews and their children.  He loved hunting, fishing and the outdoors.  He was a loving and devoted husband, father and papaw.
• So yeah.  It's been a busy few months. I'm going through a separation/divorce.  My health went wonky.  I have medicine now and that is going better.  I've been busy with work etc.  But, whatevs.  Through it all I've still read stacks and stacks of comics and teh comics intronets have kept on keeping on.  So, let's talk about some of that junk that has gone down since the Parade-O-Links last graced the screen of your monitor and/or cell pad pod phone. 
• There is this blog called 10 Rules for Drawing Comics.  I liked it so much that I came up with my own even though no one asked me.  In light of my health issues, I seriously hope you pay attention to number 7.  And in light of my total repulsion at seeing dry elbows, please live by number 6.
• Another place I blabbed my blabbing hole at was The Comics Reporter where I talked about just what exactly I want the comics biz to give me in exchange for my money. 
• I also sold some comics and junk to kids at a library with pal Jeremy Massie. 
• Since we are talking about our agreed upon favorite subject, me, I also posted some pictures of my new "studio".  I like it.
• I had one of those birthdays with a zero at the end.  It was stupid.

• Oh hey, it's Thanksgiving.  Unless it isn't.  I'm thankful for Bill Mantlo. 
• I'm also thankful that Josh Latta has started posting new Rashy Rabbit comics.  I'm also thankful that they let him back on facebook after kicking him off for being retarded.  Aw, Jeez.  Did I just get kicked off blogger for calling Josh Latta retarded?  Language is hard.  I wanted to post a link to the deal where facebook suspended Josh but I can't find it.  Maybe I'm not good at the internet or maybe they made it disappear just like the car JFK was murdered in and Jackie O's dress.  Do any of you guys work for the NSA?
• I'm thankful for Brad McGinty and the awesome t-shirt and Glorp Gum stuff he sent me.  Brad has his new holiday cards ready for you to buy and send to your loved ones/enemies. I'm also thankful for Brad's amazing art in recent issues of Adventure Time and Regular Show.  At last when my kids want me to buy something it's the exact same thing I already wanted to buy.
• I'm thankful for Patrick Dean for making all of the best comics of 2013 and for his Haint Book making my family's Halloween so much fun. 
• I'm thankful for Robert Newsome's podcast making one hour of my 45 hour work week a lot better. 
• I'm also thankful for you dear reader for dropping by and reading file under other.  I'll admit that this post might be a mess.  While my life has been a mess recently, I've still been saving links for this post and now that I'm finally putting it together, instead of having a week's worth of links to go through I have about three months worth of links.  And it is hard.  There is a ton of stuff that I want to talk about that I'm just going to have to get to later.  Or never. And a lot of what I will end up talking about here is old news.  Honestly, trying to get back into the swing of things has been a lot harder than I expected. Sorry.  Thanks for your patience. 



• I'm excited about all the Doctor Who 50th anniversary hubbub.  Yep.  I sure am.  It was good.  Jeremy Massie drew Tom Baker and it is rad. 
• They, and by they I mean people I don't really know who do things, are making a movie based on a comic by some guys I do know, Matthew Smith and Jeremy Massie.  That Bee Sting comic was great.  Looks like the movie will be neat-o.  So, check it out and stuff.  Maybe even give them some money.  
• Y'all saw that Batkid stuff right?  No need to link that here I guess. 
• Speaking of that link above, that title.  Man, dang.  "Holy (insert whatever your story is abut here) Batman!"  I've gone from getting ill over those kind of news article titles to just embracing them.  Ya know what?  The Adam West Batman TV show was as good as human art and entertainment gets.  The freaking pinnacle. So if we gotta have "Holy...Batman" and "Zap, Pow!" in everything then so be it.  Good!  Zap Pow everything!  Holy Zap Pow everything Batman!
• Wiggle much?  As much as the law allows. 
• I don't know what you plan on doing when you retire (you are probably an American so you will never retire) but the greatest filmmaker of the last century, he likes to draw some comics. 

• In light of the  Brian Wood controversy of the past few weeks, the collective conscious of comics has decided that never again shall a male comics professional or enthusiast hit on or attempt to have a sexual relationship with a female.  If we all work together on this, we can prevent the reproduction of any future cartoonists within a generation.  Once we get rid of cartoonists we can move on to actors because, look, men like to try to get laid. 

• Dickwolves everybody.  Dickwolves. 
• I'm lucky that I am physically incapable of sexism because I have a girl's name.
• Jokes.  Jokes people.  Sexism is bad.  Duh.

 

• While I was away, Villains Month happened.  Some people did not enjoy it.   I liked it.  My daughter was super into it.  See, most of those comics were self contained comics.  Self contained comics are the best.  Also, most of those comics were origin issues.  Origin issues are great for kids.  Kids like beginnings.  I also liked the fact that DC used a lot of veteran talent on those books.  And the covers, some of them were really cool.  You didn't have to buy them if you didn't want to.  It's just a product.
• Former female writer for The Comics Journal suggests they hire some female writers.
• This writer, me, Shannon Smith, suggests they actually put a magazine out that costs less than $30 a pop.
• I'm ready to replace you all. 

 
• I was sad to hear about Joey Manley passing away.  I used and enjoyed a lot of the services and platforms that he made possible.
•  "We had a huge Halloween party and a costume contest with the Burbank office and New York on a remote screen. We use all the best technology to make sure we’re remotely connected. But it still always falls apart."  DC Comics Entertainment president Diane Nelson on why you move a publishing company from the planetary heart of publishing after 80 years.  Apparently Time Warner's AV club's skills are less than adequate. 
• Oh Diane, who am I kidding?  I'll move to California to look into those big blue eyes and I'll never look back!

 
• Brian Marcus, owner of a comics shop the next county over from me, landed a huge collection with complete silver age runs. He showed me some of those books and they look like they came right off the spinner rack.  Very cool to look through those old Neal Adams comics. 
• Dean Trippe's comic Something Terrible is very good. You guys have all read it right?  He talked about it here. 
• I am very much looking forward to Box Brown's Andre The Giant book.
• "Well, that just reproduces my experience perfectly. After twenty-five, thirty years of this shit, I’m no closer to knowing anything, and everything that comes up just seems to make the matter more complicated, more murky."
• "An average writer working for the big two...and I am saying AVERAGE...makes about 2 grand a book. The average writer has one book...and maybe at times gets a second title if lucky. Break that down to $500 bucks a week...before taxes. So lets go as far as saying they have two books a month...and remember, 90% make no royalties...this person makes about 48 grand a year...before taxes. Not working for the big 2 and its MUCH less. We also pay our own medical coverage...because the companies don't. After taxes, medical and so on...this person makes around 32 grand a year writing 2 books for the majors. Does this make sense or just plain scare most of you?" - From Jimmy Palmiotti's facebook page.
• That Kim Thompson, he was a good one. 

• SDCC happened about 10 thousand years go but I bookmarked this picture of Marv Wolman with one of the Teen Titans he created because it made me smile. 
• I love the Mircronauts way too much. 
• You guys read Dean Trippe's Something Terrible comic right?  I just linked to it twice.  It's that good.
• That time Robin and Frank Zappa made a record. 
• Irving Forbush?
• The most important con report of 2013, GhostManorCon 2013. 

(Like a damned Lee Greenwood song come to life.)

• So gross.
• "We all hated him, frankly." -Carmine Infantino on Bob Kane. 
• Dean Haspiel on Howard Chaykin. 
• "It was foul language and it was violence to a lady, she gets hit. But there was no rape scene." 
• You guys saw these Wonder Woman shorts right?  Not, short shorts like you'd like to see Wonder Woman in but short cartoons that you'd like to see Wonder Woman in.
• There has been a lot of discussion/debate/yelling about criticism in comics lately.  Dang people.  Relax.  All the same jerks that have been writing about comics for the past 15 years are still out there.  Just because you got so wrapped up in twitter that you totally forgot to move your google reader over to a new blog reader and you fail to keep up with all the blogs does not mean people are not still writing. Do I have to mudderducking teach you people how to use the damned internets?  Try google search and quit your bitchin'.  Just because The Comics Journal fired Dirk Deppey, deleted its message boards and decided it would be better to have a magazine style website that sucks and never put out a damned magazine I can ever afford does not mean people are not writing about comics.
• Congratulations to my one time high school drama team teammate Steven Wiliams on getting married.  You might know Steven from his YouTube personalities Boogie2988 Jessie and, um, what's that other guy?  Oh yeah, Francis. Good luck Boogie!
• And finally... I didn't order anything, I promise.

Your best pal ever,

Shannon Smith

p.s. Say you want a leader but you can't seem to make up your mind. I think you'd better close it and let me guide you to my twitter feed.
p.p.s. Let's pretend we went to high school together on facebook.
p.p.p.s. Google + is another place you can read the same thing I posted here.
p.p.p.p.s. I'll tumblr for ya.
p.p.p.p.p.s.  Yeah, I do Instagram too now.  I guess it's a law or something.