A Bear in the City

WonderCon

2008-02-20T16:38:00.000-08:00

Glad to see that io9 has put together a pick's page for WonderCon, but bummed that it's so relentlessly straight.

Apparently to make me feel better, Justin Hall of All Thumbs Press has put together a nice listing of his WonderCon events, while Zan Christensen has put together his annual Gay Agenda for WonderCon. Phew.

Besides WonderCon, here are some things I'm excited about:

Justin Hall winning the 2008 Queer Press Grant from Prism. He's going to use it to make a bookstore-sellable edition of Glamazonia The Uncanny Super Tranny, which is hawt.
Robert Kirby is coming out with The Book of Boy Trouble 2. I love volume 1: The Book of Boy Trouble
I'm enjoying Gail Simone's run on Wonder Woman.
At Whatever, the comic store in the Castro, I picked up a great black Wonder Woman hoodie that I want to wear everyday. I hear the theme song when I walk down the street. All our hopes depend upon you....

Crappy Latin

2007-10-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #24 was released this week. It's Part 2 of the 4-part "One More Day" series currently threatening to change "everything that you know" about Spider-Man, brought to you by writer (and BABYLON 5 creator) J. Michael Straczynski and artist (and Marvel Comics Editor-In-Chief) Joe Quesada. Aunt May's life is in the balance, Peter Parker feels guilty about it, you know the drill.

In this issue, Peter/Spidey goes to visit the Marvel Universe's Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Strange, to ask him to help save Aunt May. Strange is reluctant to help, but eventually decides to give it a shot, if only to help console Peter.

Strange invokes the "Hands of the Dead" using a spell in Latin. Oh boy! I've been reading Latin since 1987 (!). Let's take a look.

Here's the text, along with the footnoted translation:

AUDITE MIHI, ANCIENT PHASMATIS, QUOD SUCCURRO IS TURBATUS ANIMUS.

WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO MEAN: "Hear me, ancient spirits, and help this troubled soul."

WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANS: "Hear to me, asdfjkl for the phantoms, because I, this troubled soul, am helping." Or, as David Sedaris would say, "me talk pretty someday".

Let's break it down:

AUDITE MIHI -- "Hear me". AUDITE is fine -- this is the correct form when you are commanding people. MIHI, however, should be ME -- whoever translated this is making a common mistake -- the verb AUDIRE (to hear, listen) takes a regular old direct object (which should be ME), but many folks substitute the indirect object (MIHI, something like "Listen to me").

ANCIENT PHASMATIS -- "ancient spirits". Where to begin? ANCIENT is English, not Latin. A beginning Latin student would use a form of ANTIQUUS, while I'd prefer a form of VETUS (root of the English "veteran"). I suppose PHASMATIS could be "spirits"; it would imply formless images or visions. PHASMATIS is the wrong case, though; Strange is directly addressing the spirits, so it needs to be in the vocative: VETERA PHASMATA. I don't like PHASMATA, though. I'd go with MANES (or VETERES MANES); the MANES are the spirits of the dead, and nearly every Roman tombstone offers up the deceased to the protection of the DIS MANIBUS "Divine Spirits of the Dead".

QUOD -- QUOD means "because" or "which", neither of which make any sense here. To be simple, I'll suggest ET "and".

SUCCURRO -- this literally means "I am offering aid", which isn't the correct form. To make it parallel to AUDITE, the form should be SUCCURRITE. But again, it just seems like the wrong word to me. I'd choose ADIUVATE, which is what the Latin Vicipaedia uses for site help. Plus, AUDITE ET ADIUVATE has a nice ring to it.

IS TURBATUS ANIMUS -- This threw me for a bit, but I think I've figured it out. Our mystery translator has used IS where I, and I think most people, would use HIC. (IS is a very weak demonstrative, and is usually used as just a pronoun "him, her".) But all three forms are nominative, which means they must be the subject of the verb SUCCURO. But, of course, Dr. Strange as asking the ancient spirits to help the troubled soul. Let's go with the accusative, direct object, case. HUNC TURBATUM ANIMUM.

Put it together:

AUDITE ME, MANES VETERES, ET ADIUVATE HUNC ANIMUM TURBATUM.

Obviously, this clumsy sentence would never be mistaken for Vergil, or even Statius. But at least it's free of grammatical errors.

Unless the point was that Dr. Strange and Peter (note page 11) are really pretty stupid?

Lazy Post

2006-08-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Nice pic from Lazybear over at World of Wonder. More pics here soon. It looks as if they raised $200,000 at Lazybear, which is phenomenal. Now why doesn't IBR raise that kind of money?

I do like the name Amadeus Arkham, though

2006-08-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to reading Arkham Asylum last night. I'd read it before, of course, but never really understood what was going on. I'd always sort of blamed myself for not getting it, or maybe Grant Morrison for being obscure. Last night, I read Morrison's script alongside the graphic novel.

Now I blame Dave McKean.

There's no doubt that McKean's artwork is showy, and I'm sure it launched a thousand wannabe art careers (teenagers also turned on by the graphic design on the 4AD record label). But overall, it's just too frigging obscure. Batman is a cypher, not a character. I don't think he's ever shown in anything other than silhouette (which, again, may have been a selling point for the untold masses that bought this "adult" graphic novel after Burton's film premiered). The entire Killer Croc sequence, for instance, is shadowy and indistinct.

And I can't tell you how much of a problem I had just *reading* the art. It turns out that several sequences I had misread because I thought that McKean had created a two-page layout, causing me to read the top tier on the left page followed by the top tier on the right page before moving on to the bottom tier on the left, when in fact he had intended you to read the entire left page before moving onto the right. No wonder I felt like I wasn't understanding.

So: overwrought symbolism (check). Obscure but sometimes brilliant art that looks nothing like something that John Byrne or even Dave Gibbons would produce (check). One megaselling graphic novel that I really don't think I'll ever want to read again (check).

Books I'm Reading But Not Writing About

2006-08-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

52: The art yo-yoed a bit in the first month, but recently it's improved. My favorite storyline is the Renee/Question/Batwoman arc, but this week's frightfest with Sue Dibny was pretty gruesome (and fun). I should take a moment and re-read this from the beginning.

Supergirl and the Legion: I've liked Mark Waid's revamp since it launched, but the current run with Supergirl (and the attendant mystery of her presence) is pure candy.

All-Star Superman: Insanely great.

Batman, Detective, Superman, Action: the revamp of the Bat and Super franchises has been solid. Morrison's Batman is my current favorite of these.

Daredevil: I think this, and the now-on-hiatus Young Avengers is the only Marvel series that I pick up regularly.

Local: Love the stories, love the art.

Age of Bronze: Every issue Eric Shanower manages to surprise me, someone who's been reading and studying Greek (and Roman) myths since childhood. I don't think there's a better artist in the field who's publishing on a regular, albeit bimonthly, schedule, and he manages to make all those dark-haired characters somehow distinct in a b&w book. Amazing.

Wonder Woman: OK, I have written about this one, but I loved the first issue so much that I can't not mention it. Or something.

Yikes

2006-07-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

Going back to the ComicCon on Sunday cheered me up immensely, even though I miss my camera and I know I had a handful of great shots on it.

Sunday is the lightest day, which meant that I was able to wander the hall and interact with artists. I was able to get the latest issue of 52 (number 11, the debut of Batwoman in her costume) signed by Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Greg Rucka and J.G. Jones, thus hopefully making my friend Pam a very happy lady.

I also met and got a sketch from Scott Shaw!, who was the writer and artist of Captain Carrot, the first comic that I ever collected every single issue of.

I purchased copies of the Yoshihiro Tatsumi's two gorgeous hardcovers, and got them signed by the artist. Mr. Tatsumi is in his 70s, but he very kindly did full-page sketches in each of the books for me. He was about the sweetest man I've ever seen at a comic convention. While I was waiting, Adrian Tomine did a small but intricate sketch in my sketchbook.

But the highlight of the day was finding Jaime Hernandez sitting at the Fantagraphics booth with no line. I was able to commission a GORGEOUS pencil sketch of Hopey for Tino, who is a longtime fan. Yay!

San Diego

2006-07-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

Been having a great con. I LOVE seeing folks in costumes, and I've been taking pictures like crazy. Unfortunately, I lost my camera on Saturday night, along with all of the photos that I took on Saturday. I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I have another camera, and I can always just replace this one, and luckily it was only the photos from Saturday, but still.

Anyway, I'd been having a great convention up until then. The highlight was probably the Snakes on a Plane panel. Kenan Thompson was the emcee, and they put on a *show*. 10 minutes of world premiere footage, a few giant snakes on stage, and Samuel L. Jackson being hilarious. A nice change of pace from the Snoop Dogg panel, in which Mr. Dogg was a no-show. My friend who stayed till the end (he was tired) reported that Snoop eventually phoned in because he was "stuck in traffic". Jaime Pressly (Joy on "My Name Is Earl") was also a no-show, but at least her panel for the movie DOA was completely cancelled.

My friend Lito and I happened to be present at the McFarlane/Kirkman dust-up. We had slipped in to grab a seat before the next panel had begun. It wasn't rude, but it was funny. (Basically: a polite but insistent & eloquent fan asked Todd McFarlane when he was going to focus on making comics again, and wouldn't let Todd's evasions stand. Eventually, someone else on the panel recognized that the fan was actually comic writer Robert Kirkman, who writes a couple of really good books published by Todd's company Image. Todd got a bit embarrassed, but held his own, and said he'd draw a book to Kirkman's script if Kirkman could convince his editor and the editor could convince Todd. Fat chance, but it made for good drama for the last five minutes of the panel.)

Anyway, I hope Sunday is quieter than the last two days. I haven't walked the floor as much as I would like, so today will have to be the day.

Blogging Sondheim 2

2006-07-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

[Previously in my attempts to blog the forthcoming Stephen Sondheim 4-CD box set: West Side Story and Gypsy.]

STEPHEN SONDHEIM: THE STORY SO FAR
Disc One

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1962)
music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

5. Comedy Tonight (5:00)
Zero Mostel & Company
orchestra conducted by Hal Hastings
rec. 5/00/62

[track 5, courtesy Capitol Records/EMI]

6. Everybody Ought To Have A Maid (3:06)
Stephen Collins, Christopher Durang, Michael Rupert
musical direction: Scott Frankel
rec. 4/28/93

[track #6, from the RCA Victor album, Putting It Together (09026-61720-2)]

7. There's Something About A War (4:12)
Stephen Sondheim

[track #7, from Stephen Sondheim's sound archives]

Three songs from Forum, each from different sources. Our first illustration of the difficulties of licensing. This box set is being released by BMG Sony, through its relationship with Playbill Online. Reportedly, Capitol/EMI was chary with its recordings, wanting prohibitively high licensing fees for songs from the original cast recording of Follies. So, no original Follies tracks. Likewise, we get only one track from the original Forum, but it's the best: "Comedy Tonight".

Given the high costs, it's little wonder that the producers went elsewhere for other Forum tracks. "Maid" is not my favorite song from Forum, and the performance from "Putting It Together", a Sondheim revue from the early 1990s, is OK. It's a shame that the Nathan Lane revival of Forum was also recorded by EMI (through Broadway Angel), since that'd be a natural source for two superior songs: "Free" and "Pretty Little Picture".

"There's Something About A War" is the first unreleased track. It's a cut song; it was replaced by "Bring Me My Bride". "War" has been previously recorded, as part of the 1983 "A Stephen Sondheim Evening" concert. That version was sung by Cris Groenendaal. Since the version on the box set is credited to Stephen Sondheim, it's likely one of his many contemporary demo recordings (there are two discs of these released by PS Classics, covering the years from 1946-1960 and 1962-1972).

[more later]

Seven Impossible Things Before Lunch

2006-07-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Continuing on my look at the San Diego Comic Con schedule, here's a look at the Saturday events that catch my eye.

10:30-11:30 Warner Bros. Presents 300— Appearing in person: Creator Frank Miller, director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead), and actors David Wenham (Faramir in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Return of the King) and Gerard Butler (Phantom of the Opera; Lara Croft: Cradle of Life). Based on the epic graphic novel by Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, the Spartans' valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Miller's (Sin City) acclaimed Dark Horse graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale. Hall H

300 is a favorite of mine.

11:45-12:45 Grind House— Rose McGowan (Charmed), Marley Shelton (Sin City), Freddy Rodriguez (Six Feet Under), Michael Biehn (Aliens), and Jeff Fahey (Dark Hunters) star in Grind House, the new double feature from Dimension Films, directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, hitting theatres in April 2007. Join filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and members of the cast for a quick trip to Rodriguez's "Planet Terror," and be the first to hear exclusive news about what to expect once Tarantino's "Deathproof" cameras start rolling. Hall H

Grind House looks exciting, and I'm a big fan of QT.

12:00-1:00 The Simpsons— Heading into their unprecedented 18th season this fall, and with their historic 400th episode airing next spring, The Simpsons continues to entertain and delight. Members of the team responsible for the longest-running comedy on television will be on hand to answer the questions everyone wants to know, including: how do you continue to keep it so good? Panelists include Matt Groening, creator and executive producer; James L. Brooks, executive producer; Matt Selman, executive producer; David Mirkin, executive producer; Al Jean, executive producer and head writer; Don Payne, co-executive producer; Bill Odenkirk, co-executive producer; Matt Warburton, supervising producer; Mike Scully, producer; and David Silverman, director. Moderated by Bill Morrison. Room 20

Basically, every single person from every Simpsons audio commentary ever.

1:00-2:30 DCU: One Year Greater— With the world in post-Crisis shock, there's a lot of picking up to do. Look into the future of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—not to mention Green Lantern, Green Arrow, the Flash, and all your other DCU favorites—in this slide-show presentation moderated by Dan DiDio, senior VP/executive editor, DCU, and Bob Wayne, VP, sales. Joining them will be editor Steve Wacker and creators Terry Dodson (Wonder Woman), Geoff Johns (Teen Titans, 52), Kurt Busiek (Action Comics, Aquaman, Superman), Ivan Reis (Green Lantern), Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Secret Six, All-New Atom), Grant Morrison (52, Batman, WildCATS), Judd Winick (Green Arrow, The Outsiders), Greg Rucka (52, Checkmate), Jimmy Palmiotti (Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Bludhaven, Jonah Hex, Secret Six), Paul Dini (Detective Comics), and Brad Meltzer (Identity Crisis, the upcoming Justice League of America). Room 6B

I'm a geek, but there's a ton of creators that I follow, all on one panel.

2:30-4:00 Spotlight on Shag— If every picture tells a story, Josh Agle (better known as Shag, a contraction of the last two letters of his first name and the first two of his last) has hundreds of stories to tell. His work, punctuated by a playful, vividly colored style, has entered the pop culture pantheon by storm. Comic-Con special guest Shag talks about his work and answers your questions in this special event. Room 6A

My question would be: why is everything you produce so expensive?

3:30-4:30 Spotlight on Brad Meltzer— The New York Times best-selling author of such books as The Tenth Justice, The Millionaires, and the upcoming The Book of Fate is also the writer behind DC Comics' Identity Crisis and the new ongoing Justice League book. Brad Meltzer talks about his career and his life-long love of comics and where he plans to take the World's Greatest Superheroes. Room 5AB

I'm geekily interested in the new Justice League of America book.

5:00-6:30 Sony Presents— Sony Pictures proudly presents a pair of Marvels: The classic Marvel comic Ghost Rider comes to the big screen with Academy Award–winning Nicolas Cage playing Johnny Blaze. Appearing in person to answer your questions and show some previews will be the film's stars Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes and director Mark Steven Johnson. Oh, and did we mention Spidey 3? Come find out why we don't have to say anything else . . . besides Sam Raimi! Hall H

I probably won't attend this, but still: Nicolas Cage!

5:30-7:00 Gays in Comics, Year 19: Infinitely Out and Civil Pride— From Young Avengers to Batwoman, Freedom Ring to Tough Love, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) characters are popping up more in mainstream comics, and GLBT creators are writing, drawing, or self-publishing more than ever. At its near-two-decade mark, the annual Gays in Comics panel takes the pulse of queer comicdom, showcasing some groundbreaking creators and their insights. Joining moderator Andy Mangels (writer of Star Trek novels, director of He-Man and She-Ra DVD documentaries) are Patty Jeres (past DC director of marketing communications, current PRISM board member), Abby Denson (creator of Tough Love: High School Confidential graphic novel), Greg Rucka (writer of Gotham Central, 52, Checkmate), Gail Simone (writer of Secret Six, Birds of Prey), Marc Andreyko (writer of Manhunter), and Phil Jimenez (artist/writer of Infinite Crisis, Otherworld). Afterward, stick around for an hour-long gay comic fan mixer/social, sponsored by PRISM Comics! Room 6A

Dunno how long I can stay at this, since at 8pm we're heading out to see Kathy Griffin.

I just wish Allan Heinberg (who's writing Wonder Woman and Young Avengers) could be there.

Blogging the Sondheim Box Set

2006-07-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

October will see the release of the long-awaited 4-CD Stephen Sondheim box set, culling the best from 50 years of Broadway cast recordings as well as 35 previously unreleased tracks. It will be exclusively available from Playbill.com for the first six months.

I'm tremendously excited about this set, but of course I have quibbles as well. What should be included, what couldn't be, what's cut due to space concerns. The biggest controversy has to be the failure to get tracks from the original cast album of Follies (Capitol Records requested an impossible amount of money to license them out).

Thanks to iTunes, however, I can program my own Best Of Sondheim playlist. Here's my annotated look at the tracks of the box set, and what I would do differently.

STEPHEN SONDHEIM: THE STORY SO FAR
Disc One

West Side Story (1957)
music by Leonard Bernstein
lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

1. America (4:33)
Marilyn Cooper, Chita Rivera, Shark Girls
orchestra conducted by Max Goberman
rec. 9/29/57

2. Tonight (3:54)
Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence
orchestra conducted by Max Goberman
rec. 9/29/57

3. Gee, Officer Krupke (4:02)
Eddie Roll, Grover Dale, Hank Brunjes, Tony Mordante, David Winters & The Jets
orchestra conducted by Max Goberman
rec. 9/29/57

[tracks #1-3, from the Columbia album, West Side Story (SK 60724)]

Sondheim's first Broadway show became a smash, so it makes sense to start here. The two songs that best show off Sondheim's talents are "America" and "Gee, Officer Krupke", so no fault there.

If it were me, though, I would have opened with "Something's Coming", which not only expresses the optimism of lead character Tony, but also speaks to the promise of then 27-year-old Sondheim's future career. "I don't know what it is, but it is gonna be great." Exactly.

Gypsy (1959)
music by Jule Styne
lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

4. Everything's Coming Up Roses (3:06)
Ethel Merman
orchestra conducted by Milton Rosenstock
rec. 5/24/59

[track #4, from the Columbia album, Gypsy (SK 60848)]

Gypsy was another smash, this time with a big old fashioned musical theater star (the biggest?). With "Everything's Coming Up Roses", Sondheim wrote a lyric that became part of the English vernacular. How many people can say that?

It's a shame that there's only room for one song from Gypsy, because there are so many highlights. The Overture is arguably the best of any classic Broadway cast recording, while "Some People" features Sondheim uttering the line "You'll never get 88 cents from me".

Still, if I could only choose one more song, it'd be Ethel Merman's version of "Rose's Turn", in which musical fragments from the entire score are smashed into the ultimate 11-oclock number. You listen, and wonder how Merman could have possibly lost the Best Actress Tony Award to Mary Martin that year (Martin won for The Sound of Music. I guess Merman said it best right afterward: You can't buck a nun.)

[More later.]

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

2006-07-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

Walking through the Friday schedule of this year's Comic-Con. (I know some folks are sick of this stuff, but this is only my second trip to San Diego's big show, and my first since 1998. I'm getting excited, yo.)

11:00-12:30 Warner Bros. Pictures Presents— In person, stars Hilary Swank and Anna Sophia Robb, director Stephen Hopkins, and producer Joel Silver of The Reaping, a supernatural thriller in which Hilary plays a world-renowned expert in disproving religious phenomena. But when she investigates a small Louisiana town that is suffering from what appear to be the Biblical plagues, she realizes that science cannot explain what is happening. Plus: Bryan Singer Returns! Please welcome long-time friend of Comic-Con, director Bryan Singer, to answer your questions about Superman Returns and give you an idea of what's next. Plus: more news and special promo items will be given to all who attend. Hall H

Not really my thing, but the bff is more interested in the Hollywood/media panels than anything else, so we'll put this down as a maybe.

Here are two conflicts:

12:00-1:00 Scott McCloud's Making Comics— Scott McCloud (Zot!, Understanding Comics) unveils his new book, Making Comics, in this fast-paced visual presentation. Scott and his whole family will be on hand to discuss one of the most ambitious promotional tours in comics history, the year-long Making Comics 50 State Tour beginning in September! Room 8

I'd be more interested if Scott's new book were already published, but that's just because I'm dying to get my hands on it.

12:00-1:00 Snoop Dogg’s Hood of Horror— It's ghouls gone wild as EC Comics gets the urban treatment in this hip hop horror anthology hosted by the Hound of Hell, Snoop Dogg. Join Snoop for an exclusive sneak peek and Q&A along with co-writer/producer Tim Sullivan (2001 Maniacs, Driftwood), producer Martin Shore, and cast members Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars), Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters), Danny Trejo (Devil's Rejects), Daniella Alonso (One Tree Hill, Wrong Turn 2) and Brande Roderick (Baywatch, Starsky & Hutch). Room 20

Looks like a trainwreck of a film, but could make for a good panel if they start telling stories.

12:30-2:00 Spotlight on George R. R. Martin— With a career that covers fantasy writing (his popular "A Song of Fire and Ice" series of books), television (Twilight Zone and the beloved Beauty and the Beast), and comics, George R. R. Martin has pleased fans for many years. He and his works are featured in this special spotlight presentation. Room 6B

I've read all of the books in "A Song of Fire and Ice" a number of times, and even ordered the latest one from Amazon UK because it was published a month before the US version. But I'm slightly more interested in...

12:30-1:30 Hey, Kids! Blogs About Comics!— It seems like everybody has a blog these days, but here's a group of dedicated bloggers devoted to writing about comics and news about the comics industry. Moderator Heidi MacDonald (pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/) talks to Tom Spurgeon (comicsreporter.com), Ron Hogan (mediabistro.com/galleycat), Graeme McMillan (blog.newsarama.com), Chris Butcher (comics.212.net/) and Tom McLean (weblogs.variety.com/bags_and_boards/) about the daily business of blogging, breaking news, and the comics world. Room 24A

I read all of these guys every day, and obviously I keep a blog of my own. Can't wait.

2:00-3:00 DC: JLA/JSA: Justice for All— Join an important panel featuring the two teams that define heroism in the DC universe. Writer Brad Meltzer (Identity Crisis, upcoming Justice League of America), writer Geoff Johns (52, Teen Titans, upcoming Justice Society of America), and artist Mike Turner (Supergirl, Identity Crisis) will be joined by senior VP/executive editor DCU Dan DiDio, senior editor Peter Tomasi, and group editor Eddie Berganza to bring you the details of two amazing teams’ past, present, and future. Room 6A

I confess: I love the DC promo panels. I don't know that I'll go to all of them though.

2:30-3:30 Paramount Pictures— Paramount Pictures is proud to present an early look at footage from the upcoming fantasy adventure film Stardust from director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake) and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Constantine, Four Brothers and the upcoming Transformers). After captivating audiences in both novel and graphic novel formats, Neil Gaiman's Stardust makes its big-screen adaptation debut next March starring Claire Danes, Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais, Peter O'Toole, Rupert Everett, and Charlie Cox. Neil Gaiman (The Eternals and co-writer with Roger Avery of the screenplay for the upcoming Beowulf), illustrator Charles Vess, co-screenwriter (with director Vaughn) Jane Goldman, and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura will discuss the film, which is currently in production. (Credits not contractual.) Hall H

I'm a big Gaiman fanboy from way back, but I have very little interest in Stardust, unfortunately.

3:00-4:00 The Black Panel— Featuring Reggie Hudlin (president, BET), RZA (Wu Tang Clan), Jeffery Wright (CEO, Urban Ministries), Denys Cowan (senior VP, BET Animation), Mike Davis and Mark Davis (Blokhedz), and Axel Alonso (editor, Marvel Comics). This is the definitive panel for what’s up in black content, and black content is hip content. Moderated by Michael Davis. Room 6A

"The Black Panel" -- note the definite article -- has perhaps the goofiest title of SDCC. Still: OMG, the RZA will be there! I'm a fan of Denys Cowan's artwork, and I think I still have every issue of his "Hardware" comic (currently rumored to be announced as an upcoming BET Animation project). Definitely something to consider. After all, black content is hip content!

3:00-4:00 Fox: Bones— David Boreanaz is one of television's biggest stars. Boreanaz and Bones creator/executive producer Hart Hanson will dish up all the fun behind-the-scenes stories on the show and answer your questions! Lisa Chambers, TV Guide, will moderate the panel Room 20

He's a hottie, but I don't care about the show.

3:30-4:30 WildStorm: Crossroads— The West Coast is about to unleash a Worldstorm! Find out what’s on the horizon from WildStorm Productions in this slide-show presentation. Panelists will include Scott Dunbier, executive editor, WildStorm; Bob Wayne, VP, sales, DC Comics; Ben Abernathy, editor, WildStorm; Jim Lee, editorial director, WildStorm and in-demand artist (WildCats, All Star Batman and Robin); writer Grant Morrison (52, Batman, All Star Superman); writer Gail Simone, (Gen13, Secret Six); artist Talent Caldwell (Gen13); and artist Darick Robertson (The Boys). Also joining the panel will be Danny Bilson (The Flash: Fastest Man Alive) and Paul DeMeo (The Flash: Fastest Man Alive), and special guest star, The OC’s Adam Brody! Room 5AB

The upcoming Wildstorm push, with talent like Morrison, Jim Lee, Simone, Gene Ha and others is intriguing, but the comics themselves are so borrring. Still, my students would KILL ME if I let drop that I saw Adam Brody. Wonder if I could get a photo with him?

3:30-4:00 Universal: Children of Men— Academy Award–nominated writer/director Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá también, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) will present scenes from his upcoming futuristic thriller Children of Men, starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine. The new trailer from Children of Men and never-before-seen clips from the film will be shown, along with a discussion of the filmmakers's work. Hall H

Very intrigued.

4:00-5:00 D.O.A.: Dead or Alive— Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl), Holly Valance (Prison Break and international music sensation), Sarah Carter (new CBS show, Shark), and Natassia Malthe (Elektra) star in this new movie from Dimension Films, based on the hit video game series, D.O.A. Join the stars and some special guests for the premiere of exclusive footage from the new movie and a Q&A with the sizzling hot cast. Room 6CDEF

I love Jaime Pressly on My Name is Earl, and I'd love a photo with her, but I don't really care about her upcoming videogame movie.

4:00-5:30 Bruce Timm Retrospective/Legion of Super Heroes— Warner Bros. Animation president Sander Schwartz introduces a retrospective on the creativity of animation legend Bruce Timm (Batman Beyond, Superman: The Animated Series). Bruce will talk about his 20-year career, screen selected scenes from his body of work, and take part in a Q&A. Immediately following the Timm retrospective, Warner Bros. Animation presents a sneak peek at Legion of Super Heroes, a new Superman-themed half-hour adventure series inspired by the DC Comics series and set to air Saturdays this fall at 11:00 AM ET/PT in the Kids' WB! programming block on the new CW. Producers Linda M. Steiner (Teen Titans) and James Tucker (Justice League Unlimited), story editor Rob Hoegee (Teen Titans), and others from the show's creative team will join several of the Legion cast members, including Yuri Lowenthal (voice of Superman), Andy Milder (Lightning Lad), Shawn Harrison (Timber Wolf), and Michael Cornaccia (Bouncing Boy) for a Q&A session and debut of scenes from the upcoming show. Room 20

Now THIS is what San Diego is all about. I've read Legion since I was a tater tot, and I've dreamed about a WB! Legion series forever.

5:45-7:00 New Line Cinema Presents Snakes on a Plane— Sit back. Relax. Enjoy the fright. New Line Cinema will show exclusive footage from Snakes on a Plane. Samuel L. Jackson makes his first San Diego Comic-Con appearance, along with director David R. Ellis, to discuss his new film! And, watch out—snake wrangler Jules Sylvester will also be on hand with live snakes from the movie. Also included in the presentation will be a special preview of New Line Cinema's upcoming The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, while Final Destination 3 director James Wong and star Ryan Merriman demonstrate the unique "Change-Their-Fate" interactive feature on the upcoming DVD, available from New Line Home Entertainment on July 25. Hall H

The one thing that the BFF and I want to see. Unfortunately, it's also the one thing that every single other geek in San Diego wants to see. And I know it's stupid, but I HATE that they're going to make us sit through the Texas Chainsaw and Final Destination crap first. I'm expecting an hour of New Line Promo before the Snakes on a Panel finally kicks in. Grrr.

Meanwhile, in alternative programming...

6:00-7:00 DC: 52: A Year in the Life of the DCU— The DC Universe skipped a year and left everyone wondering what happened in those missing 52 weeks. This can’t-miss panel looks at the ramifications of the Crisis, the absence of the world’s greatest heroes, and those left to pick up the pieces in an event that is unprecedented in comics history! Hosted by senior VP/executive editor DCU Dan DiDio and editor Steve Wacker, with Geoff Johns (52, Teen Titans), Greg Rucka (52, Checkmate), Mark Waid (52, Supergirl and the Legion of Super-heroes), Grant Morrison (52, Batman), J. G. Jones (52), and more. Room 6B

6:00-7:00 The Jim Henson Company: Power of the Dark Crystal and Sneak Peeks— Lisa Henson (Power of the Dark Crystal), and Michael Polis (MirrorMask) from The Jim Henson Company will discuss current and upcoming productions. Panelists include Brian Froud (Labyrinth), Genndy Tartakofsky (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and Scott Stewart (Superman Returns) will be on hand to talk about the much-anticipated sequel feature Power of the Dark Crystal. Other topics include the new puppet television shows for grown-ups as well as new DVD releases, manga books, and exciting new products from Jim Henson Designs. Room 6CDEF

Two great line-ups on two completely different panels. How to choose?

Finally, we're discussing attending the Big Gay Cocktail Hour Immediately Preceding The Big Gay Dinner (which Christopher Butcher blogged):

6:30-11:00 Attack of The Big Gay Dinner (Year 4!) Offsite It's the biggest, gayest dinner around. Join gay comic creators and their friends for an evening of cocktails, dining and discourse at San Diego ComiCon's most fabulous get-together. Cocktail hour starts at 6:30, dinner starts at 8:30. Please, RSVP if you're going to attend...

If you're counting, that's 16 events. No way to do it all, but it helps me if I narrow it down to a manageable list.

Dabs of Honey

2006-07-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

For the love of Florrie, a FANTASTIC examination of Florrie Fisher, the star of the 1970s-era documentary short/scare tactic The Trip Back, and clearly the inspiration for Jerri Blank in Strangers with Candy. Fabulous. Tell 'em Large Marge sent ya.
Christopher Butcher's Guide to What's Gay About Comic-Con 2006 and Tom Spurgeon's exhaustive Welcome to Nerd Vegas: A Guide to Visiting and Enjoying Comic-Con International in San Diego, 2006!.
I know it's late, but I'm excited that the final issue of the miniseries Hawaiian Dick: The Last Resort is due out today. I reread the first three issues last night. I'm sure the delay (I think it's been two years since issue #1) turned off tons of readers, but I'm just glad it's completed.
Slate's Jack Shafer on Nick Denton.
Next Saturday, we're seeing Kathy Griffin and I can't wait.
OMG! Project Runway tonight.

Batwoman

2006-07-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours, well-known in the SF queer arts scene, is incredibly jealous that we're going down to the San Diego Comic Convention. (Me, I'm not used to people knowing what the hell I'm talking about.)

She'll do anything if we can get some item featuring Batwoman autographed by one of the creators.
I'm pretty sure that 52 #11 comes out next week, and is the big Batwoman issue. I hope I can find someone to sign it.

Mob

2006-07-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I ever blogged the time that Grant Morrison came to Isotope Comics the weekend of WonderCon, and all I got was this fantastic glass:

(Jason and Nicole)

I drink out of that glass whenever I want to be one with the universe.

(More pictures.)

A New Loteria

2006-07-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

I inadvertently discovered Teresa Villegas's fun art series La Loteria: An Exploration of Mexico a month back, when I came across artwork created from the Nueva Version of Mexican Bingo. Her series is a pop exploration of Mexican culture, from El Santo to El Revolucionario to Los Churros and even the omnipresent Chicle. You can see all thumbnails of all 54 of her paintings here.

I may be making a t-shirt out of this.

Mud Men

2006-07-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

Jonno has just uploaded a must-see photoset of Men mudwrestling at the San Francisco Eagle. No nudity, but incredibly erotic.

The mud makes the men look like sloppily unfinished statues come to life: Caravaggio meets Michelangelo meets a Golem factory.

Abnormal Works by Moritomo

2006-07-10T17:16:00.000-07:00

I posted about Abnormal Works back in February 2005. I've found a few more great images in the online gallery. Be sure to check it out!

What's Gay about Comic-Con

2006-07-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Christopher at Comics.212.net has put together a great one-page guide to the glbt side of Comic-Con. I've been hoping to find something like this, especially if other glbt creators help Christopher keep it updated.

The first and only time that I went to Comic-Con was back in 1998. The bff and I will be in San Diego at the end of July anyway, because of San Diego Pride, so we decided to head out early in order to accommodate Comic-Con. I've somehow managed to convince Tino to attend on Friday, thanks in no small measure to the presence of Samuel L. Jackson and Jaime Pressley (in separate appearances, dammit).

We won't be able to hit the Saturday night mixer, because we have tickets to see KATHY GRIFFIN. Maybe she'll talk about her husband stealing from her ATM cards.

Tinobear's Lonestar Beer Bust Set

2006-07-10T12:26:00.000-07:00

All photos by Tinobear, from this photoset.

1. Flash!, 2. Latin Pride at the Lone Star 1, 3. Latin Pride at the Lone Star 2, 4. Latin Pride at the Lone Star 3, 5. Pool Shark Pablo, 6. Milan 1, 7. Milan 2, 8. Inside the LoneStar Saloon, 9. Mafundi & Sam, 10. Birthday Boy and friend, 11. Salud, 12. All Eyes, 13. Rudy 1, 14. Rudy 2, 15. Beer Bust Mayhem 1, 16. Beer Bust Mayhem 4, 17. Beer Bust Mayhem 7, 18. Beer Bust Mayhem 8, 19. Beer Bust Mayhem 9, 20. All Smiles, 21. Beer Bust Mayhem 12, 22. Disraeli & Sam 1, 23. Beer Bust Mayhem 15, 24. Beer Bust Mayhem 19, 25. Dan the Man 1, 26. Beer Bust Mayhem 20, 27. Beer Bust Mayhem 27, 28. Beer Bust Mayhem 28, 29. Beer Bust Mayhem 24, 30. Beer Bust Mayhem 25

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Here's a great photoset that my bf/f Tino took yesterday at the Lone Star, with some friends, some acquaintances, and some strangers.

Dolce and Gabbana Wonder Woman

2006-07-04T06:50:00.000-07:00

I love this Dolce and Gabbana t-shirt, which I saw in a shop window in Rome last summer.

Here's why:

1. It's Wonder Woman.

2. It's Dolce and Gabbana.

3. Even on sale, it still cost about $70 (if I recall the exchange rate correctly).

4. It's orange. Everywhere I looked in Rome, I saw people wearing orange. Here's my set of 48 photos: Orange is the Color of Rome.

5. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to take a picture and send it to my bff Valentin, because by that point in my trip I missed him terribly and I knew he'd love it as much as I did.

You'll Believe A Pig Can Fly

2006-07-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

Nothing is cuter than All-Alaskan Pig Racing at the county fair.

(More pics here and also here.)

Wonder Woman

2006-06-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

I was impressed with the first issue of the new Wonder Woman series. Writer Allan Heinberg did a great job of making it completely accessible. I was able to give it to the non-comic-geek bff (boyfriend/fiance) with the following:

ME: You only need to know three names: Diana Prince.

BFF: Yeah.

ME: Steve Trevor.

BFF, smiling: Lyle Waggoner!

ME: And Donna Troy used to be ... Wonder Girl!

BFF and ME: YAY!

Ok, so we're like that.

At any rate, he read it and loved it. The art by the Dodsons is dynamic and gorgeous, and the final page is Fab All Gear in its Emma Peal-rageousness. I can't wait until the next issue, and I think I may have a convert in the house. (This is in marked contrast with my attempts to push-n-explain Infinite Crisis. The less said about that, the better.)

By the way, I just noticed that the art of the first four covers of Wonder Woman all feature the costume of the classic Wonder Woman, not the current "new" Wonder Woman who is actually starring in the book. Odd, but perhaps it's a clue about how long the new Wonder Woman will stick around.

Look at Me

2006-06-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

We're experiencing the Summer Tivo Doldrums here at Cape Bear. Here's what's filling our DVR while we wait for the good stuff:

*The Closer with Kyra Sedgwick. Singlehandedly responsible for the pre-emptive THANKYEEW being introduced into our vocabulary, as in "Could you get me a drink?THANKYEEW!" Works best if uttered without any pause whatsoever.

*Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. Always good for a laugh, and the recent jaunt to Iraq was actually moving. Responsible for us buying tickets to her upcoming concert in San Diego at the end of July.

*STAR JONES. Best catfight ever? Today's episode with Meryl Streep & Anne Hathaway was obviously taped a day or two before The Dismissal, but it was nonetheless interesting. Star's body language was stiff, stiff, stiff. The Hot Topics (or, as Jim Gaffigan would no doubt sing-song it, "Hot Pockets") were themed to Prada, natch: what's it like to work for a bitch was the gist of it. Star had some heated words about sneaky female bosses that had to be aimed at Barbara. Delicious.

*Kath and Kim. We've actually seen all the episodes that the Sundance Channel has aired -- they've shown Series Three and are now cycling through Series One. I just hope they air Series Two pretty damn soon. If you're not familiar with the show, it's something like an Aussie AbFab, with Kylie in the place of Lulu. We've picked up some of the sayings from this show as well, but none of them make sense if you haven't seen it.

What we're excited about:

*Project Runway, of course.

Grrr

2006-06-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

This poster is at 18th and Castro in San Francisco, naturally. You can see me reflected in the image (I'm only as tall as the bottom of the "Bears Ahead" sign), so you might get an idea of the scale of this HUGE poster.

Hairrison is approaching.

I am Superman

2006-04-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

I love the spit curl.

One of many eggs created at the Easter Egg party I attended on Saturday.

Shiva Christ

2006-04-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

The most awesome contestant in the annual "Hunky Jesus" contest, from the Easter celebration from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence here in San Francisco.

My Name Is Earl

2006-04-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

Perhaps my favorite moment from "My Name Is Earl": Jon Favreau, in prison, drinking from his "World's Best Bottom" tin cup. Hot!

Awwww

2006-03-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

A street window on Castro Street in the days after the International Bear Rendezvous.

AI: Top 10 Women

2006-03-01T16:43:00.000-08:00

Here at Chez Bill, the boyfriend fell asleep midway through American Idol. I don't think anyone can blame him.

Michael Slezak's Entertainment Weekly online column this morning, Risk-Free Business, was on the money: Mandisa! sang the best, but too many of the others tried to be safe. Ayla was a surprise, while plucky cute-as-a-button Kellie Pickler wasn't half bad (but was still annoying). I was deeply disappointed by Paris and Lisa. I hope Brenna and Heather are out next.

Dear God: have Mandisa! sing "Wild Women Don't Get The Blues" on an upcoming show.

Next up: Top 10 Men. I predict a "hot" show (they love to contrast the boys versus the girls), but expect flameouts from some of the bottom dwellers. My guess -- young David will be better than last week, while Sway will do something crazy like sing a song in bass to "show off his range". Paula will continue to be completely incomprehensible, and I will drink everytime I hear the words "dawg", "dawg pound", "America loves you", "star", "we've got a hot one tonight", "likeability", "journey", "bring it", "tone of your voice", "cabaret", "karaoke", and the inevitable "you did your thing".

Secret fun fact: I take notes on each performance. I assign smiley or frowny faces, and the boyfriend has to assign a face as well. Here are some comments I wrote last week and yesterday:

Don't sing ever again
Paula = high
hot stoner
Donny Osmond
awwwww
drag performance. H-A-T-E
worst -10
N-O. boring
Sleestack
Stevie Wonder hates you, don't sing his song
baldy hot

Previous AI blogposts: Can't Stop Won't Stop.

Technorati: American Idol

I Don't Think I'll End It All Today

2006-03-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

Jaime J. Weinman at Something Old, Nothing New is launching a new series focusing on Broadway & Hollywood lyricist E. Y. "Yip" Harburg with this post on "Cocoanut Sweet" from the 1957 Broadway musical Jamaica.

Harburg is, in my estimation, the best of the lyricists of the golden age of Broadway, or The American Songbook, or whatever you want to call it. Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart and Ira Gershwin are his closest peers, and of course Stephen Sondheim is the current untouchable master of lyric density and, when he chooses to express it, wit. I came to musical theater through Sondheim, and I'll always be a devotee; still, my heart belongs to Harburg.

So thanks, Jaime. Your post inspired me to break out my CD of Jamaica, actually my favorite Arlen Broadway score, and rip it. Can't say why I haven't ripped it before, but there you are.

Cover Stories

2006-02-24T17:19:00.000-08:00

The New Yorker cover that wasn't. Nice background on how a melancholy-yet-uplifting New Yorker cover, a scene of post-Katrina Mardi Gras, got bumped for this week's more timely Brokeback Mountain/Cheney's Got a Gun pastiche. (Click on the link to see the other cover.)

I wonder what Sturtle would make of the cover they didn't run?

Can't Stop. Won't Stop.

2006-02-24T13:51:00.000-08:00

Dear Michael Slezak,

I had never heard of you until I discovered the online-only articles you are writing for Entertainment Weekly recapping American Idol. Now I'm your biggest fan.

Let's take a look at your overview of the Top 24 contestants (written last week):

Lastly, Mandisa Hundley — who from here on out I will refer to as Mandisa! — was already a front-runner based on her revelatory Hollywood-week takes on ''Dim All the Lights'' and ''Band of Gold,'' but by confronting Simon tonight over the cruel remarks he made about her weight at her initial audition, the zaftig stunner claimed Idol status in households across the nation. Tell it!

Your breakdown of the Top 24 into categories ("The sure things", "the vulnerable favorites", "the intriguing longshots", "snowball's chance" and "hell to the no!") was spot-on. The four contestants eliminated this week all fell into the categories "longshots" (Becky, Patrick), "snowballs" (Bobby) and "httn" (Stephanie).

I agree with 95% of your comments about the performances on ladies' night and gentlemen's night.

Here are my thoughts: keeping the lesson of AI Season 3 in mind (America can't handle too many divas), I think we're due for a three-way Paris, Mandisa! and Lisa sing-off. In Season Three, the Forgettable One (Jennifer Hudson) finished 7th, the classy one (LaToya London) 4th, and the Monster (Fantasia) won. Expect a duel to the death between the young'uns Paris and Lisa -- Lisa is likelier to go first. When Kinnik is gone, Simon will begin to make cracks about Mandisa!'s age. Advantage: Paris, unless she becomes an annoying monster.

On the boys' side, expect a Will/Kevin/David fight. I predict David will go early unless he "repents" and is good next week. Will is cute in a Donny Osmond way, but American grandmas *love* cute dorks. Advantage: Kevin, especially if Simon keeps insulting him.

Effie, We All Got Pain

2006-02-24T06:41:00.000-08:00

I will be forever in Matt's debt for blogging what he calls the Holy Grail of YouTube clips:

From the '82 Tony Awards, Jennifer Holliday and the cast of Dreamgirls performing "It's All Over" and "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going".

Pasolini is Me

2006-02-23T17:41:00.000-08:00

Fansite Wor(l)d of Morrissey has annotated lyrics for "You Have Killed Me", the first single off Morrissey's upcoming album Ringleader of the Tormentors. The lyrics reference Pasolini, Visconti, Anna Magnani, and Rome's Piazza Cavour. The video, which premieres tonight in the UK, is set at the 1970 Eurovision song contest. Hot!

The Gay Woodstock

2006-02-22T16:47:00.000-08:00

Rufus Wainwright will be performing the entire 1961 Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall concert, with a full orchestra, at Carnegie Hall in June. Insane? Brilliant? Both?!?

How authentic will the performance be? I imagine he'll use the same orchestrations, the same charts, the same medleys and overture. The real question, though, is obvious.

Will he wear the same gowns?

I'm scared.

Back in 2004, Rufus said in an interview: "In fact, I do consider myself to be the male Judy Garland." He also admitted then to becoming obsessed with the Judy at Carnegie Hall album. Last February, he said in another interview that "he aspires to the condition of Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall." So I guess this is just progression. Or delusion. Or something.

(via the SFGate blog, which writes "Culture Blogger Neva Chonin says this is going to be the gay Woodstock", and I think that's completely true)

Lazy Afternoon

2006-02-22T14:54:00.000-08:00

I guess I should write about fake writers more often? My post about the posters for the JT Leroy film has been blogged by GalleyCat, Gawker, GalleyCat again, Violet Blue, Academics Anon, and Defamer. Thanks for stopping by.

I'm on winter break this week (I love my job). Here's what's on my radar today:

I have a simple recipe for slow cooker roast beef that is amazing to eat. I was missing one ingredient (the can of French onion soup), so I improvised with a sliced red onion, some balsamic, and an extra bit of beer. I'm not sure if we can eat this tonight, but damn it's starting to smell great. Guess I should have made a recipe mosaic.
It's laundry night at chez Bear, so we gotta go to our favorite laundromat-in-the-mission. According to that Yelp listing, the Fiesta has free wifi. This surprises me; Fiesta is very clean, and it has a parking lot, and I love the place, but the clientele doesn't exactly strike me as the free wifi sort. Hipsters looking to work out their crackberries don't stop here, as far as I can tell; it's mostly working class Chicano families. Maybe the wifi is just a neighbor's open port?
Wednesday has become the most important night for television. Let's see: two-hour American Idol, the Project Runway reunion, the return of sissybear Jay McCarroll on Project Jay, Kath & Kim on Sundance channel, and normally a new Law & Order (damn you, Olympics!). Thank god we've got three DVRs.
Still thinking about Sturtle's Brokeback sequel that I blogged yesterday. Sturtle turned the most reserved character in modern cinema into always-ready-with-a-bon-mot Harold from The Boys In The Band, which doesn't make much sense (but is hilarious on its own). If Ennis is anyone from Mart Crowley's play, he's Alan. The problem with Alan, though, is that he's not as verbal as Harold or Michael or Emory.
Here's what I'd love to see: Vincent D'Onofrio (from Law & Order: Criminal Intent), George Duran (from Food TV's Ham on the Street) and Ethan Suplee (Randy, from My Name Is Earl) in a big ol' fashioned pie-eating contest. Maybe with lots of chocolate sauce, and clingy white t-shirts, and oops! I spilled some filling onto you, and let me take that dirty thing off of you and.... Sigh.

(PS to George Duran: Don't even think about Ernie, because I saw you first. Kthxbi, Bill)
Q. Who knew that Green Lantern was a bottom?

A. Everyone.

Who Is She? Who Was She? Who Does She Hope To Be?

2006-02-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

Sturtle (who I love) posts Brokeback II: The Reunion.

Who would have thought that poor stoic (no: laconic) Ennis would end up talking exactly like Harold from The Boys in the Band?

Deceitful Above All Things

2006-02-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

The Castro Theater has two posters up for "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things", based on the book by "JT Leroy", who of course it turns out was never who "he" said he was. Not surprisingly, the film posters deal with the hoax head on.

The full film poster. Sorry for the reflection.

Love the quotation marks. At first I thought they were added by a sharpie-wielding theater employee, but I'm pretty sure they're intentional.

Yikes!

This second poster is full of lengthy excerpts from NY Times, Vanity Fair and New York articles on the JT Leroy phenomenon, as well as the eventual exposure of the hoax. The last article in the poster was written only two weeks ago.

I have a few more close-up photos in this Flickr set. Enjoy.

(Although JT Leroy information is everywhere, the best coverage came from Gawker [Gawker posts on JT Leroy] and GalleyCat.)

Comcast Mocks Matlock Viewers

2006-02-21T11:46:00.000-08:00

Here's the Comcast information about the TV series MATLOCK, as noticed by me this morning: "Grandpa Simpson's favorite series: a courtroom drama about a cagey Atlanta defense attorney."

Architects of the DC Universe

2006-02-21T07:08:00.000-08:00

Greg Rucka and Grant Morrison (Don't you just want to pair them in a cop show? "One's angry, the other's a mad Scotsman. Together, they're detectives!")

When WonderCon was here last weekend, I attended the Friday afternoon panel "Architects of the DC Universe", which featured writers Greg Rucka, Grant Morrison, Mark Waid & Geoff Johns, along with editors Dan Didio and Stephen Wacker. You can visit my WonderCon Flickr photoset, but here are a few snapshots from the DCU panel.

The focus was primarily on mega-crossover Infinite Crisis, and the ambitious yearlong weekly series that is coming out of it, 52. Geoff Johns is writing Infinite Crisis, while all four are collaborating on 52. So much hype, some hints, probably some misdirection, and too many blissed out geeks. Newsarama had the best report of the panel, which is more detailed than my memories ever can be.

Dan Didio

Mark Waid and Geoff Johns

Stephen Wacker

Greg Rucka, Grant Morrison, Mark Waid

Connected Again

2006-02-18T18:31:00.000-08:00

I thought that my vintage iPod (no video!) was getting old. Turns out it wasn't my iPod; it was just the firewire cable. Thank god the replacement was only $19.

To give thanks, here are a couple of podcasts that I discovered last summer when I was on my own in Italy for a long stretch:

Slate's Daily Podcast: a short essay (usually around 8 minutes) read by Slate editor Andy Bowers. (Begun in July 2005; I must have discovered it very soon afterward.)

Radio Memories: a collection of old-time radio dramas. I quickly gravitated to the episodes introduced by OTR expert Jim Widner, who now hosts two OTR podcasts: Adventures in Radio (usually suspense, thriller and horror) and The Radio Detective Story Hour (crime and detective).

Staking Pains For Your Pleasure

2006-02-07T06:02:00.000-08:00

Um, the word isn't pain-staking. It's pains taking. As in "taking pains" to do something correctly.

I was just explaining to my students about English words that get reunderstood, such as "pease" being reintrepreted as the plural "peas", giving rise to the false singular "pea". The process is called back-formation; wikipedia has a nice overview of the topic.

My (least) favorite example is the misunderstanding of kudos as a plural, which implies that there might be an occasion where you would only have one kudo.

Back when I first worked in Silicon Valley, I did a stint in a call center, answering phone calls and helping users when their travel plans didn't flow through properly. The general manager of the department came in one time and gave us an unnecessary and borderline patronizing pep talk, just before he was laid-off for ineffectiveness. Anyway, in the speech he told us that he wanted to give "a kudo" to each and every one of us for all the work we had done to the team, yada yada yada. I had to stifle my laughter.

I know, I know. Even Alanis sang about that ever elusive kudo.

I just think it's funny. Kudos is a Greek word meaning fame or renown due to an achievement, and in English it usually means praise. It's singular in Greek and in English. You can have "much kudos" and "much praise"; you can have "a great deal of kudos" and "a great deal of praise". But you can't have "many praise" and strict logic dictates that you really can't have "many kudos" either, at least not if you're using standard English (which is obviously not your only choice, because there are many other dialects, all of which are rich and colorful and useful in a variety of contexts, and don't let me limit your usage).

The comparison I always give is with penis. The word penis ends with an 's', is clearly derived from Latin (it means tail, if you were curious), and yet is assuredly not plural. If you want one kudo, you should be willing to have one peni as well.

One day you're in....

2006-02-07T05:48:00.000-08:00

I love Lyle's project of tallying the auction amounts for dresses made by Project Runway contestants. Glad to see my boy Nick in the top, although he's been getting kinda whiny/lazy lately. His plant dress was awful, and I thought he was in real danger of being OUT.

The actual My Scene dolls are currently being auctioned, and I suspect that may make some changes to Lyle's tally.

A Million Little Four Things

2006-02-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

Didn't get tagged, but I decided I'd opt-in.

Four Jobs I've Had:

Burger King fry and chicken sandwich chef
University library cataloguer
Customer service representative (phone and e-mail help)
Technical writer

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:

The Women
Singin' in the Rain
All That Jazz
Down with Love

Four Places I’ve Lived:

Edwardsville, Illinois
Izmir, Turkey
Melbourne, Florida
Berkeley/Oakland/South San Francisco/San Francisco

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch:

Project Runway
Kath and Kim
American Idol
My Name is Earl

Four Places I’ve Been on Vacation:

Hawaii (Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Lanai, Big Island)
Key West
New York City
Rome

Four of My Favorite Dishes:

Chicken Tikka Masala
French Onion Soup
Caesar Salad
Stove Top Stuffing instead of potatoes

Four Websites I Visit Daily:

Flickr
Google Reader (where I read tons of blogs in RSS)
SFGate.com
Newsarama.com

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:

Amoeba Records
On the first day of a two-week vacation in Rome
5th row orchestra at a big ol' fashioned musical comedy on Broadway
At Wonder-Con with a wad of cash in my pocket.

Current TV Snapshot

2006-01-30T17:34:00.000-08:00

Borrowing from Johnny A Go Go:

Television Shows That I Am So Making Love To Right Now

My Name Is Earl (which should be called "My Name is Randy")
Project Runway (big points for the essential Tim Gunn podcast)
Law and Order: Criminal Intent
Kath and Kim (I need a PAL/all-region DVD player so I can watch the early seasons)
Ham on the Street (OMG is George Duran hot)
American Idol

Television Shows That I Will Send A Warm Holiday Card To

The Office
Will & Grace
Law and Order: SVU
the first ten minutes or so of Live with Regis and Kelly (I'm so ashamed)
Hope and Faith (so, so ashamed)
Paula Deen
Frasier reruns
Arrested Development
Reliable Sources (CNN on the media)
Queer Eye episodes involving beefy Moose Lodge members posing naked as a charity fundraiser

Television Shows That I’m Sending a Rare Strain of Ebola Virus Disguised as Pez

Dr. Phil
Oprah for giving us Dr. Phil
Lost/Desperate Housewives/24
Four Kings
Noah's Arc
Anything on MTV
The View

Lemony Snickets Photomosaic

2006-01-29T21:23:00.000-08:00

I made a dessert that I call Lemony Snickets.

1. 01 Lemon Cake Mix, 2. 02 Lemon Instant Pudding Mix, 3. 03 Add Eggs, 4. 04 Four Eggs Total, 5. 05 Vegetable Oil (3/4 cup), 6. 06 Stir, 7. 07 Spray the Muffin Tins, 8. 08 Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, 9. 09 Powdered Sugar (4 cups), 10. 10 Lemon Juice (1/3 cup), 11. 11 Vegetable Oil (3 tbsp) and Water (3 tbsp), 12. 12 Lemon Zest, 13. 13 Out of the Oven, 14. 14 Dip the Entire Snicket into the Glaze, 15. 15 Lemony, 16. 16 Snickets

New phrase

2006-01-18T04:38:00.000-08:00

Last night's Law & Order: SVU. The boyfriend and I are semi-delirious, because we had just finished two hours of American Idol, slightly time-shifted on TiVo because commercials are for losers, right? Which means we're starting our Meloni & Mariska at 10:30 or whatever. Crazy.

The show opens a Manhattanite chasing her cute little dog, which is always trouble. A friendly couple stop the dog, leading to this lovely dialogue:

Man: Got him! Hey, what have you got in your mouth?
Camera pan to the dog chewing on something red.
Woman: That looks like afterbirth. Did your dog just have puppies?
Owner: No.
Woman: I've had three kids. That's human.
Concerned looks cut to faster walking cut to shot of garbage bags with the sound of a newborn crying. Chung chung!

Seriously, the scene had to be rapidly paced, and it had to get a lot of info across to the viewer in a short amount of time, which meant going from runaway dog to discovered baby in about six seconds, but who in the right mind would ever be able to recognize afterbirth?

Try saying "That looks like afterbirth" in a concerned tone right now. It's ridiculous. It could only be used ironically -- Nina Garcia critizing Santino's latest over-the-top extravaganza, not "OMG, there's an abandoned infant in the dumpster."

So thank you, poor unappreciated two-line L&O:SVU actor. Your line reading totally made my day, and added a new phrase to my personal lexicon.

New Crush

2006-01-16T20:58:00.000-08:00

Last week's My Name is Earl was Mariah-level insane. Randy, as always, is the hottest "I-don't-realize-how-hot-I-am" bear on TV.

But Jon Favreau's guest spot was so great, I had to burn it off my Tivo. Highlights include:

Earl, raging with jealousy over Jon F.'s fantastic life, not being able to resist sneaking a peek when the two are at the urinal
Earl's realization that, yes, there's one more thing to be jealous of
When Jon senses the look, Earl mutters something about "not being able to focus", Jon suggests that Earl blow on it. "Here, let me show you".
Finally, Jon's ultraswank prison metal cup with the Sharpied inscription World's Best Bottom

What's not to love?

Honeymoon Killers

2006-01-15T18:16:00.000-08:00

Very intrigued by this article on John Waters' new television venture. He's going to be the host of Court TV's first scripted series.

"[Waters] will be seen at the opening of each episode of 'Til Death Do Us Part, attending the wedding of the happy couple, then guiding viewers through scenes from the doomed marriage until they find out how and why one spouse whacked the other."

His character is called the "Groom Reaper". Could be bad, could be brilliant.

I dug around the Court TV website, and I can't for the life of me figure out when the show will premiere. I guess I just gotta create a Tivo wishlist.

Rent

2005-12-04T19:44:00.000-08:00

I saw a review of "Rent" recently that bemoaned the fact that Chris Columbus was too respectful of the source material, and wondered why he didn't take a page out of Bob Fosse's handbook. When Fosse filmed "Cabaret", you will recall, he ditched all of the non-diegetic numbers; that is, he only kept the songs that were written to be performed on the stage of the Kit Kat Klub (all of Sally's and the Emcee's numbers) with the exception of the too-good-to-pass-up "Tomorrow Belongs To Me", which he staged as a song known to all of the Volk. In doing so, Fosse eliminated one of the eternal criticisms of the musical: the lack of realism.

But "Cabaret" was always a Frankensteinian creation, half traditional musical (all the songs cut by Fosse) and half concept musical (what he kept). Duplicating that would mean finding another piece as brilliantly misshapen.

2002's Oscar-winner "Chicago" handled the supposed realism problem in much the same way that Fosse did back in 1980 with "All That Jazz": by making it clear that the musical numbers are actually the mental fantasies of Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger in "Chicago") or Bob Fosse stand-in Joe Gideon (Roy Schieder in "All That Jazz").

For a brief moment at the beginning of "Rent", I thought Columbus might attempt something similar. "Seasons of Love" is sung by the eight lead actors on a bare stage in an empty theater. This suggested to me that the film to follow might be nothing more than a filmed version of their staged memories. Alas, there's nothing else in the film to really support that notion, but I still like it.

I suspect that any attempts to "explain" the songs ("Where is the music coming from? How is it that all these strangers suddenly know the same tune?") were rejected lest they remind viewers of "Chicago" too much. In this age of MTV, the producers have said in interviews, audiences are comfortable enough with people singing their emotions.

I think the real problem that critics have with "Rent" is that the emotions are so direct. Jonathan Larson idolized Stephen Sondheim (don't we all?), but it's clear from "Rent" that he really inherited the spirit of Sondheim's mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II. There's very little irony in the heart of "Rent", while sometimes I worry that Sondheim musicals have no heart at all.

I bought the cast recording of "Rent" when it came out in the fall of 1996. I remember that I went into Tower Records the morning that "Rent" was released, and sat down in a Berkeley cafe to listen. Nine years on, there are lyrics that I cringe at, and some bits that make me roll my eyes. But I still find a lot of beauty in a piece that's so open, so direct, so joyful. Hearing the Life Support anthem "Will I" in the theater made me tear up once again.

I loved the film of "Rent" in the same way that I love old photos of my former, more idealistic self.

Hoaxes

2005-10-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

Back in 1993, I read a Newsweek article about Anthony Godby Johnson, a 14-year-old teenager with AIDS who had somehow survived a torrent of childhood physical and sexual abuse as well as a litany of physical illnesses (lung infections, leg amputation, the removal of a testicle), but still managed to write a heart-wrenching memoir, published in 1993 as A Rock and a Hard Place. The Newsweek article pointed out that none of Johnson's editors or many friends, including author Paul Monette, had ever met the boy in person. All communications took place via letter, fax or phone, because the boy's adoptive "mother" was incredibly protective of his safety. The conclusion left by the article was that the "mother" was actually the boy, disguising her voice on the phone.

At the time, I was taking a linguistic anthropology summer class at the University of Florida. The professor was an old school feminist. For our first project, I decided that I'd tackle the story of Johnson, because I was intrigued, and we were supposed to look at an issue involving gender. I thought this story had intriguing angles involving gender, age, sexual orientation, and disability. I turned in my proposal on a Friday. On Monday, the professor announced to the class that "some people" were proposing projects that were inherently sexist, because they involved children or the handicapped. Doing a project like that, she said, was tantamount to saying that all women are children, or all women are handicapped. It was demeaning, and not an appropriate topic for class.

The professor never said a word to me, and for all I know she didn't know who I was. But I burned with an anger that I'd never felt before. Maybe I didn't express myself very clearly in my proposal -- I was a junior in college, it's not like I was the brightest thing ever. But at the very least she could have talked to me about it before making a blanket example out of me for the rest of the class. I dropped the class that week, which meant I had to make it up with a different professor a year later. But it was all for the best, in the end.

At any rate, I was very much reminded of the Anthony Godby Johnson a few year's back, when the Kaycee Nicole blog scandal was exposed. (Short version -- a teen blogger dying of leukemia was exposed as actually being a fake person created by the blogger's "mom".)

Then, in 2000, Armistead Maupin published The Night Listener, his fictional retelling of the Johnson story. Maupin was a friend of Johnson's who slowly began to distrust as he realized that Johnson's "mother" Vicki had a voice that was nearly identical to Johnson's.

I was reminded of all this by two long interesting articles that I read today. The first is Who Is The Real JT LeRoy?, a deep look inside another potential literary hoax, this one longer lasting (LeRoy has published several books to much critical acclaim). Author Stephen Beachy makes a compelling argument for the identity of the "real" LeRoy. Read it for yourself.

Beachy brings up the many similarities to the Johnson case, including a mention of Tad Friend's lengthy New Yorker profile on the topic. This is a job for Blogging The Complete New Yorker! I fired up the search engine, which lead me right to "Virtual Love", from the November 26, 2001, issue.

Both "Who Is The Real JT LeRoy" and "Virtual Love" are strong literary detective stories, but neither answer the fundamental question: why do these women create suffering children? Is it an oddly safe form of Munchausen's by Proxy? Unless one of the perpetrators fesses up, we may never know.

Brokeback Mountain

2005-10-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

Blogging the Complete New Yorker: 2nd in an occasional series.

Today I tracked down "Brokeback Mountain", the Annie Proulx short story from the October 13, 1997, issue of the New Yorker. I haven't had the time to read it yet, but I printed it out. Like Andy of Towleroad, I've been looking forward to the film version of this story forever; now I can go back and read the original.

Here, by the way, are the New Yorker archive keywords for the original short story (there's also a lengthy summary): Keywords: Wyoming; Death; Men; Shirts; Sheep; Homosexuals; Love Affairs; Violence; Shepherds; Cremation; Cowboy; Bisexuals. I love Shirts in that list.

Dante wrote in with serveral suggestions. First, that I track down Pauline Kael's (in)famous review of Last Tango in Paris, which is from the October 28, 1972, issue. Roger Ebert's Great Movies reappraisal of Last Tango helps explain why:

The history of "Last Tango in Paris" (1972) has and always will be dominated by Pauline Kael. "The movie breakthrough has finally come," she wrote, in what may be the most famous movie review ever published. "Bertolucci and Brando have altered the face of an art form." She said the film's premiere was an event comparable to the night in 1913 when Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" was first performed and ushered in modern music. As it has turned out, "Last Tango" was not a breakthrough but more of an elegy for the kind of film she championed. In the years since, mass Hollywood entertainments have all but crushed art films, which were much more successful then than now.

Second, Dante suggests the October 20, 2003, profile of Quentin Tarantino by Larissa MacFarquahar. Here are the keywords that the New Yorker archive assigned to that article: Keywords: Movies; Actors; Violence; Kubrick, Stanley; Directors; Godard, Jean-Luc; Parks, Michael; Irony; Pollack, Sydney; Leonard, Elmore; Schrader, Paul; Tarantino, Quentin; Bender, Lawrence; Grier, Pam; “Jackie Brown”; “Lolita”; Thurman, Uma; “Reservoir Dogs”; “The Green Mile”; “Breathless”; Remakes; “Pulp Fiction”; “Kill Bill-Vol. 1”; “A Clockwork Orange”; Madsen, Michael; Quentin Tarantino Film Festival; Menke, Sally; “True Romance”; Minutiae; “Sex, Lies, and Videotape”; “The Mezzanine”; McBride, Jim; Pop Culture; Forster, Robert;. Exactly?

Next, Dante suggests two short stories: Junot Diaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" (December 25, 2000), which sounds fantastic. Here's the opening of the summary:

Short story about Oscar de Leon, a Dominican boy nicknamed Oscar Wao for looking like that fat homo Oscar Wilde, told by his college roommate who dated his older sister Lola. Oscar de Leon had good luck with girls when he was seven. Overweight and ugly by the time he entered Don Bosco Tech high school, he became a ghetto nerd. He gets along with Ana Acuna, a pretty loudmouthed gordita from his S.A.T. prep class.

Finally, Dante also suggests "Ranch Girl" by Maile Meloy, which I think is from the October 16, 2000, issue. (I don't have the DVDs on me, so I'm going by the archive, which oddly enough doesn't have titles to stories. I can see three fiction pieces by Maile Meloy between 2000 and 2003, and two of them could potentially be titled "Ranch Girl". More research necessary.)

Blogging The Complete New Yorker

2005-10-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received my copy of The Complete New Yorker, the 8-DVD archive spanning 80 years of New Yorker history. I've decided to write up some of the historical articles that I've been tracking down.

The first article I searched for was actually a request from my boyfriend: Truman Capote's brutal profile of Marlon Brando. "The Duke in His Domain", from the November 9, 1957, issue (disc 5: 1957-1964), begins on page 53 and ends on page 100, albeit with plenty of luscious full-page 1950s advertising along the way. It turns out that the profile was published online at NewYorker.com after Brando's death, an odd tribute given the tone of the piece. To quote the New York Times obituary of Brando:

It was while filming "Sayonara" (1957) that Mr. Brando agreed to an interview with Truman Capote for The New Yorker. The resulting article, "The Duke in His Own Domain," was a patronizing portrait of a somewhat dim prima donna. "People around me never say anything," Mr. Brando said. "They just seem to want to hear what I have to say. That's why I do all the talking." Mr. Capote expressed astonishment that Mr. Brando objected to the piece.

What are some other articles or stories that I should track down? I've got 80 years of issues at my fingertips, but I don't know where to begin.

Martha

2005-09-13T06:04:00.000-07:00

OMG, the new Martha talk show is bat-shit insane, off-the-hook, roll-your-own-good-things AWESOME.

In the middle of learning an Italian card game from a family that she visited, Martha busts out with: "I know a lot of card games. I read Hoyle's card game book in prison."

A promo for today's segment on microwave cooking revealed "I learned how to use the microwave at Alderson."

She includes real photos from her prison stint in the opening credits.

And, perhaps best of all, after showing to the audience that she really is unfettered (perhaps the most sensational ankle reveal in the history of television), Martha announced that all of her staff and her producers -- including Apprentice/Survivor uber-creator Mark Burnett -- are now wearing ankle restraints!

Plus, no couch. When she has a guest on the show, the guest has to cook or do crafts with Martha. If Martha's going to sit through a plug, at least she'll get some good out of it. I think Marcia Cross cried a little bit when she realized she was going to have to cook scrambled eggs with Martha. Favorite bit from that segment:

Martha: What do you like to eat for breakfast?
Marcia Cross: Nothing.

Oooh, skinny bitches get real on Martha.

I CAN NOT WAIT FOR THE APPRENTICE.

Grrr x 2

2005-08-18T16:55:00.000-07:00

This week is the second annual Hairrison Street Fair here in San Francisco. Hairrison is the world's only street fair for Bears. I attended last year's inaugural event, and had a blast. The block of Harrison Street in front of the Lone Star is gated off, and the entire Best Western is taken over by raging bears. As you can see, the motel pool becomes clothing optional. I didn't take pictures of every booth, bar, line-dancing space, or whatever. Lots to see, lots to do.

I've put together a small not-safe-for-work gallery of photos from last year's fair, if you want to take a look. The images are private on Flickr, so if you want to see larger scans, you'll need to email me.

Here's the official Hairrison webpage, with all the info. Drop me a line if you'll be in town.

Orange Match

2005-08-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Part of my Orange is the Color of Rome photoset.

I leave Rome tomorrow. Seven weeks is a long time to spend somewhere. I had a wonderful trip, but I'm so so so ready to come home to San Francisco.

Besides, the Hairrison Street Fair starts Thursday. I guess I'll have to practice my Grrrs and Woofs accordingly.

No Matter What They Say

2005-08-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

I'm oddly drawn to this Flickr collection by cyberstars. S/he has collected over a hundred webcam screenshots of (mostly) men from Yahoo chatrooms. Many of the men are straight, and none of them are conventionally beautiful. Instead, the dominant look is loneliness. Nonetheless, I'm hooked.

Since no context is presented for any of the images, it's tempting to read into the titles of the photos, which seem to be screennames. chubchrdream, for instance might well be one, while I don't quite know what to think of deadwomanstillbreathing.

Also intriguing are the text messages that the men have written on their webcam images. Many assert their straightness: des05's "would any ladies like to me to get naked? Just ask. no men please" is typical. Still others point out their desirability: "friend called needs BJ got to go suck him off" is triumphantly displayed over an image of an empty room.

Cyberstars's mysterious profile only reads "you are beautiful", and that might well be the point. All of the pictures are tagged with "beauty" and "sex", but also with "depression", "loneliness" and "unemployment". I'm not sure I could come up with a better thumbnail description of the online chat scene.

Live8

2005-07-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

I went to Live8 here in Rome this Saturday. Here's a picture from the concert.

I was apparently visible in the MTV and AOLMusic coverage of Duran Duran, and probably some of the other afternoon performances. I was also spotted on Italian TV. I think it was my bright red t-shirt.

Here's a set of photos from Live8.

I'm Still Here

2005-06-24T06:47:00.000-07:00

Gosh, who knew that work could catch up with you? Being a teacher = insanity at the end of the year. Being a teacher ALSO = three-month long vacation.

I've been digging Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers miniseries, as well as Fables and the Legion relaunch. Also True Tales Swear To God, which is a longtime favorite.

I'm going to be gone from the US until mid-August, so I won't be picking up new comics for awhile. I know, poor me. Who knew that travelling to Rome would entail such hardship?

No real news on the bear front, I guess. Sometimes I feel stupid having a bear blog. Yes, I'm still a bear, and so is my boyfriend. Yay! We're chock full of bear-y goodness!

Oy.

Not Drowning, Waving

2005-06-15T15:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the blog silence, everyone. I'm hoping I'll have more time to post soon enough.

Only In San Francisco

2005-03-30T23:19:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to François for bringing All Thumbs Press, Justin Hall's self-publishing venture, to my attention. He was pointing out True Travel Tales in response to this blog entry of mine.

I, on the other hand, want to show you the cover to this mini-comic, because it's awesome:

The Danger Room Is Angry

2005-03-29T19:19:00.000-08:00

Sparky spoils this week's Astonishing X-Men unwittingly. I thought he was talking about the last issue, so I clicked through like a moron. Oy.

Not my dilemma

2005-03-29T13:05:00.000-08:00

Lance Arthur recently wrote Fat! The Gay Man's Dilemma for Queer Day.

I wrote up my response: Not My Dilemma. Read them both, and let me know what you think.

PS, I wrote that entry on my new Yahoo 360 blog. I've got Yahoo 360 invites if you want to test it out. Just contact me via email.

Drunk Egg

2005-03-29T12:07:00.000-08:00

This is a photo that I took at the easter egg party that I attended on Saturday. More pictures in this Flickr set.

Now I Know

2005-03-27T05:36:00.000-08:00

According to Dagon, Morrissey has updated the lyrics to "Bigmouth Strikes Again" to include an iPod reference. Nice.

It's a party

2005-03-27T05:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I attended my first easter egg party for bears. The boyfriend, who volunteers regularly for a big local bear non-profit group (they run IBR, yadda yadda yadda), gave me the low-down beforehand: lots of food to eat, beer to drink, and eggs to decorate.

The success of the party, as the host pointed out, depended on two things: plenty of jello shots, and plenty of glue guns. There was an entire craft table, and it was jammed with men attaching sequins and feathers and googly eyes to their eggs.

My favorite moment occurred while I was in the kitchen. I was helping myself to a lime jello shot when a harmless but loud drunk guy came up to me and shouted, "The green one is a party... and we all get to come in your mouth!"

My smile froze. "Thanks," I said as I slowly backed away from him.

He realized that he said his punchline wrong, so he tried again.

"No, wait. The green one is a party in your mouth... and we all get to come! Ah, forget it."

My second favorite moment was when I saw a cute-ish guy sitting on the couch with one ball hanging out of his jeans. Let me rephrase: he had pulled his ball through a tear in his jeans. Once I saw it, I couldn't stop looking at it: I wasn't turned on, by any means, but I still kept coming back to it.

The boyfriend had been sitting in a different room, and the same guy had his ball out while sitting over there. Which means that every time he sat down, he had to rearrange himself just so.

I like to think that he pulls his ball out of his pants everywhere that he goes: on the bus, at work, at church. His friends probably have grown so used to his ball that they don't even see it anymore. The rest of us are too polite to say anything, as if he had a bad combover.

Journeying

2005-03-25T21:14:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of planning a big summer trip. It's work-related, but I'll know that I'll have a blast. I've received some money from my job to cover some of the travel, and I might get some more if I can convince my boss that it's "professional development" to go (I think she'll agree).

I'm interested in travel writing, and I've got some vague ideas that I'd like to write up my experiences on this trip (as well as a similar trip that I took last year). So I'm reading this article detailing exactly how and why most contemporary magazine/newspaper travel writing sucks. And I'm bookmarking World Hum's weblog and story archive, as well as Written Road and Vagablogging.

I'm a sucker for the Traveler's Tales Best Travel Writing series (2005 was just released), and the Best American series.

One thing that I've noted, though, is that very few gay men seem to write good contemporary travel articles or books.

There's Wonderlands: Good Gay Travel Writing, edited by Raphael Kadushin, and featuring mostly contemporary gay authors (e.g., Edmund White, Colm Tóibín, Wayne Koestenbaum). Here's the Lambda Lit review.

And there's Out Traveler magazine, which makes me want to slit my wrists, although I do enjoy editor Matthew Link's writing.

And that's about it, as far as I know. Am I missing anything obvious? Is there some reason why gay men aren't getting published in the contemporary travel writing circles?

Sweet

2005-03-24T05:58:00.000-08:00

Recently spotted on The Digital Bits:

In other DVD news today, SonyBMG has announced that the soundtrack CD for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith will street on 5/3. So why is this DVD news? Well, as it turns out, the CD will include a bonus DVD-Video disc that will feature a 70-minute presentation of some 16 newly-created music videos of composer John Williams' signature themes from all 6 Star Wars films (set to footage from the films) that takes viewers chronologically through the entire saga. Each will be introduced by actor Ian McDiarmid (Senator Palpatine) and will feature the music along with dialogue and sound effects excerpts in full Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. The package will also include a booklet with liner notes by George Lucas and a poster.

Also via the Digital Bits is the link to this three-part Onion AV Club series of interviews with Warner Brothers's George Feltenstein, Home Vision's Lee Ferdinand and Something Weird Video's Mike Vraney, all talking about releasing classic films on DVD. Feltenstein is the force behind the amazing Warners's DVD collections such as the recent "Film Noir", "Classic Comedies" and "From Broadway to Hollywood" sets.

Thanks for sharing your cookie

2005-03-22T06:35:00.000-08:00

Ernie describes a conversation at the Lone Star.

Why is it that I never see Ernie (or any of my friends) at the Lone Star? <napoleondynamite>Gosh!</napoleondynamite>

Cavalcade of Links

2005-03-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

I just love finding an image like this one (warning, probably not safe for work), and realizing that it's called "Like a Prayer". I mean, how bizarre is that?

The work is by Clark Moss (also NSFW); I found Moss's website linked on The Gay Comics List linkspage.

GCL also mentioned that Tim Fish's Cavalcade of Boys is being collected as three digest-sized volumes with plenty of extras. Woo-hoo! Order your own copy now!

The Luck of the Irish-American

2005-03-11T05:43:00.000-08:00

Which is cutest?

a. That my mother sent me a St. Patrick's Day card this year?

b. That she included money so that my (non-Irish) boyfriend and I could buy a drink?

c. That she apparently thinks that $5 will be enough for drinks for two in San Francisco?

I love my mom.

Teen Bear Redux

2005-03-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

There's a new Teen Bear cover and interior spread. Your favorite fake magazine is apparently a regular feature over at the GenEx blog. Real t-shirts are apparently coming this summer.

My favorite bit? The fact that barcode includes an image from Go Fujimoto of JapanamationBears.com. I'd be willing to bet that both GenEx and ThoughtNot (who is now using that same Go Fujimoto image as a mascot) discovered Go's work from this Fleshbot entry, which was suggested by me. I've blogged Go's work twice now.

(Previously on A Bear in the City: Teen Bear and Return to Teen Bear.)

New Echigoya Website

2005-03-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

The Japanese artist Echigoya Shinnosuke (who I've blogged three times previously) now has an official G-Project fansite with plenty of art.

I love Echigoya's sensibilities, his cute 'n cuddly, yet still sexy teddy bears. As always, I wish I could find his work here in the states. I still don't know any Japanese, so I have no idea how to go about ordering his calendars on the web.

(Previous posts about Asian Bear Art on A Bear in the City: Even more Asian Bear Art; SugarBear Weekend; Moritomo's Abnormal Works, Echigoya's Bears, Calendar Bears, Samson & G-Men cover galleries, Samson magazine, G-Project and G-Men magazines, Japanimation Bears, Rainbow Shoppers and Gengoroh Tagame and Aki.)

Still More Asian Bear Art

2005-02-25T00:15:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Gengoroh Tagame's links page, I've found some more cool sites. (Warning: much of the art on Tagame's site is NSFW.)

Cornering the Bear: a 2002 English-language interview with Tagame, from Be Frank magazine.
Here's the English-language website for Seizoh Ebisubashi -- the Japanese language site that Fleshbot blogged is no longer working.
Iwao Iwata, who drew the above image, is another Japanese artist specializing in hunky bears. His URL is Musclemanga.com.

(Previous posts about Asian Bear Art on A Bear in the City: SugarBear Weekend, Moritomo's Abnormal Works, Echigoya's Bears, Calendar Bears, Samson & G-Men cover galleries, Samson magazine, G-Project and G-Men magazines, Japanimation Bears, Rainbow Shoppers and Gengoroh Tagame and Aki.)

Sugar Bear? As in the Cereal?

2005-02-24T23:03:00.000-08:00

Nice to see that the folks behind Montreal's upcoming Sugar Bear Weekend got Go Fujimoto of JapanimationBears.com to do the main illustration for their event.

via Go Fujimoto's blog, naturally enough.

(Previously on A Bear in the City: Moritomo's Abnormal Works, Echigoya's Bears, Calendar Bears, Samson & G-Men cover galleries, Samson magazine, G-Project and G-Men magazines, Japanimation Bears, Rainbow Shoppers and Gengoroh Tagame and Aki.)

No static at all

2005-02-24T23:01:00.000-08:00

Wow, sorry for the blog silence there. Had a double whammy weekend: International Bear Rendezvous AND WonderCon. What a time for a guy who writes a blog about bears and comics, eh?

The big bear event (for me, anyway) was going on Friday night to see the IBR screening of the unedited Cachorro (Bear Cub).

They announced beforehand that the DVD, due out in early May, will be unedited.

The boyfriend and I saw Bearcub in December, so this was our second time out. The extra bits (hee!) were fun, and the movie is vastly improved by seeing it with an appreciate audience of bears. But we were both tired and the screening took place at 9pm, so we slid out early and went to bed.

The big comic event (for me, anyway) took place on Sunday, when I went to Wondercon with a friend. I tracked down many half-price trade paperbacks and even hardcover collections and I learned that Neal Adams is talkative and kind of a jerk.

Best of all, though: I got Margot Kidder to autograph a photo to the boyfriend, and she agreed to sign it "Sisters Forever", in honor of Sisters, a fave of his. The photo that I bought from Margot is classic: it's a black and white pic from the late 70s, she's wearing a TIGHT Blues Brothers t-shirt with no bra, and she's hot. SISTERS FOREVER!!!

Legion fairy tale

2005-02-18T19:10:00.000-08:00

The current Queer Eye on Comics considers Adventure Comics #309, a 1963 Legion of Super-Heroes story, as a fairy tale for gay men:

"So what final lesson does this Legion “fairy” tale teach us about dating? Ah, that rejecting fat guys and smokin’ bears may have you overlooking the right guy for the job, but excluding women is just fine."

Exactly?

Abnormal Works

2005-02-15T23:14:00.000-08:00

I also recently stumbled across Abnormal Works, the personal site for a Japanese artist by the name of Moritomo. Check out the amazing gallery.

Dubon

2005-02-15T23:11:00.000-08:00

Somehow I recently stumbled across the website for Dubon, an Italian artist who specializes in hunky bear art. Whyever would I stop to check him out?

Music Meme

2005-02-15T23:09:00.000-08:00

So Dorian asked me to participate in the music meme. Here goes:

1. Total amount of music files on your computer:

I've got 30 gigs on the laptop, and an uncounted number of DVDs and CDs with MP3s that I've cleared off the computer. I'm planning to get a removable hard drive next week, so I'll have much more room for music and pictures pretty soon.

2. The last CD you bought was:

God, I'm not sure of the order. I think the last time out I bought used CD singles by George Michael ("As") and Belle and Sebastian ("I'm a Cuckoo" and "Step Into My Office, Baby" -- love their latest album). Before that, I'm pretty sure it was the original Broadway cast album of THE FROGS. It's the first new Sondheim show to hit Broadway in ages, and it stars Nathan Lane. Overall, I'm enjoying listening to it on my iPod. Before that, I think it was the Bee Gee's 2-CD greatest hits, which I got for the five-hour drive home the last time I visited my parents.

3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?

I just watched American Idol, does that count? The last song that I listened to on the laptop was by the Finn Brothers (you remember, Neil and Tim Finn, who were in Crowded House together? Their new album is fantastic, like all of their stuff. I've been a big fan since the "Woodface" album.)

4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.
I go through phases. Here's what I'm thinking of right now:

-- "We Tell The Story" from the cast recording of Once On This Island.

Life is why we tell the story
Pain is why we tell the story
Love is why we tell the story
Grief is why we tell the story
Hope is why we tell the story
Faith is why we tell the story
You are why we tell the story:

If you listen very hard you'll hear her call us
To come and share with her our laughter
And our tears
And as mysteries and miracles befall us
Through the years...
We tell the story!

So I hope that you will tell this tale tomorrow
It will help your heart remember and relive
It will help you feel the anger and the sorrow
And forgive...

For out of what we live and we believe
Our lives become the stories that we weave

-- "Cemetery Gates" by the Smiths. I was never that into the Smiths or Morrissey, but I've recently rediscovered him, and I'm starting to really appreciate his wry humor. Anyone who can write lines such as "Now I know how Joan of Arc felt" and "Caligula would have blushed" is a genius. "Cemetery Gates" has the classic "Keats and Yeats are on our side, but Wilde is on mine". The boyfriend and I have been playing Morrissey's new album constantly, although neither of us has forgiven Jesus.

-- "Firefly" by American Music Club. AMC is one of those bands that I discovered via used CDs. Two summers ago (god!), I played this song over and over again while I was alone on the windward side of Oahu. The song is about the transitory nature of love ("here and gone, firefly"), which I was feeling pretty strongly at that point in the relationship that I was in.

-- "This Love" by Maroon 5; this is dumb, but I heard it more than once when I was visiting Rome last summer, and it somehow eased the homesickness just a bit. One time I was waiting for my order at a McDonalds -- the only place to get ice in your drink, which is crucial in August. Anyway, the song was on the radio. The girl behind the counter sang along but stopped when she saw me standing there. I started to sing along too, and I received a big smile and a bit more of the song from her. I'd say something about the power of song or the reach of American pop culture, but I don't want to make it into something bigger than it was.

-- "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys, because when I hear it I'm six years old again, being driven to Dairy Queen in my mom's old Ford Falcon station wagon with the windows down because the air conditioner never worked and it was so damned hot in Illinois in the summer. Plus, the song makes me think of that time that Bobby fell in love with LuAnn's make-up dummy head on King of the Hill.

5. Who are you going to pass this stick to? (3 persons) and why?

I'll ask Ron, because we share some of the same taste in music, and I'd like to see what he has to say; Andy, because I have no idea what kind of music he listens to; Sparky, because he liked Los Amigos Invisibles before anyone else that I know.

AP Bear Gallery

2005-02-15T23:01:00.000-08:00

While I'm touring international bear sites, let me point out AP Bear Gallery, if only for this gem. If this guy had starred in Gladiator instead of Russell Crowe....

Echigoya's Bears

2005-02-10T06:23:00.000-08:00

In digging around the interweb, I stumbled across two pages (here and here) featuring artwork attributed to Echigoya Shinnosuke. I blogged about him last week and last month, and then I created this Geocities gallery featuring images from a 2005 calendar.

Last night I found G-Project's Echigoya Tatsunoshin page, and it's got to be the same artist.

I haven't found a lot of information on Google, but that's probably because I don't read any Japanese at all. Anyway, here's a G-Project picture.

Still Sticky

2005-02-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

Nice to see Dale Lazarov and Steve MacIsaac's new gay erotic comic Sticky is receiving some more blogger love. The authors have put together a Yahoo group called Sticky Notes which has a promo pic (the next cover?).

I found the above image on Westfield Comics' website (I think), but I don't see it on the site now for the life of me. If I remember correctly, the solicit said something about a jilted guest on a Jerry Springer type show who is heartedbroken and finds comfort in the arms of the burly security guy. Hot!

(Previously on A Bear in the City: Sticky, and don't forget François's Gay Comic's List review from January 4)

Buddha 5 is a Go?

2005-02-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

I know at least one person who'll be happy to hear this:

According to this blog entry from book publisher Vertical (top entry), the latest volume of the new series of English reprints of Osamu Tezuka's Buddha is now in the Vertical warehouse, which means it should be in stores.... sometime soon?

PS: the Vertical blog is a great example of what corporate blogging ought to be: opinionated, passionate, willing to talk about other things of interest, and funny. Recent entries include a judge in Oklahoma caught masturbating with a penis pump under his robe, and how JAL airlines is courting the gay travel market.

Return to Teen Bear

2005-02-08T05:31:00.000-08:00

At last (?), an interior page from Teen Bear Magazine, from GenEx, the blog which previously brought you Teen Bear magazine. Although, as Ernie pointed out (Feb 2 entry), the cover model is neither a teen, nor a bear.

GenEx also gives us interview with the features model, shown above, who is a bear, at least.

(Previously on A Bear in the City: Teen Bear Magazine)

Feverish February

2005-02-04T18:19:00.000-08:00

February is shaping up to be one of my busiest months.

On the agenda:

Three nights of Planet Big, the only place in town for big boys (and admirers) to shake their groove things. Two of those Planet Bigs will be the weekend of...
INTERNATIONAL. BEAR. RENDEZVOUS. 11. Hundreds of bears will be wandering all over San Francisco. Too bad that's the same weekend as...
WONDERCON, which is early this year. Guest list includes more comic book artists and writers than I can mention, plus Kevin Smith and Joss Whedon(!). Too bad they're both speaking during the time that I will be attending...
Caroline, or Change, the new Tony Kushner/Jeanine Tesori musical. I waited in line for 45 minutes for the free Evening with Tony Kushner that the Berkeley Rep put on last month. I've been listening to the Caroline cast recording ever since. Can't wait to see Tonya Pinkins live. Thankfully, that jam-packed weekend kicks off...
My vacation week. I'm really looking forward to this.

I'm exhausted already.

The Cuddly Menace

2005-02-04T17:36:00.000-08:00

The Cuddly Menace is a fantastic remix of a sickly sentimental Golden Book about God, retold as a primer for the offspring of an intelligent alien invader race. (via Boing Boing, of course)

See also the golden oldie Rusty is a Homosexual.

Ari Gold

2005-02-04T15:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Ron of LeatherEgg's "the runner-up albums from 2004" post listing the bottom five (ha!) of his top ten, I have now heard of Ari Gold.

Check out the photo gallery.

Calendar Bears

2005-02-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

I put together another quick gallery featuring some cool gay Japanese bear art. Why oh why can't I find this stuff in the US?

The 2005 Calendar features images from a calendar by Echigoya Shinnosuke. Sorry once again for the Geocities pop-ups. They suck.

(See also Samson & G-Men cover galleries, Samson magazine, G-Project and G-Men magazines, Japanimation Bears, Rainbow Shoppers and Gengoroh Tagame and Aki.)

Flickr Find

2005-02-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

MaleNudesSepia02
Originally uploaded by Violentz.

Browsing through Flickr, I came across this striking set of male nudes (not porn but NSFW). I don't know Violentz, but he's a talented photographer.

Cover Galleries

2005-01-30T11:25:00.000-08:00

OK, so I put together two galleries of cover scans for some of these Japanese magazines that I've been posting about.

Gallery of Samson magazine covers

Gallery of G-Men magazine covers

Sorry for the Geocities-generated pop-ups, but I wanted to put something together quickly.

(Previously: Samson magazine, G-Project and G-Men magazines, Japanimation Bears, Rainbow Shoppers and Gengoroh Tagame and Aki.)

Samson Monthly

2005-01-30T10:28:00.000-08:00

Browsing BigGym.co.jp, yet another online store for Japanese gay men, I discovered a wonderful archive of cover scans for Samson magazine, which is where I got the above image. Doing some web research, it turns out that Samson is an adult magazine focusing on older Japanese men. As far as I can tell from a quick browse of the official website, the magazine features adult photospreads and manga. But I'm mostly interested in the covers, which I believe are illustrated by an artist named Pontaro.

Here's some NSFW links for Samson magazine's official website:

Cover index from June 1998 to December 2003. You can click through to see photos and larger cover scans for all issues from 2002 and 2003.

Cover index for 2004. You can click through to see more photos for each issue.

January 2005
February 2005
March 2005

Current issue

Comics in February

2005-01-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

What I'm looking out for from Marvel and DC. I can never find month-ahead previews for other comics companies. Am I just looking in the wrong places?

February 2

Shanna the She-Devil #1 -- don't usually buy comics just because they feature scantily-clad women, but this is a sentimental favorite and the art looks gorgeous. Will it have a story? Will anyone care?

February 9

Fables #34 -- love the cover (above), and it's the first of a two-parter.
Nightwing #103 -- enjoying this 6-part biweekly look at how Robin became Nightwing.
She-Hulk #12 -- bought the first trade for this a couple of weeks back, and I tracked down all the uncollected issues in the meantime. Lots of fun so far.
The Ultimates 2 #3 -- best art in the biz. Totally addicted.
Vimanarama #1 -- I'm giving my trust to Grant Morrison over the next year; don't let me down, Grant!

February 16

Astonishing X-Men #8 -- great creators on the franchise's main title.
Ex Machina #8 -- very surprised when my local comics store employee pronounced this correctly. (Somehow "ma-key-nah" always sounds pretentious to me. It's like someone who tries to pronounce "croissant" with a French accent.)
Promethea #32 -- final issue, and what looks like an interesting art stunt: each page can be reassembled as a huge 2-sided poster. I guess we gotta get multiple copies and run them through the laminator.

February 23
Legion of Super-Heroes #3 -- I'm enjoying my return to this comic, which was one of the first series I ever followed (back when I was in elementary school)
Nightwing #104
Seven Soldiers #0 -- Grant Morrison's crazy superhero multi-miniseries event begins. This fanboy drools.
Solo #3: Paul Pope -- very interesting anthology -- major artists do multiple stories with (sometimes) different writers. Not a huge Pope fan, but I'll give it a shot.

SO... let me know: What else should I be looking out for, and what are you looking forward to?

Czech geeks

2005-01-28T05:39:00.000-08:00

Almost naked Czech geeks

(via Fleshbot)

G Project

2005-01-26T06:19:00.000-08:00

I really want to download the wallpaper that Sturtle linked to yesterday. (The page is here). But I'm having a problem unzipping the Windows archive version, and I don't wanna download this at work.

Anyway, go look at the sexy salaryman.

And browse this G Project Gallery for other cool stuff.

Update: Ah, here's a smaller version of the sexy salaryman that Sturtle linked to. I'd still like the full-size image.

Bear Street

2005-01-26T05:53:00.000-08:00

Via Dell' Orso, in Rome.

Teen Bear

2005-01-26T05:43:00.000-08:00

Teen Bear magazine. A joke, for now.

Oy, I'm so afraid that XY will spin off something like this.

(via, of all things, Andrew Sullivan)

Bear Cub at IBR

2005-01-25T06:37:00.000-08:00

Just heard that the unedited director's cut of Cachorro (aka Bear Cub) will be screened in San Francisco on Friday, February 18, as part of the kickoff to International Bear Rendezvous 2005.

You can read this earlier entry of mine about the film. I saw the edited-for-US-release version in December. Some of the cuts are pretty blatant; all of them have to do with sex, which is reportedly pretty graphic. The DVD, due out in the spring, should be unedited.

Animated Macho

2005-01-25T06:20:00.000-08:00

This image has been added to the Flickr Beefcake!!! photo pool by Sean808080. It's an animated gif (if you click through, hit the all sizes button on the left, and then view the original size, you can see the animation) from the Nashoba BearHistory.com website that I blogged last week.

Sean808080 also posted the film poster to Macho, which I think he found here. (Macho is otherwise known as Huevos de Oro and is available in the US as Golden Balls. Here's the IMDB listing. It stars Javier Bardem and was a follow-up to Jabon Jabon. Funny what Google can teach you.)

Tales of the Closet

2005-01-23T08:10:00.000-08:00

Johanna of Comics Worth Reading points out the return of the landmark gay teen comic series Tales of the Closet. Nine issues were released from 1986 to 1993, but those are long out of print. The promised tenth and final issue was never published.

In this Usenet thread, creator Ivan Velez, Jr. reveals that the new Tales of the Closet will collect the published issues in three compendium issues, while the fourth will contain the 80-page finale that would have been issue #10.

PlanetBronx.com will eventually have more info about the series, but right now there's not much to see.

GayLeague.com has archived reviews of the individual issues:
Reviews of Tales of the Closet #1-5
Review of Tales of the Closet #6
Review of Tales of the Closet #7
Review of Tales of the Closet #8
Review of Tales of the Closet #9

(via Cognitive Dissonance. I've been reading Johanna's reviews and writings online since Usenet days. What's odd is that I always have problems remembering that Cognitive Dissonance the name of Johanna's blog. I can remember that she writes Comics Worth Reading, but just barely. I guess to me the "brand" is "Johanna Draper Carlson". It's not an issue with other bloggers, because I discovered the author through the blog, but with Johanna it's the other way around.)