Write Club!

So, it took a while. It took some planning and some soul searching. It took some realization that doing this podcast was something that we enjoyed doing, as long as we were doing it the way we wanted to do it. So, we're back. Perhaps a bit leaner and meaner, but back nonetheless.This podcast covers the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival that took place back in December, specifically the LYNDA BARRY AND CHARLES BURNS IN CONVERSATION program. Kurt and I are planning on doing at least 3 podcasts a month, more if time allows, and we're pretty psyched with some of the things we have planned.Enjoy the recording, and as always comments are welcome via email here: Write.Club1@gmail.com, Twitter here @Write_Club, or in the comments section on this post.

Write Club can't always be about comics, right? Right! So in this episode Tim & Kurt take the podcast out into the streets of Brooklyn to cover a Slice Magazine reading event.The event, coordinated by Slice's resident blog czar and online editor, C.A.B Fredricks was your basic head-to-head reading competition featuring the best and the brightest up & comers of the indie publishing world!photo courtesy of Amy SlyPIETHOS! A Reading, works like this: Five independent literary organizations were chosen, each selected a champion, and presented a challenge for an opposing organization. Each reader had about one week to compose a story in answer of their challenge. The prize? A FRESH BAKED APPLE PIE!The event was held at LEGION bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.Listen to the event here: And now, THE READERS, with visual aids and in order of appearance:Liz Matthews (Slice Magazine)photo courtesy of Amy SlyLiz's story involved some visual aids. To get the whole experience, click on each link as she prompts the picture in her story.WindowBreakfastLeavesCorey Eastwood (Book Thug Nation)photo courtesy of Amy SlyKate Axelrod (Featherproof Books)photo courtesy of Amy SlyMartha Raoli (Canteen Magazine)photo courtesy of Amy SlyThe Prize:photo courtesy of Amy SlyNow Dear Write Clubbers, after listening to the event, who would YOU have chosen to win the nommy pie?

A new feature I'll be having up here on the blog is to present the best of free comic books available online.First up is Vision Machine by Greg Pak. You can read the comic on Comixology or download the PDF. Greg Pak has an exclusive interview up on Comics Alliance where he mentions that not only are you able to download/read the comic for free online, but eventually there will be a free print version available as well. Which is really interesting, having a book put together by money from the Ford Foundation and put out under Creative Commons license which means anyone can expand on the universe created within the pages or is able to remix or mashup the story however they see fit as long as the original source is credited. Truly free creative information. The article also has a lot of interesting points about digital comics and creator royalties.Which leads me over to another article discussing ICv2's number crunching of digital sales which is ultimately summed up as: "While the news for print was less than positive, with manga sales facing an estimated 20% drop in 2010, the news for digital comics was very good indeed, with Griepp projecting that digital comics sales would see a more than ten-fold increase this year over last."And:"But while manga and graphic novels decline, the real energy and growth has been in digital, which has expanded from a $500,000 market in 2009 to an estimated $6 to 8 million dollars in 2010, a more than ten-fold increase. Quite simply, digital comics are "the fastest-growing part of the comics business," said Griepp."It's interesting seeing this comic going out into the public, with its theme of free creative information with a donation based payment setup and the Orwellian Big Brother aspect of controlled information. I'm eager to find out which direction both the story within the comic and the story of the growing digital distribution and the role that this free comic plays in that.K

Day 1:This is a short one folks! Kurt, Tim and later Phil, take a walk through the con and are struck with a volley of emotions. The British are killed, and Tim & Kurt ask "What's it all about?"Luckily they're saved by a girl named Gabby. Intro: "Four Colored Universe" MetasciencesOutro: "Write Club Theme" Scott St. Pierre

Day 2: Tim is joined by Pete Lenz, who is having fun. Then Tim tries to find the screaming women, and when that doesn't pan out Pete, Tim and Phil head down to the basement to check out Anime Fest. Apples are eaten, smiles are shared, and perhaps the oddest interview I've ever done takes place.Seeing as how this is a major comic event, I thought I'd check out Marvel's Cup O' Joe panel. That kicks in at about 7 minutes, and therein you'll hear about some of Marvel Comics upcoming plans. This, of course, was a slide show, so you will not be able to see what they're talking about. Here are some bullet points:Marvel to publish at least two CrossGen titles. From the images it looks like they'll be SIGIL and RUSE (penned by Mark Waid). Brian Bendis and Michael Oeming will be putting out a creator owned, all-ages book named TAKIO.Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev team up to reinvent MOON KNIGHT.Marvel + ESPN? I don't know either.A teaser of a web-series about Marvel editor Steve Wacker auditioning for the Broadway play based on SPIDER-MAN. I think it's called SPIDER-MAN: WTF am I doing on Broadway? (JOKES!)Intro: "Kingdom Come" Jay-ZOutro: "Write Club Theme" Scott St. Pierre

Day 3: LAST DAY OF COMIC CON NY 2010! We start this off with Phil Gelatt, and you can tell that the con has taken its toll on this strong, strong man. We then chat with Nikki Cook about her upcoming book, MEMOIR, written by Ben McCool.After that we catch up with Reilly Brown to discuss his con sketches and his new ALPHA FLIGHT project. And, finally, Rick Lacy appears on the scene to detail his plans to take his life down to zero, and then build it back up to 11.If you understand the plan, please let me know.We end with a haunting scene at the AnimeFest. In my mind, I'm still there.Intro: "I Am the Law" AnthraxOutro: "Write Club Theme" Scott St. Pierre

The big brains behind Write Club tackle the life, work, and reputation of outspoken and ofttimes problematic comic legend Alan Moore. If you haven't listened to the previous episode, where Tim Mucci interviews Moore, you may want to do so; it does come up and you will be tested.Kurt Christenson, Phil Gelatt, and Tim Mucci discuss Alan Moore. Intro: "Oh Somba!" ElectrelaneOutro: "Write Club Theme" Scott St. PierreWhat do you think of Moore? Let us know in the comments!

This is what happens when the theme of the next issue of Slice Magazine is Villains: You get a crazy idea in your head that just won't leave. At the last Slice Magazine editorial meeting I was asked if I wanted to contribute an interview for their upcoming Villains issue, issue 7. I'm pretty sure they asked me because A) I'm into comics B) I'm into comics C) Most, if not all of my friends are either into comics also, or work in the comic industry.As soon as they announced the theme I immediately knew who I wanted to interview. I wanted to talk with Alan Moore. I tried to get such a crazy idea out of my head, I mean...Alan Moore? Me? How could that happen?? Suffice it to say, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. I had a great spin on the interview, I'm a tremendous fan of Moore's work, and here was the perfect reason to try and contact him. So I set to work. Moore doesn't have an agent, he doesn't have any official representation, so I just sent out an email to pretty much every publisher he'd ever worked with. Blanketed the field, and heard nothing back.Until. Until some nice folks at Avatar emailed me and told me that they'd forwarded my request to Top Shelf comics, which is his main publisher here in the US. Not long after, Chris Staros over at Top Shelf emailed me back to let me know that he'd contacted Alan with my request, and that I should be hearing something soon. Let me pause for a moment here to say how awesome Chris Staros is, because he is. In all of my communications with him he's been nothing but friendly, and professional. A true gentleman. Eventually I was contacted by Mr. Moore's assistant editor at his magazine Dodgem Logic, Joe Brown, and Mr. Brown said that Alan would love to speak with me. He gave me a time and a date. I threw up. Well, almost, because I had about a week to prep.Background: One of the first comics I can remember reading (and understanding) was Swamp Thing #40, which was about this woman who was a werewolf. The central idea was that werewolves and women both cycle with the moon, and it was horrifying, and sad, and human, and amazing. And written by Alan Moore. Alan Moore is pretty much responsible for my comic book obsession.So, I had a week to prep to talk to one of the most influential figures in my life.Here is the result. Write Club and Slice Magazine presents Alan Moore:

Scott Pilgrim Trailer redone using comic panels.I absolutely loved Bryan Lee O'Malley's 'Lost At Sea', from the teenager angst to the simply beautiful, solemn and quirky artwork, but when his next series, 'Scott Pilgrim' came out I thought it seemed to silly or something, and it never really caught my attention.Until one day my good friend Reilly Brown said that I HAD to read it. There were just too many similarities between Scott's life and my own. Granted I wasn't an early 20's bassist in Canada, but I was a slacker with a young ex with a penchant for blades, and relationship drama mixed with oblivious comedy sounded about right.The comic melted my brain. It was an indie book, with characters that just hung out, went to parties, and meandered through their lives. It was a battle book where suddenly a duel would take place with superpowered kung fu. Scott was clueless and yet you couldn't keep him down for long. It was rock'n'roll mixed with subtle video game moments. What was this?The comic makes you love the characters, from the bitchy Julie Powers, to snarky Kim Pine, to vulnerable Knives Chau. Stephen Stills cowboy shirts, Young Neil's haircuts, and Wallace Wells dry wit, these were all iconic people in Scott Pilgrim's universe, well rounded and each given their moments, their personalities developed organically through the volumes.Now, I must say, I love Edgar Wright. I've seen his BBC series Spaced at least three times through, and. Shaun of the Dead was brilliant in its skirting of the fine line between horror and comedy. Hot Fuzz was a sophmore dip, but it had tons of fun moments. This was an amazing storyteller of a director with a ton of geeky influences and a plethora of visual tricks.So when I heard that he was directing Scott Pilgrim vs the World, it was like nothing I've experienced as a fanboy. My favorite superheroes have yet to make it to the big screen, and the closest I got to having one of my all-time favorite graphic novels translated to film well was V For Vendetta, which I quite liked. But this was different.Here we had excellent source material with loveable characters, fun violent action, and a director that seemed to be perfectly suited for the lighthearted tone this adaptation would need. It features a bunch of actors I really enjoy, and with the teaser images Wright posted on his Flickr all last year while filming, it appeared it was devoutly faithful. Would it live up to the trailer that gave me chills when I first saw it?Yes. Yes, it did. But do I feel some sort of deflated feeling after following the internet media push that was almost as entertaining as the comic itself? Yes, it's done, out into the ether to be consumed by the masses. In a few weeks it'll be half-remembered, perhaps quoted, inspiring new fans to track down the books, sport Plumtree t-shirts, and maybe start their own bands (like me).Around Christmas we'll get the DVD release, maybe some rad extra features, behind the scenes, video game samples, etc. I'll pick up the special edition collection of all six volumes, complete with unreleased material as soon as it comes out. And there it'll sit for future enjoyment at a whim.This time will never be captured again. Like seeing that epic band performance at the coliseum where you got the tour shirt that'll be expensive vintage for futuristic hipsters who were never there in the moment. But there's something about films that makes them timeless, just as we can enjoy classics from the past on Blu-Ray.Now, as for the movie itself, (I had to explain all the emotions and thoughts involved to properly process my feelings) the first half is perfection. This is Scott Pilgrim's comic/video game universe come to life. The fantastic camera movements, the interactive narration and title cards introducing our main characters, the true performances that sell them as their graphic novel counterparts, it's all there.The first half is almost shot for shot the introduction, I remembered the exact angle and background when Scott first sees Ramona at the library. I got giddy. Then suddenly new elements pop up, or small bits skipped over (which is flawlessly handled by Wright as he cuts a sharp turn from scene to scene), and then you realize that this is a movie of Scott Pilgrim.I tried to not be that elitist fanboy that makes mental notes about what's missing and lines that were different, but it popped up now and again. And I told myself that O'Malley hadn't even completed volume six until months after filming had wrapped, so of course it would be different. There wasn't time for Julie & Stephen's drama, or Scott & Ramona to move in together.And though I had slight problems with the end of volume six, it felt complete, satisfying. So the movie would have to do the same. And logically, I feel it satisfying me, but emotionally, something wasn't there. The fights came fast and frantic in the second half, never really letting Scott & Ramona to settle into being a couple. Those scenes were Scott gets a job or has birthday were what makes them the couple I know them as.But yes, it's a two hour film so, I try and take it as a complete story, and it works. There's conflict and resolution and we're given an identical ending to the comic really, if not slightly stripped down and amped up for a more one on one style fight. What matters is the spirit is there. Scott earns the power of love and levels up, Sex-Bob-Omb rocks out, and Evil Exs are defeated.I'd call that a flawless victory.Ps- you can stream the soundtrack and the score, and my takes on those are that between them both is a solid album, if only the kickass Sex-Bob-Omb songs were on the score. My particular favorite is 'Summertime' which has been stuck in my head for days.Now, who wants to start a band with me?To find out how I even got into the screening and reflections on what it must feel like to create something that becomes comsumed by pop culture, check out my personal blog.You can also see all things Scott Pilgrim (including the video game pitch trailer, the remix videos, interviews and more) over at Write Club's Tumblr.