Food Poisioning, Barry Manilow
Sorry folks, recovering from a bout of food poisoning. New comic up soon. But don't worry about my pain; Barry Manilow has broken his nose.
Saturday, May 31, 2003
Above: spotted in Phnom Penh.
After uploading the last comic I needed to give my brain a rest. What to my wondering eyes should appear but a bootleg DVD of 'The Matrix Reloaded'? That's hard to find in Siem Reap, so close after the release date. It was the only copy in the store so I snapped it up.
For $4 you get what you pay for. The last segment didn't play, so I didn't see the end. And it was bad quality video, obviously filmed by a videocamera in a theatre. Ouch. No, I don't think bootlegging is as huge a threat as the major media companies think it is. There will always be a demand for quality.
Big marketing blitz this time too. Free your mind. With fine Matrix (TM) products.
Ethan Persoff:Has dug up a fascinating and creepy comic: The Atomic Revolution Comic Book
Artbomb.net gives you tidbits of online comics as well as reviews of book sized comics. (I'd say graphic novels, but some of these are clearly not.) Of note: New strips by D'Israeli and Lauren McCubbin.
The latter, 'Harvest Gypsy' captures the ambiance of zipping through Central California perfectly. As a college student in Santa Cruz, I traveled the same route many times.
Artbomb though - sexy for westerners... "it'll blow your mind!" Would that name appeal to an Iranian or Cambodian? In a 'post-conflict' society, there isn't a lot of intrigue in ordnance, just pathos. Hmm, may have to do a comic on that.
Finally, an interesting piece by some guy named Tenzin Gyatso.
Thursday, May 29, 2003
Buddha Bar:
Content: It's interesting how Buddhism and images of Buddha are perceived
differently in the West.
The 'Buddha Bar' in Paris also has franchises in other cities, and has issued a series of 'chill-out' music CDs.
(You can find the CDs bootlegged at the Russian Market in Phnom Penh for $2 each.)
My Cambodian friends might be amused to hear that 'Buddha' is also slang for marijuana/cannabis. (Presumably because it gives you a feeling of 'higher reality'.)
After living a few years in a Buddhist country, it seems to me that organized Buddhism much like Christianity or Islam; there is the religion itself, which is quite specific. Then there is the culture that is informed by it, which I find quite interesting to explore. Even people who are not deeply religious follow the customs of Buddhism. A similar example might be Ireland where the culture is Catholic, or Turkey where the culture is Islamic.
The Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh is overshadowed by the National Assembly Building, which in turn is dwarfed by a new casino being built. That sums up modern Cambodia in many ways.
The original conversation took place at 'Mit Samlanh' (Friends Restaurant) in Phnom Penh, which is a fun eatery. Thanks to Emiko for being 'guinea pig' for this one.
Style: Hydrocephalic heads are considered cute in any culture. Big Head + Big Eyes = baby = cute. It's instinct. (Been reading some manga at Sanctuary restaurant lately.) If I tried to stand up in a body like that the weight of my head would break my neck.
Last Panel: often in E.C. Segar's strips people would fall out of the frame in surprise, a practice duplicated by other cartoonists of the time. Segar created 'Sappo' and 'Thimble Theatre', and eventually became a household name due to a certain animated sailor.
Design: This strip was originally designed using the Khmer text to facilitate the panel layouts. Since printed Khmer is just a little larger and longer,
I may do more of this in the future to make things easier.
Translation: Thanks to Seng Ratha for translation help. Any mistakes in printing and pasting are mine. Many Khmer use the term 'Bar' for bar, here I'm using 'roong-ksal' which translates roughly as 'dancing hall'. Bilingual readers, what do you think? ''Bar' or 'dancing hall'?
Also, I am looking for a Phnom Penh translator also if anyone is interested.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
On the Move
Apologies for being a little late with this one. The first two panels of this were drawn in Siem Reap, but I flamed out on motorcycle reference. Cheers to Nicola Denison for arranging an impromptu photo shoot so I could get it right! 3rd panel finished in Phnom Penh. That's a Honda Citi I'm driving, but when in Siem Reap I prefer my trusty Samyan.
Monday, May 19, 2003
Let's see...
"For one Day Only"
The Stepchild Conditioning Sat June 7
Michael Fikaris, Aaron O'Donnell
Suburban Revolution Shoegazers Inc.
3:33 PM, Eisenberg Gallery
End of Nicholson Street Tramline, East Brunswick
Melbourne Australia
Catch the 96 Tram to the last stop
Sunday, May 18, 2003
Silent Army: Missing in Action?
The main Silent Army Site is down, hopfully to return soon.
And I shouldn't forget to mention my own slack ass - didn't I promise you another comic this week? Getting my ass in gear, and hope to in future keep my weekly deadline. More details (and lame excuses) to follow.
Friday, May 16, 2003
Kirri-rama:
Some of Kirrily Schell's explorations at RMIT art school.
http://aim.adc.rmit.edu.au/web_interface_03/kirrilyinterface/
Portrait Kirrily Schell by Christopher Ong (Hint: click on the coin handle)
Portrait of Belinda Hadiwidjaja by Kiz
Also: Free comics day in Australia
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/04/1051987605756.html
Tove Jansson Comic strip!!
http://www.moominshop.com/cartoonstrip.htm
NZ comics articles and profiles.
http://nzda.ac.nz/graphic/comics/index.php
Monday, May 12, 2003
New from Q-Ray: a 10 page comic, 'Escape from Planet Woomera'
$1 postpaid. Contact Q-ray at PO Box 792, Cockatoo, Victoria 3781 Australia
qray@ozemail.com.au
Baby Pix from Amber Carvan.
Also weirdly fascinated by the 'Left Behind' series. Wacko!
Wednesday, May 07, 2003
Weekly Comic
Trying out something new: a weekly comic strip, translated into as many languages as I can muster. (Especially including Khmer, since I live in Cambodia after all.) Thanks especially to web comics pioneer Jesse Reklaw for technical tips.
The spark for this one came from 'the voice' (no, not John Farnham) - Ken Nordine, 'friend to doormen'. Radio, while not a visual medium, encourages (even forces) you to develop your visual imagination. Props to Ken Nordine and Joe Frank .
Also new this week: blog from Plastic Planet's Che Gilson,
interview with Amber Carvan.
Wednesday, May 07, 2003
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