My Top 5 Samurai Film: • Crouching Tiger

My Top 5 Samurai Film:
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) – Ang Lee
• Yojimbo (1961) – Akira Kurosawa
• Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 – Quentin Tarantino (cheating, I know)
• Ninja Scroll (1993) – Yoshiaki Kawajiri
• Seven Samurai (1954) – Akira Kurosawa

#samurai #topfive #list #kurosawa #QT #tarantino #killbill #ninjascroll #filmmaker #filmmaking #animation #animator #animators #handdrawn #indie #indiefilm #indieartist #anime #filmdirector #artwork #art #cinema #animeart #animelover #western #animeworld #samurai #indieartist #storyboard #characterdesign #crowdfunding #kickstarter

http://qr.net/bG8cy http://ow.ly/i/jreM7

My Top 10 Hand-Drawn Animated Films. • P

My Top 10 Hand-Drawn Animated Films.

• Princess Mononoke
• Iron Giant
• Pinnochio
• Ghost in the Shell
• Akira
• Alladin
• Alice in Wonderland
• Spirited Away
• Grave of the Fireflies
• The Lion King

#princessmononoke #miyazaki #bradbird #irongiant #pinnochio #ghostintheshell #akira #alladin #aliceinwonderland #spiritedaway #graveofthefireflies #lionking #thelionking #theirongiant #animation #animator #handdrawn #indie #indiefilm #filmmaking #filmmaker #makemovies #makingfilms #makingmovies #makefilms #anime #animefilms #director #artprint #western #samurai #ronin #characterdesign #storyboard #art #artwork #kickstarter #animes #art
http://ow.ly/NaLs3005b6e http://ow.ly/i/jfZsf

Official 27×41 Orient City poster. #kick

Official 27×41 Orient City poster. #kickstarter #rewards #reward #onesheet #poster #movieposter #handdrawn #animation #animator #handdrawn #indie #indiefilm #filmmaking #filmmaker #makemovies #makingfilms #makingmovies #makefilms #anime #animefilms #director #animator #artprint #western #samurai #samuraiwestern #ronin #theprincess #asiancinema #hongkongmovies #westernfilms #westerns #westernmovies #art #artwork #kickstarter #crowdfunding #supportcrowdfunding
http://qr.net/bG8cy http://ow.ly/i/jbgF9

Samurai. One bad dude. #orientcity #kick

Samurai. One bad dude. #orientcity #kickstarter #reward #rewards #artprint #anime #animation #western #samurai #samuraiwestern #animation #handdrawn #indie #indiefilm #filmmaking #filmmaker #anime #animefilms #director #western #samurai #samuraiwestern #ronin #theprincess #characterdesign #storyboard #art #artwork http://qr.net/bG8cy http://ow.ly/i/j8a6w

Kick back with an Orient City T-shirt. #

Kick back with an Orient City T-shirt. #orientcity #kickstarter #tshirt #rewards #reward #western #samurai #animation #handdrawn #indie #indiefilm #filmmaking #filmmaker #anime #animefilms #director #animator #western #samurai #samuraiwestern #ronin #theprincess #characterdesign #storyboard #art #artwork #kickstarter http://qr.net/bG8cy http://ow.ly/i/j89Qs

Still from the opening shot of the hand-

Still from the opening shot of the hand-drawn animated film ORIENT CITY. #orientcity #animation #handdrawn #indie #indiefilm #filmmaking #filmmaker #anime #animefilms #director #animator #western #samurai #samuraiwestern #ronin #theprincess #characterdesign #storyboard #art #artwork #kickstarter http://qr.net/bG8cy http://ow.ly/i/j7CXJ

Author Review Etiquette

I’m copying this from a newsletter I receive from Author Marketing Experts, which always has great tips for authors.

Four Tips on What NOT to Say (or Pitch or Do) to Get Your Book Reviewed

If you want guarantees, you won’t find them in book reviews. Death and taxes, yes – but the book review process is a sea of unknowns, from how many review requests you’ll get to who’ll actually post a review to whether they’ll even like your book at all.

When you’ve got people reviewing books mostly as a labor of love, the reality is, that review you expected this month may be delayed by a couple of months. Or, they may not love your book and be pretty blunt about it. Life happens. It’s fine to check back with a reviewer if you haven’t heard anything and had been given a review timeframe. It’s fine to correct a factual error in a review, but it’s not appropriate to start a fight with someone who has fairly reviewed your book and just decided it didn’t work for them.

What else should you keep in mind during the review process?

Be a Pro. It probably seems unnecessary to state that being professional at all times is important, but there have been so many author-initiated blog brouhahas online that we can’t take anything for granted. Ask nicely when requesting a review; be gracious if the answer is no. It’s not personal. If you’ve done your homework you may know going in that a particular blogger – who you’ve identified as a key blogger for your book – is overwhelmed with a review backlog. Perhaps the blogger is up for a guest post, and if you see the blog often includes them, be prepared to pitch some ideas. Maybe it’s a good site for contests – again, be ready to suggest a contest and terms. Pay attention to what the blogger does on his or her blog – it’s most definitely not all reviews, all the time – and see if there is anything you can contribute to either complement a review or in place of a review.

Be appreciative. I can count on both hands, with fingers left over, the number of authors we’ve worked with who have bothered to thank reviewers. Do it. The authors who do take the time to email the blogger to say thanks are usually rewarded by developing relationships with the bloggers they thank. If that blogger enjoyed the author’s book they usually ask if they can review the author’s next book, and so on. What was originally a one-time situation now becomes an ongoing relationship in which the reviewer follows the author’s career and the author has additional opportunities for book reviews, interviews and more – and not only with that blogger; chances are the blogger’s peers who like the same kind of books are going to take notice.

Never burn bridges. Even if a review you receive is unfair, or not the quality you expected, there is only so much you can do. If there is a factual error, by all means alert the blogger immediately with the correction. Otherwise, if you just don’t like the review, let it go. Just remember that whatever the review says, you never know how readers will react and I’ve seen many cases in which the lukewarm review caused others to say they wanted to read the book for themselves. You’re getting free publicity and you have to realize that everyone may take away a different perspective from one review. And you should still thank them, nicely, for taking the time to review your book.

Take the long view. Also understand that the Internet has brought together hundreds of book lovers (aka book bloggers) as never before, and not only do they share their love of books, they also discuss problems, issues and more. Angry authors have gotten plenty of bad coverage this way, with the result being that a multitude of reviewers have sworn they will never review any work by that author. Ever. There’s an adage about never getting into a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel – a reference to newspapers and magazines – but the reality now is you don’t want to get into a fight with someone who has a blog with hundreds (or more) of followers, plus Twitter and Facebook accounts and the ability to broadcast bad news far and wide. Don’t let that be you!

 

Rarest of Rare Things Found in a Film

I was reading an article in Filmmaker Magazine recently and came across this quote, from Nick Daschul. I’m not sure who he is or what he does, but this struck a nerve… at least with me.

“I’ve been reminded of why movies were so important to me back when I was a teenager. It wasn’t the cool camera move, or the heartbeat crush sugar rush romance moment, or the suave magnetic matinee idol glances, or the dolly, or the pop track, or the cigarette flame, or the eyeliner. I guess really what I was looking for, all alone in the dark, far from home, was that rarest of rare things — a friend.”

 

Maine Comic Arts Festival

I just got home from Portland, Maine… home of the Maine Comic Arts Festival (MeCAF). The day long art/comic show is run by Rick Lowell over at Casablanca Comics and I have to tell you, it is an awesome show.  I missed the opening night reception for my godson’s Christening… but seeing as how I really liked Portland I’m sure it was a great time.

It was held at the Portland Company Complex, which is right on the water and had the feel of an old shipyard building. It was the perfect size (or so it seemed) for the event. I’m a little leery about local shows because they are generally geared towards kids, and this was no exception. If you are familiar with my books, at least until Bulderlyns comes out, then you know why I’m leery. However, within the first ten minutes I had a great talk with an aspiring artist and he just opened the floodgates. It didn’t stop until about a half hour or so before the show closed. Everyone of the guests was really nice, obviously loved comics or art and was great to talk to.

It’s hard for me to leave my table, especially when I’m by myself, so pictures of the event itself are at a minimum. And I don’t get to speak to as many creators as I’d like – usually just my neighbors. I did have a few good talks with other creators who didn’t have tables at the show, but were there supporting.

I went down the street to what I guess is downtown Portland for dinner with a mission – lobster. I chose a place on the water that wasn’t too fancy, because in my experience these places always have better food. It was my first lobster roll and it was awesome. Can’t wait to head back…

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C2E2

After an epic road trip, Zsombor and I finally made it to Chicago for C2E2. We stayed right on the lake, at Michigan and Harrison, so we had the pleasure of seeing a bit of Chicago at night. And, other than the let down of deep dish pizza, I have to say that I was very impressed with the entire show and the city. Because of the space of the hall, I think I would have to give it the nod over NYCC as my favorite con. The people are great at both, interested and knowledgeable about comics (not just pop culture – which is what a lot of these cons have become). NYCC will always take a hit because the main hall is divided in two and artist alley is in a completely separate corridor. C2E2 doesn’t have this problem, at all.  The layout is almost perfect. And Zsombor and I got a great table in Artist Alley… across from Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmioti (great and talented people), the SpeciMen guys (awesome guys) and the folks at Yeti Press (another good group of dudes) – all of whom actually do comics, not nonsensical pop culture art.

We even got to meet a bunch of Kickstarter backers for R.E.M. as well as more than a handful of new faces.  It was a fun show and I can’t wait to go back.

2014.04.26-C2E2-1 2014.04.26-C2E2-2 2014.04.25-C2E2 Table

Zsombor with BumbleBee

Zsombor with BumbleBee

Ryan with Jigsaw

Ryan with Jigsaw

with Decapitated Dan, the most prolific comics journalist out there.

with Decapitated Dan, the most prolific comics journalist out there.

Utah - make it two.

Utah – make it two.

2014.04.28-C2E2-Ryan.Zsombor

Zsombor with the lamest quote ever

Zsombor with the lamest quote ever