Man Of Steel- Two and a half hours of time well spent!

      Wowzers, I have not blogged in many a moon! Feels good to be back and oh so much to discuss. The first thing I wanted to discuss is the newest comic book movie "Man Of Steel". Before I saw the movie this past week I did read many reviews (most were positive). So I met up with some friends and plunked down the nine dollars to witness DC Comics latest cinematic offering. Let's just say it went above and beyond my expectations in almost every way!
   First off I want to say that this blog is full of spoilers, so If you haven't seen the movie yet then you should probably stop reading now. I really enjoyed the fresh take on Krypton. Really never before on screen have we seen how the Kryptonian society works or what their planet was like in general. General Zod is a well fleshed out villain whom you can almost feel for. The man is trying to preserve his people and their legacy. Way back in Richard Donner's "Superman 2" Zod is a very generic villain who just spews out classic lines such as ,"kneel before Zod human".
     I will just come out and flat out say that Henry Cavill is Superman! This man was born to play the part. He brings humanity and vulnerability to the role. Christopher Reeve played the part as very much a boyscout "oh golly" "oh gee" type. Chris Reeve was what I would say the "Curt Swan" version of the character, while Henry Cavill is very much the "post-New 52" version. Henry Cavill went through intensive training for the part and it shows. The man looks like he literally just stepped out of a Jim Lee drawn Superman comic! I know some fanboys will bitch about the suit and how it's dark and that Superman doesn't have a curl in his hair or how there's no outside underwear. I say,"get over it!" I actually much prefer this movie version to the current suit Supes is wearing in comics. Also what most people fail to realize is that Superman has gone through a number of subtle costume changes over the years. The "S" symbol has changed in size and color and styling. The blue color has gone from darker to lighter hues as well.
   I will go on record as saying that the climactic fight between General Zod and Superman through the city of Metropolis is the single best one on one fight between a hero and villain I have yet to witness on screen! I feel it matches the climactic fight of Marvels "The Avengers" movie ( I know I'll get flack for that one,but I digress...)  It's destruction on a Gojira level scale! 
   Although this movie didn't have the suprise ending that have now become an almost trademark of the Marvel movies, there were definite nods to other DC characters.  During the fight of Zod and Supes when they go into the Earth's upper orbit they smash into a Wayne Enterprises satellite. Also when they are fighting in the streets of Metropolis an oil tanker is seen with a "LexCorp" logo on its side. Also one of the female Army captains last name was Ferris. This could very well be the future love interest of Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern. She later becomes the villain Star Saphire and sometimes hero.
    The casting I felt was great all the way around. It was a little odd not seeing Jimmy Olsen at the Daily Planet,but perhaps he'll show up for the sequel? Speaking of the sequel, It has been announced by Warner Brothers Studios that they have already green lite a sequel. I am hoping for Braniac as the villain or perhaps Bizzarro.
   One last thing to discuss before the review is over is that many people were angry because Superman kills General Zod at the end and people have stated," Superman doesn't kill!" Wrong people! Superman has killed before and only does such when there is absolutely no alternative. He killed Doomsday and I distinctly remember a Superman annual that I got in the late 80's,pretty sure just right after Crisis, that Superman fought the alien conqueror Mongul. At the end of the book Mongul made a similar boast to what Zod said and Supes ended up snapping Mongul's neck killing him like Paula Dean's career.
   I give "Man Of Steel" 5 out of 5 spicy meatballs. Until next time kids......stay geeky!
    

Spider-Man vs Amazing Spider-Man

 First off I want to say hi howdy to everyone out there! On friday morning I made the plunge and bought a copy of "Amazing Spider-Man" on blu-ray. I'm not generally one for just buying a movie that I've never seen before, especially one that hasn't had much said about it. Something told me to cough up the twenty bucks and buy it. I'm very glad I did! Sitting back and thinking bout it for a few days now and I have to say that it may very well be my favorite Spider-Man movie yet! I feel that because of the huge summer blockbusters "The Avengers" and "Dark Knight Rises" that "Amazing" was overshadowed.
   Now if you haven't seen said movie then you may want to stop reading my post because I will be giving away plot points and the ending.  Here is my comparison of "Amazing Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man" (2002) : Please note that "Amazing Spider-Man" is meant as a "reboot" and doesn't share continuity of the three Sam Raimi directed films.

Spider-Man : Has a big selling soundtrack with the hit song "Hero" by Chad Kroeger of Nickelback
Amazing Spider-Man : Musical score by James Horner

Winner:  Spider-Man - For me it comes down to Danny Elfman vs James Horner. Sorry James but I have to go with Danny on this

Spider- Man : Origin story differs from the comics a bit making the web shooters for Spider-Man organic instead of a device created by Peter. Also Mary Jane Watson as the love interest instead of Gwen Stacy.

Amazing Spider- Man: Peter Parker's parents are given a bit of a back story ala Ultimate Spider-Man (see comic book) Also here Peter does develop his web shooters and the costume creation is seen in greater detail here. OsCorp is seen as a company that works on genetic splicing of animals.

Winner: Amazing Spider-Man - this version stays closer to the comics

Spider-Man: The love interest is Mary Jane played by Kirsten Dunst

Amazing Spider-Man: The love interest is Gwen Stacy played by Emma Stone

Winner: Amazing Spider-Man - Emma Stone without a doubt is much better (and better looking) than
Kirsten Dunst. Dunst plays Mary Jane as a whiny girl next door instead of the fiery vamp see was in the comics.

Spider-Man : Costume is pretty faithful to the comics

Amazing Spider-Man: Costume is also pretty faithful to the comics

Winner: It's a tie to me. Some people like one over the other,but to me they both work

Spider-Man : The film villain is The Green Goblin- Willem Defoe looks like a reject from a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers show.

Amazing Spider-Man: The  film villain is The Lizard - a big cgi monster played by Rhys Ifans.

Winner: Both Willem and Rhys give good solid performances but I have to give the slight upper hand to The Lizard just on the simple fact that he doesn't look so silly. I know some comic die-hards will complain heavily that he doesn't have his purple slacks and lab coat as he does in the comics but frankly I can live without those.

Spider-Man: Tobey Maguire played a Peter Parker weighed heavily with sadness and compassion. Before he received his super powers he was a science nerd who tended to get pushed into lockers often.

Amazing Spider-Man : Andrew Garfield looks so much like his comic book counterpart! Andrew plays Peter Parker as an teenage outsider who gets picked on and pushed around. Once he gets the powers and the suit he is wise cracking at thugs and the Lizard alike despite him getting over the death of his uncle Ben. Just as he does in the comics

Winner: Hands down Amazing!

Spider-Man: Peter gets a job at the Daily Bugle newspaper and is the bane of owner JJJ

Amazing Spider-Man: Peter takes photos for the school paper but there is no Bugle to be found

Winner: Spider-Man - this is where I was really disappointed in Amazing because the Bugle is one of those iconic things about Spider-Man. I'll hold out hope for the sequel :-)

Overall winner: Amazing Spider-Man is the best Spidey flick here!  I'm looking forward to see where they go with the new series and the introduction of Spidey's greatest villain Norman Osbourne aka Green Goblin

Stephen's great karaoke hosting 101

I am a veteran karaoke singer and occasional kj of over 10 years. I have been to shows in Washington and California so as you can imagine I have seen alot of good,bad and ugly shows. I am going to list off a number of things that I believe are key to being a great karaoke host. Please note these are just my humble opinions and I don't claim that these are the representation of a certain bar or karaoke company. With that said I bring you the list (drum roll please....)

- Be personable! I have worked with the public for nearly 20 years and the most important thing is customer service. Being a karaoke jockey is no different. Smile and greet the person who comes up to your booth and hands you a song slip. Another thing is to engage the audience. Start the show by introducing yourself and your company. Tell the patrons what the drink/food specials of the night are. Afer all you are an employee of the bar as well. It's your job to make the bar money and put some cash in your pocket as well! It's ok to maybe make a joke or two during the show but don't waste time trying to do a stand up routine or tell everyone your life story. People come to sing and have fun. They don't want to feel depressed because you just spent the last twenty minutes telling everyone your wife just caught you cheating and you live at your little brother Mikey's house in the attic. If you have a great personality and are energetic then that is what will draw the most people in week after week to your shows.

- Know your equipment in and out! - Most people would think this is a no brainer! It would be like saying," well since that guy owns that car, he must know how to drive it!" A number of kj's that I've seen have next to no clue on to how to run their sound boards. Those are the hosts where you will hear constant reverb or the sound sounding too loud or quiet. You will look over at these untrained kj's and they will be sweating looking at their board just turning random knobs and hoping that it works by some miracle. A great kj has their system down pat and knows what levels to adjust the singers too having them sounding their very best.

- Have a good system - I realize that professional karaoke machines are not cheap by any means of the imagination and can cost thousands of dollars. Even so if you are going to run a show and hope to make good money then it would benefit the kj to save up and get a good system that is going to bring people to their shows. If the sound is bad at a karaoke show then most times even if the host is decent, people will go elsewhere.

- Have a diverse song book - Even if the song selection is on the slim side, as long as the selection has diversity to it is what really matters. Don't have a 5000 song book with 2500 country songs! Variety is the spice of life and patrons want to sing different kinds of music. Even if your personal tastes lean towards country you still need to have more than that in your books! Think of what the singers want and like. After all they are the ones who support you. Great kj's generally have a book of 10,000 plus songs with a great variety. The books are usually by artist or title and alphabetically listed.

- Don't ask for tips!! - I have seen a couple kj's beg people for tips saying that the bar pays them next to nothing and that they have no other source of income. Again people don't want to hear a sob story and you shouldn't be knocking the establishment that your playing for either when your on the job! Having a tip jar next to your booth is great and patrons will see this and usually tip a couple to several dollars. I have seen great kj's by the end of the night fill a tip jar full with green backs and they didn't even have to ask! That's the way to go! Most kj's do have day jobs to pay most of their bills. Karaoke hosting can bring good money at times and some hosts do host five nights a week.

- Keep a fair rotation - No one likes when the kj plays favorites or purposely skips over singers because they don't like their voice. Everyone deserves an equal chance to sing no matter what their singing skill is. Good kj's have a system that they've used for years and everyone is kept happy.

Hope you've enjoyed this segment of my blog! Until next time kids!

-Stephen

Stephen interviews Stephen

Stephen interviews Stephen!!

Weird headline,huh? Well I just wanted to tell folks about whats going on with my artwork and what my thoughts are on the current state of comics. Without further ado....




SW: What are you currently working on?


Stephen: Right now I am working on finishing the first issue of Diner Of The Dead. It's a 3 issue mini - series with Ben "1314" Hansen. 

SW: What is it about in a nutshell?

Stephen: Zombie chaos comes to small truck stop diner. 

SW: What sets your book apart from the other zombie books out there?

Stephen: Well for one I would say we have a good story. So many zombie books out on the market are just about non stop gore with next to no character development. We have some great characters and a cool look for our ghouls. We also have some very nice artwork adorning our books! I realize our book being primarily black and white there might be people wanting to compare it to Image Comics "Walking Dead" but they really are very different books in feel and tone

SW: Who is publishing the book?

Stephen: We are self publishing under my comic company Monster Island Studios. We are going through Kablaam for the printing.

SW: Why self publish and not try to be published by a major company?

Stephen: Well one of the main reasons why is creative freedom. This is our own universe we can do anything with. If Diner goes over well then we do have ideas for continuing stories set in the same world. Another is that we can choose when we get to put it out. If we had tried to pitch our idea to a larger comic company usually it takes months to maybe even years to hear back from them and even after all that they might decide they want a different art team on the book. We would also lose most if not all rights to the property as well. 
    The downside of course is that we have to cover all the costs ourselves. We pay for the printing costs and promos. This is what is different from self publishing vs publishing. Some people don't seem to really get that concept. A person who has little knowledge of the comics field who is starting out and self publishing might tell folks at conventions that they are published when in fact they are "self published".

SW: Where can we buy the book?

Stephen: We are going to be selling the books at comic conventions and hopefully through some local stores. The first issue is going to be prepped and ready by late June/early July 2012. I'll keep everyone posted.

SW: Why not just do this book as a web comic and save printing costs?

Stephen: It was a thought early on for the book but even in this age of Kindles and iPads I am still a firm believer that most people still like having a tangible product. I love taking in the artwork of a comic and the print smell. Some people think that print is dead and I say that's bullcrap. Print is going to be around for a long time still. Webcomics definetly have their place and there are some great ones out there so I don't want to come across like I don't like them.
  I think some small press people and self publishers get frustrated at poor convention sales so they will just say that print is dead because they didn't make dollar one. Truth be told if the product is good then people will buy it- whether it's in print form or a pay web comic. Be personable with the con goers and make connections and you will also start building a nice fan base that will look for you specifically at conventions and buy your prints and comics. 
   Some conventions can be slow and others can be hoping. You just have to roll with the punches or your not going to make it in this biz!

SW: Anything else you'd like to add for the readers out there?

Stephen: I have been learning so much from doing this book! I am becoming a better artist from it and am very lucky to have a partner in this with Ben Hansen. For those that don't know Ben is a comic book artist who has been published by comic companies Bluewater, Moonstone, and Arcana. He has also had artwork featured many times in Strange Aeons/Planet Lovecraft magazine. Ben was also recently a feature artist in the Emerald City Comic Con "Monsters And Dames" artbook- quite an honor!!  I really look forward to selling our book and hoping that people will really enjoy it as much as we do and we get to sell a lot of copies!

    Diner Of The Dead is a 3 issue mini - series and at some point later it will be collected as a trade paperback.  

Karaoke hosts do's and dont's

I have been an avid karaoke goer for close to fifteen years now and I've traveled to venues up and down western Washington as well as a few places in southern California. I have been to good venues,great venues and god awful shows that shouldn't even be running. For the most part what will make or break a karaoke show is the kj ( aka karaoke jockey). I have come up with a list of things that I feel will make a great karaoke host and a list of things I've seen that are sure ways to fail as a karaoke host. Without further ado, here I go..
- Be engaging and energetic with the audience: Whether you are working a bar with fifty people or five people you should make the crowd feel like they are having a great time and they are the star of the show when they are up to the mic.When a host is great they are going to make great tips as well. The shows will get bigger and bigger followings and in return the bar will be making more money. It's a win- win!
- Have a great sound system with a great diverse selection of songs: I'm not talking about bass cracking windows, but having a great mixture of bass and clear crisp sound and hearing the singers voice come through like a pro. The kj's songbook should hopefully be a decent size (5,000 plus songs is key now a days) Have all the genres represented here. Also keeping the book current is a must unless the kj is working an older club,such as the Elks.
- Keep the rotation fair!: It's so important at busy shows that the rotation stays in order. Yes new singers will come in but you also have patrons that have been there since the beginning of the night and they shouldn't have to wait a long time because someone just walked off the street and wants to be put right up.
- Don't be drunk or on recreation drugs during shows: This is a biggie because drugs and alcohol are previlent in the entertainment business. Bars are very tempting because of what they offer but I recommend the kj's stick with coffee,water or Red Bull.

Ok now onto the list of things hosts shouldn't do:

- Don't become a kj if you don't know your equipment: There is nothing worse than going up to sing and you sing a couple lyrics and then a massive amount of reverb comes out of the speakers and the kj looks at you in horror and then proceeds to start flipping a bunch of switches on the sound board hoping that the machine will function. Please know your equipment before you try to seek work at bars and clubs.
- Don't make lewd sexual comments: I have seen a couple hosts make rude remarks towards ladies in the audience with names like "Juggs" or "Tits Magee". DON'T INSULT YOUR CROWD! You not only hurt your reputation and company name, but at the same time you will hurt business for the bar your working.
- Don't hound or beg the crowd for tips: I know that kj's don't make much money. Some even less than minimum wage, however it's bad edicate to go into a song and dance about how you will have to start living out of your car if you don't get a jar full of twenty dollar bills. Leave a big jar marked "tips" by your booth. You don't have to say a thing and if people like you and the show then they will tip.
- Leave yourself out of the rotation if it gets large: Some kj's are full of themselves and think they are the star of the show. Sorry, but the patrons are supposed to be the stars. If it's a slow night and only five to six people are singing then it's totally fine for a kj to start the rotation. However, if a rotation is twenty or more then the kj needs to set him or herself aside and let the patrons sing!

Well in a nutshell that is my list. I hope you all enjoy it and were entertained. Take care and keep singing!!

-Stephen

New Monster Island Studio commission pricing

I have been getting a good deal more commission work these past couple months and that is fantastic! That being said I believe I am stiffing myself a bit for the amount of money that I charge for my work. Don't fret though kids! I'm not raising the roof on prices here,but I am becoming more competitive. Here are the prices as listed.

8 by 10" pencil character sketch - $ 15 dollars
8 by 10" pencil/ink character sketch - $20 dollars
8 by 10" colored sketch (photoshop) - $25 dollars
8 by 10" pencil character sketch w/background - $ 40 dollars
8 by 10" pen character sketch w/background - $45 dollars
8 by 10" colored sketch(photoshop) w/background - $55 dollars

11 by 17" pencil character sketch - $ 30 dollars
11 by 17" pen character sketch - $35 dollars
11 by 17" colored sketch (photoshop) - $45 dollars
11 by 17" pencil character sketch w/background - $ 60 dollars
11 by 17" pen character sketch w/background - $ 75 dollars
11 by 17" colored sketch w/background - $90 dollars

Small business/company logo - 8 by 10" inked and colored - $150 dollars

*With computer colored illustrations it will be printed out on semi-gloss premium card stock. The original illustration will also be given to the client *

*Any commission that is $50 dollars and more there will be an upfront 25% deposit due to the studio time involved*

If interested in any other kind of artwork or larger sizes that listed please email me with inquires at whitener75@gmail.com

Cheers!
Stephen Whitener

karaoke hosting- I answer the questions!!

It's no secret that the state of karaoke in whatcom county is absolutely abysmal. The only shining light has been the rockaroke band "The Uncanny Valley", unfortunetly they only play once a month. Most of us karaoke enthusiasts look for a weekly craving. For the past year now I have had to journey to snohomish and king counties to find decent karaoke venues. I think that it's ridiculous that there is nothing good in whatcom or skagit counties!
Many friends keep asking me why don't I host a show? The answer is money. In order to have good system and legitimate discs is going to cost upwards of three to five thousand dollars. It's just money I don't have right now. I don't want to get a loan or borrow money because I want to try to invest in a home in the somewhat near future.
Another fact is that almost no bar in Bellingham wants karaoke anymore. Mr. Clean's fine business is responsible for that. I have two friends who are karaoke jockeys aka "kj's" who are experienced and have equipment, but the bar owners aren't having it. I want to know why? Are there dirty payoffs going on? Drugs? Probably both if you ask me or perhaps neither. I don't have the answers.
Finally I just don't have time to host karaoke! I work 40 hours a week at my day job and have my daughter on my days off. I also am busy lately with art commissions. I love drawing and want to make this my full time profession. Don't get me wrong karaoke is one of my fave hobbies, but I want to devote my time to my art.
So kids that is the size of it! Hopefully it will answer your questions.

Cheers,
Stephen