Young Liars

Ok, so here's the deal. Anyone who knows me knows that I am deeply in love with the work of Dave Lapham. He wants people to try out his new Vertigo series, Young Liars (which so far has been on par with Stray Bullets, one of the best continuous series comics has ever seen) and he's offering up a cool promotion to get the word out. Below:

Yes it is a Vertigo book, and I'm trying my G#$damn hardest to make sure it's not cancelled. I'm putting my heart and soul into this thing and I'm trying to spread the word. Details below...

I just wanted to thank anyone spreading the word about Young Liars and everyone who will give it a try. It would mean everything to me to make this book a success. Not only because it's my living and my passion but also because it would allow me the freedom to get back to Stray Bullet, if even only on a limited basis.

Anyone who tries out Young Liars and sends it to me with a SASE will have the comic returned signed (personalized or not) along with a headshot sketch of any character you choose. Could be a Young Liars character, Stray Bullets character, Your favorite Valiant character, etc.

Spread the word on this. I'll do this for anyone who tries out YL.

Send all comics to:

David Lapham
P.O. Box 3911
Glendale, CA 91221-0911

Germany: Checking In

I have lots of pictures and lots of stories and I've only been here for one day...

Real quick: I got back to the hotel at 6PM to power nap and accidentally slept until midnight. Thinking my night was fucked I went out for a quick bite and a beer. I met some awesome locals and ended up stumbling home at 6AM. Good times, now I'm trying to wake up so I can go see some museums today.

Ich hatte gern ein halbes bier

Well, I'm off to Munich tomorrow. Communication will be sporadic. I'll keep an online travel journal but I'll be traveling solo for the most part so I don't know how exciting the trip will be. I know how to communicate at a beer garden so I should be good.

Wedding Planning: Location Scouting

Robin and I have been thinking about the wedding for the past couple of months but this weekend I think it's safe to say we finally started planning it. We went up to Boston to scout out locations. We checked out The Barker Tavern in Scituate (which, in Mass, is kind of sort-of pronounced "shit you it" and we couldn't stop saying "shit you ate"), the BU Castle in Boston, and Stonehurst, The Robert Treat Paine Estate (or, as I like to call it, The House of Paine) in Waltham.

Each hall had it's pros and cons but The House of Paine was all pros with one exception...price.

Ugh.

But I think we both loved the place way too much to let the price get us down, we'll just have to make adjustments elsewhere.

At any rate, here's a flickr photoset of the three places for you to love and enjoy.

www.flickr.com Eximious Pictures' Wedding photoset

Well, that was a nice surprise.

I got the news of the nomination on Friday and I’ve been dying to talk about it. I told a few people, of course. My parents, Robin, and my friends Gennaro and Marcelo. Some of my DC Conspiracy crew. Some of the guys from the book. And I called up Tony Fleecs’ mom to tell her the good news, as well. Feel free to listen to that little exchange.

Oh, and I guess I also told Robin’s family. And some of the other people I’m currently working with on other projects. And I might have mentioned it to everyone that was sitting at a bar in Boston on Saturday. And Sunday. And a couple of my friends in DC. Like, all of them.

Ok, so I guess I didn’t really wait to talk about it. At least I didn’t post anything online.

But, look, I’m excited. I mean, really excited. This book started as a labor of love over two years ago. I got folks on-board quickly and they put a lot of energy into their stories. I put a lot of it together intending to self-publish it. Random House came along and picked it up but instead of simply handing it off I shook a lot of hands and did a lot of press and tried to get folks excited about this book.

It’s just nice, at the end of all that, to be nominated for the crème-de-la-crème of comic awards. I now know why people say it’s an honor to be nominated.

The other anthologies nominated this year are all top notch. Best American Comics, 24Seven, 5, and Mome. You know it’s a good year for anthologies when Popgun, Flight, and Hotwire Comix didn’t get a nomination. So, I’m honored – thanks to the judges and to all the folks that supported the book. See you all in San Diego!

Writing for Comics at the Bethesda Writer's Center

I'm on a panel this comic Tuesday to promote my Writing for Comics class at the Bethesda Writer's Center. Info below.

For Immediate Release

THE BETHESDA WRITER’S CENTER PRESENTS “WRITING FOR GRAPHIC NOVELS”

Panel 1

We’re at the Bethesda Writer’s Center (http://www.writer.org), America’s premier independent literary center. It’s 7:30PM on Tuesday, April 15^th. Four panelists are sitting in front of a crowded auditorium. This is a promotional event for the Writer’s Center’s upcoming Writing for Comics 12-week course.

Panel 2

Tight on Matt Dembicki. He’s the artist and writer behind the Day Prize-nominated Mr. Big. He’s talking a bit about self-publishing your comic.

MATT: When you self-publish, you find you have the freedom to do your comic the way you want to do it. You’re your own editor.

Panel 3

Cut to political cartoonist Carlton Stoiber. He’s talking about balancing a day job while making comics.

CARLTON: I maintain a consulting practice on nuclear security and safety issues by day and create comics by night.

Panel 4

Chris Piers is standing up now. He’s talking about the challenges writers face when collaborating with artists.

CHRIS: If you’re trying to find an artist with a full script in hand, you’re probably too late.

Panel 5

It’s comic editor Jason Rodriguez’s turn to talk. He’s discussing the business of comics and how someone publishes their work in the current market.

JASON: There’re a lot of publishers out there looking for comics. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of people looking for publishers.

Panel 6

Writer’s Center Executive Director and panel moderator Greg Robison’s giving his closing remarks.

GREG: We’d like to thank the generous grant from the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation. It’s paying for this panel and will also sponsor three high-school students looking to take this course. Contact the Writer’s Center for more information (postmaster@writer.org, 301-654-8664).

Jason Rodriguez: The Danny DeVito of Comics

I have my title thanks to the New York Times.

And as an added bonus Gawker told me to go screw!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have arrived!

Road Trippin’: Hostels

Oh boy…

So everyone that knows me knows that I’m a bit of a, how shall I say it…I’m a prissy. Look, I like nice things. I like expensive foods and four-star hotels and large plasma TVs for my high-def DVDs, X-Box 360, Wii, digital cable, etc. I like nice clothes and comfortable furniture and Old World Wine. It’s just how I am…

So I was thinking about my hotel situation. You see, this trip is going to be expensive. Anyone who’s ever been to Comic-Con knows that I’ll be spending at least a grand over the four days in San Diego alone (including the return flight home, of course). Combine that with the rental car, the gas, the food, entertainment money, and the hotels for the 8 days I’m driving to the convention and, well, even I have my limits.

Even the cheap hotels would be $40-$50 per night and I’ll be staying on some highway away from the city, most likely. Getting bedbugs. So I looked into camping – if I’m going to be away from the cities I might as well have some fresh air and friendly neighbors. But it’s just not worth it – it’s like $25-$30 a night for a campsite and I’d have to actually, you know, buy camping equipment. Oh – forgot to mention – I’ve never been camping before.

So I decided to look into hostels and I was amazed to find that they actually exist in America.

So I booked hostels for my overnights in Knoxville, Memphis, and Flagstaff. Four of the eight nights will cost me $15-$17 and all I need to do is share a room with several dudes.

Ok – there’s the practical thing again. I’m saving some dough. Probably around $40 a night for those four nights. And I get to do it while staying within the city limits. Awesome!

But, again, there’s also the real reason I should be doing this. Why lock myself up in some hotel room where I won’t meet anyone? Isn’t the point of this trip to meet folks, have an adventure, and hear some stories (so I can steal them)? I need to put myself in a position to do that…

I’ll be staying at the Knoxville Hostel, the Pilgrim House Hostel, and the Grand Canyon International Hostel. I looked into hostels for my nights in Albuquerque and Santa Fe but there seems to be only one place available in both of those cities and the reviews are mixed but the bad ones are…well…fucking frightening.

Never stayed at a hostel before. No idea what to expect. The best part is that staying in a hostel for four nights will loosen up my budget a tad for the other four nights. Maybe I’ll stay at a Days Inn!

My hotel in San Diego is gorgeous. There’s always that. I can go back to being my shallow self once the driving is done.

Road Trippin'

I was planning my yearly trip to San Diego Comic-Con. I already had my hotel; I booked it last year. My pro registration was sent in. Random House took care of the Eisner nomination stuff for Postcards; I was getting the groundwork laid out for some new books. The only thing I didn’t do was book my flight.

And I said, “Hey – I should drive to San Diego this year.”

There are practical reasons behind driving out there. My main character in The Know It All takes a cross-country trip, for instance, and seeing the route he would take is probably a bit of a necessity. I can also stop in Memphis and soak in some soul music; it’ll only help with the Sam Cooke book. Those two reasons, combined with the fact that I’m going to San Diego for Comic-Con, makes this trip a nice, fat tax deduction.

So, like I said, practical.

And then there are the real reasons.

For starters, I’ve simply never done anything like this. I went from high school to college working every summer, never really took a spring break excursion, and started working the week after I graduated. I’ve taken vacations, of course, but those were always so structured. Get on the plane, fly somewhere, see the sites, fly home and go back to work. I’ve taken road trips, I guess, but the furthest I’ve ever traveled by car as an adult was 7 hours and that was all on I-95. As a kid I took trips down to Florida with the family.

But this is different. I’m going solo. There’s something about pulling that safety net out from under you. On all my other trips I had the comfort of home by my side at all times – I didn’t have to pay attention to my surroundings if I didn’t want to. On this trip, however, I’m forced to mingle with the locals and other travelers or else I’m going to have a very lonely 8 days on the road. And I like that.

There’s also that romantic idea behind centering yourself. Let’s be honest, this time one year ago I was on top of the world. I recently proposed to Robin and Postcards was turned into the printer – I had the galleys in my hand. One year later and I feel like I’ve taken two steps backwards. Is that a bad thing? Not really – it didn’t turn out the way I wanted the first time so I’ll just have to try it again. But does it still bug me a bit? Of course it does. And centering at a time like this is always a good idea and nothing centers a person like 3,000 miles of road.

So I’ve heard, at least.

So I’m going. I rented a car. I took the time off of work. I plotted a route and have tentative stops:

• Tuesday, July 15th – Knoxville, TN
• Wednesday, July 16th – Memphis, TN
• Thursday, July 17th – Memphis, TN
• Friday, July 18th – Oklahoma City, OK
• Saturday, July 19th – Santa Fe, NM
• Sunday, July 20th – Albuquerque, NM
• Monday, July 21st – Flagstaff, AZ
• Tuesday, July 22nd – La Quinta, CA

I plotted those stops on Google Maps along with road side attractions I should keep my eyes open for:


View Larger Map

I even started making my rules for the trip…

1) Photograph everything
2) Video tape as much as you can
3) Use the voice record constantly
4) Write everything in a journal
5) Talk to someone everywhere you stop

There will be more, I’m sure.

I have a shopping list. I need a good tripod. A cooler that I wouldn’t mind leaving behind in San Diego. Postcard stamps. I need to get some audio books from the library.

I looked up AAA approved hotels along the way, just in case.

I have goals. I’ll update Twitter constantly. I’ll try and update Flickr and this blog every night. I’ll edit a video journal when I get back.

I still have more planning to do. More stuff to buy and more ideas for the road to come up with. But I’m doing this. And I’m very excited.

This just feels right.

'Fessing Up: Red Lobster

I’m 30 and Robin is 29. We’re well within the “upper-middle class” range; some may even define us as within the “high income” range. It’s safe to say that we love food but it’s probably more accurate to say that we’re restaurant aficionados. We love going to the latest and greatest in DC-area restaurants and filling up on plates that’ll make the average DC tourist say, “Wuh huh?” Sure, we eat at the occasional chains but always with a sense of irony. T.G.I.Fridays, for instance, where I’ll sit and swallow a steak and plantain sandwich, commenting on how well it pairs with whatever pinot noir they’re pushing that particular month. Also we can occasionally behave like 95% of the rest of America and pretend that we have this totally unique restaurant in our neighborhood called “The Cheesecake Factory” because, let’s be honest, their cheesecakes aren’t all that bad.

And that ends the list of national chains we’ll admit to frequenting. There’s no Applebee’s. No Ponderosa or Bennigans or Outback Steak House or Perkins or Golden Coral or Olive Garden or Chevy’s or Chili’s. Even Legal Seafood seems a bit too mainstream these days and we lived in Boston back when Legal Seafood was still an aspiring chain; we’d rather go to McCormick & Schmick’s.

Oh, yeah, and there’s one thing I forgot to mention. We fucking love Red Lobster.

Yeah, I said it. Red Lobster has been the butt of my generation’s jokes for far too long. I honestly don’t even know where the hate came from. Is it the tacky décor? The horrid uniforms? The schlock commercials? It could be the clientele, I guess. If you look at the Venn diagram you’ll note that the intersection – that perfect storm of everything our generation is not – represents the average Red Lobster patron.



So Robin and I are outliers but we’re proud of it. I’m here right now to tell you that there is nothing wrong with Red Lobster. The seafood is always fresh, the portions are outrageous, and their dishes are damn tasty. Their bar selection isn’t that bad and their deserts are delicious in a Disney Land sort of way (and that makes them SUPER delicious).

Last night we were trying to decide what to do. We were trying to decide who to call, where to go, if we should eat at home first, etc. I was the one who brought it up. I said, “Let’s go to Red Lobster.” Robin was excited by the idea – Red Lobster is a rare treat for us since they’re all so far away. We knew we couldn’t invite any friends along because Red Lobster is our dark secret (well, was our dark secret).

We drove out to the Red Lobster in Alexandria and sat at the bar for a little while. We ordered a seafood sampler. Bacon-wrapped scallops, fried clam strips, and crab-and-lobster stuffed mushrooms. The dish was a miracle and it only cost us nine bucks. The bacon-wrapped scallops were as good as one’s I’ve eaten in most places, the clam strips were light and tasty, and the stuffed mushroom…I wouldn’t be surprised if Jesus had them at his Last Supper. And no, I’m not being sarcastic.

It’s Lobster Fest time so it took us a while to decide on our actual dinner order. I got the lobster chops with grilled scallops, broccoli, rice pilaf, and a Caesar salad. Robin got grilled lobster and shrimp with this marvelous garlic-butter sauce and a baked-potato side and some broccoli. We split a half-pound of snow crab legs, had a couple of beers, and who could forget Red Lobster’s wonderful cheesy bread.

The cost for this shellfish and beer feast? $72. With tip. That’s basically the most two people could possibly spend at a Red Lobster. And for that price you get a meal that’ll cost you $72 per person at most high-end seafood restaurants and, honestly, it won’t taste all that much better.

Since we were on our own last night we decided to go all out – we went bowling after dinner and bought a bunch of scratch tickets. It was our way of fighting the establishment.

So I’m begging my generation: please give Red Lobster another chance. Ignore their large selection of “signature drinks.” Ignore their cringe-worthy marketing normally high-priced and sacred shellfish. Ignore the guy that’s yelling at his waitress because he hasn’t received his bread yet. Just sit down with your lady or your man, order an obscene amount of lobster and shrimp, be prepared to spend two hours there, and live a little.

You’ll find it’s not as bad as everyone says it is.

The Drunken Wine Critic: The Website

Completely smashed video and text reviews of the wines you could actually find in your local shop. Check it out, link it, love it, pass it around. Here's just a taste of what you should expect to see...

A Message From Kurt Vonnegut

“I’m thinking of calling a general strike of all writers until mankind finally comes to its senses. Would you support it?”

“Do writers have a right to strike? That would be like the police of the firemen walking out.”

“Or the college professors.”

“Or the college professors,” I agreed. I shook my head. “No, I don’t think my conscience would let me support a strike like that. When a man becomes a writer, I think he takes on a sacred obligation to produce beauty and enlightenment and comfort at top speed.”

“I just can’t help thinking what a real shaking up it would give people if, all of a sudden, there were no new books, new plays, new histories, new poems…”

44 years ago Mr. Vonnegut essentially predicted the future and agreed that the world is a shitty place without new episodes of The Office. Quoted from Cat's Cradle:

“And how proud would you be when people started dying like flies?” I demanded.

“They’d die more like mad dogs, I think – snarling and snapping at each other and biting their own tails.”

I turned to Castle the elder. “Sir, how does a man die when he’s deprived of the consolations of literature?”

“In one of two ways,” he said, “putrescence of the heart or atrophy of the nervous system.”

“Neither one very pleasant, I expect,” I suggested.

“No,” said Castle the elder. “For the love of God, both of you, please keep writing!”

More Mega

Two more videos. The first one is the Follow Me Reprise. It has one of my favorite gags towards the end.



The second one is The Sermon on the Mount.



Next time they'll be blow-up dolls and Dan will be playing the part of an ass.

Jesus Christ MegaStar - The Video (Parts 1 and 2)

Well...I haven't done any original content for this site in some time and figured I should get on that. I will be uploading a series of 19 videos that make-up Jesus Christ MegaStar...with commentary. Those of you that have been coming to this site for a while are likely familiar with Jesus Christ MegaStar. I've blogged about it several times, even mentioning it in one of my first posts. I talked about the famous blow-up doll prop here and gave a bigger picture of the show here.

Well...Guam sent me a DVD of the show and I decided I needed to share it, despite how bad it is now. The idea is still fantastic, and we're talking about rewriting it now that we're, you know, good writers, but, man...there was some sloppy parts in the original show. Which is fine, because we went from concept to final product in one semester; not bad for a couple of college kids.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure this recording took place during our test performance. The show is incredibly insulting but it has an overall message of redemption and salvation (although we need to bring that out more in the rewrite). For the first show, we essentially invited all of our Christian and Jewish friends to see how many of them walked out. Ironically, the only person that left was PJ, our cameraman, as you can tell by the fact that the camera eventually stops moving. Everyone else had a good time.

From what I understand this show could be performed twice this year, once at Improv Boston and once at some college somewhere.

Well, at any rate, here's the opening:

As I describe in the commentary we advertised the show as this huge event. Then we informed the audience that I'd be playing all parts, the orchestra was replaced with a keyboardist, and we started ten minutes late.

And here's the opening number:

When I finished that song there was a sea of shocked faces in the audience. Pat's line was crucial to let people know that, yes, we meant to make it offensive and, no, we don't support those views.

Enjoy! More coming! Should I also post the versions without commentary?

Another new project

A new year-long project designed specifically for the voyeur in you. I'll be recording every penny I spend, every calorie I consume, and every rep I do every single day for a full year (with commentary). The site is called Crunches. Tell your friends, if you'd like.

Current TV Pod Now Online

The wonderful folks at Current TV hooked me up with producer Gabe Uhr to make a short pod on POSTCARDS. I don't know its TV schedule yet and I'll be sure to fill you all in when I have that but, for now, you can view it online. Enjoy!