Headed for my follow up today. Still have inflamation in my prostate (which was discovered by yet another hand up the ass) and the doctor's put me on a stronger course of anti-biotics, in hopes that the prostate fixes itself, and hopefully pushes the stone (which he figures is STILL lodged in there) out.
A word about having a grown man's hand up the ass.
I can't express to you the amount of pain this causes. I do not recommend anybody gives it a try. It was certainly not worth the $100 I had to pay for it.
I'm on a heaping helping of vicodin to help 'ease the pain' from the instrusion and the pain it's seemd to cause in the kidneys.
Now, I will go pass out.|W|P|112554451155171728|W|P|The Kidney Drama Continues.|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
One of the many pages of Extras in the Elk's Run Bumper Edition, which is getting ready to head out to the printer on Thursday. Can't wait for you guys to see all the great stuff we crammed in here, hope it makes it worth it for those of you who've already bought the book, and want to be extra supportive.
Did I mention I love you guys?
Click the image for full size.|W|P|112544629293460244|W|P|ER Bumper - Sketch Page!|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Of my Birthday swag, this has gotten the 2nd most attention. Steven Bochco and Co.'s Murder One is far and away the best coutroom drama of the 90's (eat shit The Practice, L.A. Law, and Law & Order). The thing that sets it apart, and makes it so much more... engaging than every other show is that the entire season is focused on one legal case, an underage rape/murder involving a business tycoon and a movie star. We see every twist and turn, each day in court plays out in front of us, rather than the glossed over jumps of the triumvirate of aforementioned shows.
Far and away, the highlight of the show was Daniel Benzali, as Ted Hoffman, the bald headed shark with a heart of gold. He manages to show off a warmth and compassion that manages to never quite undercut his sharp mind. On every other legal show, he would be the villain, the high price attorney defending immoral, self-obsessed millionaires, yet, the beauty of the show makes him out to be a moral man in an immoral world. It's quite a striking balance, and Benzali handles it like no other.
I highly recommend the first season of the show (the second season is a different cast and different format, and excellent but in a very different way..)|W|P|112529249873479446|W|P|Murder One|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Checked out Old Boy finally. It's got moments of greatness, but, ends up being a bit over long, and a bit too on the nose. The twist is a bit obvious, although Dina didn't see it coming as early as I did, and it suffers a bit from that awkward Asian logic in that the motivation for the bad guy is just positively over the top and somewhat illogical.
The main difference between American and Asian cinema, I think, is that the Asian directors manage to take outlandish concepts, flawed logic, and simplistic character motivations and make them work, where as in the US you just end up with "Must Love Dogs."
Anyways, the movie has some gorgeous sequences, the plot's pretty engaging, the visuals spectacular, and the performances overall pretty good. The movie has a quote on it something along the lines of "Made to be recommended by Quentin Tarantino," which I suppose is somewhat true, but, I don't think the movie quite makes it up to the levels of the Kill Bill movies, or even kickass recent Asian action films like Volcano High and Ichi the Killer.|W|P|112520997977393627|W|P|Old Boy|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com|W|P|112516165995692455|W|P|I just got to write something...|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
|W|P|Your a total sellout im never reading your books again. :)Way to go!
-stephen
Kitty's Hugging
Originally uploaded by Joshua Hale Fialkov. This should make up for the gross out pic.
|W|P|112512739774798868|W|P|Kitties Hugging|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
We have a massive infestation of spiders just outside my door. Noticed it spinning a web right next to the light in the hallway, and watched it devour a trapped moth. Damn those things are smart. |W|P|112512545889733183|W|P|The Spider Eats The Moth |W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Made this in the early days of the book, for what would be a 'tourism section' of the website. Never came to be, but I love this photo. I photoshopped in all of the text and the sign in the picture. |W|P|112507366319145530|W|P|Elk's Run Tunnel|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com |W|P|Nice work-stephen
Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov; Illustrated by Noel Tuazon This has been an intriguing series so far with the changing point of view from issue to issue, but Fialkov and Tuazon pull out all the stops now and get the story rolling towards what can only be an intense conclusion. As the citizens of Elk's Run try to cover up the lengths they've gone to in protecting their isolation, the police show up looking for a missing citizen. Told from the point of view of the power-loving wife of the community's leading citizen, this issue is disturbing and dramatic. I've enjoyed Fialkov's fun writing in his Western Tales of Terror anthology, but this is where he's really shining.|W|P|112507127252909494|W|P|CWN says...|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
ELK'S RUN #4
by Joshua Hale Fialkov, Noel Tuazon, & Scott Keating; cover by Datsun Tran Two state troopers dead, the town on high alert, the war has begun. John and his friends are charged with burying the dead cops’ bodies, when they realize they must make a decision. Either they are with their parents, or against. MATURE THEMES SC, 7x10, 32pgs, FC SRP: $2.99 Diamond Order # SEP05 3086|W|P|112502779576316392|W|P|In Previews Now!|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
FUSED ONE-SHOT
by Niles, Long, Fialkov, Stakal, Chee, & Fotos
For Mark Haggerty, life has become more than a little complicated. He's been fused inside of a robotic Cy-Bot exo-suit, forced to live on a military base, and become the subject of endless tests, all the while trying to figure out how to relate to his wife from inside a hulking metal body. This one-shot spotlights Haggerty's return to comics, featuring scripts from Niles, as well as break-out new sensation Christopher Long (The Easy Way) and Joshua Hale Fialkov. 7x10, 48pgs, FC SRP: $6.99
Diamond Order # SEP05 2834
It's 15 pages of crazy explosivo action from me... even more so than Western Tales of Terror. Go. Check it out. Dig it.|W|P|112502721043026439|W|P|Also in Previews Now!!!|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Sean Maher and his superb comics blog get down and dirty with Elk's Run #3, and a look back at where the series is come and where it's going to. Go check it out already.|W|P|112500707218792779|W|P|Sean Maher Takes Elk's Run #3|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
NEWSARAMA - ELK'S RUN #1 - FULL ISSUE
Go there. Read it. Be happy.|W|P|112499097366999366|W|P|NEWSARAMA - ELK'S RUN #1 - FULL ISSUE|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Art by Noel Tuazon|W|P|112494889048014434|W|P|Josh and Jason by Noel Tuazon|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Jason|W|P|Um...I don't remember that. Fialkov|W|P|It happened in Noel's imagination, where sugar plum fairies do... uh... stuff.
Of the few Birthday Presents I've received, so far the favorite has been Resident Evil 4. Holy Shit. It's suspenseful, manages to actually generates scares (I've jumped at least 4 or 5 times and I'm only on the 2nd chapter), and just beautifully done. Biggest problem is that you can't run and shoot, which while it's probably a pretty good approximation of my shooting skills, doesn't seem to make a lot of sense for a special ops-y type guy.
Anyways, the really highlight of the game is that it's not just using bullshit zombie stuff. I'm about two hours into the game, and there's not a zombie in sight. The bulk of the bad guys thus far are more like possessed sick folk, almost akin to 28 Days Later, but a bit more perplexing. The game builds this wonderful sense of mystery, and it has me wanting to play it to find out what the fuck is going on and what the fuck is gonna happen next.
Aside from all of that, the game is proof that the Gamecube is actually a helluva machine. The game runs beautifully, the load times pretty decent (better than the load times on Katamari Damacy on the PS2, which is one of the simplest games graphically made since the 16 bit era.) The textures and lighting effects are top notch, the music and sound effects are even better. For any horror fan, this is the game that RE has always portrayed itself to be, and never quite succeeded. Until now.
Now, the trick is to finish these fucking scripts that are due.|W|P|112474455264884931|W|P|Resident Evil 4 Has Swallowed My Soul|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com |W|P|I posted here on my own free will. :)Great news for the new forum!
Started getting art in on Elk's Run #5, officially putting us over the halfway mark. No matter how long I do this, that feeling of "Holy Shit. We're actually doing it!" never ceases to amaze me. It's just plain incredible that we've been able to more or less fight the odds (those being the ones the industry puts up) to make something so special and dear to me as this book.
And it's just not a regular book. It's not like anything on the shelves today, and that to me is what's most rewarding. Having people fall in love with something that's such a departure from everything else that's being put out...
A lot of people complain that the industry is going the way of the 90's again, becoming bloated and filled with variant covers and crossover nightmares. And, that's true. To a point. Unlike the 90's, we're lucky to have an industry that has people willing to buck the trends and do something really and truly different, even if the audience we're doing it for is that much smaller. Guys like Rob Osborne, Rick Spears and Rob G, hell, even, guys at the big two like Warren Ellis, Brian K. Vaughan, and Ed Brubaker, are all making daring comics the likes of which has never been seen.
A lot of people say to me, "So, why are you working in comics if you aren't making any money?" After I scoff at them and remind them that in fact I'm losing money, too, I always say the same thing. There is no other art form that gives you so direct a line to your audience. Every other mass market medium is either to costly or too bloated for anyone with a different voice to get in. In comics, my audience might be small, but, I know that they're seeing the vision that my collaborators and I want, no filtering, no interference. That's what makes comics special.
Click Here for Full Size of Elk's Run #5 Page 1|W|P|112467389455980196|W|P|Passing the Halfway Mark|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
The peeing has slowed down to once every hour or two. This is a massive improvement. What a miserable life.
Anyways, the pain's gone down, my back pain is nearly gone, and the antibiotics seem to be working. There's a good chance, claims my doctor, that the stone might've been small enough that it passed during one of my more painful pees earlier in the week.
You heard me. Painful. Pee.
The picture is of the contraption I pee into. It's AWESOME. Here's full instructions on how to use it.|W|P|112460584176553185|W|P|Kidney Update|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com Fialkov|W|P|Thanks for checking it out!"Elk's Run #2 by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Noel Tuazon Hoars and Buggy Productions $3 Before I mention the actual book, I must say this, along with speakeasy titles, has the nicest production values of any independant book outside of IDW. It has even nicer paper than DC and Marvel's $3 books. The colors are vibrant, and they feel slick and fresh. So, enough gushing about the paper, what about what's on that delicious paper? Well, an incredibly decompressed comic book. Even moreso than Silent Dragon #1, the only plot advancement is the actual execution of the man who killed the boy(I'm really bad with names). The only thign taht happens is that. It's worse than Girls #3. But, you know what? I love this book. It has amazing cartoonish art that reminds me of Darwyn Cooke and Frank Espinosa from Rocketo. It's light and breezy, and conveys heavy topics and messages of,, well, I don't really know what. The town the book is named after doesn't have a strong identity. It's a military town where vets go and live, apparently. The roots of the town are vague, just as its rules. But I want to know more. The entire issue focused on one character's history and motivations, and I'm entranced by the characters. The father figure shows his determination to do his job of protecting the town and his son, and he fails in those regards by letting his son watch the execution. But I'm probably rambling incoherently to those who haven't read the book. Pick up the collected edition in this month's previews, and add it to your pull list. I can guarantee you'll like it. very Highly reccomended."|W|P|112454880555584591|W|P|More ER Love|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Elk's Run #3 Review: This whole issue is told from Sara’s point of view, John’s mother, and John Senior’s wife. In this closed society, it seems like women have no power at all, and you kind of wonder at the mindset of those who stick around, and this issue goes a long way in illuminating Sara’s belief system here. She loves her family and her husband, and she wants to see his dream and vision - which she has made her own - succeed. And she will go to any length to see that happen. It means she’ll look the other way when it comes to any sin, up to and including murder. It never seems anything but realistic.Click here to read the rest...|W|P|112452177770893618|W|P|comiXtreme.com says...|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
AICN Comics: ELK’S RUN #3 Joshua Hale Fialkov: Writer Noel Tuazon: Artist Hoarse and Buggy Productions : Publisher Vroom Socko: Just here to ask a few questions Let’s get one thing straight right away. In a week where I picked up comics by Gail Simone, Geoff Johns, Brian Michael Bendis, and Matt Wagner, (to say nothing of the latest kickass issue of FABLES,) this issue was hands down the best book of the week. I suppose a bit of background is in order. This story is about a kid named John who lives in an isolated community in West Virginia. John didn’t know just how isolated they were, or even that there was a purpose behind it, until one of his friends was killed by a drunk driver. The driver, John’s next door neighbor, was sentenced by a town vote to be dragged from his home in the middle of the night and have the rear tires of a Buick parked on his chest, after which the townspeople would do their best impression of Rubens Barichello. John, of course, sees all of this. AAll of that was in the first issue, as seen from John’s point of view. Issue #2 was the same event, along with some backstory, as seen by his father, John Sr. Both of those issues were brutal, hard, and a hell of a lot of fun to read. In part three, we see the continuation from the point of view of Sara, the mother of this charming little family. And with that, we also see the story move from being a fun, creepy horror book to potentially cracking into my list of the 25 greatest comics stories of all time. It’s been two days since the drunk was executed, and the latest shipment of supplies is on its way. Unfortunately, the truck is late. Also unfortunately, a pair of state troopers has just shown up on Main Street. It seems the out of town relatives of the drunk have declared him missing. So Sara takes it upon herself to show the two cops the town, while her husband figures out just what to do with them. What makes this issue work is its minimalism. There’s no captions, no internal narration, just Noel Tuazon’s art telling the story. The tension just builds with each page, until the final two pages hit, with the nastiest moment to date. What I especially enjoyed was seeing how Sara reacts to her situation. Her facial expressions, her body language, all of it tell her story better than any narration could have. If you can manage to get your hands on all three issues of this book, I say do it now. If, like most locations at this point, this series is sold out, then you’re in luck. Speakeasy, the book’s new publisher, has a solicitation this month for an omnibus edition of everything published so far, with a sweet looking Darwyn Cooke cover. This is one series you shouldn’t miss.|W|P|112429660777873533|W|P|AICN says....|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Stumbled on the cd. Really good mix of The Rentals and Polyphonic Spree. Recommended. Dig it.|W|P|112420919593251586|W|P|Shout Out Louds|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Jason|W|P|Sorry dude. |W|P|Likewise and let's hope your recovery is quick. Take care. Unknown|W|P|What am I going to do with you, Josh.You just keep getting yourself into trouble!
ELK'S RUN #3 by Joshua Hale Fialkov & Noel Tuazon (Hoarse & Buggy Productions) Elk's Run #3 Cover by Datsun Tran And with the third issue, it all clicks. While the story of an isolated militia town was intriguing, the first two issues of Elk's Run seemed a little slow-paced, but I now see that Fialkov was building a foundation and using the slow pace for tension. In this third issue, when events from the first two begin to snowball and more cracks appear in the "perfect town" of Elk's Run, it becomes clear that establishing the mood and foundation was important. With that understood, the artwork of Noel Tuazon and colorist Scott Keating clicks with me more as well, and though I still find some of the specific storytelling a little fuzzy, the dull browns and yellows of the palettes and the somewhat oppressive mood in the art throughout begins to make more sense. Tuazon and Keating are showing the reader the illusion of the dull community, and it makes for an effective contrast with the sinister events that unfold in this issue. The shifting point of view also becomes clearer now that we're three issues in, and this issue's look at how the "mother hen" of the community views the events going on is a fascinating look at maternal instinct as it applies in a community where isolation and the ever-present threat of violence are part of life. The most interesting moment, however, comes fairly late in the issue, as one of the community members makes a decision that puts the hidden community in a direct path with the society outside, and promises to speed the pace up considerably. Elk's Run has been all about mood up to this point, but with the mood now firmly established, the actual story has gotten underway in a big way with this issue, and in so doing, hooked me much more into the story. Those seeking a moody suspense piece should give the Elk's Run Collected Edition from Speakeasy a look when it hits.|W|P|112374770104574096|W|P|TheFourthRail on ER #3|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Click Here For Full Size Art by Datsun Tran|W|P|112374697355073731|W|P|Elk's Run #5 -- Cover Sneak Peek!|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
|W|P|112352226285871482|W|P|Suggested Sequel for Elk's Run|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com |W|P|Make sure it's a one-shot. This 8-issue thing is tiring me out. |W|P|This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Click Here to View the Rest Starting work on a new project, focusing on a Ghost Town, so, I climbed in the old Subaru, picked up Greg Matiasevich, and headed up to Central California's Ghost Town capital, Calico. It's a bit touristy, but we had lots of fun just the same. Enjoy the massive number of photos.|W|P|112338070731087154|W|P|Ghost Town Research #1 (Calico, CA)|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
WESTERN TALES OF TERROR #5 by various (Hoarse and Buggy Productions) Cover by Kieron Dwyer Western Tales of Terror goes out with a bang, and while I'm sorry that the series ends with issue five, I can't say that I'm disappointed with the notion of going out on a high note. It's almost forty pages long, and it features contributions from Tom Mandrake, Steve Niles, Tony Moore, Scott Mills, Jason Rand, Juan Ferreyra and of course editor in chief Joshua Hale Fialkov. Mandrake's 'The Devil's Gate' is a great tale of post-Civil War witchcraft and insanity with the usual evocative artwork you expect from him. Rand and Ferreyra, creators of Small Gods, turn in 'The Tale of Chili Pete,' a fascinating story of a search for a magic chili recipe that is essentially a long setup for a weirdly off-kilter punchline, but while the ending left me a little cold, the rest of the story is the perfect weird old west tale. There was a similar disconnect for me in Niles and Mills' work on 'Gold Miners' Slaughter,' a zombie tale that was an odd fit for Mills' geometric shape-based style, but I liked the tale, even if I think that Mills would have been served better on another story and the story with another artist. 'Know When to Hold 'Em' by Matty Field, Tony Moore, Nate Bellegarde and Jacob Baakeis, like "Chili Pete," a long story setup for a punchline, but it's got gorgeous art and a nice tense poker sequence. "Six Shots" by Jason Rodriguez and Marco Magallanes and "The Wind" by Joseph Gauthier & R.H. Aidley are both quick and dirty horror pieces that get their point and get out, and while they may not have the punch of a longer story, they're a good example of how to tell good stories in short form. On the flipside of the coin, Fialkov finishes up another multi-part story with a miner facing down a dragon and it's as enjoyable as his previous tale of Indian zombies. Like all anthologies, Western Tales of Terror has featured some hit and miss storytelling, but there was at least one gem in every issue, and there were rarely any stories that out and out disappointed. Happy trails to you, Western Tales, and hopefully we'll see you again someday.|W|P|112313092506539389|W|P|TheFourthRail.com says...|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Elk�s Run #2 Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov, Jason Rodriguez, and Chris Fabulous; Illustrated by Noel Tuazon and Paul Maybury I�m enjoying Tuazon�s art much more this issue and the story, told from a different character�s point of view, makes the first issue make a lot more sense. Fialkov�s got a gift for dialogue too. I feel like I know these people after spending this little time with them and even though the main guy is a prick, I even feel like I understand him a little. But I didn�t at all understand Jason Rodriguez, Chris Fabulous, and Paul Maybury�s back-up feature about a guy who sucks on subway seats and preaches to a little kid about bad choices, free will, and spankings.|W|P|112290996188116014|W|P|CWN says....|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com
Elk's Run No. 1-3 By Joshua Hale Fialkov, Noel Tuazon & Scott A. Keating (Horse and Buggy Productions) www.elksrun-thecomic.com Elk's Run, a very sharp and entertaining thriller, snuck up out of the indie comics world this past spring and keeps gaining momentum. It's about a town called Elk's Run that is run by a bunch of Viet Nam vets who decided they didn't want anything to do with the world and formed their own town in an old mining community. No strangers may enter, no townspeople may leave. Each issue so far has focused on a different viewpoint - the first issue featured John, a teenager trapped in the town by his stern father. When a friend of John's accidentally gets killed, that sets off a trigger of events that look to bring a whole lot of trouble to Elk's Run. The next two issues focus on John's father and mother, respectively, and each is creepier than the last. Fialkov and crew have an original book here with a strong sense of mood and style. There are some rough edges, sure, but there's also an energy in the pages that wouldn't survive in a more polished package. Tuazon's art is simple, cartoony at times even, but his rough linework and clear storytelling add to the book's charm. An eight-part story, Elk's Run is just heating up and Fialkov seems intent on keeping things interesting. Hot new indie publisher Speakeasy Comics will be releasing Elk's Run from issue No. 4 up, and a compilation of these first three issues under a new Darwyn Cooke cover is going to be put out in October, so keep an eye out for it.|W|P|112290980985104938|W|P|Nashville City Paper says...|W|P|joshfialkov@gmail.com