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Monday, January 30, 2023
What wouldn’t you do to speak to your late loved one once again?
Saturday, January 28, 2023
COMICS: Roy Thomas, Super Powers, Collecting
COMICS FOR ALL
By Alex Ness
January 29, 2023
This is a brief look at some interesting concepts, ideas, powers and excellent comics to read.
REPRESENTATION AND AGENTS
I've been asked dozens of times, do I get paid to run PR? Hell no, I consider it popular media talent and industry news, and from most PR firms, it is welcome. That which isn't welcome is from people who demand coverage, and those PR people can go eat a bag of dicks. But for projects on Kickstarter, long term projects that deserve greater audiences, and people doing a new kind of project or format, PR is quite important. In my opinion, no one does it better than Lys Fulda. She is a person who helps creatives, the bloggers, and larger sites, get together, work together and make the best works read or watched or played by more people, and build a better foundation to start with.I am not saying this as PR, simply that over the years, she has been the best, the most involved, the greatest supporter of my site, and probably of many more. Find her site HERE
ROY'S WAR
Some folks reading this are highly aware of the many decades of quality writing and editing by Roy Thomas. And while people assume his focus was either Conan, or super heroes fighting super villains, I'd argue, he has written great works, featuring super heroes from the 40s, fighting the Axis powers. His work doing so was clearly a labor of love, and deserves to be collected in tpb form. It is brilliant as comics go for telling such stories.
BODY ORIENTED SUPER POWERS
There are so many different super powers, my initial plan to cover all of them was folly. With help from beloved comic friend Rich Chapell I whittled it down to body changes, and in particular, shrinking, growing, and stretching. Click on the image to see each character and their use of powers. Some are poorly done others are rather fun. I don't have super powers, but if I did, it would be to mind control bullies to pull down their pants in public and dance a jig.
MY CURRENT COMIC BOOK SEARCH
I rarely talk about my own collecting of comics, mostly because I am more about reading and enjoying than buying, bagging, boarding, and storing away comics like trophies. I do however have a current search going on. Marvel comics put out a series of books, some single issues, some larger numbers, and they used the new evolution of quality inks, quality paper. I deeply enjoy the format.
DONE IN ONE
When people ask me what tpb or graphic novel they could pick up without knowing anything prior and enjoy the whole comic experience, I generally dither about and ponder ideas. Not because the comics world doesn't have that, but because some folks don't like superheroes, some folks don't like violence, some dislike vigilantes, and others don't like depth, looking for fun. Well there are plenty of comics or tpbs without superheroes... but not aiming at that here. Find it here. The Watchmen was a fantastically drawn work, with a deeply layered story. It tells a story about how a historically important group of heroes are being slain, and why. The New Statesmen is good, but seems to be similar in content. Squadron Supreme considers a Marvel comics dark take on the Justice League, a DC comic. It is done well, if one buys into the premise. Marvels and Kingdom Come tell stories using realistic looks at heroes, with great writing, and fantastic art. V for Vendetta is a story that isn't one regarding murder, nor hate, but how one person taking offense at egregious evil done in the name of good, chooses to make the world aware, and uses public spectacle to do so.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF WESTERNS
The stereotype of the American Western still holds the attention of the world, if not a declining portion of Americans. But recently and in the recent past some creative uses of that setting with different concepts allowed for new life in the genre.
Moebius's Lieutenant Blueberry told western stories, but with such grace and beautiful art, and lack of White supremacy themes, that they were a breath of fresh air.
Two Moons by John Arcudi and Valerio Giangiordano is a wonderfully told tale from different viewpoints, embracing the mythic west, and those who come into the land in naivety.
Ghostdancing by Jamie Delano and Richard Case is authentic, beautiful, dangerous, and makes use of the power of the Ghostdance (a historical event that deserves a whole article to describe). It is accurate for what it discusses, and brilliant for the fictional narrative. Why isn't it captured in TPB I wonder?
Timothy Truman and Joe Lansdale's Lone Ranger and Tonto isn't a straight forward western. It features dark creatures, dangerous events, and goes places the Lone Ranger series on television never would have gone. It is a story in West Texas, but it is not told like a typical western story would be. While I prefer Jonah Hex by the same pair, this is a work worth reading, and enjoying.
About Getting Reviews from Me
I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street address.If you send hard copies for review I will always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.
My Creative Blogs:
My 5000 poem Blog AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
Cthulhu Alien Horrors CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com
Atlantis & Lost Worlds AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com
My Published Work AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html
My Amazon Author Page Amazon.com/author/AlexNess
Support: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com/2022/06/for-sale.html
All images are copyright © their respective owners, use is simply as fair use and no ownership rights asserted.
Saturday, January 21, 2023
A Dude Who Has Done And Does Work That I've Liked: Steve Niles
the works of STEVE NILES
By Alex Ness
1/22/2023
Steve Niles writes horror and dark fantasy. He was a member of a band, lived in many areas of the US, and loves cats. I met him once in Minneapolis at a comic shop, but didn't know who he would become at the time. His more popular comics were 30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre, Simon Dark, Batman:
Gotham County Line and Spawn: The Dark Ages.
I have always liked his writing, his concepts are solid, his dialogue real, and his action right up front and interesting. His works when accompanied by some of the finer artists in comics are masterful, powerful, and no where near as dark as the writing of horror might be thought to be. I've never regretted buying his work, and had the privilege of receiving review copies during some of his most productive writing periods. Now, I prefer his prose over his comics, and I can't explain why, perhaps I love the art but enjoy the luxury of reading a quality writer being unleashed and not writing for the artist, but the artist in my mind's eye.
I once made the mistake of forwarding an email from a reader after an interview that he assumed came from me. I'd not only not written it, but I confess, I thought it might be a mutual friend or enemy or someone playing a game to see if I would pass it on to him or not. It was stupid to forward it, and the last time I ever did something like that.
I find Steve's work to be superior to most similar works, and I received reader emails about Steve every interview or review I did. People loved him, but not his work, or loved his work but not him, or some other sort of combination. I told people every time something that readers here should be familiar with. The art lives because of the artist. If you don't like the artist, the art still remains. People don't have to like anyone or anything created by an artist, but you'd be a lot happier, I think, if you just appreciated the quality work, without deciding before reading it that you won't enjoy it.
My first encounter with Steve's art was when he ran an imprint called Arcane, and produced a comic that was a scene by scene adaptation of the fantastic Fritz Lang movie M. I loved the movie, found it disturbing, and the adaptation by Jon Muth was incredible. I think Steve Niles deserves a shit ton of credit for making such a magnificent work happen. This isn't a love letter to Steve, as I have many doubts that he'll read it, but I was recently asked if I thought there were creative talents who did great work and might have been successful, but don't linger in thought as one of the great writers of the day. Niles EASILY fits that description.
I didn't mention it in depth, but 30 Days of Night with Ben Templesmith was such a successful work it was made into a movie. It was so scary a person responded to a post I made promoting the work, said it evil and she couldn't sleep for a week after seeing it. I said, you bought a ticket to a movie rated R for horror... you can't blame it for scaring you.
He is online. I am pretty certain you can find his comics and books at the comics stores and book super stores. I wish you luck finding his best works, it is definitely worth seeking out.
https://www.facebook.com/steve.niles.9/
https://www.instagram.com/steveniles65/
https://twitter.com/SteveNiles
About Getting Reviews from Me
I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street address.If you send hard copies for review I will always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.
My Creative Blogs:
My 5000 poem Blog AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
Cthulhu Alien Horrors CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com
Atlantis & Lost Worlds AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com
My Books and Sets for Sale
My Published Work AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html
My Amazon Author Page Amazon.com/author/AlexNess
Support: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com/2022/06/for-sale.html
All images are copyright © their respective owners, use is simply as fair use and no ownership rights asserted.
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE ARTS: An Interview
INTRODUCTION
The origins of this interview came from reading the various members of the creative arts community reacting to AI music, and posting images of AI created art. I found the news of AI art (all of the formats and fields) to be relatively unsurprising, but nonetheless interesting. A really great artist I won't name here, was in a chat with me, at a comic convention afterglow, said how computer aided art was a big thing on the horizon. I said, I am not saying it will be better, but AI image art would allow writers to create with its assistance, in ways that over turn the things some artists have said to me, that writers are unnecessary to great story telling artists. And as he was an artist and writer, he didn't take offense, as he knew none was intended, that comic creatives who are writer/artists often have a symmetry in their work that two collaborative artists do not. So, in a decade, we agreed, comics could be highly changed in the creation of them, and resulting works.
Originally I was going to have as many artists as writers and all forms of storytellers in between. But of the 10 artists I asked, 3 became irate for reasons I don't know, and the others ignored my requests or said no without saying why. So, I tested the waters talking with David Hine, who is a highly talented writer and artist, who seemed genuinely curious and interested in AI, without any agenda. Alan Dean Foster has shared his composed music compositions, and his other new creations via AI, and I am a fan of his work, so was curious his opinions. Shortly after I briefly chatted Erik Larsen and it occurred to me that, since he has given great interviews, as a publisher, writer and artist, he'd probably add deeply to this piece. When he said yes I was thrilled.
All images and quotes are copyright their respective owners/creators. ©
DAVID HINE:
Contact him via Facebook
(Drawn from a chat)
Alex Ness: I like almost all the AI I've encountered, but understand why artists seem worried.
DH: The following image is one of a series I made by prompting the Wonder image generator.
AN: I like these. I think they looks parts Ladron and Moebius and Corben. All artists I dig. I've heard from artists that they believe the deviant art site utilized a.i. to harvest art there, and they are angry. But, I suspect, magazines and comics and prints and paintings from great artists form the backbone of most of it. Although, I am sure it would feel bad to think your work was harvested. Fortunately for me, all I do is write shitty poetry. Should A.I. copy that people will say A.I. Poetry sucks.
DH: I use a mass of prompts so there are so many sources that nothing is close to any existing image. Plagiarism isn’t an issue. I see it as similar to the way all artists put together elements of everything they’ve seen. You can see Kirby in almost every superhero artist but they aren’t necessarily tracing or even copying. An AI image is going to be put together from thousands of images. I have yet to see an image that would meet the criteria for an accusation of actual plagiarism. With all the millions of images being created there should be lots of examples. The problem is that in a few years these image generators will be able to make more or less any image you want. There’s a real possibility of artists being completely replaced and the same goes for writers. The world is changing fast and it’s kind of scary but also exciting.
The concepts of ‘work’ and ‘art’ will need to be redefined along with our role and relationships with machine intelligence.
AN: Of course, most every comic book has identifiable roots. It is only in the outer fringes that we see works without roots in comics.
DH: Yeah, it’s whether the art produced by machines can ever have human warmth or creativity. I suspect they will, or at least a convincing imitation of humanity. I don’t think there’s much limit to what machines or artificial intelligence will be able to do. We are close to that point where human intelligence will be left behind. We just have to figure out what the point of our existence is when we aren’t the ‘superior’ species any more.
AN: As a historian I've been asked what is the greatest development of humans. I didn't say nuclear energy, or AI, I said reaching the moon. They asked me why, one was more practical, and I said, nuclear power allowed humans to do more destruction than ever before, and by developing it as we did, our wisdom and morals are still far behind it, so we might never have the wisdom to properly use it. Whereas space might allow humans to escape all we've done and try again.
DH: Ha! Well I hope we don’t have to give up and abandon Mother Earth. I do despair of humanity sometimes but only as a species. Individuals are mostly pretty decent.
AN: I wonder if we have a creative industry with people who make/create art, of their own, should Art created by Artificial Intelligence be avoided, or, like any other tool in a creator's toolbox, is it simply one way to create? Of course, we recognize artists and respect their art.
DH: It has to be the choice of every individual to use or not use
Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) There is an argument that it is more than
tool because it can run in ways that would completely replace the
artist, including using AI to produce prompts. I can see a world where
machines create billions of amazing pieces of art that, in the end, no
one even bothers to look at. Right now I'm fascinated by the weird kinds
of surreal art that it is producing. Some of the imagery is boring and
repetitive but I am still excited by what I am seeing. Some of it is
quite unique. I don't see any commercial use for what I am doing. Others
will use it commercially and that will be problematic. I don't like to
see people deliberately trying to imitate artists' styles to make
comics, but that's true of manually produced art too. If someone is
deliberately trying to plagiarize an artist, I have no interest in what
they make. I am endlessly curious about new kinds of imagery. There's a
kind of mechanical surrealism that is looking at the 'subconscious' of
the artificial mind in the same way that the original surrealism drew
from the human subconscious.
AN: Can A.I. created art and eventually writing ever replace human words
and art? How far into the future do you think it will be before an all
A.I. comic book could happen?
DH: There are lots of A.I. comics already. They are still very limited
in consistency and the ability to tell a story, choose a camera angle,
etc… And they are still plagued by six-finger hands and all the other
problems that machines have with recognizing how the human form works,
but I'm sure those problems will disappear soon. Whether machines will
actually replace writing and art by humans is impossible to answer. If
you want to write or draw you will always be able to do that. The
question is, will you be able to find the audience? Will you be able to
make a living? Those are the same questions we already have to answer.
Most writer and artists don't have a large audience or make any money.
They never have. The ones who make the most money and have an audience
of millions aren't the best or the most deserving.
But what do those
terms even mean? I hate some art that millions of other people love.
There are incredibly talented and hard-working writers that will only
appeal to a few thousand people. In the end you create primarily for
yourself and if you are in it for fame or money then you will suffer the
same end as creative people always have. The very few will become a
household name and for the vast majority, no one will ever know or care
that they exist. A few in between will be able to make a decent living
or top up their income from their day jobs. Franz Kafka worked for an
insurance company and wrote for himself. Apart from a few pieces that
were published to a tiny audience in his lifetime. It's an accident that his work
was published and became known to the world after his death.
AN: Why do we worry about what we do, if we acknowledge that art and
words are written and art is made into art, for a world where nothing is
new? The Bible and Joseph Campbell suggest that we recreate, not so
much create, and there is nothing new under the sun. (However, while we
might recreate, Joseph Campbell did say, if you want to change the
world, you have to change the metaphor)...
DH: I disagree. Everything is new. There's a sliding scale of
originality. Everything is a product of what has gone before, but
everything also has something new that comes from the personal
experiences of the creator. The degree of originality varies wildly.
There certainly are creators who seem to be totally unique but that
probably only means that their sources are lesser known, or their lives
and experiences have been more unusual than most.
AN: New and unique art and writing will be made, and of it will be made
by machines. Then why do we dislike or show bias towards the creator of
that work?
DH: I try not to.
As an afterthought, I think the real issues are about the nature of work
in the future. I like to think that in the future we will be given
everything we need in the way of food, shelter, clothing, entertainment, health, education, etc… (Something along the lines of the Universal Basic Income) as a basic right without working.”. The boring
jobs will be done by machines and the jobs that still require humans
will be done on a voluntary basis. Most of us will spend most of our
time on the things we now enjoy as hobbies. And if we want to produce
art then nothing will stop us from doing that. It just won''t be
work-related. Sounds like utopia to me.
ERIK LARSEN:
Contact him via his website:
(Interviewed Via Email)
AN: AI art has led to numerous artist on social media writing that AI is unethical, more than one publishers to post notices (game publisher Chaosium for one), to post new requirements for works submitted must be submitted with a promise that the art be a human created artwork. Ultimately, will that do anything meaningful?
EL: I doubt it. People will find a way around it--even if it's making small incremental changes so they can claim authorship. And at a certain point--how is anybody going to be able to tell what's AI and what isn't? Artists are drawing on their computers now and using 3-D models on everything from space ships and cars to entire cities. Artists have been using whatever tools are at their disposal for years. Wally Wood was pasting up photos of cars 50 years ago.
AN: Do you think AI is so dangerous that it will replace human art, or will it be a tool for talentless boobs like me to illustrate his work with a computer program, that is, a toolbox and nothing that will be mistaken for personally created art?
EL: I think AI is inevitable--and it's only going to get better. As much as we think creators will take a stance and the audience will reject AI art--we all know that's bullshit. A few people will make a stink but the vast audience won't know the difference and if it means more art by Frank Frazetta, Jack Kirby and George Pérez--who's going to put up a fuss?
Now, it's not going to replace EVERYBODY--there will always be talented artists who find employment, but if a beloved artist is a deadline nightmare or an editor wants a cover by that artist but they can't get them to do it--well, now that’s no longer an issue. If they want a Sienkiewicz cover but can’t afford Bill-- AI Bill will do in a pinch. I expect lazy artists will incorporate AI into their own work if they haven’t already. Once artists are actively using AI to aid them--is AI by non-artists such a huge ethical leap? And this is especially the case with artists who are working digitally. They’re already dragging in photographs they didn’t take to trace off and using 3-D programs they did create to draw backgrounds--AI doesn’t seem like a huge leap to me. But the assertion that it’s the death of art is nonsense. It may be the death of some artists, for sure, but talented individuals will always have an audience.
AN: I've read some ardent artists accusations that AI art was only possible by websites like Deviant art and pixabay or any site that has such a wide spread of style and art that to computers could utilize the art to analyze styles and works to consume, digest and recreate. Do you think that is where you'd find the genesis of such a concept as Artificial Intelligent created art, or music or writing?
EL: Oh, I’m sure they’re fed everything on the Internet. We’ll all posting things everywhere. There is no shortage of material for them to learn from. We’re feeding the machine every day. And it doesn’t need to be on any one site. Image searches provide hundreds of pictures.
AN: I think art like writing and music, all have roots in the past, and very little is truly new. So, why should anyone worry where AI art will take the world?
EL: I don’t like the argument that there’s nothing original in the world and everything is a remix. It excuses those unscrupulous individuals who deliberately steal from others. We should all be striving for originality even if we can’t help but be influenced by the world we live in. That having been said, I think comics, novels, movies and TV shows created entirely by AI is inevitable. At the same time, there will always be artists who create things by hand who will thrive. I’m not worried about me. AI won’t be replacing me on my books. But if I were a struggling artist without much of a name--it would be a cause for concern.
ALAN DEAN FOSTER
Contact him via his website.
(Via Email)
AN: I've heard artists of visual art and music say that they feel as though they've been plagiarised by Artificial Intelligence music and art programs. If we accept that art has a creator, would it be accurate to say that Artificial Intelligence can create? If it cannot, would that not mean it draws entirely upon the creative abilities of the human creative artists?
ADF: At this point the art produced by AI programs such as DALL-E, Midjourney, Imagen, and Surface(?) Diffusion rely on vast libraries of human-produced art, morphed and transformed via the specific algorithims of each piece of software. There won’t be any true AI-generated art until a program produces such art without a prompt. The same goes for music. AI-generated music is even less original than the art, because the source material is much more limited.
AN: I use public domain art to illustrate my work, isn't that on the level of a person using A.I. Art or Music programs, that is, not to replace the work of human artist, but to use it as a tool in my creative toolbox?
ADF: No, I think using public domain art is on a level down from using AI-generated art, because the pd art is a finished product from the time you use it, whereas the AI art requires some human input, resulting in changes to the original art (try it…it’s fun!).
AN: What would you say is the fear that creative artists have, if they know their work is superior from the beginning, is it that people would use the free or easier to acquire inferior product? I write crappy poetry, if AI modelled its poems after my work, people would say AI poems suck. Isn't AI unlikely to ever achieve greater works than a human artist?
ADF: Money trumps everything. Trained artists know their work is superior (and usually is). But if a publisher can obtain a “new” book cover for fifteen cents (cost of 4 DALL-E generations) vs. paying an artist, and doesn’t think the public will care, which do you think they will use? We’ll be seeing the same for music, especially in advertising.
AN: When you use AI art or music, what are you using it for, to create something, to illustrate or add to a creative work you've already created? Do you think it adds value to your work, and if so, does it come at the expense of a human creative artist?
ADF: I don’t use AI music. I write entirely by myself, working as would any composer. As to the art, that’s becoming really interesting. I’ve generated several illustrations to the book I’m working on now (OVER THERE). When I’m satisfied with the final art, I’ll incorporate some of it into the book. Example: I’ll describe a palace. DALL-E will generate multiple iterations based on my description. I will then describe the finished work in the manuscript so that it accords, as closely as possible, with the art. It’s a collaborative process. Here is the palace at C’haglean. My initial description interpreted by the AI. Took ten minutes. Imagine trying to hire/pay a commercial artist to do that. And I own the art.
AN: If you were told an opera or symphony, painting exhibit or some other form of art was created solely by AI, what would you think, what could you learn, or what would you expect to be the ultimate result of viewing, listening, experiencing?
ADF: I would respond to it as I would to any work of art, music, etc. If it’s good, I’m delighted to enjoy it. I welcome our new robot artisans :).
Saturday, January 14, 2023
THE TEMPLARS in History, Fiction, and Film
THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
By Alex Ness
January 15, 2022
This edition was assisted by and proofed by friend
Jonathan Cal’dorem. Thank you sir.
There have been stories told about the Knights Templar, and if they are not accurate they are often intriguing and moving. There are and have been hundreds of misconceptions of their origins, works, worth and end. They began over time as a group dedicated to studying the bible, living an honorable and devout life, and to defending the travelers to the Holy Lands of the Levant. The typical knight of the temple was not highly literate, often depending upon the sermons and little reading they were able to spend hours every day devoting time and prayer to their particular form of faith. There is a concept regarding the Templars that they spent their days fighting or searching for holy relics. But the greatest portion of their time was spent in prayer, and in lessons taught by those with more education.
Due to the mysteries of their practices, numerous outsiders held the Templar Knights as being more like a cult. While their faith was held by many in question, it was Christian. It used symbolism and lessons to explore the concepts of their faith that were idiosyncratic, and mysterious to others. While the Catholic church had its own symbolism, and eventually the Protestants had their own, there was possibly a fear of armed knights holding secretive ideas, and with loyalty to the order rather than any state or statesman.
The Templars were not writers or theorists regarding the bible and teachings, but they did use ritual and ideology to enhance their ideals of the order. One of these aspects was their use of symbolism, and the figures they created to avoid idolatry of any fashion, so in their teaching they would not use the name of, the term for, or a direct image of God, nor the enemy, Satan. They created a terminology that would allow them to speak freely, without violating their beliefs, including using the false symbol of Satan called Baphomet, whom, contrary to many accounts, was not worshiped by the knights, but rejected, spat upon, denied. The order of knights were taught to expect trials by others, whether Christian groups or secular, and had realized at some point that they'd be forced to choose. To live but betray their oath and life's work, or to die,while keeping their faith. Baphomet was the symbol of the deceiver, Christ was their redeemer.
And in a sense, they did have to choose. Due to the French king at the time, with support of the Pope, the order was declared to be a renegade faith, and lost its facilities and right to practice. But despite being forced to recant his faith and declare his apostasy, the grandmaster of the faith and his second in command were to be burned upon the stake, and both recanted their earlier words as being tortured out of them, and re-embraced the Order upon their the fire born death.
As the world of that time did not allow Christians to charge interest, banking was difficult to practice. Except the Templar order being an order and not a bank, was able to hold money during one's travel, and charge a reasonable fee for doing so. This caused great envy among the Christian world's leaders, and so you might consider the possibility, it wasn't anything the order said or did that caused its dissolution but the piles of money they compiled. You might well assume that rather than offense towards the Templar's faith and practice, it was pure greed.
IN HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS
The best books regarding the Knights Templar are shown below. Especially readable and wonderfully clear was Sean Martin's The Knight's Templar. All of the other books shown were great, but his tells every detail needed, as well as doing so without attaching extraneous data or superfluous theories.
IN COMIC BOOK FICTION
The Mice Templar is a wonderful story that uses a clever pun, but deep insight into the world of a group of knights who have standards, misunderstood by others, or worse, hated, and details the depth of a group who are devout, and how that alone makes them stand out for questioning and dealing with the distinctly ignorant accusations of others, or war. Bryan JL Glass, Mike Oeming and Victor Santos created a masterpiece.
IN FILM
While some films about the Templars are worth watching, many are flatulent crap. Kingdom of Heaven is historical, and if dark, worthy of the subject. Some documentaries add to our knowledge, but are not necessarily important. There are technically good movies such as the DaVinci Code that focus upon the Templars role in guardianship over secrets about Jesus Christ, and his blood lineage. This movie and other works are based, in part, upon the works by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL. The theory surrounding that work is that Christ married Mary Mary Magdalene and had children who were formed the line of kings known as the Merovingians. While certainly entertaining, the work has foundations in literal untruths, and where it isn't creating a fabric of lies it fills in the blanks with speculative idiocy and false data and facts.
About Getting Reviews from Me
I
can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email
Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at
any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street
address.If you send hard copies for review I will always review them,
but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these
at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry
that I'd dispense them for free to others.
My Creative Blogs:
My 5000 poem Blog AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
Cthulhu Horrors CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com
Atlantis & Lost Worlds AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com
Published Work AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html
My Amazon Author Page Amazon.com/author/AlexNess
Support: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com/2022/06/for-sale.html
All images are copyright © their respective owners, use is simply as fair use and no ownership rights asserted.
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Matt Busch Reveals Future Aladdin 3477
Promotional Campaign for the First ALADDIN 3477 Film Begins Busch unveils the Kickstarter for his epic sci-fi movie trilogy!
https://www.
Saturday, January 7, 2023
Darkness
IN THE DARK
By Alex Ness
January 18, 2023
HORRIBLE NEWS FOR ME
My sister died in January 2022. I lost a number of good if not my very best friends, during the year, and now I've lost my brother on December 30. I will never stop mourning them. My brother had an adventurous life, like everyone was not always happy or successful, but with his union with his wife Diane, he'd suddenly had more to live for than ever before, a new set of people he loved who were his new children and when those newcomers to his world arrived, with grandchildren, his life turned from a struggle, and difficult, to happiness and complete.
Whatever I experienced and witnessed, from the outside, I saw a man who'd overcome challenges, difficult experiences, and disappointment, discover something greater than his own life, a life with love, a life with a family he adored, and completed, with his heart being overfull with the glory of love, innocence of grandchildren, and a completion of a life quest, with victory. We lost him too soon, but from the beginning of my experience, he was my first hero, my defender, my knight. I was his Tonto to his Lone Ranger, his Robin, to his Batman.
I know that I can never receive a new brother to replace him, but I am grateful from my lost beloved sister I have her husband and my brother in law Steve, and I have my DNA blood sibling brother Nate. They are all I have left, but God granted me more love, more help to get through, than some people would get in a dozen lives.
My brother, for all his flaws, wanted to see the people he loved succeed, he was generous, talented in his chosen crafts, and someone who was filled with stories, jokes, and personal viewpoints that were nearly unique, and worth remembering. I will forever remember him, and my sister Denise who passed in January of 2022. My personal loss is great. But others have lost as much, and I grieve with them for someone who was a true character. One unique in ways, and adventurous and wild in others. My sister in law Diane was a catalyst in my brother finding love, fulfillment, and happiness. Whatever else in terms of wealth, fame, great and deep discoveries, what my brother found was love and true happiness, and for that, I am grateful to her.
INTO THE DARKNESS (written in November before the new darkness struck)
I was recently asked why as a Historian (with a master's degree) with a minor field of Political Science, I am so silly in my personal humor (fart jokes) and so frivolous (comics, fantasy, science fiction and more, RPG games) in my taste. I was asked, almost simultaneously, by someone else, who reads my various blogs and most of my books, why my writing is so dark. Sigh... I'm not that big of a mystery or dichotomy as humans go. But I am emotional and have experienced darkness, so I should suggest, perhaps I am possessed of a sense of humor that is extreme or silly, because it allows me to poke fun at the world that otherwise is so hungry for my soul. Some of who I am comes from childhood experiences where certain things that aren't evil or bad were off limits subjects and speaking about them or joking about them feels liberating. And as far as taste in terms of genres I enjoy, or kinds of media I enjoy, I just refuse to grow out of things I enjoy, and I might also suggest, they, too, are liberating for a person who has had dark experiences and would prefer to escape than engage.
However, it is true that I absolutely do engage the darkness and
serious world. In fact, I deal with subjects from a range of interests,
but also experiences that feed my world view. And in my creative
writing I bleed ink and transparent honesty. I am a reflective poet, who
uses the history and political science training as well as my life
experiences to express myself. I surely know some of the subjects I
write about are thought dark.
My mom had not fully been lost to
Alzheimer's when my first book came out. She tried reading it, and had
tears in her eyes and said this is so depressing it is terrible, I don't
think anyone would ever want to read such a book. But, mercifully 2 years later
when she had no real memory, read it and said it was beautiful. I think
her desire for me to write something she'd have bought was behind her
original view of it. Some friends hearing how her first experience went felt bad for me, but as
I've written elsewhere, she came from a very hard early life and that
she and my father ended up with a success story, a family where no one
went hungry, a home was owned, parents helped me get through college,
and my brother has been a successful manager in transport. They did far
better than their own family, and never spent a nickel unless it had a
direct purpose. My being a poet, who would not sell a lot of books, was
the absolute worst result, to her, of my expensive education. That she
wanted the best for me, and Alzheimer's let her feel happy for me over
her original sadness, in my first book, is a blessing, however dark.
In
person, I've been told I am quiet, or serious or kind of dark. Well, I
am 6'4", I wear black clothes, and as an introvert I probably prefer to
be alone with my wife or son, or even just with my cats. (My beloved
Katya has been on my desk grabbing my wrist as I type). But if I am
asked my opinion, unless being honest would cause a shitstorm that no
one wants, I do tell people exactly what I think. Some people hate that
about me. Oh well. So, maybe I am the tall quiet and intense looking guy. I am more loyal to friends and loved ones than anyone knows. So, yes
I do have serious and dark outlooks, and at the same time I refuse to
look at comics or any medium as frivolous. I refuse to give up anything I
love because other people don't dig them like I do. I am deeply loyal. I
write darkly perhaps, but I am also as honest as you will find,
regarding my work. Perhaps I do live with some lies about my own worth. I
don't think that would be altogether unusual. I think we all hope to be
talented, loved or at least liked, and we probably entertain some level
of falsehood regarding our own deeper self.
BACK ISSUES BONANZA
There are a literal ton of comics that I've read, shared, sold. Some are worth keeping, but others you find for 50¢ a each, and you catch up on what you missed or start over. Sometimes it works, other times... not so much.
LEGION OF SUPERHEROES 1984 Baxter version
As I was waiting for my son to buy a sh^t ton of Star Wars figures I found the first four issues of the Legion of Superheroes, and thought, I remember liking these, I wonder if they are still awesome. OH hell yes they were good. Even great. It could be confusing for non fans, but I was never that. So reading these was such a joy. Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen made a fine creative team. Levitz probably rests comfortably in my favorite writers list, and Giffen has so many styles and great work, at the very least I really like his work, if not love it.
NARCOPOLIS
I try to mention the work of Jamie Delano whenever I can, I think he is a particularly gifted writer, with a great writer's ability of characters, tone, pacing, and imaginative world building. In Narcopolis he demonstrates all of that, and is complimented nicely by the artist Jeremy Rock. It features the lives of people in a society where there are far too options in the field of drugs to escape reality, in a world where the governing aspect of society is harsh, invades privacy and uses terrible means to infiltrate one's sovereign being. Rather than suggest drugs are the answer, the suggestion is that their use comes from a response needed to an oppressive society. A rather apt similarity to the present state of affairs. I saw this for $5, bought it again (I bought it when it first came out, read it numerous times at the time), and gave it, after reading it again, to a thoughtful non-comic reader, who is now begging me for more free stuff. If only the publisher Avatar Press would release it as tpb.
SHADE THE CHANGING MAN
Shade the Changing Man was originally a work by Steve Ditko, and it was quite an unusual read, but it was one I deeply enjoyed. I recently found 8 issues of the series of the same name from DC/Vertigo, for $2 and I had to think for a while, about how I thought of the experience. I didn't enjoy the individual stories a great deal, but despite the writing, it had truly great art by Chris Bachalo. The stories, however well served by that art, weren't truly engaging, and I thought they rather stole the name of Ditko's original series without capturing the essence of his character or the universe it was set in. That isn't always a bad thing, and I think it can give a new and interesting perspective when that sort of thing is done well. I am sure other people enjoyed it more than I do now, or did back when, but for 2 bucks I didn't get much bang for my buck.
WEIRD WAR
For two dollars, I was able to read some wildly dark and enjoyable stories from DC/Vertigo. Their take on Weird War Tales, an awesome comic about war from the 60s and 70s, is worth buying, if not for the covers, which are amazing, or stories, by them for the art, which is freaking amazing.
MOVIES I LOVE
I've
written about the movies I love before, and why I like what I like. My
love of film didn't begin from my views being shared on screen, or
having similar taste to those in the world of film. I developed my love
of film in general and for those depicted below that I especially love
from time spent with my mother, and brother, growing up. My brother was a
hero to me, and I could not have been as generous as he was with me,
with his friends, with his interests and tastes, and with his time. I
was his sidekick, he was the hero.
With my mother, it was the
time spent with her in general, and specifically, it was rewarding in
the realm of her explaining the more mature films from the 40s and 50s
that she enjoyed. So, even though I think the greatest portion of loving
a film is figuring out the various parts that make it work, at the age
of 7-14 she was able to tell me what a person without the maturity of
age would have known. And since her taste was rather good and serious
rather than frivolous and meaningless, I understood black and white
films from her era like someone from her era. Many adults I
know say they have kids who can't appreciate black and white or
especially old films. I watched b/w films on b/w televisions and my mother would have helped me get why the
film I was watching was so good. She also highly influenced my favorite
actors and directors...
And my favorite creative talents in categories of actress, actor and directors.
I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I do accept hard copies, so when you contact me/inquire at any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street address. If you send hard copies for review I will always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.
My Creative Blogs:
My 5000 poem Blog AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
Cthulhu Alien Horrors CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com
Atlantis & Lost Worlds AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com
My Books and Sets for Sale:
My Published Work AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html
My Amazon Author Page Amazon.com/author/AlexNess
Support: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com/2022/06/for-sale.html
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