Swine Free

Hey guys the test came back negative. I am healthy. It's good that it came back when it did cause I was getting desperate... I was getting schemey.

Anyway, it seems that my body fought of swine flu on its own which is great.

So....

- NO WAY!!!

QUARANTINED: Day 1

I am currently quarantined until my test results come back. The doctor told me to wear protective gear so I don't spread this foul demon-virus to my loved ones. He didn't provide me with any such equipment, so I was forced to put together my own using common house hold items...

I put together a pretty comprehensive system for protecting others from Pig-Plauge...I wear the face protector down when family, friends, or pets are in the room.

Also, as a precaution, I have taken to wearing 2 pairs of feet pajamas, and dish washing gloves, to simulate a Hazmat suit.

Despite the cumbersome attire (sleeping with a motorcycle helmet is particularly hard) I have still managed to get some work done. Below is a sketch for the webcomic Idle Minds that I am hoping to start posting soon:

In any event the doctor now tells me that it could take days to get my results, so despite the fact that I feel fine, I am not allowed to go to work....

I remain QUARANTINED!!!

-here am I floating in my tin can....

This song is dedicated to the Swine Flu Virus!

Instant Karma Got JimmyGlenn

So in a comedic twist of fate, that seems to definitively prove that Karma does exist, I found out today that I tested positive for Swine Flu. This comes after weeks of teasing Susie, and scoffing at each an every news story detailing the global pandemic.

To be clear, I was actually VERY sick about 2 weeks ago. At that time the Doctor tested for flu just to rule it out. (The test took so long to come back due to the influx of Flu tests that labs have been receiving). I took off from work and got better. Honestly the more I think about it I am now realizing I exhibited many of the symptoms, but given my existing medical condition, it's always hard for me to tell when I am sick.

Now friends, before you panic (OMG I JUST PLAYED BEER PONG WITH HIM!!) here are some things to consider:

• My test was actually taken over a week an a half ago, so I am probably well over the pig plague.
• Unless you exhibit symptoms of the flu, chances are you haven't contracted it.
• Susie tested negative, so if she tests negative, chances are you would too.
• And finally... well just click here.
  

In any event I am currently quarantined (seriously) until I get word from the Doctor regarding the new test. It will probably come back negative, but until that I feel like I have Life-Herpes...

Pray for Mojo...



-...Maybe you should Get tested

Newtonian Comics

Last night I did a quick sketch(with some tweaks) of my favorite unsung Marvel Hero...

GRAVITY!!!

Gravity is a GREAT Marvel character that appeared in his own Mini-Series called Gravity: Big-City Super Hero, by Sean McKeever. I really can't sing the character's praises enough. In many ways he is equal parts Spider-Man and Superman.

Raised in the mid-west Greg Willis moves to NYC to attend NYU. Once in NY Greg dons a costume and begins patrolling NYC as Gravity.

The series was awesome, then gravity made some minor appearances... and then DIED. He has since been resurrected... and I think he joined the Initiative?

Who knows...

Whatever the case may be, I love him, and would LOVE to see Marvel come out with a new mini or ongoing series!

Get on that JOE Q!!!

-Must Come Down

POW! Deadpool

DEADPOOL

I won't Bullshit you, when I heard they were canceling Cable/Deadpool I was really upset/pissed off. I had discovered it late, thanks to Jim Nausedas, and was playing catch up online at Marvel's Digital Comics Unlimited, and through back issues. When I heard that the series was to be canceled. WTF!?!? This was Marvel's diamond in the rough! How could they do this to me? And why can Fabian? He's amazing... and for who? Daniel Way? He writes serious shit like Wolverine Origins... he won't be funny!! How are they gonna go an make Deadpool serious? Whats happening to Bob?! This SUCKS!!! LETS PROTEST!! BLACK RAGE!!!

Ok...

So it wasn't that bad...

In fact, I couldn't have been more wrong about the newly streamlined Deadpool series written by Daniel Way, illustrated by Paco Medina.

The art is really perfect for this series, his somewhat Ramos-esque exaggeration suits the comedy and action PERFECTLY! There is a heavy burden on an artist whenever a character wears a full face mask like Deadpool or Spider-man, its really important that the artist is able to express the comedy and reactions through body language, and Medina does this masterfully. Also, his facial expressions (of the many dumbfounded and bewildered characters that cross Pool's path) are hilarious. 'Very few are a Summer and a Winter, but Paco Medina pulls it off nicely...'

Batman Forever?

Anyone?

No?

Moving On!

Any issues I had with Daniel Way disappeared after the first issue. He writes Deadpool PERFECTLY! Way's Deadpool has has not one, but 2 captions devoted to inner-monologue, and he often gets lost in his own inane babbling (similar to the likes of which you hear at say... your local comics shop), whilst arguing with himself! Way blends comedy and action masterfully, and makes Deadpool as exciting as it is funny. Pool does things like: jack Tony Stark's Iron Man breast plate, make armchair's our of C4, and daydream about voluptuous nurses, waitresses, and enemies, while still kicking the shit out of ANYONE who gets in his way. The action, comedy, and fourth-wall-breakyotimy is really spot on!

And though I miss Bob and company, they are not as absent as I, or most fans, initially believed they would be. Bob and Outlaw have already appeared in the series, just not as prominently as they did in Cable/Deadpool. And though I initially thought this would take alot away from the series, Way's Deadpool-centric angle that Way has established does lend it self to be more reader-friendly.

Deadpool has quickly become one of the comics I eagerly await each month. I really recommend you check it out!The mix of humor and action make it a book that I can't envision anyone would dislike.

-But it's time to die... You're worth more dead!

Idle Minds

I have been basically bed ridden, so I have been doing nothing but sleep and draw... here are the results of my disease... This last one is for Kris Cotter...

-"Idle Hands Spend Time at the Genitals..."

The Spring of My Discontent

I have come down with some sort of mystery ailment that has slowed my progress on various endeavors including this blog, symptoms include:

• Violent Coughing Fits
• Sore Throat
• Decreased patience
• Fatigue
• Awesomosity deficit
• Diarrhea (on one rare occasion)
• Headache
  

I have already began to consider a few possible diagnosis'.

Swine Flu (H1N1)
I am really pushing for this one, it would be pretty ironic if I got swine flu after teasing Susie mercilessly about it. I think if H1N1 does end up being the diagnosis, there will be incontrovertible proof of karma (Brian Monoghan I am looking at you). Furthermore , if I played my cards, I could potentially be on TV since there are only like 4 actual cases of it.

Typhoid
Typhoid would be fun to have just because it is fun to say.

Black Lung
is caused by long exposure to coal dust. It is a common affliction of coal miners and others who work with coal, similar to both silicosis from inhaling silica dust, and to the long-term effects of tobacco smoking. Inhaled coal dust progressively builds up in the lungs and is unable to be removed by the body; that leads to inflammation, fibrosis, and in the worst case, necrosis.
It sound pretty awful, esp that necrosis part, so I am hoping this is not the diagnosis.

Dengue Fever
Dengue Fever falls under the fun to say category, but upon further investigation... I think I'll pass.

Whooping Cough
My primary symptom is a cough, however It sound more like a dying giraffe and less like a "whoop!"

In any event any of these ailments could be the culprit. I feel shitty so I think I'll go to bed now...

-Whoop There it is...

Yesterday's Hero

The Man of Steel in the Age of Adamantium

It took me a long time to really get into Superman, and even now, after reading seminal Superman stories like Kingdom Come, Superman for All Seasons, etc., it takes a very well written and very specific tale for me to truly appreciate him. Writer's like Geoff John's, Jeph Loeb, and Mark Waid have a unique ability to craft specific stories that flavor Superman in such a way that he is palatable (to me at least). However, generally Superman is a fictional character that has too many fictional attributes, and very few that can be related to by his contemporary readers. This fact has slowly pushed him from being the premiere DC Superhero, to a piece of furniture that is ever present in the DC Universe, but functionally inert.

I have often heard that it is very easy to write Batman. That seems logical because he has a clear purpose and well defined character, as well as a motivation that many writers can personally identify with and subsequently draw from their own similar experiences (i.e. everyone understands grief on some level). Similarly, characters like Wolverine, Green Arrow, Spider-Man, Magneto, etc., also have very clear and defined characters. This fact makes them very easy to write, but also very easy to read because they are consistent and relateable.

Superman on the other hand has become a bit of a paradox. Most writers focus too much on the powers, the villain, and the loopholes (i.e. Kryptonite, Magic, Doomsday) and not on the man. Congruently, some writers (I think) assume that if they feature a scene of Superman crying, mission accomplished, they have humanized him. And thus we have stories that either feature a sobbing man of steel, or a cartoon character that is never physically nor emotionally at risk. This lack of risk and humanization makes him stale to many readers, myself included.

Which begs the question what can be added, subtracted, or changed that would make the world's premiere superhero interesting? And would fans accept these changes?

DC has tried updating Superman's costume, origins, and powers once or twice before with less than stellar results. This is because, many fans (myself included) have a love affair with the nostalgic iconic perfect anachronism that Superman has become. However, these same qualities that we believe he NEEDS to possess have become the albatross around his neck. The fact of the matter is, no one wants to read about the perfect gentleman whose power is unquantifiable, and although for nostalgia's sake we don't want to see him changed we also don't want to read about the character that we insist needs to exist.

To Be Continued...

The Guarraci List

So I asked Luis Lopes what I should blog about and he suggested I talk about shit that pisses me off.

So here it comes... 5 things that piss me off:

1. Religious ANYTHING on your bumper! I saw a person with a license plate that said "Got F8th" the other day, framed by a Jesus Saves license frame, flanked by 2 Jesus bumper stickers. Now I don't read the Bible, but I am pretty sure Jesus wouldn't have driven like a douche and CUT ME OFF!!! If you are going to drive like an asshole, try to avoid having uber-catholic paraphernalia in your car cause that's just going to make me hate religious zealots that much more. P.S. I've never seen uber-Jewish license plates, or Buddhist bumper stickers.... I wonder why that is! hmm... maybe its cause they don't feel the need to JAM their religious beliefs down your throat in the form of a BUMPER STICKER!
2. Jokes about how shitty New Jersey is. EVERYONE famous comes from New Jersey. Seriously I'd say about 2 in every ten celebrities comes from New Jersey so step the fuck off... ha ha yeah Newark sucks we get it but the food is better here, the culture is cooler, and we are a half-hour to an hour away from the 2 biggest cities in America.
   
3. Chocolate Italian Ice.
4. People who correct your grammar while you're speaking. Listen... colloquialism and vernacular are words defined by Miriam Webster for a reason. In this day and age NO ONE speaks in perfect English. So, whether I meant to speak incorrectly or not, cut that shit out. It's rude, and you wouldn't like it if I interrupted you to point out shit you do wrong.
5. Brett Michaels Cowboy Hat and Bandanna. We all know your balding (or completely bald') under that bandanna and hat dude so just fucking own up to it. You look silly rocking that Bandanna CONSTANTLY. I can't help but wonder if that hair is even yours or if that bandanna is like the Rasta Hats with the dreadlocks attached. Either way, be warned if I am ever near you I am homing in on your skull like a Scud-missile and I won't back off til all your cranial accessories are off your head!

That's it... and that was surprisingly therapeutic...

-That shit pisses me off!

A Simple Guide to Star Trek

In anticipation of the influx of teeny-(and tweeny)-boppers that will be enamored will the new "sexy" Star Trek, I have decided to make a guide to Star Trek in terms they will understand.

• The Starship Enterprise - Like the Black Pearl only in Space.
• Space - where the moon lives.
• Humans - What you are.
• Vulcans - Aliens from space (Juanito the gardener is not from space).
  
• Vulcan and Human Relations - kinda like... how Paris and Nicole Richie say they are friends, but really don't get along, but they know they are better off pretending they do.
  
• James Tiberius Kirk - TroyBolton/Zac Efron
• Starfleet - kinda like the airforce...
• Phasers - a hair dryer that can kill people.
• Transporter - ...
• Warp Speed - driving over the speed limit ....of the universe.
• Deflector Shields - a condom for the space ship

Ok so that should get you up to speed. If you need anything else let me know and I'll be sure to answer it in terms you can understand.

-Engage

An American Nightmare

*I wrote this last October. I just found it now and decided to post it.

A Twenty Something’s Struggle to Join the Professional Working World in 2008

By Jimmy Glenn

As I wander into my bathroom reeking of deer repellant and rotten pumpkin, I stop to wonder just where I went wrong. After graduating with a solid B average from Rutgers University in exactly four years, and interning at Marvel Entertainment (the guys that brought 2008’s blockbuster hit Iron Man) for both semesters of my senior year, one would expect that I would have ascended into the professional working world by now. But no, I spent the better part of my morning pricing pumpkins for October’s haunted Halloween hay ride. The afternoon was spent standing in a field filled with hay spraying said pumpkins with a deer repellant that, despite manufacturer’s best efforts, smells like vomit and shit with a bit of the funkiest parts of the Jersey shore mixed in. Indeed where did Jimmy Glenn go wrong?

Almost daily I hear someone gripe about the state of the economy. Sometimes it’s my boss who is struggling to keep a small family owned nursery afloat amid the influx of Home Depot’s, Lowes’, and other major home improvement centers. Sometimes it’s the media, even though most of them seem to have a pretty stable career. (Are there really that few TV weathermen in this world that Mr. G still has a job?) Sometimes it’s a sympathetic customer who, after I’ve helped her pick out flowers and load her car, asks me where I go to school.

“Actually I just graduated from Rutgers.”
“Oh yeah? What did you study?”
“Journalism and Media.”
“Very good…” (Like I am a child who just figured out how to use the toilet.)
“How’s the job hunt going? The job market is just so darn bad.” (…well I’m loading you’re car instead of using my degree so clearly things could be a little better.)
“Oh… (smile) it’s a little rough but we’ll see.”
“Well thanks, and good luck with the job hunt.” (The really nice people then tip me.)

Sure, why not lie? Explaining to them that I have been floundering for a year in the aftermath of what I thought was a successful college career takes way too long, and is much more depressing.

Lately, it’s me who is the biggest proponent of the “screw the economy” battle cry. As recently as yesterday I blamed both the struggling U.S. economy and George W. Bush for my recent unemployment (Vote Obama ).

I suppose it’s common to blame the economy or other outside forces, instead of scrutinizing myself.

Realistically, I can admit that I have a few debilitating habits and that there are a few nuances of the job hunting process that I was not prepared for. First of all I grew up in the age the Uber-Multimedia device. I can single handedly im, text, email, and Myspace message a virtual cornucopia of friends (or one unfortunate one) in nearly an instant. Due to that, and to the fact that the 21st century has spawned a whole new language (Ebonics is so last century) in which what is actually spelled wut, cool can be spelled kool, and what’s up is almost always spelled wassup; I have gotten used to slamming out an email without proofreading (or punctuating for that matter).

Also, no one sends these emails back with red penned instructions as to what I screwed up. So there’s a certain level of uncertainty every time I send out a resume. Now let me be clear, I am not saying I had any LOL’s or ROFL’s in my resume… but some of my initial email cover letters were a little rough.

Finally, as much as I hate to admit it there really was a safety net. I know if you’re my age or younger you don’t wanna hear it because everyone says it, but there really was. In high school and college, I could make little mistakes and get by. I could write a brilliant paper comprised entirely of run-on sentences and it was the content, not the grammar that the professor took into account. I could hand in things late with a not so great excuse and, most of the time, only have a few points deducted from the final grade. I could miss class, not buy books, and sometimes flat out not pay attention, and still, most of the time, get by. I am even ashamed to admit that throughout most of my college career my mother proofread my papers (I WAS A JOURNALISM MAJOR!!!).

Yes, perhaps it is my own laziness that’s to blame for my current state (and odor).

Following that brief moment of self deprecation and doubt, I am simultaneously comforted and horrified by the National Unemployment Rate which, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, was somewhere around 6.1% in August of this year. Being that most people don’t surf the Department of Labor’s website on a regular basis (or at least I hope they don’t) that means that about 9.4 million people who are willing and able to work, are not. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that in this year alone almost 2.2 million people lost their jobs. And though that’s not a direct indicator of the number of entry level positions available to a college graduate like me, it sure does paint a pretty good picture of the current state of the job market.

The reality of the situation is that despite my initial mistakes and inexperience, I honestly have been working hard to find a “real” job. I send out anywhere from five to ten resumes a week. I eagerly troll Monster.com, MediaBistro, and Craigslist religiously. I look in the paper, ask friends and occasionally ask complete strangers if they know about any job openings. And so far it’s to no avail.

That’s because the job market in America really is that fucking terrible right now. The recent meltdown involving finance giants like AIG and Merrill Lynch, coupled with the state of the stock market isn’t making things any better. There are very few jobs, and I personally think that most recent graduates aren’t prepared to face such a grim situation. The chances of yours truly, or most other recent grads, finding the jobs we expected to find seems increasingly slim, at least for the time being.

I know that far more people in America face situations that are far worse than mine. It seems may seem selfish to complain, and arrogant to act as if I am entitled to something better than what I already have, however it’s an undeniable fact that there are certain expectations placed upon you when you go to college. Whether it’s by your parents, professors or society, at some point you begin to expect that immediately after college comes your career. And however trivial it may seem, any sort of hiccup in this process really can throw you for a loop.

It’s scary when your applications and emails go unanswered and it’s demoralizing to tell friends and family that you’re still working at the same job you had throughout high school and college. But at the end of the day the worst part about my job isn’t the rotten pumpkins, the manual labor or shitty pay. It’s not the annoying kid who constantly talks about Death Metal and South Park, the customers or their inane questions. It’s the anxiety that I feel when I remember that I’m off my parents’ health plan in December. It’s the feeling that I failed, and continue to fail each and every day. It’s feeling like I let my parents down after they worked so hard give me more than they had.

For a kid who made Dean’s List three semester’s in a row, it’s very hard to wonder if it’s really the system or just me who’s failed.

POW: Abominable

Karl Kerschl's
The ABOMINABLE
Charles Christopher!

This is going to be a bit of change from the norm because this POW is about a Web Comic, but fuck it, it's my AweomeBlog if you don't like it go home...

The Abominable Charles Christopher is a web comic by Karl Kerschl (Teen Titans:Year One)... hang on... honestly this blog may end up being equal parts a recommendation for The Abominable Charles Christopher and for the amazing beauty and versatility of Karl Kerschl's art.
The Abominable Charles Christopher is beautiful, plain an simple. Not just the art but the pacing, plot and overall tone. I could best describe it as Bone meets Mouse Guard, although that comparison really doesn't do it justice.

TACC follows Charles, a Sasquatch, as he wanders thru the forest encountering a wild cast of supporting characters including: a bear named Vivol who is a former circus performer, a drunken bird with marriage problems, a surly crab, and an ominous flock of crows. All in all its very hard to finds words that can encompass the entire plot, except to say that TACC's plot is as inventive and interesting as the art is beautiful.

That brings me to Karl Kerschl an artist that I have really began to obsess over. His art is amazingly versatile. If one were to put the interiors of Teen Titans: Year One next to the cover's he has done of Superman, side by side with art from TACC, you would see a stunningly eclectic, yet consistent body of work. The life and energy that is conveyed in his art is truly unreal. As is his ability to alter his style from project to project. I am somewhat astounded that I haven't seen him anywhere, or that Marvel hasn't scooped him up into an exclusive deal.

As a fan I hope he begins to work more in the comics industry and I will continue to love the Abominable Charles Christopher. As an aspiring writer, I hope I can one day work with him because he truly amazes me.

-Thats all folks.

The Evil Alliance of Darkness Call to Arms!

"And on a day unlike any other The World's Most Nefarious Villains banned together to battle the burgeoning forces of good..."

That's what they will say years from now after we have eradicated these so called "Heroes" like Shadow Hare, Master Legend, and Aclyptico, but we must act NOW!

If you know not of what I speak, watch the following videos:







We must strike quickly and decisively!


Shadow Hare and his "Super-Hero" friends MUST BE STOPPED!

Join me! Together we can ensure that NO ONE recognizes the taste of a good meal!

Please comment with your Super Villain: Name, Powers, Nemesis, and a short paragraph about yourself.

Thank You.

-To Arms! To Arms! The Super-War is at hand!

Awesome Deficit

I know I have been slacking on the Blogging... I apologize Luis Lopez, my one faithful reader.

In any event that will change. I promise more blogs coming soon.

<3 Jimmy