upcoming events...

okay...

it's been a long time since i've passed on something from one of our 'family' here on the perhapa-blog, so this is long overdue...
here's some really sweet photos forwarded to me by alison...

Black Fawn

Pictures taken by RJ Verge near Beamsville Ont. Canada

Black deer are more rare than albinos..







~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

as we work diligently to bring you even more perhapanaut goodness in the not so distant future, craig and i have been less than diligent in letting you know, either here or on our dedicated perhapanauts facebook page (like it!!), where we're going to be and when we're going to be there.

here's the rundown of conventions and shows we'll be attending between now and the end of 2011...


though we won't be guests with a table or anything, on october 15th and 16th, craig and i will both be attending the



where we will be having a couple meetings with a couple of editors and producers--but mostly just milling around. if you see two guys that look a lot like us, it's probably us.


then, on october 30th, the day before halloween, i'll be at the always fun, always funny



at the holiday inn on wolf road in albany!
one of my favorites, so if you're in the neighborhood...


and then this next one...well, i can't even begin to tell you how psyched i am for this one...!

my pals gerald von stoddard and chris mills have been wanting to put together this awesome show for some time now...and here it is!! based out of their shop--COAST CITY COMICS in portland maine--it's the COAST CITY COMIC CON!!




as the sign says, it's november 11th-13th and not only features a great guest list of comics professionals, but i am so geeked out to announce that legendary cryptozoologist LOREN COLEMAN will be an honorary guest of the show...and craig and i get to do a panel with him!
cannot wait...cannot wait...cannot wait...




that's where we're gonna be.
how 'bout you?

hope to see you at at least one of these cool shows!
have a great weekend!
smell ya later!
todd

cosplay from detroit~!

okay...

finally back and settled in a bit from our trip to detroit!
big, BIG thanks to my pal, tony miello and gary reed for having us out there~! though the show was...quieter...than we'd hoped it would be, we had a great time in the motor city and had lots of fun hanging with friends and getting a chance to check out lots of cool new books by some cool new writers and artists--more on that on friday!

got to spend a lot of time flying out with ron marz--my good pal and former volleyball teammate--and our date, the lovely and legendary, ramona fradon. got to spend a lot of time with ramona, actually, and was thrilled when she offered to do a cover for us for an upcoming perhapanauts! can't wait to see that!!

craig and i got to hang a bit with jason and shannon howard, dave and julia petersen...and chris and xan sprouse popped up as guests for some hugs and some chats on sunday afternoon! our pal thom zahler was right across the aisle from us where we could throw things at him and paul storrie was hitting him from the other side.

of course, i remembered my camera this time and there were quite a few people dressed to delight in detroit.
here are some of the ones i got pictures of...




as i am working feverishly on my own steampunk project, why not start out with this smart-looking steampunk couple...




nightcrawler and magik




this ready-for-action space pirate




a comical pair




the rocketeer




couple of stormtroopers




phoenix




muppets in space





and apparently, this photo showed up last week, taken some 120 years ago, of a man that looks startlingly like nick cage.




many, including cage himself, have concluded that this photo is proof that nicolas cage is actually a vampire.
who are undead.
immortal.
and can't be photographed.

good thinkin' there, gang.



i have, for the past week, been listening to the new book by ernest cline, ready player one, and suggest you run out and get it or download it or whatever and do the same. it's nerd-vana!!
i'm gonna be way-sad when it's over...

see ya friday!
smell ya later!
todd

DETROIT FANFARE~!

okay...

even as we speak--or i write, anyway--craig and i are packing our bags for our trip to the motor city this weekend, the home of motown, the





we were invited last fall at the final mid-ohio comic con by my good friend, tony miello, to come and be guests and we jumped at the chance! a chance to reach out and say hellos to our michigan-based readers, maybe attract some new ones, and being part of a fairly new show that had people talking last year!



we'll have both of the sweet new tees there...




so if you're in the greater-detroit area, have an idea where cobo hall is, and wanna come and pick up some perhapa-shwag in person, come and see us this saturday and sunday at the DETROIT FANFARE Comicon!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





hope to see ya in detroit!
smell ya later~!
todd

imagination 101 with j.m. dematteis

okay...

as many of you already know, i consider myself to be incredibly fortunate in having been able to work in the comic book industry that i loved so much as a kid, to be able to add to the myths and legends of those magical, swirling universes and play with many of the characters that had thrilled me so often in days gone by.
with that said, one of my greatest thrills in my career as a professional has been in working with--and in many cases befriending--those amazing artists and writers that had entertained me those many years.

one of those amazing writers is the incomparable j.m. dematteis--creator of such masterworks as moonshadow, the stardust kid, abadazed, brooklyn dreams and for those of you sticking to the superhero set, long-time spider-man writer (kraven's last hunt), the hilarious 1986 incarnation of the justice league with keith giffen, and countless more!
marc and i first worked together briefly on x-factor and soon found ourselves web-shooter deep in the imbroglio known as 'the clone saga' on the spider books. a crazier battlefield there never was and since then we have been semper fi--brothers-in-arms...and every once in a while we get together for lunch.
he's been a great mentor/teacher/editor/ and champion and
it is my great privilege to call him 'friend'.

on that note, i am so pleased to share with you the following:
if any of you aspiring writers or artists out there are even remotely considering taking a swing at this crazy career, i can't think of a better teacher to give you the facts and the fun--and the wings--to get you going~!
compared to other writing seminars, this is extremely cheap. and i can guarantee, much more fun!


ANNOUNCING IMAGINATION 101
Having enjoyed my recent Masterclass experiences at the Ottawa Writer's Festival and the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, I've put together a weekend workshop that I'm very excited about. The first class will be in the fall and the official announcement is below. Hope to see you there!

IMAGINATION 101
writing for comic books, graphic novels and animation
with J.M. DeMatteis

When: 
 Friday November 4th, 7 pm to 9 pm
Saturday November 5th, 10 am to 5 pm (90 minute break for lunch)
Sunday November 6th, 9 am to 1 pm
Where: 
Martin Aaron Office Complex in Kingston, New York
(two hours north of New York City)

Join master storyteller J.M. DeMatteis for a weekend exploring the realms of imagination, from the metaphysical to the practical. We’ll ponder the big questions...

~ Where do ideas come from?
~ What part does will play in the creative process?
~ Is the best writing actually an act of channeling?
~ Do we create the story or does the story create us?

...and tackle the day-to-day realities of a career writing superhero sagas, fantasy epics and animation:

~ What’s the difference between “Marvel style” and “full script”?
~ What’s the value of editors?
~ Are agents necessary?
~ How do you handle rejection without jumping out the nearest window?

Come prepared to listen—as JMD shares stories and insights gleaned from more than thirty years writing comics, television, film and novels—but be prepared to work: you’ll pitch ideas, dialogue artwork and help create a story from the ground up.

Bring all your questions, too: this won’t be a brief, two hour seminar. You’ll have an entire weekend, in an intimate setting, to explore your own creativity with J.M. DeMatteis as your guide.

Cost $415.00
Class size is limited. To guarantee your place, register now.

To register and for more more information about lodging and transportation: imaginationworkshops@gmail.com




don't miss your chance to learn from the master.



oh--and scott's "We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming..." is now up in order so you don't have to scroll up.
go read it the way it was meant to be read--right-side up.
you're welcome.

smell ya later~!
todd

tales from the perhaps~!

okay...

it started with the office, ran through snl, 30 rock, i love lucy, and lost...and if you haven't yet read scott weinstein's hilarious sendup of the haps on tv, then you've been missing a treat!
today features the final installment of the story and you can see it for yourself by clicking on the TALES link up above ^
see it? click it!
you won't be disappointed!









and just to put the word out there again--we're always looking for new Tales from the Perhaps! we've got several more on the way and a bunch of talented people working on new ones, but if you're a up-and-coming artist or writer and you'd like to take a shot at creating a fun, fantastical perhapanauts story, here's your chance! the possibilities are endless; take them to the old west, the seven seas, to deepest space...!
the sky's the limit~!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

been a bit remiss in my duties here on the blog lately and i apologize to anyone who has actually missed it. i've had quite a few distractions show up that have needed my attention, some of them good, but not all of them.
some of the good things are the motion comics i'm working on for motionworks entertainment! i'm currently hip-deep in the construction and production of three different projects; an all-new character set in a world of steampunk with awesome artist bret blevins, a roller coaster ride of a tellos adventure, featuring hawke and rikk naturally, with my super hero squad amigo, leonel castellani, and a guaranteed to give you nightmares, chilling perhapanauts tale with, of course, craig, who is cranking out some amazing stuff as we take the team into this new territory! though i initially singed on as writer-for-hire, it's taking a bit more time and a lot of talented people to make sure that these things come out cool! i'll have more info on when they'll be available for viewing here on the perhapa-blog so stay tuned!


hey~ whaddaya gonna be for halloween?
now's the time to start thinking about it--if you haven't already.
and while you're thinking about that, remember, we have a perhapanauts halloween challenge in place that should get your creativity in action!
have a great weekend and have fun!
smell ya later!
todd

the perhapanauts 2011 halloween challenge~!

okay...

first of all, part 8 of scott weinstein's "We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming..." is UP over on our TALES FROM THE PERHAPS page--don't miss it! scott's tale is in nine parts, so that makes this the penultimate entry. go read it--it's lotsa fun!

second, after hinting at it about a month ago here on the blog and then being accosted by my pal brien powell at the baltimore show about it, here is the official announcement regarding...

The PERHAPANAUTS 2011 HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE~!

'remember when you were in elementary school and your teacher would give you an assignment to do a report on some book your read...? "OR"--she might have added--"you could depict a scene from the book in a diorama." gold! give me a chance to do something creative, something more in the artsy- and craftsy- realm, i'm IN, baby! i easily made 527 dioramas during my career in the grade schools and each and every one of them was constructed with dreams of being able to actually add what food network challenge calls Extreme Elements. i wanted things to move, figures to jump, stuff to explode or implode or juxtaplode--i don't know--do something!!

anyway, i'm sure you can see where i'm going with this...

i'm thinking that the perhapanauts 2011 halloween challenge is...SPOOKY DIORAMAS!!!

create a spooky scene out of paper or clay, plastic or wood, paper mache--whatever! featuring one or more of the perhapanauts in a spooky, scary, frightening or funny scene! stage your diorama in a shoebox or on a table top--anything and anywhere--be creative!
here are a few examples of dioramas both traditional and scary!
(the last two, from the house of mystery, are what inspired me to do this this year...)
have fun!




















photos of your spooky perhapanauts halloween diorama are due in no later than october 21 so that i have time to write them up and post them for halloween week!


so get thinkin'~!
have a great weekend!
smell ya later~!
todd

wet wednesday

okay...

it has been raining here since sunday and doesn't look to stop until friday or saturday.

picking up with where we left off the other day--my review of stuff i've watched, seen, read, listened to, laughed at, been amazed by, stupified by, etc...

here's the comics, comedy, and music that i've been enjoying over the course of this very short summer...

comics~

well, apologies all around, but i have trouble reading anything designed to simply make me buy a ka-billion tie-ins and continuations. that feeling of being suckered tugs at me mighty strongly with company-wide events and crossovers. plus, the stories are usually inaccessible. also--are we really paying $4 and $5 for a comic book these days?! with reprints of stories that i already have the original of?! no, we're not.

so i've been reading the hellboy and bprd books--always solid, dependable books. jonah hex is awesome (though i don't know what direction they'll be going in with this new weird western tales version...) i love david petersen's mouse guard! reading the new rocketeer adventures; some great tales by some very talented people! just got caught up with the stuff of legend which i super-highly recommend! just read the new league of extraordinary gentlemen 1969 and was blown away. again. that alan moore is something special.

and i've been digging out some fun, old books, like my original aquaman collection and various runs on the original justice league of america. picking up random actions and supermans at the shows just for fun!

comedy~

inspired by the previously mentioned podcast, WFT with marc maron--you really oughta give that a listen--i've picked up several comedians' albums on itunes; amy schumer, paul f. tomkins, ian edwards (spend 99¢ and buy his clip on comedy death ray on itunes), and marc's own new disc, this has to be funny. also, got the new album by one of my old favorites, john pinette (see his latest comedy central special and then buy the album--funny stuff!)


music~

craig and i have both been pretty vocal about our love for the new discs by fountains of wayne (sky full of holes) and they might be giants (join us!) and i love them both for everything they are! if you're just gonna check out a song or two on itunes, give a listen to dip in the ocean and radio bar from fountains of wayne and let your hair hang down and when will you die by those giant guys. all great rockin' stuff!
i also got to go see southern culture on the skids this summer down on the obx with my cousins and they're latest disc is still pretty warm off the press--
aaaaaand, going to see weird al with c. in october~! woo hoo!

friday will be part 8 of scott's Tales From The Perhaps and, yes, brien, i will finally reveal the details of the
perhapanauts halloween challange~!

smell ya later~!
todd

goodbye, summer...

okay...

> sigh <

as labor day whisks by, heralding the end of another all-too-short summer (maybe i need to move someplace where summer is longer...or all year round...?), i'm looking back and wondering where it all went. i've had some awesome times this summer--vacationing on the outer banks with my family, going to the various conventions with my other family, hiking, movies, small adventures...but some health issues in the family and assorted other distractions have made my posts here both sparse and erratic. i apologize. hopefully as things begin to balance out now, the fall will bring some stability all around. my work schedule could use that...

that said, let's look back on the summer and allow me to review some of the stuff that went by too fast.
caviat: like anybody cares what i'm doing...

movies~
went to a lot of movies this summer, more than usual, i think, as dad, sharon and i hit the theaters just about every wednesday at dad's suggestion. we avoided the crowds most of the time by waiting until the second week but i did get to see just about all of the tentpole spectaculars and only missed one or two that i had been looking forward to.

i loved super 8, cowboys and aliens, and captain america! and i didn't have such high hopes for cap and was pretty vocal about it. but all three of these films got me going, spoke to that little boy in me and, for me anyway, brought back the concept of the cinematic adventure! i was on the edge of my seat at times and these three made me feel that indiana jones excitement again. loved 'em!

x-men: first class was~!
(cue craig saying i told ya so.)

i thought the final harry potter--harry potter and the deathly hallows part 2--was excellent, doing justice to those fabulous books and giving us the right amount of closure with both the characters and the story. i got misty that the whole thing is over. well done!

i enjoyed crazy, stupid love and thought they did a great job of reimagining the beginnings in rise of the planet of the apes. i saw thor and really dug it--when it first came out. (another movie that i didn't have high expectations for as, aside from walter's masterpiece of a run, i'm not much of a thor fan...) looking back though, what, three months, i can't really say that much of it was memorable--it didn't stay with me. how about you?

i had been looking forward to green lantern (though i was pulling for nathan fillion rather than ryan reynolds...) though now that i've seen it, good dodge nate. really disappointing. another example of throwing as much as you can at the screen and hoping it makes a movie. it didn't.

was dying to see horrible bosses and the change-up, but i missed them. (although with the change-up, my nephew says i didn't miss much...) dying to see the help...maybe this week.

tv~
well, summer is mostly guilty pleasure time for me and i've already copped to the fact that sharon got me watching that (damned!) bachelor/bachelorette when she first moved in and, i can't help it, i love it! and now we're watching the freakin' bachelor pad!! it's so bad, it's awesome!

also on the guilty pleasure list is america's got talent where we initially came for the parade of freaks that is audition weeks and stay to see if, once again, they'll eliminate anyone who has a truly unique talent to put through yet another singer. isn't that what american idol is for?
anyway...

also i dig wipeout.

the good stuff i've seen on tv have been actually outstanding and i am putting on the highly recommended list.

a year late, i know, but i just recently watched temple grandin on hbo, out last year and winner of a bunch of awards. not just one of the best movies of the summer--or even of last summer--but, again, in my opinion, ever. incredibly crafted this film is fantastically filmed, superbly directed, phenomenally acted (claire danes is magnetic), catherine o'hara, julia ormond, david strathairn...and the script is nothing short of perfect! got hbo? go find it and dvr it right now! don't? netflix has it. or your local movie rental place. see this movie!

also on hbo, the chilling and unnerving documentary something's wrong with aunt diane, the story of diane schuler, the woman who, in 2009, drove for two miles in the wrong direction on the taconic state parkway, eventually causing a head on collision with another vehicle, killing herself, 4 of the 5 children in her minivan, and all three occupants of the other car. my morbid curiosity? maybe. but also a fascinating investigation into a tragedy with so many questions still swirling around it.

craig lent us the bbc series sherlock--also highly recommended--and the third season of being human that sharon and i can't get enough of.


podcasts~
on the comic book front, there's where monsters dwell, comic book club, and augie de blieck's pipeline that i try to never miss.

on the comedy front, i love npr's wait wait don't tell me. but more than that i have recently fallen in love with--am obsessed with, actually--marc maron's WTF podcast, available on itunes and just about everywhere. if you dig comedy, marc is a stand-up who sits down with other stand-ups and talks about where they came from, how they do what they do, and, especially, why. it's funny, fascinating, and fearless--and i love it! go check it out--you'll be glad you did.

books~
haven't had a lot of time for reading lately and that's never good. i had been saving stephen king's collection of novella's full dark, no stars for the summer and, while i loved it--always love visiting with uncle stevie-- sadly, don't have many others on my done list. i've listened to a few; tina fey's bossypants, patton oswalt's zombie. spaceship. wasteland. jeremy wade's river monsters


we can save comics, comedy, and music for wednesday~!
go have a happy labor day!
smell ya later!
todd

here are a couple of pictures to look at...



the final full-color version of craig's pan mass challenge print!
go on over to craig's website at www.craigrousseau.com to find out how you can get one and help fight cancer!



one of my favs.



silly comic covers.

no time.

okay...

it seems that a perfect storm of distractions and interruptions have made the end of my summer just crazy.
(actually most of the preceding parts too...)

i'll try to get a better handle on the blog and post something with more substance soon, but for right now, please enjoy the just-posted part 7 of scott weinstein''s "We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming..." on TALES FROM THE PERHAPS (see tab above...) this week's page beautifully illustrated by the beautiful leanne hannah~!

gotta fly~!
sorry.
smell ya later~!
todd