Secrets of Corel Painter Experts: Tips, Techniques, and Insights for Users of All Abilities/ Daryl Wise

006.686 WIS

Features individual Corel Painter users. Each digital artist shows a work, explains how its done. Most have a sequenced walk-through.

Plenty of inspiring works; insights into the digital art creation process using varying preferred techniques and styles.

A few artists I really liked (interestingly they happen to be asians):

• Song Yang http://www.zhajiang.com
• Benjamin

  http://blog.sina.com.cn/benjamin

• Youchan http://togoru.net
• Pete Revonkorpi http://peterrevonkorpi.daportfolio.com

The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor and the bogus identity/ Mike Carey & Peter Gross

I think this is book one of the series. It does answer the question (for me) why Tommy Taylor was incarcerated in the story I read earlier.

This is one of the more complex graphic novel stories. Taking in the visuals and narrative, I get a sense that something is about to tip over, and I am carried along for the ride. Kind of like Twin Peaks weirdness and pace.

Tom Taylor is worshipped as the same-named character in his missing father’s acclaimed novel (did you get all that?)

It’s like Harry Potter made real (as perceived by fans). Tom is treated as the literary incarnate, with the same magical abilities and all. Which Tom finds himself both wanting and hating his association with the novel’s character.

But slowly Tom discovers forgotten memories about his father and his own past. I’m led to suspect that Tom has no real past, and there is about about the literal power of words to make things real.

To use the Harry Potter parallel, it’s like a real world Harry discovering the literary figure is real while he isn’t. Or so it seems to me.

Mind bending stuff.

Halo: bloodline/ Van Lente & Portela

Story unveils the relationships among a Spartan team (Team Black) and a Convenant warrior pair.

Both find themselves stranded and (here’s where I reveal a little more than what the blurb says) have to make a choice to team up to survive.

Well, won’t share more or else i’ll be giving the whole plot away.

But I can add there’s a sub-plot about some relationship angst among the Spartans.

Could be something that might be expanded to a novella, though expectedly this graphic novel version offers the surface-level Hollywood treatment.

Halo: Helljumper/ Peter David & Eric Nguyen

Centers around a pair of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST). Not enhanced Spartans, btw.

Plot: best of buddies are part of a deployment to investigate a Convenant raid. Find themselves cut off; fight their way through and show more of the self-sacrificial buddy-hero stuff.

But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy reading it. It’s light leisurely clean stuff.

The new avengers: illuminati/ Bendis, Reed & Cheung

The Illuminati of the Marvel Universe is: Iron Man, Professor X, Black Bolt, Sub-Mariner, Mr Fantastic, and Dr Strange.

They secretly band together to (as the blurb says) “take on threats no one else can handle” and “learn of secrets that will change the way we look at the Marvel Universe” (I left out the exclamation mark).

It’s one of the more interesting read, perhaps proving again that Brian Michael Bendis’ touch is there (apologies to Brian Reed; I loved Spider-woman: Origin, btw).

The backstory is that Earth has just beaten back a Skrull invasion, thanks to the Supers. The graphic novel starts with the Illuminati going to the Skrulls and warning that if they ever try to invade Earth again, the Supers are going to woop their behinds again.

The Skrull King of course doesn’t take this kindly (if he did, no story right?)

So events unfold and… That’s where you have to read the rest of the story yourself. The Skrulls and the Illuminati do meet again but sort of leaves the end of this series on a cliff hanger for another story line.

Ok, why Sub-Mariner? A way to bring back an old-school character?

Architectural Record/ Mar 2012

Features architectural-related stories, with an accompanying design element relating to materials and/ or construction, build (e.g. One story was on zinc as a design material for building’s facade).

Seems mostly US-focused, though there are international coverage. E.g. Rebuilding efforts in Japan after the Tsunami; architectural designs for temporary housing; proposals for urban replanning.

This issue focuses on “building for social change”.

I found the ads (on construction and building materials) interesting.

B.P.R.D. vol 1, Hollow Earth & other stories

ISBN 9781593072803

Two different teams of illustrators.

Mike Mignola’s B.P.R.D. [3], plague of frogs

Written by Mignola, art by Guy Davis ; colors by Dave Stewart ; letters by Clem Robins.
Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense = B.P.R.D.

Abe’s origins are hinted.

ISBN 9781593072889

Romeo & Juliet (No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novels)/ Matt Wiegle

A graphic novel adaptation of Shakespeare’s play.

ISBN: 9781411498747

I’ve never read Romeo & Juliet. All I really knew was both lovers killed themselves. The Shakespearean text was hard to understand on my own. So this graphic novel was really useful for me in appreciating the full story.

There’s many interpretative layers to the play, I think. And many possibilities for re-makes and re-interpretations.

Here’s a ‘dark’ one: For instance, Romeo could have been a fickle knave rather than the naive lover, which meant Juliet’s death, as well as his, might have a different backstory. Or, Juliet could have been played up to be even more of a stubborn and rebellious (manipulative?) teen rather than being caught in a love triangle.

Rough notes:
The Montagues (Romeo’s family) and the Capulets (Juliet’s) were two rich and powerful families in the city of Verona (I think renaissance period Italy).

Romeo was at first pandering over an unrequited love (a Rosaline, who never quite appeared in person) but quickly changed his mind after he saw Juliet. The chance encounter came when Romeo, egged on by his friend and cousin, gate-crashed a Capulet dinner party in disguise.

Romeo then famously wooed and Juliet with his charm and words, after he sneaked into the Capulet family home grounds and under Juliet’ balcony. (What a charmer! Or maybe Juliet’s not so bright. And yes there seems to be a lot of sneaking around).

Romeo and Juliet got themselves married secretly, with the help of Romeo’s friend Friar Lawrence.

But on that same day when they got married in secret, Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin) ends up being killed by Romeo in a revenge-fight, because Tybalt picked a fight and sneakily killed Mercuto (Romeo’s friend).

That very day, Romeo was also banished, as punishment for the clan duel and murder.

Juliet was heartbroken to learn of the death of a cousin and the banishment of her still-secret husband.

(prior to Romeo’s leaving his city, he manages to sneak into Juliet’s room and spent the night there. So scandalous! Heh. All that with the help of Juliet’s nurse and a rope ladder).

Juliet’s father then made a hasty decision to marry her to a nobleman Count Paris. When he told Juliet about it, he was furious at His only daughter’s seemingly smarmy response about non-marriage. He issued an ultimatum: marry Count Paris or be disowned.

That forced Juliet to seek Friar Lawrence’s help.

He devised a plan: he gave Juliet a concoction that would allow her to fake her death. He and Romeo would wait or her to be revived and the couple would sneak away. All that, the friar intended to inform Romeo by way of a letter.

It all went to plan, at first. Juliet drank the mix and appeared dead on her wedding day to Count Paris (poor man). Her wedding celebrations became funeral preparations (her poor parents!)

But the first sign of a SNAFU was when the letter never made it to Romeo (a quarantine due to a suspected plague outbreak).

Romeo receives word from a servant that Juliet was dead. He rushed off to see his beloved, armed with poison so as to die at her side.

Unexpectedly Count Paris showed up at the tomb that night. He caught Romeo attempting a tomb break-in.

They duel.

Romeo killed the count (for a supposedly naive romantic dude, Romeo was quite the fighter!)

He carried the count’s body into the tomb, said his final words to Juliet, drank the poison.

“Thus with a kiss I die.”

Goodbye, Romeo.

By then, the Friar discovered the carnage at the scene. So too, did Juliet as she woke.

The friar was unable to persuade Juliet to leave. He fled.

Juliet famously plunges the dagger into herself: “Oh happy knife, this is your sheath! Rust there and let me die.”

It all came to an end when the friar was caught fleeing the scene. He revealed everything in front of the Prince of Verona, and both fathers of the two dead lovers.

The two heartbroken old men, rebuked by the prince, make up on the spot.

A seemingly happy ending to a tragic sequence of events.

All-star Superman 2/ grant morrison, frank quietly & jamie grant

This Wikipedia entry has more details. But do read this excellent, very human, Superman story first.

Book 2 continues with Superman plunged into different adventures (meeting his Kryptonian replacements; finding his way out of the Underverse…)

He of course completes his 12 Challenges. The beauty is in the telling. The takeaway from reading this was a feeling that Superman really existed, and that the really died and that’s why we don’t see him anymore.

Fantastic storytelling and beautifully pencilled and illustrated.