Archive for ‘RNA News and Updates’


Review of “Scalped” – Native American Themed Comic

Scalped. See Amazon Review

An illustrated novel detailing life on the Prairie Rose Reservation (Fictitious) and of a native man whose return to the reservation he grew up on is mired in political and social upheaval created by a tribal chairman’s greed, lust for more power, and with alcohol, sex and drugs being the lynch pin for this suffering “third world nation” inside America, the return of “Bad Horse” brings an onslaught of violence and repentance for the tribe.

This title is fiction, I repeat, it is Fiction, but is based in some aspects of native people on ‘Indian’ reservations. The glimmering Casino, the drugs, alcohol and violence. Yes, these are part of Native Culture today, but it’s not just our culture, it’s a national and social epidemic, and Las Vegas is sure to be the inspiration rather than the “Rez” for the crime, prostitution and drugs.

While the story and art is dark, gritty and reminds me of “The Departed” movie, it has some historical view points from the people on the reservation. And the author plans to reveal more of that historical and proud culture we have. Or, at least that is what he says.

The problem I see in this title, is the average reader may pick this title up and get the impression that this is life as a native person or life on the reservation.

This title does not give a positive portrayal on any front for native culture.

I could tell the author was going for realism, but it’s taken to the extreme in violence, alcoholism and sex. The people in the book are portrayed as animals, with no sense but to kill everything that stands in their way. The “Chief” is an immoral murderer with his own drug, prostitution and gambling ring with killer henchmen.

I like Robert Schmidt’s take on the title. See Rob’s Review on Bluecorncomics.com

You can read the replies, reviews and what the Author had to say about the critical reviews.

I’ve read the first volume of titles from issue one to issue 6, and I was pleased with the story telling and violence. The Native American aspect not withstanding, I found the characters, though, to be a bit bland in emotion, they all seem angry and hateful.

If you’re into the Soprano’s, or Scarface, this title is for you. But, don’t take it too realistically as a contemporary view and lifestyle of Native Americans.

I for one, plan on reading the entire story arc, because there is a little bit of realism, and some things I have seen or experienced on the “Rez”.

If I were to give it a grade, I’d give this title a B-.

- DWF

Examples:

Images were placed from various internet sites.


It’s a short time away… Are you ready?

Yes, it’s still a bit early, and there’s been quite a few others that have come and past already this year. It’s the Comic Con.

Not just any, but the behemoth hybrid alien planet x sized convention. Be sure to check out or post Con coverage right here, with photos, videos and special comic strips and art made just for the Convention!

Until then, keep sewing up your cos play costume and load up on alcohol, because I am sure to catch you on camera.

Last Years SDCCI – The Comic Con 2007
The Comic Con

What the show, and in our most humble opinion is; a convergence model for a saturated entertainment industry.

You read me correctly.

It has been that for the past 4-5 years shortly after the fall of the Comic Industry in the mid to late 90s, and only recently (2002) has been re-invigorated by the “Hollywood” infiltration and the advancement in digital technologies. Mostly the internet, and also the opening of the new sections and expanded room at the Convention Center in Downtown San Diego.

While it’s a big ‘freak’ show to the majority of people amongst the general population whom don’t attend, it’s become a “fan service” show.

What I mean is that the fans and consumers of certain intellectual properties or concepts from major companies and networks, are the driving force of the show.

To take advantage and utilizing this venue for marketing purposes (more of a mega focus group), larger companies and corporations out of Hollywood have pushed it to another level.

In 2003 and 2004 it was evident that the best marketing was bringing the ’stars’ and producers of major motion pictures and Television programs to the show, which of course is that ‘fan service’ in a marketing stand point.

Not to waste too much time on the logic of the business and marketing side, I will move on to the show itself, and the venues available to the public.

By the way, the show was completely sold out Saturday for a couple of months.

The sell out was also instrumental in considering the direction and progression of the entire event for next year, as has been the case over 20 and some odd years.

I am sure to see even bigger announcements, advancements and marketing strategies from this past show into the ‘08 show.

There were subtle differences this year from the previous year, and there were additional changes.

G4 Network

G4 Network, formally “Tech TV” was on hand to cover all the major announcements, plus interview major directors, actors and producers.

They are what some would call, ‘Geek television’.

They are more of a Pop Culture News Network, but have started to add exclusive material, like the shows “Code Monkeys” and soon “Spaceballs” the animated series.

But, they tend to re-run old ‘crap’ shows like, “Cheaters” and “Cops” from late night Fox programming.

For some reason, they love the movie “The Big Labowski”, which is a great and funny flick, though.

Obviously the producers, hosts and every writer is smoking a lot of weed.

If you like that type of programming, god bless you… But, on to more of the show…

The Floor

Navigating through the floor can be like walking through the amazon rain forest… Hot, sticky, rough on the legs and filled with exotic and carnivorous creatures in a wall to wall environment with plenty of stink and potential for disease or illness.

Elvis Clone Trooper

The King still lives… or was he cloned and added into the 501st Infantry Unit of the Imperial Army under command of Darth Vader?

I’m sure Darth would shake his head every time he saw this stormtrooper.

But, you have to give him credit, he’s become a convention celebrity.

Speaking of the 501st…

501 Jeans… I mean 501st.

They were recruiting.

Yeah, I don’t think Levi’s Jeans would have a case in this copyright issue of the ‘501′, it’s just me trying to be funny…

Oh, speaking of Copyrights and legalities;

Intellectual Properties Panel
… I sat in this panel with Brett Booth (former and returning comic artist), and a couple of other notable producers in Video Games and Comics… they had a copyright lawyer on hand too, which I felt was beneficial until they cut me off from asking too many important and critical questions.

Only 38 people attended this informative panel… which is a shame, there was a lot of information that would benefit budding talent and producers.

They (except the lawyer) were all in agreement with me and understood very little of my questions, since most were directed at the lawyer not some artist or mail room guy…

Anyways… Moving on…

The Pavillion

If you were here, you were either getting your badge holders, or walking through to either side of the upper level of the Convention Center, which is also next to the main Autograph areas.

Main Autograph area

Main Autograph area… but my attention is/was on the woman with the mini skirt and long legs… and if you notice is the only “female” in the whole picture.

Who wants to be a superhero?

“Who wants to be a super hero?” I know I don’t, because that’s not my cup of tainted tea.

But, the “winner” of last season from the Sci Fi Channel series, Who Wants to Be a Superhero?, created by Stan Lee.

And…

The highlights of the show you may probably not even be thinking about or ask? But probably not…

The Marvel Comics Iron Man movie trailer.

It looks great… Robert Downey Jr. has Tony Stark down, and adding Gweneth Paltrow in there is awesome.

She and Robert attended for the first time here at the Con.

No recordings were allowed of any of these trailers… so I have no photos or video.

The other main event was for the T.V. Show “Heroes”.

Heroes from NBC

The cast and producers were on hand, and I couldn’t get in! It was packed. This show is definitely going to be around a while, and Kevin Smith (Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob) is slated to direct an episode…

Kevin attended his own panel for the third year this year and I did not attend, mostly due to the line you have to wait in… next year I am getting a press pass so I don’t have to worry about it, but, the line was formed outside in 97+ degrees outside of the shade.

I did, however, attend his first time panel in 2005 I believe, in which I stood by him at the security entrance and thought he was one big fat bastard in a leather trench coat. Not that it’s a bad thing… wearing a long leather trench coat.

How he got in was through the front entrance, and no one was around to notice…

I am sure he was happy that time by not getting too much notice. Now he gets mobbed like Michael Jackson at the Venetian in Las Vegas… except the people aren’t all Japanese.

That’s a side joke and real thing that happened, because I was there at the time, and thought… “Hey, there goes Michael Jackson with a ring of security around him holding hands!”

You had to be there, or you may have seen it on all the tabloid shows back in 2003.

And, when I say ring of security holding hands, it was security guards making this kind of AA Meeting group hand hold around him. What happened after was kind of creepy, but you can email me about that situation.

NO, it was not some sexual or pedophile situation!

Moving along…

I believe the best one and most entertaining panel, was the Family Guy panel.

The creators, voice actors and producers were all on hand.

Family Guy…

-D.


It’s July, and there’s news to start it off…

It’s been some time since I posted a comic strip, so I am updating why..

Cartoon Tom is a parody cartoon character on MySpace, which recently got deleted. There’s too many problems with Porn Spam bots on there, and they may have been flooding the Add Me box and it probably got picked up by Administration Bots on MySpace.

So, I’ve been at it drawing up new toons and updating the new page for Cartoon Tom. On top of that, check out our Deviant Art page for reports and previews of coming comic book titles we’re working on, which is keeping us very busy!

Other news:
Yeah, as the first promotional image for the job was posted, I decided to post the announcement as well. Rob Dyrdek, from Rob and Big has a new toon and toy line coming out…

I suppose I was in the running for the job, and rep said my lil skater toons were all cool and stuff. I wanted to do another set, and told the guy I will make it more “cutesy” and more youthful for last say. He never responded, so I assumed they chose someone else for the project.

The deal was somewhere around $20,000 for the gig, plus percentage of revenue from the toy sales, from what I read, anyways. These will be toys along with its animated show, probably on one of the Viacom channels, since Rob Dyrdek already has a show on MTV (Viacom).

There was no Non Disclosure agreement for doing the samples for the rep for final word, but I waiting until something was announced before I gave out info on the IP.

Anyways, here’s the art, and his blog with the selected art he chose over mine. Which looks traditional and cutesy.

My versions

Image Page Link

A cleaner cuter version, but still rough around the edges

Image Page Link

Skate sequnce required – Being a former skater, I know how to do all the tricks.

Image Page Link

And finally, here’s his choice

It was announced on Rob Dyrdek’s website

http://www.dyrdek.com/story/all/wild_grinders


San Diego Comic Con International 2008 Post #1

For many years, I’ve been attending this Convention in Pop Arts.

I will have to say, this year, was far more pleasing for me than the last few, but way too much for me to walk around the main floor, and check out the latest Comic Book and related material on it.

Mostly, it’s a big media outlet to market new content to the Masses in what I’ve been calling, as well as many others, a “Mega Focus Group”, which not only markets the new material coming out for the next year, but to guage the type of content that will last or at least sell well to the consumer and viewer market of Pop Art.

Marvel, after an absence some years ago, has been making a very strong come back on the floor with their Movie Franchises based off their original IP’s.

But, like last year, enough with all the Market and Business talk, you know I got footage, and this year, video content…

Enjoy.

Here’s a shot from Day 1 on Thursday. I will probably attend the Preview Day next year to get a better look at Floor Booths, but this shot shows just the very beginning of this mega huge event.

Day 1 looking out towards Downtown San Diego

One of the most heavily trafficked sections on the Main Floor every single day. Make sure you wear shoes with extra cushion and support for your feet when trekking this way…

Comic-Con 08 2400 Block

The cross path from the “Old Section” of the Convention Center, to the New Sections that were added about 5 years ago.

Day 1 at the Pavillion on Floor 3

DCU Booth.

DC Comics

G4’s “Attack of the Show”. All the Content produced and aired on this Network and Program is completely without integrity or any moral standard, so, if you like to watch it, just watch for the Comic, Game or Tech News and nothing more.

Attack of the Show 1

Darth Vader with one hot version of Slave Leia… mm hm.

Slave Leia and Darth Vader

Vader is her father… so, I’d have to ask if it’s ok with Darth if I could date her…

Slace Leia is Hot.

Incredible Hulk was ready to smash!

A Statue from the Movie

Last part to part 1 of our Comic Con 2008 posts, with comic strips and satire comics coming soon in the next post, hope you check it out and enjoy the comics when posted with our coverage of the great SDCCI!


And, here’s what’s being offered on our Youtube Channel, with new material and original content for non commercial use being offered in the coming weeks!

More Penciling Art Videos available on our Channel Mirror Stewedios on Youtube.

New Material being added weekly!

Look out for part 2 of our Comic Con 2008 coverage and exclusive material added daily on RNABrand.com, Mirror Stewedios on Deviant Art and Youtube Channel…

D.


Comic Con is over this year, but here’s more pics!

More pics from Comic Con 2008 and Video

I’ll be writing up a review, panel schedule attendances this year and a preview of what to expect next year in my next post. So, now that it’s all over and my traveling has ceased for the time being, back to the drawing table and computer station to complete the comics, comic strips and art for our website and more.

Stay with me as I post new videos, photos and teasers to our upcoming projects in film, comics and more! -D.


X Mas – Latest DA Art Posts from RNA

So, it’s Christmas time, and the New Year is following, although myself like a lot of comic artists consider San Diego Comic Con their “New Years”. I have been lagging on updating this site’s blog with new comic strips and blog posts, but my New Years resolution is to add more on a daily basis.

It’s going to be a very busy New Years already, with several projects I am heading up on Writing and Art chores, and adding into that regular updates here on RNABrand.com and my Deviant Art Gallery Page.

I have some collaborations going, and here’s a list of upcoming projects including the long awaited completion and continued production on my own titles, Hangwire and Legacy: The Shadow Chronicles.

  1. “Blood of the Black Sun” – A Vlad/Dracula story created and written by Jeffrey Pritchett. Art by yours truly.
  2. “Crash, Cash and Bullets” – Civil War Era Barren Gulch, New Mexico. A western tale to be announced soon. Created and Written by Jeffrey Pritchett and Yours truly.
  3. “Mabus Incarnate” – An illustrative video serial. To be announced in Late January.
  4. Hangwire! – Yes, it’s being produced still and issue one is almost drawn and colored. Will announce the future of this project by February.
  5. Legacy: The Shadow Chronicles – This Anthology and Story is huge… and is being conceptualized still but will feature short stories online and preview the book’s plot.
  6. RNA Brand Comic Strips! – Coming back with a vengeance in the new year, ET Life: Strange Days, RNA Editorial Comic Strips, Cartoon Tom and more will return with a lot more variety and regular updates. Stay tuned,been waiting to get back into the groove.

Also, check out our Twitter page. Starting to get that going to keep networking options expanding ;-) RNA Brand on Twitter

I’ll try to get that going on my sites soon, need to mess around with code more on this blog…


My Plurk thingie app…

So, I am utilizing Plurk, a cool little site and device allowing easy commenting functionality, and can also function with Twitter’s database of account holders. So, if you have twitter, give me your id and I’ll add ya.

I have one in my side panel, however, it’s showing up on the bottom of the page and is causing a huge gap in my side panel, what gives?

I dunno. So, I put it on my footer instead, and you have to scroll all the way down to read and respond to it… which I don’t like.

But, some art and comic strips are on the way today. My New Years resolution is to post regular updates here and on Deviant Art page… so look out for your Comic and Art FIIIIXX!

Will be back with an update tonight.
D.

└ Tags: , , ,

New posts and news on Deviant Art

So, I’ve posted some more conceptual art, not giving any names or information away about the story, but you can check out the larger images by clicking on the thumbs here…

Vlad eats dinner

Vlad eats dinner

Conceptual Character Art for Western

Conceptual Character Art for Western

Check out our scraps page for more sketches and concept art.
http://mirrorstewedios.deviantart.com/gallery/scraps/

If you’re on Twitter, you can keep track of recent updates on a regular daily basis. Check our Deviant Art page for continued updates or add “rnabrand” into your seach list on Twitter.

D.


What’s New?!

Of course I don’t update this site as much as I’d like.

So, we’re working on several projects! I’ve been too busy to come up with new posts for my website. I plan to update daily, though… Starting Monday, February 23rd, 2009, marks the daily update cycle. (I hope)

What I plan to bring is a daily sketch and comic strip which will only be seen here, with announcements on MySpace, Deviant Art and other various associated sites.

Projects:

  1. Crash, Cash and Bullets – Western story which I am scripting, co-writing and illustrating. (Check Deviant Art page for preview art)
  2. “Fifth Sun” Anthology Comic Magazine – A 48 Page Anthology with Short Comic Stories, Prose, Articles, Interviews, Reviews and Previews from the world of the Paranormal, Supernatural, Horror and Music.
  3. Artemis Strange – Written by Kevin Pickett, I’ve been asked to do some Drawing for a Detective Action/Adventure book.
  4. Mabus Incarnate comic video collaboration with Polish DJ and Musician, DJ Lukeing Forward.
  5. End to Cold – Zombies! More details soon.
  6. Hangwire: Devil in His Eyes and Shorts – More pages and short stories coming soon.
  7. Legacy: The Shadow Chronicles – Scripts and Art being completed. (Check out the “Gray Alien” art below)

Until then, you can see almost daily updates on the Deviant Art page. New Sketches, Comic Art and News.

Samples:

Alien Abduction?? Click Link for larger image on DA

Alien Abduction?? Click Link for larger image on DA

Issue 1 Page 3 Line Art (Click Image for DA Post)

Issue 1 Page 3 Line Art (Click Image for DA Post)

Kevin Pickett commissioned me for colors on this title (Click Image for more info)

Kevin Pickett commissioned me for colors on this title (Click Image for more info)

Check out our Deviant Art Gallery for more sketch cards!

Check out our Deviant Art Gallery for more sketch cards!

Look out for daily updates in comics, art illustration, news and more here on RNABrand.com!

D.


Daily Post #1 Sketch

This Ole' Whore
This Ole

So, it’s a daily update. A sketch from our western. The character will be showcased quite often as the “wise whore”.