Maiden Bitstrips: No Prayer for the Dying & the Eddie Smiley

Here are 2 recent additions to Maiden Bitstrips, my series that recreates Iron Maiden artwork using Bitstrips.

Sinister Placement: 9-12

Sinister Placement: 5-8

Sinister Placement: 1-4

Review: Watchmen the Movie

Watchmen the Graphic Novel has been called unfilmable, but I saw Watchmen the Movie on Saturday night, so the statement is at least partially untrue. What makes Watchmen the Graphic Novel so great boils down to three things: the plot, the characters, and the way the story is told.

The movie does a decent job adapting the first two, but the third is simply impossible. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons utilize the unique elements of comic story telling to elevate a good plot and great characters to a masterpiece of the comics medium. Watchmen the Movie is akin to Citizen Kane the Graphic Novel. Orson Welles used the unique elements of film to tell his story in a way that sets it apart from any other medium. A good writer and artist could adapt Kane, tell the story with all the necessary elements intact, but it wouldn’t be a comics masterpiece, just as Watchmen the Movie is not a cinematic masterpiece.

I think the movie looks great, the effects are good (especially Dr. Manhattan, and Rorshach’s mask), and the set pieces are great, creating the alternative world of 1985 in a believable way.

I think the movie is well cast, at least in terms of the major characters. Robert Wisdon as President Nixon is a little jarring and sometimes unintentionally comedic with the nose appliance, but as a secondary character this doesn’t bother me too much. I think Patrick Wilson as Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II gives the best perfomance in the movie. He certainly captures the characterization of Dan from the Graphic Novel as I always imagine it. Jackie Earle Haley as Roshach also gives a good performance, although he plays the character far more intensely, than the oddly detached, but grim character I always see in my head. Everyone else is good to passable, with no real complaints.

The movie makes a major change to the ending as presented in the graphic novel, but it is so faithful to the spirit of the Graphic Novel, that I can’t say I’m anything but impressed. The decision to make Dr. Manhattan the threat from beyond that drives the world to peace is a beautiful solution to a problem that might have sunk the entire movie had it stayed true to the printed page. The decision to do this also streamlines the plot for the sake of a bearable run time, and allows the creators of the movie to do away with numerous subplots that would have been necessary to set up the original ending. I liked it, and it worked.

The only real complaint I have about the movie is the tendency to use dialogue verbatim from the comic. There are numerous examples of this, and it was always very apparent to me when it was happening. A friend who attended with me (who hasn’t read the book) noted that sometimes the dialog seemed off somehow, and I explained that some of the conversations were word for word out of the comic. Sometimes what reads well on the page, sounds odd when spoken aloud.

Good effects, a few fun action sequences and some really disturbing violence coupled with really good characters make for a good movie. I think fans of the Graphic Novel will enjoy it for what it is, which is a good adaptation of a story told in print. Unfortunately for the movie, the story is not what makes Watchmen the Graphic Novel great, but the manner in which that story is told, and that could simply never be adapted to film.

Teasers for Bedlam: Sinister Placement

Here are some teasers for a new long form Bitstrips series (as opposed to the gag strips I'm accustomed to):

Otter Disaster #21: The Year of the Ox

Context is Everything #19: Self Pity?

Context Is Everything #18: Chipped Beef or Shredded Pork?

Context Is Everything #17: Robot Raspberry

Otter Disaster #20: Should've Listened to Them...

Wow! Two new strips in as many days...I'm on a roll. Here's a somewhat mean spirited strip based on real events. The physical attributes of the object of my desire are somewhat exaggerated, and the warnings weren't as overt in most cases. I wasn't really in a good head-space at the time, and Slash certainly isn't to blame, but as a character in my strip, he's the chance taker, and the one most likely to say, "Sure, why the hell not?".

Otter Disaster #19: Meaning isn't funny

I've been reading An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories (Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, & True Stories)

Which inspired this:



There are some good strips and stories in the book, but there are also lots of strips that read exactly like the first five panels of the strip above, minus the sixth.

Maiden Bitstrips: Can I Play With Madness

Bitstrips: More Iron Maiden, A New Series, and A New Otter Disaster

I finished 'Seventh Son of A Seventh Son' for my 'Maiden Bitstrips' series today:



I've also compiled some of my goofier strips into a new series called 'Context is Everthing'. Here's a sample:



And finally, a new 'Otter Disaster' #18 introducing Shinya: Last Call Ninja:

My first viral Bitstrip: ...a little better

Bitstrips allows other creators to remix strips that you make, if you allow it. I did the strip below titled '...a little better', featuring the small things that make life a little better. It was remixed directly about 17 times, and then there were numerous remixes off those direct remixes. I counted 20 plus strips based off the initial strip here:


Then Bitstripper geokis32 remixed and made a strip called 'Freaky Things' with the little things in life that freak her out:


...so I (and many others) remixed that strip:


The community of creators is one of the really fun things about Bitstrips. For another really funny example of this remix-mania see this series of strips featuring a wickedly eternal staring contest between Dare and Kathi.

Maiden Bitstrips: The Trooper

A link to the original art this is based on.

24 Hour Comics Day: FINISHED!

I participated yesterday/today in the 24 Hour Comic Challenge at Bitstrips.com and finished my story while also achieving my set goal of at least 144 published comic panels (I did 147) in 19 Hours 20 minutes.

The Comic is titled Perfect Gentleman: A 24 Hour Comic. The title was chosen at random by a Windows Media Player play list. On Friday night I assembled a 24 hour long play list to listen to during the challenge. I had already decided on randomly generating the theme/concept of the comic and while I was pulling together music, I decided that the first song to come up in 'shuffle' mode once the challenge had started would be the name of my comic. The winner was 'Perfect Gentleman' by Helloween from their album Master of the Rings. The strip (other than being a great title) has nothing to do with the song.

It was a great deal of fun to create, and a genuinely rewarding experience. I was pleased with the little romantic comedy story I told, and I was very surprised at how much affection I developed for the characters in such a short time. The biggest surprise was that the main characters I'd created (Sam and Lena) ended up getting pushed to secondary status as a pair of 'sidekick' characters (Nick and Melody) began writing themselves, taking over the focus of the story.

In Scott McCloud's original challenge he suggests 100 panels for a web comic, but Bitstrips automates a lot of time consuming tasks, letting you copy and paste elements so I bumped the panel count from 130-160. I easily hit that target with 4.5 hours to go. Next year I might suggest 140-175 panels, depending on what kind of story being told. All in all a really good time. I'm tired today, but it was worth it. Here now is Episode One of Perfect Gentleman: A 24 Hour Comic-Some Competition:

24 Hour Comics Day

I am going to participate in 24 Hour Comics Day at Bitstrips.com tomorrow. I have attempted to draft other Bitstrippers to participate as well via a series of strips describing the challenge, giving some tips, and answering questions. A few people have show interest, but I don't know if there will be anyone joining me or not.

Bitstrips: Iron Maiden's Eddie - Somwhere in Time & Aces High

I managed an OK Bitstrips version of Somewhere in Time:

and I'm very pleased with my rendition of Aces High:

Otter Disaster #16: Not So Great Minds

Based loosely on a recurring conversation I used to have with my buddy Kris.

I'm kinda proud of the motion in this one, with the characters swapping positions over the course of the strip.

Bitstrips: Iron Maiden's Eddie Part II

So I've managed to do some more Eddie compositions at Bitstrips

My single most viewed strip)






I'm currently trying to figure out how to do 'Somewhere in Time'.

Otter Disaster #15: Rush to Judgement

Otter Disaster #14: A Familiar Voice

Otter Disaster #13: Coffeet Break

An almost completely true story:

Otter Disaster #12: Calling His Bluff

Otter Disaster #11: Kenyon Arrives

Made in honor of my good friend Kenyon's arrival at Bitstrips:

...and here is Kenyon's first strip:

Slash 'N' Otter's Curious Keywords #3 - Cancelled

Quark on DVD

I posted about the sci-fi comedy Quark, last year about this time, and now it's coming out on DVD. Matthew will be thrilled...

Fossett Faked Death?

Today on the radio, I heard somebody talking about the possibility that Pilot Steve Fossett faked his own death. That reminded my of a weird conpiracy theory that I posted about on September 7th of last year.

Link to original theory at RMN.

Coincidence? Stay tuned.

Slash 'N' Otter's Curious Keywords

Slash 'N' Otter's Curious Keywords is a new strip of mine on Bitstrips inspired by a very, very short series of radio shows(two, maybe three?) I did with Matthew during college, where all the song titles played during the show contained a 'keyword'. We called it Slash and Otter's Keyword Dance Party. The old Ripley's Believe It Or Not! strips provided the remaining inspiration.
Episode #1 Keyword - Paper:



Episode #2 Keyword - Meat:

Otter Disaster #10: Pop Culture Strikes Back

This sequel to the ever popular OD strip 'Pop Culture Reference' is actually the 10th episode of the series, but due to a quirk in how I published it, it is numbered #9 on the bitstrips site while the previous strip, 'The Name of the Game' is numbered #10.

Otter Disaster #9: The Name of the Game

June has been a busy month, but found some time for a bitstrip today:

Death's Punderful Career Path

I built a reaper in Bitstrips and, with some help from Mrs. Disaster, wrote this strip: