First of all, Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canucks. I will be celebrating with the wife in the only way I know how: beer-battered fish and chips at the Ward Street Grill in Bridgenorth. I like that name for a town, Bridgenorth. It’s very Canadian-sounding. You know, because all we have up here in the north country are trees and bridges and moose and beaver and roaming camera crews filming beer commercials and “Hinterland Who’s Who” documentary segments. And the air is filled with the sound of The Tragically Hip, Anne Murray, 54-40, Blue Rodeo, and Rush. The smell of that air is donuts, beer, bacon, and maple syrup. You call it Canada. I call it… well, Canada, but I also call it home.
Speaking of trees, I will take this moment to tell you about today’s launch of a very unusual project I’ve been considering for a long time. Those of you who know me, or at least this website, will recall that I’m something of an artist, and that I have, in my time, published a few comic strips. The reason I’m not currently producing one is that I don’t have the time. Simple as that. I still write down the ideas, with the hope that one day, if I ever write full time, this would free up a few hours in which I could pursue some of these side projects.
Anyway, since I don’t have time to write and draw a comic strip, I’ve decided to try something a little different. Among my favourite comic strips over the years, I’ve always enjoyed the concept of the “constrained format” strip, which may be best known in David Lynch’s The Angriest Dog in the World. These are comics that use the same artwork for each strip, changing only the text. It’s perhaps not the most exciting type of strip, and it’s not for everyone, but right now it’s the only kind of comic I can produce on a regular basis. I also like the challenge of the format. I think it requires a bit more creativity than the other comics I’ve produced in the past.
The comic strip is called “Blackwood.” What’s it about? Well, that’s the hard part. The artsy answer would be: “Blackwood” is an existential constrained-format comic strip about trees. The not-so-artsy answer is that it’s a record of voices heard talking in a haunted forest called Blackwood. As I said, it’s not going to be for everyone. This isn’t Calvin & Hobbes or The Far Side. It’s dark, it’s weird, it’s experimental. And I would be remiss not to mention two Canadian strips that have inspired me, both kind of experimental in their own constrained, or at least semi-constrained, formats. Peter Darbyshire’s Shrapnel and Ryan North’s Dinosaur Comics.
“Blackwood” will be updated weekly, sometimes bi-weekly, depending on my writing schedule.
Also, I’ve posted my video review of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which I think marks my first negative review, and BIFF BAM POP! has my review of Johnny Gruesome, by Gregory Lamberson, which is the polar opposite of Transformers in that it is quite excellent and I recommend it to everyone.
Okay, that’s it, folks. Read, watch, and be merry. I’m off to eat, drink, and be Canadian.
See you on the flip-flop.
Have you seen the Harlan Ellison sorta-biography yet ? If you haven’t, it is well worth looking for. I enjoyed it immensely.
http://www.amazon.com/Harlan-Ellison-Dreams-Sharp-Teeth/dp/B001NKWLBW
Yeah, I saw it. It’s pretty good. Heard a lot of rumours about that guy; it’s interesting to find out which ones are true and which ones are false. He’s certainly a character. Love him or hate, he makes an impression.