Comic Relief.... sort of.. yeah... sort of

"It's been a long time...I shouldn’t have left you without a strong post to step too...

think of how many weak blogs you slept through.

Times up... sorry I kept you."

SAINT play off the incredible Rakim (Respectfully)

Sadly the tech I have at hand does me more harm than good. I've been unable to post and anyone who knows me, know, anytime I can't run my mouth is a bad day. So let’s get this restart shall we... and no matter how long I'm away… trust and believe, I'll be back more often than the Governor of Cali.

Now let's talk comic books...

When I was growing up my mother tried on several accounts to tell me that comic books where just garbage...more kid stuff than anything else and if I was to become a sensible man I had to as the fames lines go (Put childish things aside)

At a different time, she may well have been right. But when I was a teen ager, a young man, comics had started their complete and utter effect over all of media as we know it.

So much so that today every tenth movies was something first imagined in comics. Even odder is the fact that many movies and books and T.V shows lend themselves to the medium in hopes of continuing story arcs in them. Comic books in many ways are the natural evolution of the nickel novel of old, and if you read Alan Moore's League of extraordinary gentlemen, you'll see as he does. There is little difference between the most famous novels of all time and the comics of the last 60 years.

I have had the great fortune of hobnobbing with some of the great comic creators in history and the new masters of the age to come.

I did a great deal of conversing with people from the top ten comic brands and many indie labels at The New York City Comic Con a few weeks ago and The Mid West Comic con Just this last weekend. In this case I'm not asking you... I'm telling you, it is art. It also promotes reading to kids and teens.

There are also more adults reading then children these days, as once a comic book fan always a comic book fan.

Now it’s not too late to join in on the fun, comic book conventions happen all the time all around the country, even the world. Some focus on Manga (Japan’s comic books and cartoons) some on American comics or T.V show and films that are comic relevant… Star Trek, Star Wars, and Buffy the vampire slayer, the list goes on and on. The creators, artist, writers and even actors of the products come out to meet the fans and discuss the work that has been done and maybe done in the future. If you’re the type that has an old comic book wrapped in plastic gathering dust up in the attic maybe just maybe the artist who drew that book will autograph it for you.

To date I’ve meet the artist of the original EC horror comics Al Feldstein. Now if you never read a comic in your life you may still know his work… as his work as been recreated as T.V shows and Movies under the same title as his comics ‘Tales from the crypt’. As well as the creator of The Ghost Rider Gary Friedrich (Ghost Rider was played by Nicholas Cage in the recent hit film.) and the man who’s writing first made The X-Men the most well known comic book series in the world Chris Claremont.

The next one I’m going to is back in the Big Apple… name aptly the ‘Big Apple Con’ that will be on June 7-8^th Saturday 10am-7pm and Sunday 10am-6pm at the Penn Plaza Pavilion 401 Seventh Avenue at 33rd St. New York, N.Y., 10001-2062

Admission $15.00 Go out and have a ball.

SAINT

P.S. While I’m on the topic of comic books I’d like to bring up this real cool group called ‘The Hero Initiative’. Like with most things that start out small and become huge money makers the earlier artist and writers of comics really got raw deals… creating the characters that entertained the world for generations have not saved them from going broke. While the publishers who hold the copyrights for sometimes 50 years and over, have gotten rich. The Hero Initiative exists to give all but forgotten comic creators help. Such as medical aid and financial support… if you find yourself interested in hearing more about this group, check them out at www.heroinitiative.org.