Here’s Rich Koslowski, the inker at Archie!
by admin on Jan.23, 2012, under Latest Book
Rich Koslowski is the master of a wonderful array of comics and graphic novels. Right from the beginning, he had great passion for comics, which he articulated as his ‘first love’. To this day he has produced twenty five 3 Geeks comics, 4 trade paperbacks, and had The 3 Geeks as a backup feature in the popular Dork Tower series by John Kovalic. In a maxim to the budding artists he says, that if motivational spirit is not present in oneself then one must ‘not even attempt to get into this field’… scroll down to see more, 1. May we have the honor of knowing your source of inspiration? Rich: I’m inspired by many different things. Thoughts and ideas are constantly flooding my mind. It can be as simple as sitting in a restaurant eating and my meal gives me a notion or it can be a more emotional inspiration like when I’m looking into my daughter’s face as she lays peacefully sleeping in her bed. But they never stop–the ideas. They’re constant and the inspiration is varied. 2. While working on one of your famous book, ‘The King’, you met with an accident that left you with a severe eye injury. How did you try to cope up with it and what is the situation presently? Rich: Yes, while working on THE KING I suffered a very severe eye injury while playing basketball (I always wear and advocate protective eyewear now!) that left me with a severe and permanent case of double-vision. I went to several doctors and no one could help me. But they kept sending me up the ladder until, finally, I went to a specialist who eventually operated on the OTHER eye to compensate for the damage in the injured eye. He essentially damaged the good eye to match the bad eye!!! Needless to say, I was terrified when he told me the plan, but after 8 months of Hell not being able to see I was ready to try anything. The headaches, fatigue, and sleeping 14-16 hours a day as a result had me very depressed and losing hope for my vision. Coping with the injury was extremely difficult. My wife and daughter gave me a lot of strength. The operation worked! It did take a few months for the eyes to adjust and my vision will never be the same but I am at about 90% of what it was. I only suffer occasional eye fatigue now. 3. How did you enter into the world of Archie Comics? And who is your favorite Archie character? Rich: I got into Archie Comics in a very strange way. I was working in the animation field as a storyboard artist on a variety of shows. One of them was the new Sonic The Hedgehog cartoon. It was the people over at Sega who mentioned to Archie that they liked the work we (me and Art Mawhinney, Sonic penciller) were doing on Sonic and thought we should be doing the comic Archie had just started publishing. And, there you have it! A few months later Art was pencilling the comic and I was his Inker. Since then (14 years) I’ve worked on just about every title and Inked thousands of pages. My favorite Archie character would probably be Jughead. I find him to be the most interesting. He’s always good for a solid laugh and he never changes…he stays the course! 4. We would like to know your all time favorite work with respect to all your projects? Rich: My favorite work that I’ve done?…Boy, that’s a very tough question. It’s usually the one I’m currently working on. But if I had to look back and pick a single favorite issue or story I’d probably pick my graphic novel THREE FINGERS or the 3 GEEKS story arc in issues 10 and 11 where my character Allen loses his soul and Keith and Jim have to save him…in very typical 3 GEEKS fashion…that is to say absurd, over-the-top humorous situational madcap comedy. 5. You’ve had varied careers as a book illustrator and a writer, in addition to creating comics. How has been the journey up till now? Rich: The journey I’ve had as a writer and an illustrator has been very challenging at times and very rewarding at times. It’s a very difficult and competitive business. And all too often people have this expectation that we artists just love what we do SO MUCH that we’re willing to do it for nothing. That for some reason we shouldn’t always be paid anything–or next to nothing–for what we do. It’s hard to understand. And it doesn’t always help that there are so many eager up-and-coming artists looking for a chance to break into the business that they will work for free. Sometimes publishers take advantage of artists because of this and it’s a shame. But, all that being said, I have had some success in this tough business and I’m grateful for that I work very hard and pride myself on always coming through and delivering my best possible effort. Hopefully all the hard work pays off. That’s all I can hope for. I’ll keep at it until it does. 6. If you could sit on the shoulders of readers and reviewers, how would you tell them to regard your work? Rich: If I could sit on their shoulders I’d probably break their back! I’m fairly large–206 pounds (all muscle, though!). Seriously, though, I’d probably ask them to try and appreciate the originality and subtle story structure I try very hard to create. I’d also hope they appreciate the effort I put into the artwork. I fully realize that I am not the best artist in comics, but I think I do a pretty good job. I always, ALWAYS give my best effort on my books. I’d just hope that when they’re reading my work they see this. 7. Do you have story ideas for other cartoon characters? If yes, then your potential targets gonna be? Rich: I have so many ideas for so many different stories and characters that it will be impossible to get to them all in one lifetime. My hopes are that in my time as an artist I create dozens of memorable stories and characters for a wide audience of readers. I like covering all the age ranges from young children to the older more mature readers. What and when I produce whatever I produce depends on my mood at the time and whatever story I currently am the most excited about. I just wish I had more time. 8. What are the other comic companies, you have worked for? Rich: A few of the comic and animation companies I’ve worked for are ARCHIE COMICS, 3 FINGER PRINTS (my own publishing company) TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS, IMAGE COMICS, SABAN, DIC, ANIMAGINATION, PUBLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL, BONGO (SIMPSONS), DARK HORSE, INKWORKS (FAMILY GUY), and I’m currently writing for MARVEL COMICS for their upcoming MCP (MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS) which will debut this September! I’m also illustrating a fantastic book called BB WOLF& THE 3 L.P.S written by newcomer Johnnie Arnold. It’s a fabulous story and my artwork is probably the best thing I’ve done to date. ALSO! My newest self-published book, THE LIST, will be hitting the stands in days! Please visit my website RichKoslowski.com to see some of the books I’ve done. 9. Rich, what are your other interests besides your work? How are you able to snatch out time for other things? I would appreciate if you’d share your working and lifestyle with us. Rich: Besides working in the comics/graphic novels/books field I am also a voracious reader of books, off course. I’ve been an avid reader and collector since I was 5 or 6 years old. I also enjoy music, movies, exercising, baseball, basketball, weightlifting, running, and traveling as much as possible. I enjoy fine food, too! And I spend the majority of my time playing with my 5-year-old daughter. Finding the time to “snatch out time for other things” is very difficult. I seem to be a slave to my work at times. But, as the old saying goes, “All work and no play makes Jack (or Rich in this case) a dull boy!” So I make the time to exercise and enjoy time with my family and friends. Otherwise, the alternative is to go crazy (or “crazier” in my case). Since, I work out of my home the work’s always there so I work a lot. BUT since I’m self-employed I can choose the hours I work…when I work. Sometimes I work in the morning, sometimes at night, sometimes both! But the flexibility is the key. If my daughter has a gymnastics class in the middle of the day, not a problem, I can adjust my schedule which is very nice. But, basically, I work a lot, I eat, I sleep. Watch some TV, listen to some music. Play with my daughter. Go out to restaurants often, and try and make time for myself to enjoy the things I like as well. I’m very active. But there’s no real structure, per se…It’s pretty chaotic and random. I always seem to get things done though…and on time! 10. Looking at the industry itself, what advice would you give to people trying to break in as you have? Rich: My advice is that you should have a very high level of perseverance if you’re planning on breaking into the publishing field. You need talent off course, but you’ve got to be tough, too! And you have to work hard, very, very hard. Be honest with yourself…if you are not capable of working extremely hard–if you’re not able to motivate yourself–do not . I’ve seen many very talented artists who just can’t seem to make it in this business, and, quite frankly, it’s all-too-often been because they couldn’t seem to motivate themselves to work hard enough. Self-motivation is a rare thing. If you’ve got it you’ve got a chance! And the talent, off course. You have to have lots of both. 11. Finally, we would like to have your thoughts on the Instablogs News Network and all its related sites. Which one is your favorite? Rich: I must confess that I don’t do much surfing of the web. No time! I’m baffled by how so many people seem to have so much time surfing the web sometimes. But I do try and visit sites related to my work and since being contacted by you I have enjoyed visiting Instablogs, a very well-organized and entertaining site. I plan on visiting more and more now that you’ve introduced me to it! A few questions in quick succession: 1. Describe yourself in one word. Rich: Irresistible! 2. The world of comics is an art or industry? Rich: Both! It has to be both. To function properly and sustain itself you have to make money at it otherwise it would cease to exist. And it has to be art…that is what it is. 3. If you would have been a cartoon character, you would have been? Rich: Oh that’s an easy one…SUPERMAN! 4. Who is the most important person in your life? Rich: Our daughter, Stella. She’s my joy and inspires me every day of my life (when not driving me crazy). 5. What would you like to accomplish in life that you haven’t yet? Rich: I want very much to leave something behind, a legacy. You only get one life and I want mine to matter. My hope is that my works will be read by many generations. That and that my daughter lives a wonderful life. I pray for her happiness every day. 6. What’s your greatest artistic ambition? Rich: I dream of having a “best seller” off course. And I also dream of seeing one of my stories make it to the “big screen” some day. I think I’ve got a few ideas that would translate very well into film. That would be a very cool thing indeed. Before signing off, I’d like to thank Rich for taking time out to do an interview with us, it is greatly appreciated. Also, I’d like to wish him success for all his future endeavors.
O.J. Simpson’s controversial book ‘If I did It’ will be out soon
by admin on Jan.23, 2012, under Latest Book
After much controversies and issues, the confessional account of O.J. Simpson of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman will be finally available for the readers to read. The book titled ‘If I did it’ was last time in news when TMZ.com posted an excerpt from the book on the site and as a result the site was sued. The book would be printed by a New York publisher. After a lot of confrontations, the rights for the publication of book were released to the relatives of Simpson. As far as the sources say, the manuscript of the book won’t see any change but yes, there will be an additional commentary added to it. The book was in controversy also when it was due to be released and was stopped after fear of public resentment. Simpson’s ex-wife and her friend were found stabbed and some very keen evidences of the killings were found in Simpson’s bedroom. Simpson was also tried with the charge of a double murder but ironically was ruled not guilty by the presiding judge. This decision also shocked the entire law system of America. Source: Femalefirst
‘Outsiders’ author goes back in time
by admin on Jan.22, 2012, under Latest Book
Tulsa native S.E.Hinton, once got a ‘D’ in creative writing while in school. Now she is one of the celebrity authors. Her book The Outsiders tells a story of neighborhood gangs and their rivals. The book features a narrator Ponyboy curtis. The best selling novel talks about the clash between the socs and greasers gangs. The Tulsa native is now a cult figure. Several years back, she was a teen author writing mostly on chic literature. Her famous book was released when she was 16 years old. Now, at 59 she is a ‘dry-witted’ sad woman. Her work mostly concentrates on inner city gang rivalries and about fitting in. The plot of The outsiders is a well blend of characters. The characters are not heroes. They are just regular people like you and me who talk about gangs and violence. The book talks about what it takes to be a member of a particular gang. If you have seen the movie The Gangs of New York, I’m sure you will like this book. The setting of the book fits the plot as well. A 40th anniversary edition has recently been published. During the interview, Hinton talked about the other aspects of writing the book that made her famous. This book is a reflection of where she lives — Tulsa. Tulsa always had a gang problem. Oil companies encouraged the gangs in the area. I think almost all authors write stories that are based on people and the area they live in. The first royalty check for Hinton was $10. The book was about to go out of print. However, the librarians and teachers saved the day by making it the best seller. Image credit: Usatoday
NY’s Quill Awards – Nora Roberts grabs maximum glory
by admin on Jan.22, 2012, under Latest Book
The annual Quill Awards was hosted at New York for a third time in a row, where the best in the world of publishing was honored and felicitated for their exceptional work. The events witnessed Best selling author Nora Roberts attaining maximum glory by bagging the Book of the Year award for her romantic novel, ‘Angels Fall’. The book published y G.P. Putnam’s Sons won the accolade thanks to those who voted for Nora and her piece of literary work. The night also witnessed honors given to former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore who was among the 19 other winners for his book, ‘The Assault on Reason’, which won the coveted prize in the history/current affairs/ and politics category. This is not the first time Al Gore received a Quill award. He was felicitated with the best book in the same category for his historic work ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. Attended by top most celebrities like Brooke Shields, Joan Allen, Sarah Ferguson and The Duchess of York, the night saw excellence in literature being honored with pride and red carpet extravagance. In Al Gore’s absence his daughter Karenna Gore Schiff accepted the award on his behalf while presenter at the ceremony, comedian Stephen Colbert remarked: Gore winning the Quill Award, which he adds to a collection that already includes an Academy and an Emmy, was part of his cunning plan to save the Earth. He’s going to take all his awards up to the Arctic and use their shiny gold surfaces to reflect the sunlight back into space. Cormac McCarthy and Walter Isaacson were bestowed for the best fiction book of the year ‘The Road’ and Best Biography of the Year ‘Einstein: His life and Universe’ respectively. While Diane Setterfied was awarded the debut author with ‘The thirteen fate’, Amy Sedaris won the humor award for ‘I Like You: Hospitality under the Influence.’ For all those mystery and suspense book lovers Laura Lippmann secured the award for this category with her book ‘What the Dead Know.’ With movies and music celebrities always eating away the limelight it’s very encouraging to see the authors of the world be felicitated for their original masterpieces. With such recognition appreciating and applauding the best writers in the universe, the world will only be benefited marking the emergence of better than the best authors. Image Credit: Proliteracy
Laura teams up with Jemma for a children’s book
by admin on Jan.21, 2012, under Latest Book
Children books are one of the most interesting literatures to read. Well, the news is that Laura Bush and daughter Jenna Bush are teaming up to write a children’s book. It is based on their experiences as teachers. HarperCollins the publishers of the book have decided that the book will make to the shelves in the market next spring. The book will also contain illustrations by Denise Brunkus, well known for her popular Junie B.Jones series. The book hasn’t been titled yet. The story revolves in a school around a boy who is not interested in studying. The boy who is a second grader tries to convince people that he like doing things. Jenna Bush, who has taught at a public school in Washington D.C., has already tried her hand at writing. Her book, Ana’s Story, based on her experiences during UNICEF intern program in Central America is due to be out next month. However, Laura Bush is writing a book for the first time but she too has been a teacher and school librarian in Texas. Also, net proceeds from both the books will be donated to ‘Teach for America’ and ‘The New Teacher Project’, two national teacher programs. Regarding the book Laura said, It’s a book that I’ve always wanted to write. And it’s fun to be able to do it with your daughter. It’s loosely based on students we both had in our classrooms. I know how difficult it can be. In a picture book, there are so few words, so each word has to be perfect. Jenna and I know that, and we know that each page should have something to make you want to turn the page. That’s the challenge. Well, I guess first we should lay our hands on Jemma’s book and then we can know how the next book is going to be. Source: USAtoday
An interview with Cecil Castellucci, a young adult novelist
by admin on Jan.21, 2012, under Latest Book
Writer / Director Cecil Castellucci’s first young adult novel, ‘Boy Proof’ came out spring 2005, in the same year, she was named as a Flying Start by Publisher’s Weekly. She also received an Honorable Mention in PW’s annual cuffie awards as Most Promising New Author. Her second novel ‘The Queen of Cool’ came out in February 2006 followed by ‘Beige’ her subsequent novel in May 2007. Recently she wrote and directed her first feature film ‘Happy Is Not Hard To Be’. It debuted in Los Angeles at the Alternative Screen series at the Egyptian Theatre. In course of an email interview, she talked about her new graphic novel, The PLAIN Janes and her working experience with Jim Rugg, so people whip yourself as I take you to the roller coaster ride of Cecil’s interview with us, 1. Cecil, I could make out that your works hover around ‘inquisitive’ teens, who want to quench their insatiable thirst of knowing more about life. How far I am true in holding the view? Cecil: You are totally right. I feel that the characters I write about are trying to figure out what kind of a person they want to be. 2. One may also find feministic streak running in your works, what do you have to say in this regard? Cecil: I am a woman. I want to write stories about girls, all sorts of girls. Girly girls, arty girls, sporty girls, mean girls, soft girls, hard girls. Every girl! I think that is being a feminist, showing that there are many different kinds of girls. So yes, I would say that I am a feminist. 3. Cecil, would you please tell us something about your new graphic novel, The PLAIN Janes? And how was it different from writing prose? Cecil: The Plain Janes is about a girl named Jane whose parents move to the suburbs after a terrorist attack. Trying to make sense of what happened, Jane decides to forget about trying to be popular and forms an all girl art gang with four other girls named Jane that does art attacks in an attempt to make something beautiful. It was different writing The Plain Janes, than writing my novels because I had to figure out how to tell the story not only narratively but with images, too. That may seem very obvious, but it was difficult at first to figure out how to move the action forward without relying on words. 4. We would like to hear your working experience with Jim Rugg, while the both of you were working on the PLAIN Janes? Cecil: My working with Jim Rugg was amazing. We talked about once every couple of weeks together with our editor Shelly Bond on the telephone and discuss the thumbnails. He taught me so much about pacing and panel placement. I love the way he draws the Janes. I think he shows such a great sense of drama in the faces of his characters. It really allowed me to let go of a lot of words because I could let the story rest on the pictures. So, basically I am in awe of the talent that Jim Rugg has. 5. I read it in your interviews that you’d like to work on ‘superhero comic’, now here I am curious to ask, what is there on your mind that you’d like to add in the genre other than the stereotypical superhero comics? Cecil: Well, I think perhaps I could bring my girly eye to it. I think that it would be fun to tell a superhero story that addressed some stories that perhaps women would be interested in. I read a lot of superhero comics, and I love them, but it is not often that the stories appeal to the concerns I have as a woman. So maybe I have my point of view and perspective to offer on that. 6. Amongst your created work, which one is your all time favorite? Cecil: That’s like asking me to pick my favorite child! I love BOY PROOF for Egg’s fragility. I love THE QUEEN OF COOL for Libby’s growth. I love BEIGE for Katy’s understanding. And I love THE PLAIN JANES for its unabashed love of life and beauty. 7. How much time do you take to complete a single project? Cecil: Each book takes about two years from first draft until it comes out. The Plain Janes took one year. 8. Is there any work which has caught your attention presently? If yes, would you like to share it with us? Cecil: I have been enjoying Hope Larson (Gray Horses), Bryan Lee O’Malley (Scott Pilgrim), Brian Wood (DMZ), Jamie Rich (Love the Way You Love), Bill Willingham (Fables), Grant Morrison (All Star Superman). Fiction-wise, I’ve been enjoying Shannon Hale (Book of a Thousand Days), Holly Black (Ironside), Mette Ivie Harrison (The Princess and the Hound). 9. Keeping in mind that the world out here on internet changes with blazing speed and also, everything reaches a culmination point sooner or later, we would love to know your views on the concept of blogging as a whole, how far do you think the concept will enjoy its success (if you really think that the way it has emerged, a success) and what’s fresh waiting to gobble it up? Cecil: I do love blogging, I blog myself. I think what’s great is that there are bloggers who really have a great sense of things, a specifically quirky and wonderful point of view, and are great sources for getting a different perspective on things. I also find the personal blogs interesting. I like having a little window on the day to day of different kinds of people. I think it also is amazing that it makes the world much closer together and gives everyone a voice to say what they want. I think that blogging is a great success, it’s a great equalizer and it really heralds this being an information age. I suppose the new thing is the micro feeds, the portable and instant information and mini entertainment contents that are short and immediate. 10. Where do you see yourself, let’s say, five years from now. Any plans for the coming year? Cecil: Hopefully in five years from now I’ll be writing more novels, more graphic novels and telling stories in other ways. This year I am working on a series of early chapter books for age 4-8 and writing a new novel. I also just finished the sequel to The Plain Janes that is called The Janes in Love and is coming out next year. 11. Finally, we would like to have your thoughts on the Instablogs News Network and all its related sites. Which one is your favorite? Cecil: It seems well rounded. I always like the entertainment news. Now it’s time for a rapid fire round: 1. What kind of music do you prefer? Cecil: Indie rock / Punk / Alternative. 2. If not a songwriter/ novelist/ playwright, Cecil Castellucci would have been? Cecil: A space scientist and dreamer. 3. From all your created characters, is there anyone with whom, you can associate yourself with? Cecil: There is a little piece of me in all of my characters. 4. Your all time favorite novel would be? Cecil: Hard question! Today I will say Persuasion by Jane Austen. 5. If given a chance, what would you change about the world? Cecil: Hate. I would try to change hate and turn it into love, peace and understanding. Cecil, thank you so much for sparing out time in doing an interview with us, it is highly appreciated and also I’d like to wish you luck for all your future endeavors.
Devil’s Bible in Prague
by admin on Jan.20, 2012, under Latest Book
Devil’s Bible, a manuscript written in the early 13th century in the Benedictine monastery of Podlazice in Bohemia is on exhibition at the Czech National Library in Prague. This manuscript was regarded as a wonder of the world during the Middle Ages. The invaluable piece of work, supposedly the biggest medieval book, was taken by the Swedish troops from the Prague Castle in 1648. Its return to Prague after 359 years has been made possible after years of negotiations between the diplomats of Czech and Swedish. It is on exhibition in Prague from Sept 20 – Jan 6, as on loan from Sweden’s Royal Library in Stockholm. This manuscript is believed to have been written with the help of devil and is also known as Codex Gigas. It is put on display under high security at the Czech National Library. As per Czech National Library spokeswoman Katerina Novakova, “We expected big interest from the public. Now, we are 100% full.” Source: USA Today Image: [1], [2]
Legendary author Norman Mailer battling ‘laboured’ breathing
by admin on Jan.20, 2012, under Latest Book
The Naked and the Dead’s author the great Norman Miller was hospitalized for difficulties in breathing. The 84 year old writer had an asthama attack and spent 5 days in a hospital at Bostan where numerous tests were being conducted. The 2 time Pulitzer Prize winner was scheduled to deliver public readings in couple of universities but his current health condition does not permit the same. These events have been cancelled in due course keeping in mind Millers condition and doctors advice for no travel. The author is currently back home recovering and also getting on with his daughters wedding in full swing. The master has written famous books like Armies of the Night, The Executioner’s Song etc for which he has recieve Pulitzer Prize and internation acclaim. The world lost a great author Sydney Shieldon early this year and so wouldnt want another legend to depart from this world of classic literature work. The doctors have said there is no alarming threat to Miller’s health so all those admirers can take a breather and await for yet another master piece by Norman Miller. Image Source
