Jay Anthony White's PAWN. The Joseph Cain Review.

At one point Michigan (and hopefully again soon) was an incredibly fertile ground for the film industry. Between the various films and television series that have been filmed here, the metro Detroit area has been getting a lot of great exposure, and a film was just released by a local talent that might help increase it even more.

Pawn, written by Michigan-born writer and friend of Imaginos Workshop Jay Anthony White, is a suspenseful crime drama centering on a diner robbery that escalates into an intense hostage situation. With an involving plot and an impressive list of stars (Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta and Michael Chiklis, who also produced the film), the film definitely sneaks up on you in surprising ways.

The plot is very involving and filled with interesting story-telling techniques to both establish the world and keep the audience on their toes. As is necessary from any suspense drama, there are plot twists and turns throughout the film that will keep you guessing for the majority of it. But there is also a relatable quality to the plot that will make you wonder what you would do in the given situation.

As it was the actual Red Carpet Premiere myself and Mark were able to attend at the Royal Oak Emagine theater, there were numerous local talents in attendance, as well as news coverage. It was a new experience for me and Mark, but a good one, as it was obvious that making sure this film got a Detroit premiere was very important to everyone involved.

Pawn was most definitely an entertaining film and it was also a great bonus to have been written by a local talent, so I was happy to be able to support it. As entertaining as it was, I got the impression that it didn't get a very wide release, so I’m anxious to see how it will do on DVD (because of the nature of the film, I predict it will do VERY well). If you get the chance, whether it be in theaters or on DVD, give Pawn a viewing. If you are a fan of crime dramas/thrillers, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

-Joe

The Honeycomb Hideout Episode 14: Counter Culture Shock part 2!

Alright, 'Combies! Your patience has paid off! Here's part 2 of Imaginos Workshop's  examination of the dark side of counter culture, this time looking at the ethnic issues and politics within it. Joined by our guest Tobi Ogunyemi, founder of Multimedia Pop-Culture site "SpaceLion", the gang examine how ethnicity comes to play in the various aspects of comics, films, cosplay and even from the production standpoint. Get ready for some major deep (and always humorous) conversation and debate!

Also, make sure to check out Tobi and his crew's  website and 'Like' them on Facebook:
http://www.spacelioncs.com
https://www.facebook.com/spacelioncs

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Imaginos T.V. !!!!

Between all the RPG and Comic artwork I have been working on. I have had a chance to actually get a little bit more done. In the last 24 hours I have managed to get a Guerilla Style Interview and Promo video edited for our fledgling Youtube Channel IMAGINOS TV.

Now this stuff is kinda rough in that we had limited technology when we did it. Our tech is a lot better now, so we should be able to really have some cleaner, prettier stuff for you later. I would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who participated. IMAGINOS WORKSHOP continues to refine and define itself and this could not be possible without you guys. 

Mark

A DYING BREED......(aka A Dissertation On Haters)

What the hell is a Hater?  Our friends at Urban Dictionary define the term as:

hater	5596 up, 1373 down
	A person that simply cannot be happy for another person's success. So rather than be happy they make a point of exposing a flaw in that person.

It goes on to say about the term, 

Overused word that people like to use just because someone else expresses a dislike for a certain individual.

I am utterly tired of the term because it gives people who produce wackness a shelter for being irresponsible artists. The visual arts, as a craft, can only be improved upon through practice and dedication. Often times people can't deal with this, so they cut corners and attempt to sell (as genuine) a watered down version of something that is, in and of itself, Cool as hell!!!!

After money has been made and accolades garnered for the rip, then the bad taste of buying inferior products begins to permeate the pallet. As the aforementioned "perpetrator" (as we called these types in the 80's) attempts the same ole tired formula for maintaining his or her dwindling fame and status as an artist a bewildering thing happens. The artist finds that his or her efforts meet with quickly diminishing marginal returns. Ultimately, this person and his or her works will fade into obscurity and be forgotten as quickly as their meteoric rise. 

However, during this person's fiery ascent, anyone who calls this poser out on his merits and that of his or her artwork is considered a HATER!! Why? Because a concept (being a hater) which once was reserved for people who disliked anything that they as the mainstream couldn't readily touch and take, is now turned on its ear to mean something new.

Now a hater is anyone who has a legitimate gripe about the organic nature, authenticity and/or social proclivity of a work, and who is not willing to congratulate the author for making such an effort. But, isn't wack still wack? When did that change? 

I notice that especially when art is corporatized to the extent that art forms such as music find themselves radically altered. Then the people in the boardrooms force the taste down your throat via control of distribution channels. Often, people who are truly talented in their field, e.g. Vanilla Ice (yeah I said it), are forced by the corporatocracy to allow themselves to be Terraformed by the corporate B.S. and become a tool of the very things they hate. 

Often times it's the money (an all-powerful motivator) that drives otherwise talented people into mediocrity. After all, who is going to turn down millions of dollars in exchange for something as ethereal as artistic integrity? No matter what the reasons, society seems to believe that if you're rich, no matter how you got there, you should be celebrated. Anyone who dissents on this notion is viewed as a "Hater," a person jealous of another's fame and wealth, even if their reason for "hating" on the artist's work is academic and not personal.

I personally refuse to not speak my educated opinion on anyone's art. I can take the criticism as a creator as much and maybe more than I can deliver it. If you don't like my work that doesn't make you a hater, because it could simply not be your aesthetic cup of tea.

I also reject the assertion that everyone who envisions something and puts it out there for all to see is an artist. All ideas aren't good ideas and knowing how to best display your ideas is an important part of art. In comics I have seen a plethora of malformed ideas from people who don't possess the necessary skill sets at that time to help display these ideas properly. They usually  get clowned on by other more accomplished artists, only  to erroneously  brand the more accomplished art a HATER. This has become so prevalent that accomplished artists seldom want to comment on such weak displays for fear of being branded a hater.

Where I am  going with this is ultimately: just because I don't like your work doesn't make me a hater. If you ask me I will tell you, and expect anyone with issues with my work to do the same. Art is subjective, not everyone is going to like everything. However, everyone can appreciate skills. If you see a guy with damn good skills and you continue to not respect those skills, then not only are you a Hater in the true sense of the word but you're also and enabler of  wackness. You should end this practice immediately for the sake of all art forms. 

Mark 

Confessions of a Rabble Rouser

Holy Crap! I’m finally writing another blog post – this has been a long time coming.  After several subtle reminders from the guys including re-enacting the first five minutes of 'Zero Dark Thirty' (Recommend to check it out) I decided now was the time to put up this post.   I’m kidding, the guys never used violence since their methods only result in emotional and spiritual damage so it’s OK.  Fortunately thanks to some dynamite coffee and a bit of sunshine I’ve been afforded a period of lucidity which I’ve chosen to spend on this blog post instead of perusing such treasured YouTube classics like ‘Kate Upton Got Served’, ‘Beyonce’s –Naughty Girl’ and ‘Fareed Zakaria GPS’.

Amongst the guys here at Imaginos Workshop I would be someone you could call a ‘Rabble Rouser’ among other more colorful titles.  I have to be honest, even when engaging in something such as rabble rousing, it is best to have a purpose otherwise it becomes nothing but senseless background noise and I reserve those moments to help deal with my insomnia, so that my descent into madness is gentle.  By the way I love run-on sentences. 

I prefer to rabble rouse because more often than not aside from the screaming, crying and general chaos, occasionally something constructive comes out of it.  Here at Imaginos Workshop we use all methods to our advantage.  I find that I’m more creative when stirring things up because by accident you may stumble upon a certain perspective that you never noticed regarding a project.  For example, whenever I manage to sneak in to the Honeycomb Hideout which is the official podcast of Imaginos Workshop, I do my best to leave tact and decency at the door much to Joe’s chagrin.  He’s the host of the podcast and usually spends some of his time regretting my presence on the show and at times even my existence (It’s all love though).

One topic covered over the course of the episodes (now on iTunes) was in regards as to how ‘Geeks’ were ridiculed for their mad love of Comic Book movies, going as far as dressing up in costume, camping out early, and counting down the days to the release date.  Usually the ridicule comes from people who say they aren’t into comics, outgrew them, or do ‘cooler shit’.  As a rabble rouser, I’d turn my attention to these people and point out that some of them have ‘Fantasy Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey’ Draft parties and leagues where they’re the ‘General Managers’.  If you think a thirty five year old dude dressed up as Iron Man is lame, imagine how fucked up it is to think that you’re the ‘owner’ of a sports team that is NOT on Madden 2013. People in the Fantasy Leagues follow players on levels that make the Paparazzi and actual stalkers jealous.  I mean damn.

Then you got the ‘Oscar, Emmy & Golden Globe’ Viewing parties to discuss several aspects including snubs, fashion, & results, which could be seen as a Book Club that just gave up and said ‘Fuck it, we’ll just watch the movies instead.’  Then you got the people who are fanatically aware of world events and politics that they feel it’s their job to educate the rest of the ‘Honey Boo Boo’ & ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ crowd (Yes I’m judging while defending) but doing so with all the charm of a rectal hemorrhoid.  I mean come on.

So, if you felt anything other than boredom and regret after reading this blog post, well consider that part of the overall purpose of a Rabble Rouser.  Those duties could also include provoking anger, hate, disgust, burning bags of poop on the porch, or constructive conversation (preferred).  Sometimes it’s saying things so outlandish that it wavers between courage (very rare) and provocateur (yeah that’s it) in order to help advance the general conversation as in “Yeah now we know where not to go!” Or “Huh, that was unexpectedly insightful, let’s find a way to say it better though.”  And there you have it ladies and gentlemen, I do not speak for all rabble rousers, but that is part of the method to my madness.  Now then if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a YouTube ‘Yoda Gangnam Style’ video that requires my attention.  Oh look…it comes in HD too!

Nick

The Honeycomb Hideout - Episode 13: Happy New Year!/Counter Culture Shock Part 1

What's up, 'Combies?! Your peeps in the Hideout are back in 2013 with a new episode and a new spin! Joined by Imaginos Workshop's two newest members, Danielle and April and, special guest/homie from the "Geek Fights" podcast, Tess Craft, the peeps take counter culture head on by going through the more negative sides of it starting with the unmistakable gender inequality within it. This is the first installment of the "Counter Culture Shock" series, so prepare to laugh but, also and foremost, prepare to think.

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Notations:

For those that wish to read it for themselves, here's a link to "Bleeding Cool's" article on Tony Harris' cosplay-girl rant:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/11/13/hey-quasi-pretty-not-hot-girl-you-are-more-pathetic-than-the-real-nerds-tony-harris/

For the "Geek Fights" podcast which both Joe and Tess have appeared on:
http://www.geekfights.net/

Influences and Juda Fist Part 3

In part 2 we talked about the influence of a lot of  early 80's pop culture on my artistic development and on what would later be called , Juda Fist:7 Deaths of the Yobi. Being black in Metro Detroit, another of the biggest artistic influences of the early 80's to really fire my imagination was the proliferation of Hip Hop Culture.

Hip Hop culture, which  consists of breaking B -boying( breakdancing), Graffitti( writing), Djing(turtablism) and MCing (rapping) began in the South Bronx of the mid 70's. DJ Kool Herc and Afrika Bambatta are credited with being the pioneers of the musical art forms that would one day become hip hop music as we know it. Spawn from Jamaican DJ Culture  where  Sound Systems ( Jamaican Style DJ's) would use (Toasting) to hype up the crowd  at live block and park parties where the DJ's would steal power from the streetlights to drive their equipment.

Kool Herc

Afrika Bambatta

 the DJ and Rapping components were complemented by the visual styles of Graffitti writing, with notables sucha as Lee Quinones, which consists of bombing ( mural size pieces) and Tagging ( small personal labels which served as both signature and brand). As DJ culture was beginning to take shape, the dance component of hip hop also began to form. Afrika Bambatta, a member of the infamous Black Spades Street Gang and founder of the iconic ZULU NATION, tired of the endless gang wars and envisioned a new form of battle to settle disputes. Combined with the dance styles influenced by popular martial arts films and an African martial art known,in Brazil is Capoera , as well as popular moves of such luminaries as Cab Calloway and James Brown groups like Rock Steady Crew would bring B-boying to the public consciousness.

Rock Steady Crew

This vibrant culture spread from urban center to urban center and began to mold the imaginations of  the young people it touched and I was one of those kids. Hip hop culture, which included cultural references to
the comic books I liked and to the martial arts films I loved, as well as harkening back to the blaxplotation era of the 70's was a perfect backdrop for my stories of black superheroism and as I was raise in an Afrocentric home, the struggle against THE MAN. LOL.

The drug culture of Metro Detroit also had a direct influence on me creatively, as I saw my cousins and friends going from playing basketball and football on the block to wearing 200 dollar Max Julian Leather Coats and Boots and driving big Caddies. One of the most infamous of the crews at that time was a crew started by a group of Teens and made even more infamaous by an ex con by the name of Butch Jones, called Young Boys INC. known in other parts as YOBI's. Thinking myself cleaver I decided to turn a negative into a positive and name the protagonist of my superhero stories of the time THE YOBI, with Butch Jones as his alter ego. So goes being clever. I would later discover that Yobi has meaning as it relates to the Yoroba and the Pantheon of the Orisha , particularly Obatala Elun Yobi which as a term means to "Protect his children and those of his enemies, and brings harmony in the home...".

Rollin Detroit: Gangs, drug dealers, decline of the economy-directed by Al Profit

The second most pervasive influence on me and, in turn, Juda Fist has to be ANIME. I had been watching Japanese Kaiju( Giant Monster) and Sentai(super task force) shows since the 70's. As I mentioned earlier, Gatchaman, Kimba, Ultraman and Giant Robo shaped my childhood. However, I had no idea that a lot of these animations had thier genesis in Japan. Until 1983, I had no idea that these animation constituted a genre , and that what I was seeing was merely the tip of the iceburg.

In summer '83 I was introduced to anime by my homie Vic Green. He showed me Vampire Hunter D, Monster City and Macross: Do You Remember Love and I was like "DAMN!! What the hell is this." The storylines were slower and well paced and allowed for so much character development than anything else that I had seen at that time. Anime also took on genre material that was only broached by live action TV and movie here in the states. Over the years Vic would give me 8 hour super long play video tapes that his brother would bring from Japan.

  Vampire Hunter D

  Macross: Do You Remember Love

With the discovery of Anime I also discovered MANGA. It was the stuff that Studio Proteus would translate for companies like ECLIPSE COMICS and COMICO that would allow me to see a lot of these stories in thier initial manga form. I notices again that the attention to story was far different than with western comics and also the genre choices showed me that I could do anything. 

So with Sci Fi, Fantasy, Hip Hop, Manga, Anime and Afrocentrism the foundation of my work and my seminal story Juda Fist came to fruition.  I have more specific influences than this but they all lead back to these early elements. I am very proud to have had these experiences and of having the open mind to be able to recognize the importance of what I was taking into my psyche. It has taken me very far in my creative life and I hope will continue to allow me to differentiate myself from the rest of my peers. These influences have given me a voice, one that I use in more than just drawing but in writing and animation as well.