Stephen T. COLBERT DE MAYO / Cocktail Time with IRON MAN.

Cinco De Mayo proved to be quite festive for me ... but no margaritas were consumed. After more than a year of attempts, Goddard finally secured tickets for a live taping of THE COLBERT REPORT - which besides LOST and my recent obsession with FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, is probably my most watched TV show. I was going to be in the same room with Stephen T. Colbert, and I wasn't sure how I was going to react.

I don't get that starstruck usually. I've met my fair share of celeb and pseudo-celeb. I've interviewed some of the most important comic book creators in the biz today. But when it comes to Colbert, all rules go out the window. All bets are off. You might call it a crush - but honestly it's just an absolute admiration to Colbert and his craft. He has taken the idea of "gravitas" to amazing new heights, has lampooned some of the biggest names in the political "right," and has also voiced one of the funniest cartoon characters that Cartoon Network's Adult Swim ever offered (Harvey Birdman's Phil Ken Sebben).

May I make an admission? I used to despise Colbert's character on The Daily Show. Thinking him far too pompous and not at all funny, when the news came that he would have his own show I would have to say that I was slightly annoyed. And to pronounce the "Colbert Report" with a silent "T"? UGH! I can't recall what finally did get me watching the show; I think hearing about his speech at the 2006 White House Correspondent's Dinner was the first inkling I had that maybe this bloke really did have some brass balls. Watching the show was soon to follow with his voice work on Harvey Birdman being the icing on the cake. Bespectacled, appearing as a staunch Republican to the point of shocking ludicrousness, and the ego the size of his home state of North Carolina was enough to count me as a fan. The man is easy on the eyes as well (it had to be said!).

The day came and Goddard and I headed into New York City around 1pm. We found a bar near the studio and had a couple drinks before heading over to the line. It wasn't an INSANE line, but people had been waiting for awhile, sitting on the canopied concrete ground reading and waiting patiently for the time we were allowed in. The staff was personable, I inquired about the guest but was only given the statement that we were "in for a treat." We were ushered into the holding area for bag checks and metal detectors. The wait was longer than an hour which only built up the anticipation to a crazed fever pitch in my head. The audience coordinator came out to announce that Colbert was re-writing some things after rehearsal and that this was a common occurrence for him. We were allowed to ask questions of the audience coordinator (A.C.) and learned some interesting tidbits - most importantly to me was that Colbert's middle name is Tyrone.

Finally the doors opened and we were led into the room where the "magic happens." We were given cards with numbers on them and this is the order in which we entered the studio. While on TV the set seemed on the larger side, the truth is the studio was teeny tiny and the audience was only 107 strong. A nice surprise as the intimacy level proved pretty damn high.

If you watch both the Daily Show as well as Colbert, you know that sometimes there is a "toss" from the Daily Show to Colbert where basically Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert banter for a few seconds to segue from one show to the other. This is not done all the time (they're lucky if they do it twice a week we were told by the A.C.) but we were going to get to see one. This meant that before Colbert's Q&A with the audience, before the stand-up comic that would be "warming the crowd up," Colbert came out in all of his glory to record the toss since the Daily Show is filmed directly before they tape the ...Report. 2 bleachers on either side were divided by a "backstage" area that without warning, Colbert came bounding through. He ran around, slapping high fives to the people on the outside of the rows (we were on the inside...:sigh:) and this is where I STARTED CRYING. Yes, tears were shed as I sprang from my seat, screamed and clapped maniacally. I felt my throat constrict from all the yelling I was doing. I seriously felt that I was going to lose my voice.

The toss was interesting to watch b/c Stewart and Colbert talk live via satellite (they do not tape in the same building) for a few moments before recording...and Colbert is completely out of character. Only being in his presence for a few moments is all you need to sense that he is NOTHING like his TV persona but as soon as that camera went on and the stage manager relayed to Colbert that he was on, it was like a switch of truthiness was flicked and Colbert improved a tirade to Stewart in regards to them being "linked" publicly (referring to them as ColWart) and that it needed to stop. It was hilarious. It only lasted 5 minutes and he was gone again. We had a stand-up comedian that was pretty darn amusing "warm us up" but the damage was done and we were fired up with the taste we had just received.

Colbert came out for the 2nd time and answered a few questions. I was too embarrassed to utter or come up with anything so Goddard rose to ask him if Colbert was taking blame for how well the Philly sports teams were doing since he had visited our fair city. Colbert laughed (as not being in character meant that he was down to earth and not pompous at all) and said yes, he took full blame. He answered a few more questions and then we got down the business: the taping of the show.

Rock music such as The White Stripes blared between takes, Colbert mouthing the words and pointing to people in the crowd. He started shooting his trademark "wriststrong" rubber bracelets into the crowd and one headed straight out way. It bounced off Goddard's leg and I snatched it up before anyone had time to see it. This was as close as I got to the man - yes, he touched my "wristrong" bracelet and I resisted the urge to put it in a plastic bag and put it under my pillow. Instead it is proudly worn on my right hand with my other bands.

The show was hilarious. Colbert only flubbed once, in regards to the Korean pop star Rain that he has had an ongoing "feud" with that culminated in a pre-recorded sketch of him and Rain battling it out on a DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION video game console. The guest was author Carl Hiaasen, who took Colbert's jokes in stride. (I didn't necessarily feel that this was the "treat;" that rather the female intern was referring to the Rain appearance).

In half an hour it was all over but the feeling of elation lasted a good 24 hours afterwards. Colbert fed off the audience's intensity and I think that a good set of people were in for the show and rocked it hard for him. I highly recommend checking the web site once a week and attempting to get yourself to a taping. If you're in the NYC area you can do "stand-by" which we saw quite a few people make into the taping without tickets. Colbert may seem overrated to some but he is a funny and kind man that deserves all the hype. I may have to wait 6 months until I can go see him again...but I do plan on making it to another taping asap.

And now, you can check out the "Rain Dance-off" but what directly precedes that is a wave from Colbert to the audience, if you look below and to the right of Colbert's elbow - you can see me and Goddard, I have my hands raised high clapping - 2nd to last row. YAY!


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About 2 months ago I began whining every day or so. "I want to see IRON MAN. " It became a bit of a mantra for me as I have been enamored with Tony Stark since reading Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's THE ULTIMATES. Warren Ellis' and Adi Granov's THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN helped the love of the raven-haired, hard drinking,goateed millionaire even more. The trailers looked amazing and hearing the the movie was over 80 minutes was a good sign.

Ok, it's been 2 weeks and this movie has been touted as one of the best Super-hero films made. I'm going to have to agree. I'm not here to review something that you've probably already seen (and seen again). What I am here to tell you is this: I really really liked this movie. I think that it has the potential to be a better telling of the super-hero than BATMAN BEGINS. It may be a better film than THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS but it's too early to tell. What can be said is that in its 2nd week it has successfully beat out the SPEED RACER debut. This is not a fluke. Robert Downey JR. is always an impressive actor but puts aside the fast mumble to personify the Tony Stark character; he is whip-smart, a ladies man, but also a man without a heart. Until he gets a metallic one with pretty blue lights. Another note - STAY THROUGH THE CREDITS. You ULTIMATES lovers will get a special treat that gives the promise of a sequel...and yet another Millar creation that will appear on the big screen much like WANTED. Congrats my Scottish Rogue! =)
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Finally, if you haven't seen the trailer for MAY 30th's THE STRANGERS, check it out below. As a horror fanatic, I am wiggling with excitement and fear over this thriller that is supposedly "inspired by true events." I'll be in the theater opening night for this one. Make sure you save me a seat.


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~Till Next Time Kittlings.

NEW YORK COMIC CON (NYCC) - news and notes.

You won't see the Brickthrower on the convention floor. Maybe it's social anxiety, or the smell emanating off of the literal THOUSANDS of fanboys, but the crowded house that was last year's NYCC scared me into inaction this year.

I will be living it up at after-hours and such...and I did try to get as much info on my creator friends and their plans for the weekend. See below blog for JOHN LIVESAY's exciting inks. Also to be noted is some news I got from JG JONES when I asked about what he's got cooking for the con and upcoming:

JG: "Hey Mary,It's all about Final Crisis. There is nothing else."

MEB: Really...no other news?

JG: Yeah, one comic...and not much else, I'm afraid. I have no time for a life. MARK MILLAR and I are supposed to do a bit of promotion for the WANTED film with JAMES MCAVOY at the NYCC. That should be fun.I wish I had more fun news.

MEB: MORE fun news? That's quite enough sir!

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MIKE OEMING gave some info about the con in his newsletter:

"I'm there sitting with DAVID MACK, TAKI SOMA and BRYAN GLASS. I'll be signing everything and anything, doing sketches and having fun. Bring me some Stella or Stoli and I'll hook you up with free head sketches. Think I'm kidding? Its a long con:) I'll also have FRAMED PRINTS for Mice Templar for the first time as well as early issues of MT #4."

(((plus check out the art he decided to show his fans on the fly - Roger from HELLBOY - sweet!)))

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From BRIAN EWING:
"Hey if you're going to be at the NY Comic Con this weekend please drop by Evil Ink Booth #1904. Claudio Sanchez (singer of Coheed and Cambria and creator of The Amory Wars) is making a major announcement at the Con about a new creation of his. It's something he has been working on for a LONG time and he is very excited to share it with you. You have to go to the Con to be among the first to experience it!!
I can't tell you what it is but they said it was cool to show you the poster they commissioned me to do for the event. The only place to pick up the ltd edition screen printed poster is at the show. These are going to go fast so if you can't make it tell one of your friends to pick you up a copy."

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Other notables - JOSH BLAYLOCK, TARA MACPHERSON, JIMMY PALMIOTTI and AMANDA CONNER....and even those stoned dudes from HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE. So be there...or be square!!!! What better way to kick off the con season than with a weekend in THE CITY, NEW YORK that is!!!!

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~Till Next Time Kittlings.

New York City Diaries - Part 1 - Comic Book Club

I recently received a tidy little promotion in my day job (read: office drone; business goth) and have been given a spiffy title of "in-house representative" and shipped off to New York. Working in NYC has always been on my list of things "to-do" as it provided me with more opportunities to get along with my comic book brethren known as the FOO (The Mike Oeming message board).

So last Tuesday marked my first visit to Comic Book Club @ the People's Improv Theater, a mere 2 blocks from Penn Station. A live show done in talk show format, this weekly comic book centered live show offers fanboys and girls alike the chance to see their favorite creators in an intimate setting talking about not only the most recent comic book scoop as well as pop culture topics alike.

I went especially to see my dear pal Mike Oeming, and a list of virtual comic book indie/Oeming board royalty came out to see Mike on the show - such artists as ZeeS and Taki Soma, Marvel Editor Jen Grunwald, musician Jef UK and writer of Silent Devil's The Last Sin of Mark Grimm M. Sean McManus. And that was just the audience! On the panel was not only Mr. Oeming but the most rockin' ANDREW WK, amazing performer as witnessed by yours truly at a past Ozz Fest.

The show was funny, offering both self-promotion for the panel as well as each guest's opinion on the newest comics of the week. If I can recommend a cheap outing in NYC that provides both fun and variety, it would be Comic Book Club. Check out their web site for upcoming guests!!!!

http://www.popcultureshock.com/cbclub/

(((PICTURED: Mary E Brickthrower, Andrew WK and Taki Soma)))

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~Till Next Time Kittlings.

Brian Ewing Art Show in LA - check it out if yer local!

BRIAN EWING Art Show 4.7.

08 in Los Angeles, CA

April 7th 2008
Los Angeles, CA
at the ROXY on Sunset Blvd

A solo show of Brian Ewing's past and present rock posters.



Atticus and Jedidiah along with the awesome folks Punk Rock Social... are sponsoring an art show for me in LA. I'm usually way too busy trying to not miss a deadline and avoid the sun to have time to exhibit my work.



There are going to be some bands - like FINCH, THE SECRET HANDSHAKE, HALOS and some dude from HELMET will be playing the show.



The $10 goes to pay the bands. I'm offering $5 off, on any posters/ prints to help offset the admission fee.





©BRIANEWING. com

Livesay Promotes! And f*ck that Shite - Pabst Blue Ribbon! (PBR par-tay for Arrested Development fiends)

So when I decided to catch up with my pal and inker John Livesay - he laid some knowledge on me:
"I will be at the NEW YORK COMIC CON this year, went last year and plan to be back and signing copies of LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES"

And gave me some awesome scans from the upcoming issues to peruse:

To see the rest, CLICK RIGHT HERE!!!!
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So when my darling friend Loretta advised me that she would be moving to Florida I was both excited and sad. Excited b/c she is moving to finish her degree and live with her very awesome brother; sad b/c I’m losing my favorite person in the whole wide world besides from my dear Goddard Bunny.

Loretta and I were brainstorming for ways to raise some extra cash for her move and we decided to have a going-away / fundraiser party. The theme? Why our favorite American sit-com, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT of course. As soon as the theme was decided, we started piecing together the details.

In Arrested Development, the Bluth family holds a “TBA CHARITY GALA” – because they couldn’t decide what they should raise money for. Our TBA would be the “TAMPA BAY ACTION,” a semi-formal dress up affair to help raise some extra cash for Loretta. We ordered a keg of PBR and are charging a measly $5 to drink and eat all you can. The food will be “upscale chic”: stuffed mushroom caps, crudités with assorted dips, bruschetta, CORN BALLS (from the infamous episode of AD where they reveal that George Sr. attempted to market a deep fryer for aforementioned corn muffins, THE CORN BALLER). Dressing as your favorite AD character or semi-formal is encouraged.
Prizes will be awarded in the following:
- Pin the mustache on Private Eye Gene Parmasean
- The Hot Cops dance competition
- Best Chicken Dance
- Best costume

We ordered special prizes off of http://www.cafepress.com/ including buttons, shirts and magnets that have sayings from Arrested Development. I think I’m going to make miniature hotdogs. =) Start your Arrested Development party planning today! And if you’re in the Philly area then come to my party!!!
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I saw some fun movies the past few weeks. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN was by far the best. I cried at the end which is no major feat but is rare for a Coen Bros. film. I didn’t particularly like the foreign film SWEET MOVIE even if it did have full frontal nudity and scatological insanity. I think the message had something to do with Communism. But I could be wrong.
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Never underestimate your power to hurt yourself doing the most random things. I was playing RAMPAGE for PS2 – a remake of the arcade classic – and played so long and in a weird position as to spasm my back and the middle of my torso. It required a doctor’s visit and I felt rather old. To think: injuring myself on a video game that doesn’t even require physical exertion, just a lot of button mashing. But I learned something more as well – the drugs work. Flexaril is a buddhasend. Long live muscle relaxers.
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~Till Next Time Kittlings.

Takashi Miike / NIN's new album GHOSTS / DDR /Comics?

So it's been a crazy month of March for your fair Brickthrower. I have succeeded in obtaining a bit of a promotion within my "day job" office environ and starting March 24th I will be working full time in NYC.

And no, Goddard and I do not plan to move to NYC just yet.

We did however, set a date - SEPTEMBER 22nd, 2009 - VEGAS - more details to come. YOU ARE INVITED. =)

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So I think it was perhaps Goddard's friend/co-worker/awesome chick Danielle that put the boy on a Takeshi Miike kick. I couldn't mind; I've been a worshipper of the altar of ASIAN CULT FILM since my first jaunt with JU-ON THE GRUDGE that fateful night at pal Jaime Irate's humble abode.

While we have a few more films to go I would like to propose some quick little tidbits about the films we have seen so far: QUICK MIIKE REVIEWS:
AUDITION - awesome. Brutally graphic. The way she says "deeper deeper deeper" in Japanese is TEH sex. A man gets set up on a blind date that he will never be able to forget. The use of wire in this film is enough to make any man cringe. And proclaimed by comic book/

HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS - a musical, and f'ing brilliant in that CANNIBAL THE MUSICAL sort of way. I lurved it. A family renovates a "guest house" (read: bed and breakfast) named "White Lovers Guest House" or something equally weird. They then find their pleasant inn attracts the most unpleasant kinds of circumstances. The songs break out at the most inappropriate times and that is the beauty of this film.

VISITOR Q - so fucking strange. But so very intriguing and interesting. Goddard relates to me that this film was made as a semi-promotional item for digital cameras. I can't imagine anyone in Japan showing this film at a Electronics Expo or something. Incest, umbrellas, and bullies are highlighted in this flick. I wasn't dull for one moment.

IZO - Eh - I didn't like this one very much. The plot was connected in a rather hapless sort of way.

ICHII THE KILLER - This is one of the first of the "Asian Cult" films I ever saw, courtesy of my horror mentor Thee Irate One, and I still hold it dear to this day. Ultraviolence, Yakuza, awesome. Masochists and suspension artists alike will surely dig on this movie.
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So Trent Reznor as NINE INCH NAILS went back into the studio and quietly released GHOSTS, a 2 CD set full of instrumentals. A rather telling title, this album is marked by its haunting feeling, as if you have heard these songs hacked up into bits and pieces and sampled on some other NIN project. My first impression was the similarity between this and APHEX TWIN’s 26 MIXES FOR CASH - an easy concept to put together and get out for the fans to purchase. NIN offered many options for buying this - from the free download of the first 9 songs, to the $5 download onto your computer, and upwards into limited edition sets and whatnot. I opted for the $5 download. I am happy to say that in some way, shape or form I have purchased the last 5 albums and multiple singles instead of resorting to my usual methods of music saturation.

I do not find this album very entertaining, just as I skip over the instrumentals on THE FRAGILE. I find the combination of Reznor’s industrial/piano/loud/soft electronic sound and his angst-ridden lyrics a perfect match. To lose the lyrics is to lose half of my attention. This is not a bad album. It is a great background CD as my ’married boyfriend’ Matt said; while you’re working or busy putting together IKEA furniture or something then this is a great album to pop in. Just don’t expect some deep revelation in this album, although maybe we can credit Reznor’s recent prolific output to his new-found sobriety. Props for that.
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DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION is helping me lose weight. It’s not just for little Asian kids and Salt n Pepa anymore!!!
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If we wish hard enough, Goddard may put together some "one sentence reviews" on his most recent comic book reads. You can wish...can’t you?

~Till Next Time Kittlings.

An Outlaw kind of Antho / Western Anthology talk with Michael Woods

Michael Woods is the editor of the new Western Anthology, OUTLAW TERRITORY. I recently chatted with Mike in regards to his anthology and the business of comic book editing. Check it out!

Mary E Brickthrower: So what made you decide to edit a Western Anthology? Are you like most boys I know, with that soft spot in your heart for the idea of the "old west?"

Michael Woods: heh...no. Outside the cool hats and being able to wear a six shooter on your hip, it didn't seem like a great time to live. It was hard and I'm a soft kid from the suburbs. I do love the genre though. Something I'm sure most of us grew up with.

As for the decision to do a western anthology, I was putting together the Low Orbit anthology and looking for something to do that would be a polar opposite. A single genre with a darker, grittier tone. I had no idea what that would be until I talked to an artist about illustrating a short western story I had cooked up. He asked if it was for a western anthology. "It is now."

MB : Was this something that you CHOSE who you wanted to have in the collection or did you solicit for submissions?

MW : When I first decided what this book would be, I opened it up for submissions and set a deadline for scripts. Deadline rolled around and I received all of zero submissions. So, I took the book off the table and started looking at writers working in the industry who's work I enjoyed. I started contacting them directly. Some said yes. Others said no. A lot said no, actually. But I kept going and enough people said yes. A few people were recommended to me (especially when I started looking for artists), which was great.

Whether I asked or was recommended someone, there isn't a creator on either volume that I did not approve. So, if either book fails, it's all my fault.

MB: Have you been surprised by any of the submissions you've gotten? Like how some people interpreted the genre?

MW: The stories and artwork in the book is all pretty amazing. I could really rant and rave about them all day. But, I knew the quality of the contributor's work ahead of time. It's why I invited them onto the book.

A few stories did surprise me though. Joshua Hale Fialkov wrote something that was reminiscent of the old EC comics. Christopher Mitten did something with the color scheme he chose that really brought his pages to life. Probably the biggest surprise was from Joshua Dysart. His story floored me. I don't know what I was expecting from him, but not that. I loved it.

Truth be told though, I'm more interested in seeing how people react to some of the newer guys on the book. I know their work and am a fan of all of them, but artists and writers like Michael Jason Paz, Dean Kots, George Gousis, Charles Shay, Christie Tseng, Jose Holder, Jan Napiorkowski, Stephen Reedy and many others are these amazing little known or completely unknown guys that are really bringing something to the table. I want to see the reaction of the fans discovering these guys work.

MB: What do you find the biggest challenge in editing an anthology? Is this something you're used to at this point?

MW: I think I always underestimate the amount of time it takes. It's a lot of communication with a lot of different people who are all busy on other projects at the same time. And that's only after searching comics and the internet to find the right people. I think I got lucky that their are a lot of western fans working in comics who wanted to be a part of this. I wish their was some secret to how all these amazingly talented people decided to do this (because I'd use it all the time), but honestly...I just asked.

MB: TOMBSTONE or WYATT EARP?

MW: "I'm your huckleberry."

MB: Are you contributing at all to OUTLAW TERRITORY?

MW: Absolutely. Aside from putting a book out there that I think is missing from the shelves, being able to write stories for the book is what makes it worth doing.

MB: Where do you do most of your writing? Do you have a 'zone'- a place that is your perfect mise-en-scene for getting some writing done and good writing at that?

MW: I tend to write when and where I can. Usually on a legal pad and later onto my Mac Mini.

Usually the best writing comes when I am at home and without distraction. Their may be music or just silence. But that is about as close to a zone as I get. I am otherwise at the mercy of inspiration, which comes and goes at it pleases.

MB: How did the title come about?

MW: Honestly, I don't remember. I know I thought of it on the way to work, but can't say what it was that sparked the idea or what the train of thought was. I just know that I liked it and figured it would work at least as a placeholder until I thought of something better.

I think sticking with it was a good decision.

MB: What does the future hold for Outlaw Territory? Another volume? What about for you personally?

MW: There will be a second volume of Outlaw Territory and it is already in the works.

For me, there are some stories in future volumes of PopGun as well as a graphic novel I'm doing with Michelle Silva called 'Bruised Peach' (also being published by Image). There are a couple other things, like 'DragonWinds' and 'The Rampart Legacy' which I can't talk too much about just yet. But, those books will start to see the light of day soon enough.

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~Till Next Time Kittlings.