I love you blog...I just been busy is all.

If you haven't heard of Hopeless and Mellon's : GEARHEAD, don't feel bad, it hasn't come out yet. But that shouldn't stop you from going down to your local comic shop and preording it. Issue 2, or maybe 3, will also have my first attempt at digital coloring. Way exiting, I know. My sister got me a WACOM for my birthday and I love the shit outta this thing.



Even tho' you can see it here that shouldn't stop you from picking up their book, bi-monthly
from ARCANA PRESS. Seeing a chick swinging a monkeywrench into some dudes face always makes me smile, and you will too.

Currently listening : Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone By Yo-Yo Ma Release date: 28 September, 2004

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It's either this or more YouTube movies. I got nothin'
Current mood: blah

Scared off by the almighty Rupert Murdoch, I'm gonna refrain from posting any new art for a bit, at least until it sees print. I'd be really pissed if Sean Hannity were able to legally swipe something I've done and use it for the forces of evil.
I just started working on the my next graphic novel with Neil. Now with more Samurai! There may be a production blog going up for it so I'll be sure to post the info here when it happens. I should also have at least two shorts in anthologies coming out this year or early next...blah, blah I'm drawing and stuff.

So that leaves me with the self gratifying reviews...

Silverbullet comics gave us a great one. This guy really "gets it"!
"Allen uses an abundance of moody shading and effective close-ups to make Kleids tale even more moving. He has used his knowledge of crime movie visual terminology and film noir techniques to build a convincing portrait of this period in American history."

Silver Bullet comics

Over at The Comic Queen, we got an 'A' and a comparison to another book that came out recently involving a similar subject matter...

Comic Queen


..and this one is just for posterity, because it's in Dutch.
here's a fun excerpt.
"Het tekenwerk is van prima kwaliteit. Allen blijkt goed overweg te kunnen met het werken in zwart-wit en levert mooie, evenwichtige composities af. Helaas is het niet erg origineel. Allen baseert zich voornamelijk op de tekenstijlen van andere, bekendere tekenaars.

I ran this review through an online translator, and overall they think the book sucked. Maybe. I was really just psyched to see it's getting read overseas.

8 weekly from Van Nederlands

Currently listening : Labor Days By Aesop Rock Release date: 18 September, 2001

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Nuthin' in my trunk, MAAN!

everyday day should be National Dolemite Day.

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it puts the lotion in the basket
Current mood: distressed

From the new 'Silence of the Lambs' rock opera.

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Just me rubbing my ego again.
Current mood: working

Sort of a light self gratifying post. Hopefully if I get some time later I'll tell of my non comics related exploits, like the rhino hunt in the Serengeti or some such.

This is a little late considering the promo is over but I figured I'd pop it up anyway. Besides Jason is a cool cat and knows the finer art of 'Deez Nuts'
Jason's Moose

I didn't even realize they did comic reviews but I'm glad they do.
Poopshoot


jake

Currently listening : Space Monkeys Vs Gorillaz: Laika Come Home By Gorillaz Release date: 16 July, 2002

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Bizarro Simpsons

If you watch the Simpsons every sunday, don't spoil it and wait 3 days. If you're like me and haven't watched a new episode in two years check this weird shit out. They did a pretty damn good job considering

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Currently listening : Group Sounds By Rocket from the Crypt Release date: 06 March, 2001

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I'm a lush?

We've got our first actual review over at Amazon. Don't worry, I saved you the trip.

A beautifully moody evocation of a bygone Brooklyn inhabited by Jewish gangsters, Brownsville follows the career of some of the biggest names in the hoodlum business. The authors trace the way in which a young boy might be seduced by the wrong side through relating the story of Allie Tannenbaum, who first meets the wiseguys on the grounds of his own father's place in the Catskills. Later, the action moves to the Lower East Side, where Allie is an older man, well ensconced in the shadow world of the men who make up Murder Inc.: Louis Lepke Buchalter, Abe Reles, the Shapiro brothers, Dutch Schultz—all wind through this tale of 1930s corruption. Tires are slashed, guns are hidden in toilet tanks, rapes and murders and retaliatory hits are carried out. One difficulty is that there are few sympathetic characters, other than Allie's somewhat bewildered father, who doesn't love his son's choice of career. At times, the story's convolutions can be tough to follow; along with the various shifting loyalties, Allen's lush black ink, while atmospheric, can make different characters look confusingly similar. Nonetheless, the work is a fine addition to the archive of Brooklyn's once outlaw world. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1561634581/ref=sr_11_1/103-3569055-7441455?%5Fencoding=UTF8

I need to move on to newer pastures and put the gangsters behind me for the time being . I haven't even read the damn thing yet, I get through about 4 pages and all I see are lines on paper reminding me of the night the water heater blew, or when the bat was flying around the living room down stairs , or that other time when I had put on gardening gloves, like damn chick, and remove a different bat that passed out on our floor (maybe a drunk bat, I don't know). 2 and a half years is a long time.
Alright. Well, enough of this crass comercialism.
I'm working on a couple new projects right now which is why I haven't been here much recently (aside from 'creeping'). Maybe if I can get to the copy shop tonight, I'll make a real post and new stuff up.

Currently listening : Amnesiac By Radiohead Release date: 05 June, 2001

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My 1st interview!..sorta

Check it OUT! My first Interview at CBR. Although it's mostly Neil, I chime in a bit at the end. Neil is definately a better mouthpiece for this outfit than I.
CBR
and if you're in the NYC area between Feb 24-26 drop by the NYcomiccon for the premire of our book from NBM... I'm sure Vampirella and at least 3 Boba Fetts will be there as well.

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Darwin was right.
Current mood: numb

The Next time somebody tells you we are here because of "Intelligent Design" you look them sqaure in the eyes and say: Male Nipples.
Let me give you some background. Last night at work I wore a shirt under my costume, as
I usually do for insulation, and on this shirt was an embroidery which was sewn directly over my left male nipple. And all night this stupid embrodiery rubbed over every nerve in my stupider male nipple for far too many hours and to the point of being raw which caused me to exclaim ,"JESUS!!" (becuase he works the same shift in hell I do, but I'm sure his reasons are far more noble) " JESUS!" I said. " Why the Fuck would your dad give me nipples? " to which Jesus did not reply. He probably thinks I'm dick for makin' fun of his dad all the time.
I did throw that shirt, the fuck out.

Currently playing : Resident Evil 4 Release date: 25 January, 2005

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Big Pimpin'
Current mood: accomplished

This month, NBM makes available for preorder a hardcover graphic novel three years in the making:

BROWNSVILLE HC
by Neil Kleid & Jake Allen
Written by Xeric Award winner Neil Kleid. In the 1930's, life in Brooklyn was murder. "Jewish gangster" isn't a term you hear much in post-Holocaust society ... but back when the Dodgers played in the East, and licorice cost a penny a bag, Brooklyn corners were lousy with semitic young toughs looking for adventure and excitement — none more so than in Brownsville. Follow the intertwined lives of Allie Tanennbaum, Abe Reles, and scores of hoods organized by Louis Lepke Buchalter into the deadliest hit operation in Mafia history, "Murder, Inc.", as they escape the mean streets and lonely tenements of East New York, and make themselves into the most dangerous men in America, only to eventually send their best friends and closest allies up the river.

MATURE THEMES
HC, 6x9, 200pgs, B&W
SRP: $18.95
Diamond Order Code: DEC053126

Here's what people are saying about BROWNSVILLE:

"Jewish gangsters are almost unheard of these days. This taut and suspenseful drama takes people to an era that no longer exists. I'm not saying Jews are untainted by crime these days - but at least they're not out knockin' heads like they used to be!"

Harvey Pekar, writer, AMERICAN SPLENDOR

"Most of the material you'll find about the 'jewish mafia' is garbage. This book examines a piece of the history of organized crime, and does so with grace, style and power. BROWNSVILLE carries history. Read it."

Carla Speed McNeil, creator, FINDER

Check out more about BROWNSVILLE at:
http://www.rantcomics.com/rant-brownsville.html

The full color cover is available for viewing at:
http://www.rantcomics.com/BvilCover.jpg

There's a hefty interview about BROWNSVILLE at Newsarama up at:
http://newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24274
If you are a retailer who would like to see a black and white PDF selection of the graphic novel, please reply and I will be more than happy to send it along. As well, I'll be happy to answer any other questions you might have about the book!

Thanks for checking it out!

Neil Kleid

( neil actually e-mailed this to me so I figured I leave his signature, and if I have you're e-mail address you will likely find this in your e-box in the not to distant future. daddy's gotta eat.)

Currently playing : Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Release date: 25 October, 2004

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