So I'm over at Amazon.com, browsing their list of upcoming DVD releases for this coming Tuesday... when I come upon the title "Princess of Mars". My reaction: "Huh?"

I'm sure most of you know by now that Disney is readying a big-screen adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars (I think the film's ultimate title will be John Carter of Mars), for release in 2012. But some outfit apparently called "The Asylum" has already rushed out their own considerably-lower-budget version that'll hit DVD on Tuesday December 29.

It stars Antonio Sabato Jr. as John Carter... and Traci Lords (!) as Dejah Thoris (!!) You can see the trailer here [link] ... and take note of how they're trying to piggyback on the anticipated success of Avatar by claiming that A Princess of Mars was the "inspiration" for James Cameron's film. Now I've read quite a few reviews and moviegoers' comments about Avatar, and how its "simplistic" and "hackneyed" plot was "ripped off" from other movies like Dances With Wolves and Disney's Pocahontas... but I've never seen Burroughs' Mars novels mentioned as any sort of inspiration or source material. (If someone knows of any such mention online, a link to it would be greatly appreciated!)

I'm also puzzled as to how this movie could even be legit. I mean, Disney holds the movie rights to at least the first Mars novel (and, I'm guessing, all of them), so how could Asylum legally even make this flick? Did ERB's estate sell to Asylum some sort of direct-to-video rights that Disney wasn't aware of? I see lawsuits flying thick and fast over this.

And a few reactions to the trailer: Funny, all the descriptions of Dejah Thoris I've ever seen describe her as black-haired and copper-skinned, yet they let Lords play her as California tanned and blonde. (Maybe the producers thought their budget was better spent on those cheesy-looking Thark masks and (presumably) CGI rocketships than on hair dye and body makeup. Or maybe they thought nobody would recognize Lords if they changed her looks too much.) And another funny thing: I also don't recall Burroughs ever describing John Carter as having tattoos...

I may have to go see if I can rent this thing and check it out.

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Please know that, even if I can't thank you personally, your watches, faves and comments are always very much appreciated!




Clubs I'm in:


"California: where the Anarchists sound like Libertarians, the Libertarians sound like Republicans, the Republicans sound like Democrats and the Democrats sound like Leon Trotsky, and about the only saving grace is that they do not actually get all the government they pay for." -Mark Horning

Merry Christmas, if that's okay.

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Please know that, even if I can't thank you personally, your watches, faves and comments are always very much appreciated!




Clubs I'm in:


"California: where the Anarchists sound like Libertarians, the Libertarians sound like Republicans, the Republicans sound like Democrats and the Democrats sound like Leon Trotsky, and about the only saving grace is that they do not actually get all the government they pay for." -Mark Horning

Finished the top half* of Tetsuko #2 page 28!

*or maybe the top third, depending on how much I decide to put on the rest of this page and what gets moved to the next couple of pages.

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Please know that, even if I can't thank you personally, your watches, faves and comments are always very much appreciated!




Clubs I'm in:


"California: where the Anarchists sound like Libertarians, the Libertarians sound like Republicans, the Republicans sound like Democrats and the Democrats sound like Leon Trotsky, and about the only saving grace is that they do not actually get all the government they pay for." -Mark Horning

deviantART recently ran a holiday special: buy print(s) of your own deviations for base price. So most of the prints I have offered for sale, then, I could buy for around $10.

So I bought a print of "Tetsuko, Belly Dancer - color".

At first I thought, "hey, I could probably get this for 'free', since I have that twelve dollars and something in 'deviantDollars' for selling the two prints a few weeks ago." Adding the shipping/handling costs, though, pushed the total up over $15, and I wasn't able to use my balance and then make up the rest on credit card or PayPal. *sigh* Oh well, it was still a good deal.

...I did some poking around in the FAQ, and found out that, as a Premium subscriber, I've always had the ability to buy my own prints at base price. I guess the "holiday sale" extended that price to non-premium members as well. Well, the knowledge that I can buy at base price means I might be getting more of my pics as prints in the future...

The print arrived in size 12 by 18 inches, though, which is not exactly a standard frame size. The only frame I could find was a "poster frame" at Michael's, which was ehhh okay I guess. Anyway, I now have a professionally produced print of one of my own artworks on my wall!



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And while I was at Michael's I passed by a display of vinyl figurines of fantasy characters and animals: wizards, princesses, pirates, unicorns, pegasuses (pegasi?), minotaurs... and mermaids.

I'm fascinated by mermaids anyway (one reason why Ariel is one of my favorite Disney characters), so i had to check out this figure.



No, those aren't supposed to be snakes in her hair, or snakes for hair; it's just an impression of current-tossed tresses. (say that five times fast!) But what sold the figure for me was a surprisingly detailed midriff, which I hope shows up better in this photo:



A nice little figure for only 6 bucks.

(And that's how I end up with the figures I do: it's not that I set out to collect figurines, it's simply that I'll find something - like this mermaid with the great abs - and just buy it.)

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Please know that, even if I can't thank you personally, your watches, faves and comments are always very much appreciated!




Clubs I'm in:


"California: where the Anarchists sound like Libertarians, the Libertarians sound like Republicans, the Republicans sound like Democrats and the Democrats sound like Leon Trotsky, and about the only saving grace is that they do not actually get all the government they pay for." -Mark Horning

This has actually been available for a couple of weeks from megaupload, but it just occurred to me (and I don't know why it took so long to realize this) that I could put it here in my dA gallery and save everybody some trouble:

Battle of the Space Amazons!

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Those of you've been reading my journals, blog posts and other drivel over the years may remember vague and enigmatic references to a "big commission project" I took on several years ago... and only finished just this past November! I wish I could say it really did take me this long to draw it, but the truth is... I let it slide, put it on the back burner several times, for months at a time. And I really have to be grateful to my client (Gribble) for his incredible patience over that time. It was very irresponsible of me to let this project go for so long, and it's part of the reason why I don't take on multi-page comics commissions anymore: I don't want this to happen to some other potential client.

Anyway, as I said (and some of you have already discovered for yourselves), the "big project" is finished, and posted at my dA gallery under the title "Battle of the Space Amazons!" 23 pages of action! suspense! women growing out of their clothes and beating the snot outta each other! (Uh oh, should I have put a "spolier warning" on that? )

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Please know that, even if I can't thank you personally, your watches, faves and comments are always very much appreciated!




Clubs I'm in:


"California: where the Anarchists sound like Libertarians, the Libertarians sound like Republicans, the Republicans sound like Democrats and the Democrats sound like Leon Trotsky, and about the only saving grace is that they do not actually get all the government they pay for." -Mark Horning