NAPKIN! NAPKIN! NAPKIN! (Angora that is!)

If you haven't heard of the genius of Angora Napkin and the fellows who carved them out of putty and blew soft bubble gum flavoured breath into them; then where ya been?

Born out of the mania that only comes with steady work drawing kiddy cartoons and fuzzy bunnies, Troy Little and Nick Cross decided there had to be something better, something bigger than all of this. Thus, after splitting another metaphor with a simile, they cracked each others' skulls and drew forth Molly, Mallory and Beatrice.

After creating a gigantic, very cool pile of back story, promo material, designs, boards and scripts the project ended up shelved. Yeah! WTF?? What knob thought an Angora Napkin was something you'd slide between tender, supple thighs? In any case, our bubble-gum girl trio languished, almost forgotten, until Troy went to Rainbow Valley and fell in the Cotton Candy machine.
Inspiration!
Determination!
Something exploded in his tangled brain; igniting neurons that had been wrapped up all too darkly with his Xeric award winning comic Chiaroscuro. Cotton Candy. Squealing children. Puppies.

ANGORA NAPKIN!

Troy hustled home the long way, barely getting the unicycle parked on the roof where it belonged, and pulled Angora Napkin out from under the cubby where the project had been sleeping. AHA he cried, and with a manic flourish, brought the trio to a black and white half-life in comic form. Well, half-life was better than no life at all; and the comic world was finally introduced to Mallory, Beatrice and Molly as a back story in an issue of critically acclaimed comic, Chiaroscuro.


Short story long, Nick Cross, (co-creator of beloved AN) and Troy Little, won the chance to create a pilot on Teletoon and knew that this was the full-colour, bouncy fun, animated dream they'd been wishing for all their lives, and had only realized it then! Angora Napkin would live! Meanwhile, at the same time, Angora Napkin's first hard cover graphic novel exploded on the scene via IDW Publishing (yes, the same company that, after reading a glowing commendation from Dave Sim about Troy Little's Chiaroscuro, decided to check it out, were suitably impressed, and published the ground breaking work in hard cover!)


Things were moving quickly; almost too quickly! Could Dolphin Boy be voiced by anyone other than Cory Perkins? Would the whirling interstitial really connect two disparate worlds? Would PETA finally track down Beatrice's chinchilla and crown it monarch of a small Lanark County Kingdom? Did I take this job just to make a quick buck? We may never know the answers to any of these questions... but I believe it may have happened something like this...

All that being said, the graphic novel rippled like a full scoop of Cherry Garcia dropped into a molten cup of maple syrup. People weren't just talking, they were screaming: NAPKIN! NAPKIN! NAPKIN! The screening of the pilot in Ottawa's trendy Shanghai Restaurant earlier in the month had a similar reaction. Folks were floored! There was nothing remotely like this on TV anywhere. It was tight, well written, bouncy, fun and the timing was remarkable. And the Canadian content! Who can argue with close to 43 actual references made of our beloved country?*

Beatrice, Molly and Mallory weren't destined for the forgotten scrapheap of other animated girl bands and their small rodential pets. They were destined for greatness! With CUB backing the animated show musically (even after THEY had broken up--!) nothing could stand in their way.


If you are still scratching your head, check out the pilot's teaser on the Angora Napkin site. If you really want to get your feet wet, head on over to Troy Little's Meanwhile Studios site and order a signed hardcover graphic novel for yourself. With an artful intro by John K., you will not regret picking this thing up! It has an amazing combination of energy, fun and beautiful artwork. The spot colour makes it feel like it is fully rendered believe it or not. Amazing what a bit o' blue can do. Don't just take my word for it--see what others have to say >^_^<


If you are not scratching your head and are already a fan, SPREAD THE WOID. The only way this is going to get made is for us all to jump up and down and go: NAPKIN! NAPKIN! NAPKIN! until someone blows a gasket. For what it is worth, I hear by grant permission for this entire post (or portions thereof) to be reprinted in any format, electronic or hand made, for the purpose of promoting Angora Napkin in any way, shape or form.

Now go.
Do it!

*for the actual list, please harass Trick and Noy
"The Animator" painted by Kristy Gordon
All Angora Napkin images (c)2009 Troy Little & Nick Cross.

Second Week

Apparently according to the NaNoWriMo website, it's the official beginning of Week II of the challenge. My stats are a little over 14,000 words, so that's good. Now all I need is a plot..haha! No seriously, things are going ok. I've introduced my main character, set her in her setting and have peopled her environs with a few cool characters to help her on her way. I have a vague idea of where I want this to go, but so far I'm reliving my old University days. That's fine, I'm sure it'll all work out in the end (I hope.)

Now, I must go and get me some shoes. My sneakers accrued a hole. Which is not good, not when I start my new job in less than three weeks.

More to come. And to all of those who struggle under the burden (or blessing) of creativity... good luck!
Cheers
Suzanne.

PS--If you have the means, get your butt PEI bound for November 9th! It's the official launch of "Chiaroscuro" by Troy Little and IDW Publishing. It should be a fun time. I am very disappointed that I can't attend... :-(

Troy Little CHIAROSCURO Interview!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please proceed HERE to check out Troy Little on national television in Canada, courtesy of the CBC, Compass & YouTube.

For a written version of the interview, check this out.

Please be sure to pre-order "Chiaroscuro" from your favourite comic or book stores. The release date is coming up in October (15th), so don't miss out! Information on preordering can be fond on Troy's site here. Or hit up Amazon and pre-order online.

Head in the sand

The only thing that that gets you is dirt in your ears, eyes & nose. No fun! Sorry for the long hiatus (I actually have had a couple of interim posts on Kunstpike, but it ain't the same.) Recently, I have been dogsitting (looking after my friends' CL & AF's doggie Mango (an 11 month old German shep/lab cross) for the weekend, while the two gallavant in TO for Chinese New Year. Btw, Happy Year of the Pig everybody!), reading, sleeping, cooking, studying French, working at the JTIH (Job That I Hate) and drawing like a crazy grrl (the JTIL.) In between, there has been television, movies, dinners at the So Good, Yang Ming & Green Door, visits with family & friends and visiting my old Storyboard Guru Mik Casey in hospital. He's doing much better now, friends! Thank goodness. So it's been a busy old time, and truth to tell, I shan't be sad to see February's ass go waddling away and shaking into the slushy beginnings of March.

Things that I've learned sitting on a dog for 4 days: nobody can lick your face like a dog. Completely; in like 20 mega-fast swipes of a glooby pink tongue. Your eyes, ears, nose, chin, cheeks and yes, hair (guess I won't need a shampoo!) get slimed. Nothing can exuberantly run, play and eat snow like a dog. I've never seen anything slide head first into piles of snow with such unbridled enthusiasm. Dogs are the embodiment of playful joy. Nothing can dislocate your shoulder and back like a dog running on hyper adrenaline out for a walk. 'Nuff said. Nothing is quieter than a house where a dog has been and is no longer. The cats, rabbit and rats are on alert, but the thwapping wagging tail, panting, whining, yips and throaty bark-growls are quiet. I miss Mango. (Here's a pic of her when she was a sweet little pup!)

No, we won't be getting a dog in the near future :-(

On to "Sue Reads." I had tried to post this a couple of days ago, but just became enraged, then disconsolate, excited, depressed.. now finally a bit stable, I can paste it in from a saved file.

For the love of Troy Little, I kept doing something and expecting different results (classic definition of Insanity I think.) Every time I picked up "Cerebus", I wanted to approach it with the same awe, interest, adulation and respect that it deserved, and every time I did that, the same thing happened. I couldn't separate the artist/writer from the comic. I'd get my back up, my skin felt tight, it was hard to breathe and I wanted to strangle something. I'm not generally a violent person, so the urge to strangle things is not a frequent occurance.

I had wanted to read "Cerebus" for some time, but Dave Sim's misogyny made me loath to send any money his way and thus support something in which I do not believe. Being female and gay seem to be two things that get his back up (re: *Feminist-Homosexualist Axis), so you'd wonder why I kept finding myself drawn back to this guy's stuff if it was the antithesis of my own beliefs. Well, you can't have an opinion if you're not informed, and .. well, I respect and love Troy. Troy respects and loves this work. I wanted to see for myself.

So I borrowed "High Society" from the library for free.

Devouring is usually a term reserved for Tiramisu and really good chicken wings. "Chiaroscuro" has been inhaled as was "High Society" It was a great book, phenomenal story-telling, artwork, lettering, emotional descriptions, and *funny*. Very funny :-) So, I am a bit saddened to discover that the library only has two Dave Sim books; the first one, and this one. So, unless I borrow the phone books from friends, I will just have to be content with that & whatever I can find online. Speaking of which, I have found some of Sim's written works and have been poring over them. It's hard to swallow when you feel like strangling things, so I'll chew slowly. There will be more on this later when I've read more and can get my hands nice and dirty. As my poet, postie, political pal Anders Carson says: "Don't wrestle with pigs, you'll only get dirty and they'll love it." It's equally applicable, but because Troy, Sim, Canadian Comics, Feminism and myself seem to be tangled together, I'm bound to get a bit of dirt on me if I want to eventually extricate myself, my thoughts & have some love intact.

Another line that pops into my head regarding this is from the old "Art & Fear" book I've mentioned a couple of times..about disconnecting art from the artist. How one would delight in having a Van Gogh on the wall, but not necessarily be as happy to have Van Gogh sitting on one's couch. (Of course, Anders said that that would make his day! But you know what I mean.) Can one enjoy, appreciate and laud the Work and keep that entirely separate from the creator of the work? Possibly. I think regarding "Cerebus" that it would have to be, to actually enjoy the stuff without rampaging around or getting depressed.

We'll see how it goes.

*"The Feminist-Homosexualist Axis" can be found in Dave Sim's Tangent. Have a bucket handy, wet naps and keep sharp objects locked up.

PS: If there are any interested, I have updated the DragonHead Store at Cafe Press. You can now purchase a wide range of "Axe Sis!" merchandise, to show healthy support for the Feminist-Homosexualist Axis. Even if you aren't a card-carrying dyke, feel free to sport the merch, especially if you are female, know women, like women and feel that having emotions is not a detriment to being a thinking person.

PPS: You can NOW purchase and official WOMANGUE mug at Cafe Press! You've read the Blog, now drink the drink. Nothing like a steaming mug of Womangue to get the day started off right!

PPPS: A new article at Helium on weight loss tips. Check it out! Every click means a penny goes in my penny jar. Woohoo :-D

PPPPS: Ok, enough with the PPPPS's.