PLANET GRIFFIN WEEKEND EDITION: Picking The Right One

The novel is massive, rich with backstory and subtlety that didn’t make it even to the very subtle and beautiful Swedish film. So we want to expand upon the world of the Swedish film by drawing upon the material from the novel. I think it’ll allow us to do things impossible in either of the previous incarnations. We’re planning a big program, with a unique scope to it.” Since the comics will not be a straight adaptation, readers would see episodes taking place both before and after the familiar events of the film, continuing the adventures of Eli and Oskar.
- Scott Allie, Dark Horse

Whoops!

Not too long ago, DARK HORSE COMICS and HAMMER FILMS announced several projects slated for future release, including a comic based on the US remake of the Swedish vampire movie known as LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (The American remake will be titled Let Me In). Dark Horse has also been looking at the original source material, the original novel by creator JOHN AJVIDE LINDQVIST. The problem with all of this is that no one from the DH camp cleared any of this with Lindqvist himself, who learned of this deal only after the fact.

Again... Whoops!

When interviewed by the Swedish Metro News, Lindqvist has already completed a prequel of his own slated for a future publication, and voiced his disapproval on the matter:

...Nobody has asked me about this and I think that the project stinks. I am looking into this matter and hope that they have no right to do this...

I've read the novel and watched the original film ( a violently bittersweet tale between a misunderstood, 12 year old outcast named Oskar and his chance meeting with his new neighbor, Eli, a vampire girl who was bitten at a very young age. Try to imagine a bloodier version of Twilight without the teen angst.), and found both media to be masterworks in their own right. To remake either of these seems pointless, and based upon the situation at hand, it would seem that Dark Horse may have to deal with future litigation... Only goes to show that if you don't work harder at developing original subject matter, it could come back to bite you... So to speak.

Special thanks to Warren Ellis

THE BIG BUZZ: Finally, THE ROCK Has Come Back !

Maybe it was the dismal returns of TOOTH FAIRY and RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN... Maybe it was the weak productions of ensemble flicks like DOOM, BE COOL, and the remake of WALKING TALL... (there was also SOUTHLAND TALES, but that's a weirdo bomb in a class by itself.) Maybe, just maybe, it was the total recall of passing Arnold in a crowded club in THE RUNDOWN, as a metaphoric gesture of saying, "It's your turn..." Whatever the reason, it appears that DWAYNE 'THE ROCK' JOHNSON is out to make good on his return to the hardcore action genre. Oh yes, PLANET GRIFFIN returns with THE BIG BUZZ!

VARIETY recently went on record to say that the upcoming film, FASTER, definitely promises to deliver the Rock as, what many people once assumed, the next great action star, as well as reveal the actor in a completely different light from his previous films.

Looking for absolute payback in the murder of his brother 10 years earlier, The Rock plays the double crossed ex-con willing to move hell and earth to find his brother's killers. Meanwhile, CARLA GUGINO (SIN CITY) and BILLY BOB THORNTON (SLING BLADE) play the detectives who turn out to be equally determined to to stop him.

MAGGIE GRACE, MOON BLOODGOOD, ADEWALE AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE, and OLIVER JACKSON-COHEN round out the cast when FASTER hits theaters NOVEMBER 19th.

Sandbox Spaghetti West: Rockstar Returns With A Vengence

Now here's something cool to sink your teeth into! In the world of videogames, the most hotly anticipated game of the year comes from the innovators of 'sandbox' gaming, ROCKSTAR GAMES... This time, instead of the urban blight of Liberty City, the setting is sent through the wayback machine to the daze of the Spaghetti West--- RED DEAD REDEMPTION is now ready for platform release of May 18th.
As an added bonus, Rockstar has even enlisted Director JOHN HILLCOAT to helm a 30 minute trailer of the game utilizing machinma (Machinma is a creative narrative using the video game's assets, which is basically an in-game animated film). Hillcoat, who reinvigorated the western genre with THE PROPOSITION, has finished a current edit which turned out to be so good, the trailer has been upgraded to broadcast--- the 30 minute short will air on FOX Saturday, MAY 15th.

Judging from the overall look of this platformer, Rockstar games has really done its homework, consuming seemingly every italian spaghetti western ever made--- from the panoramic vistas of SERGIO LEONE to the over-the-top violence of SERGIO CORBUCCI.

A Glimpse Into The Future

PLANET GRIFFIN LABS brings you another behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of the FIERCE CREATURES OGN, which has been slowly getting back on track for mass production after dealing with everything else that life seems to throw at us all. As a shirt design, it's already showing mighty promise (of course, getting the materials together is difficult when your 9 to 5 grind is more demanding than most)... Keep your dreams alive and it will reward you highly in the end!

THE BIG BUZZ: Building A Better B-Movie

During the days of the release of GRINDHOUSE, Co-Creator ROBERT RODRIGUEZ held a video contest during the SXSW film festival 2007 in honor of the faux 70's flick to see who could come up with the best mock exploitation trailer. The winner came in the form of a broken down hobo who takes the law into his own hands with his nickels and dimes in one hand, and a big frakkin' shotgun in the other... Despite how cheesy this may sound, HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN not only took first prize in the competition, but it put Canadian writer/director JASON EISENER on the map!

Utilizing the same creativity that Rodriguez put into his first feature, EL MARIACHI, Eisener began showing his works to the filmmaking community at large, wowing the crowds at film festivals worldwide... This past monday, Eisener took his HOBO creation one step further.

Shooting for the full feature version of HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN began shooting in Nova Scotia with legendary actor RUTGER HAUER in the title role, replacing the original HOBO, Canadian actor DAVID BRUNT (who'll still cameo as a dirty cop in the film version). The trailer, already the stuff of cult legend in Canada, has drawn the interest of directors and stars within the Hollywood community as Hauer is reportedly playing up the role with the same manic energy he created in the cult classics THE HITCHER (the psychotic John Ryder) and BLADE RUNNER (the iconic replicant Roy Batty). Oh yes, the miasma of 70's grindhouse is getting a kickstart again, and the idea of 'building a better B movie' is getting better by the minute!

This is PLANET GRIFFIN and THE BIG BUZZ!

SHOTGUN MESSENGER: NEMESIS #1

PLANET GRIFFIN has received a few emails regarding the critical state of the comic industry (Keep'em coming gang! Planetgriffin@gmail.com), and with the timing of certain comics-turn-media properties, I decided to introduce a new rant/comics critique section on the PLANET, now known as SHOTGUN MESSENGER!
(Named after the George Yepes painting) Today's double barrel is trained on the newly released post KICK ASS comic, NEMESIS, as well as news and reactions to some of the crap that has yet to flush...

In the world of comics, it seems lately that no one's getting more press copy than MARK MILLAR, who just announced on the opening of his latest property-turned-celluloid reality, KICK ASS, that HE himself will be directing his next comic adaptation in his native Scotland, slated to begin production this summer, as well as following up with WANTED 2, which is already in active development. To top it off, Mark made a related statement, stating that Kick Ass was "...The reinvention of super heroes..."

Boom.

Not since the likes of FRANK MILLER, ALAN MOORE, and NEIL GAIMAN has anyone reached the tipping point of success on two fronts as Millar has. He says that his goal is to have the same type of impact as STAN LEE had in the 60's, but for a modern audience. Millar states that he's been approached by several directors, hungry to adapt Nemesis, even before anyone had seen the story or artwork (Millar calls them 'pompous vultures')! The writer says that he'll hold out until he can be sure of the quality director that he feels Nemesis warrants.

Millar's been catching alot of flack lately about tooting his own horn, which has raised quite a few hackles on the necks of many. ("...I don't like him because he toots his own horn...", "I think he's buying into the hype...", etc....) Quite frankly, I don't see the big deal in it... He's merely 'getting in touch with his inner 15 year old', right? Therefore, he's doing the triumphant dance that a 15 year old would do, so let him dance. Some of this is actually coming from RETAILERS, which makes no sense to me--- the books are SELLING like hotcakes, DESPITE your opinion of it, not to mention the fact you're pimping this title WHILE you trash it, so that makes you look somewhat STUPID for it. Good grief, folks: YOU HYPED HIM!

But I digress.

Anyways, NEMESIS is nothing more than a simple flip of a tried and truly tired concept: What if Batman had the mindset of the Joker and fought the law rather than uphold it? DC is up in arms on the subject (and despite what you may have read on the contrary online, my source inside DC says 'the higher ups are grinning through clenched teeth on the subject'), which I think boils down to the fact that MARVEL FINALLY got a Batman archetype of their own, and DC can't touch them... (The idea is super simplistic in the same way that Seth MacFarlane dumbed down the Simpsons formula to create Family Guy... 150 million and a multimedia franchise later... Same thing here.)

After reading the first issue in less time than it takes to fry eggs, I cannot see what all the lambasting is about... Really. Okay, let's look at the story itself, since McNIVEN earned his money on the interiors...

NEMESIS opens with a little bit of simple misdirection--- Tokyo's best cop is held hostage by the titular villain, with the cavalry rushing into a building to save our hero. In fact, the cavalry is looking in the wrong place, as their entry is cut short by enough explosive to level the building in which they stand. Our hero is actually liquefied by an oncoming bullet train which happens to be on time.

Fast forward to Washington DC where we meet our next target, CHIEF BLAKE MORROW, putting down an armed robbery single handed. Shortly thereafter, he learns that he's been targeted by the Nemesis in the form of a small card detailing WHO will die, WHEN he dies, and HOW he dies. Meanwhile, high above the city, Nemesis stands on the wing of Air Force One ( a la the gremlin from Twilight Zone, with the President acting as John Lithgow), preparing his forced entry into the plane by way of solid slugs from a railgun! Now, one blogger went so far as to call this particular sequence as '...The silliest thing he's ever seen...' C'mon man, we're talking about COMICS here! Besides, if Batman can do it--- my point made.

The book ends with Nemesis making a televised announcement to his new opponent that the game is about to begin, and just to drive the point home, the camera pulls back to reveal his latest hostage--- the United States President! (Not Obama, who's been in enough bandwagon-riding comics to last me a lifetime!)

Nemesis in 23 pages... The 24th page is devoted to Millar himself. It's here that I see audiences' nitpicking. Sure, he's cocky to the point of a confidence that most DON'T have (But again, he's smelling his own ass right now, and unless you're the ones holding his ass cheeks open, then let the man inhale!). Mark exclaims,

"... we're literally working for free in order to own the rights entirely (Keep in mind, McNIVEN is the only one working for free, while Mark is STILL riding that WANTED paycheck... Hey Mark, what happened to your collaboration with TONY HARRIS and WAR HEROES?! Tony got stuck holding the bill and suffering foot-and-mouth disease following YOUR lead) and believe me, there is no greater feeling in the world than owning your own creations. (So true.) It's glorious and very satisfying and maybe just exactly what we need right now in an industry where sometimes we rely a little too much on the work and ideas of other people. (Yeah Mark, it was called your entry into this business) It's also worth remembering that without our predecessors we wouldn't even have the kind of deals we have at places like ICON (Owned by MARVEL... That deal was made lip blistering special for your chapped ass, dude... Think about how you pitched Nemesis in the first place and tell me you couldn't smell rival opportunity in the room...?) and it's to the men and women who paved the way for creator-owned comic books that I'd like to dedicate this series."

Immediately following that statement, he concludes: " Fucking hell, that all actually sounded worryingly sincere."

Now, these things are only pompous if you allow them to be. PLANET GRIFFIN can also see the humor in it, so we can't nitpick to hard with these things. As long as Mark never forgets that his livelihood is based on those who BELIEVE in his works, he should be okay... Of course, his spoken demeanor and his written voice are two completely different things... Judge wisely in divining such words...

But what do I know?! I talk it like I walk it, and that record's spun daily! This is PLANET GRIFFIN, where the orbit doesn't change on account of bad weather!

THE BIG BUZZ: The Return Of The Wrong Mexican

GrindHouse (noun): American slang term for a particular genre of 70's films and the theaters that ran them. Known for it's non-stop lineups of double and triple billed B movies, grindhouses ran mostly exploitive films that weren't usually found in the A-list theaters; with film prints often shown in the poorest quality (severely scratchy negatives, clipped dialogue, etc.)... The home video boom of the 80's rendered the grindhouse set obsolete, but the thematics of the genre still holds true to this day (The Direct-to-DVD Market, B Movie indies, Mixed subgenres, etc.) . The subgenres that spawned from grindhouse (blaxploitation, Women-In-Prison, Cheap horror, Kung Fu quickies, Italian crime, Euro-trash, Spaghetti Westerns, etc.) are still considered among the most memorable moments in film history--- considering that many A-list blockbusters today still borrows from those 70's elements.

Okay, enough of that.... Let's get on with the BIG BUZZ, shall we?


PLANET GRIFFIN, that pirate blogcast of pop culture and the bane of profane elements of mainstream fare, brings you yet another edition of THE BIG BUZZ. Since appearing as a trailer in the ill-fated, yet still appreciated, GRINDHOUSE back in 2007, fanboy audiences everywhere have wondered when creator ROBERT RODRIGUEZ will deliver on the full length treatment--- Dimension Films announces on SEPTEMBER 3, the bloody revenge tale of the Mexican Federale will finally be told, and with the buzz of the all star cast (Jeff Fahey, Robert DeNiro, Cheech Marin, a post prison Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, a moment of clarity filled Lindsay Lohan and a Pre-sex slave scandal Steven Seagal), the emergence of the new Mexploitation cinema appears to be eminent!

Rodriguez, along with directing partner Ethan Maniquis, will produce the film while finishing up his follow up film, PREDATORS (yes, that one)--- after that, Rodriguez may well turn his attentions back to the Machete property as Dimension Films made a follow up announcement that they seek to complete MACHETE as a trilogy! (Hence, the mexploitation franchise begins)

Here's the breakdown:

A former renegade Federale (Trejo) wanders the backstreets of Texas after the shakedown of a local drug lord (Seagal). Offered a job to assassinate a corrupt senator (DeNiro), Machete is double crossed by the man that hired him (Fahey), resulting in the payback fuelled rampage which involves a taco slinger (post Fast & Furious alum Rodriguez), a gun wielding socialite (Lohan), the Padre (Marin), and the ICE agent Sartana (Alba) who's mysteriously connected to Machete.

As a longtime fan of the 70's grindhouse set, I will be in full 42nd street mode for this one, fighting my way in line to the theater, taking my life in my hands along with scores of like-minded fans--- which is exactly what the grindhouse experience is supposed to be.

Stay tuned for more PLANET GRIFFIN and THE BIG BUZZ!

Fraction Brings New Math This Summer

Back in 2006, I remember the first time I met MATT FRACTION--- a little bundle of pop culture energy who took time to match knowledge, blow-for-blow, with yours truly. He began to tell me about a tale he scripted, smashing together all of the things he loved about the spy genre (and a curious love for a little italian fumetti called DIABOLIK ). He signed a first issue copy and gave it to me... The book was called CASANOVA.

Casanova Quinn, debaucherous playboy thief for hire, is kidnapped from his reality and 'switched out' in an alternate reality where his 'other self' is a 'super secret agent' working for his father (in a S.H.I.E.L.D. kinda way) and the mighty E.M.P.I.R.E. --- forced to act as a double agent under the evil iron fist of NEWMAN XENO ( a supercriminal archetype WORTH the ink he's printed with), Casanova is caught between a rock, a hard place, and an even harder time as he struggles to stay alive in a reality that he now knows he CAN'T escape--- even as the walls begin closing in...

The 16 page, B+W IMAGE comic detailed the exploits of a thief-turned-international man of mystery-turned-multidimensional double agent turned the genre on its head, and gave comic audiences a swift kick in the cerebellum with a new smashgenre of Spy-fi Sci-Fi. With now acclaimed superstar artist GABRIEL BA (and later, his brother FABIO MOON on Volume 2) doing the 'dirty brush dance' on art duties, Matt managed to restore my faith in comic geekness once again.

Later, before the release of his equally popular Volume 2, Fraction and I would sit down at the con table together again--- this time, he produced a signed hardcover copy of LUXURIA (the collected volume 1) and gave it to me. (Of course, upon the release of my own OGN, I owe him a signed copy in return, as that was part of our arrangement) Volume 2 took a completely different turn, introducing an entire second arc of the story WITHOUT the title character (Cass went missing somewhere between the end of Volume 1 and the beginning of 2); once again defying convention and forcing audiences to go along for the ride... Of course, the storyline would float off into limbo as Fraction began to turn his scripting pencil to the boys at Mighty Marvel, reinventing their IRON FIST and IRON MAN titles, getting so busy he no longer had time for phone calls... It seemed that the questions surrounding Casanova would go unanswered...

... Until now.

Matt Fraction shall return to the groundbreaking spy equation this July, now to be published under the MARVEL ICON imprint, along with the FULL COLOR re-release of the original series (A move Fraction says would take full advantage of the new prestige arrangement between Marvel and Hachette ). The re-releasing of the two former volumes is a set up for the grand release of Volume 3, which will see the return of Gabriel Ba on art chores and Fraction finally getting around to adding up all the loose ends he left hanging for quite a while.

I seriously urge those of you who have yet to crack open this brain warping slice of spy-man skullduggery to do so. It'll definitely change your perceptions of what a good comic should be!

And Now, A Special Announcement...

Tonight, PLANET GRIFFIN takes a moment to recognize a dear friend and family guy. ADARRYL GRANT not only celebrates his 35th birthday, but provides proof that angels truly exist as his little girl shines, as if to say, "... I know..."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AD-ROCK FROM PLANET GRIFFIN!

And These Are The Breaks...

Here at PLANET GRIFFIN LABS, I've been slowly getting back to the art table to continue my work while I fight the daily grind of 'sustaining and maintaining'. Believe me, it's easier sometimes to do blog posts than it is to set up the art table and get to it. But, of course, this is all academic. This page is part of the Chapter breaks within the upcoming OGN--- it's little more work, but I also believe in giving the maximum to those that are willing to pony up their hard earned dollar, therefore instead of supplying a pin-up in-between books, I would add 'break pages' in-between the chapters.

Hope you like it. Back to work, folks.

THE BIG BUZZ: D.I.Y. Guerilla Filmmakers

Staying on task to continue bringing you the cool oddities of pop culture, PLANET GRIFFIN brings you another taste of THE BIG BUZZ! The Planet came across this little 7 minute short tribute film to the ruling king of First Person Shooting platforms, MODERN WARFARE 2. NIKO PUERINGER and SAM GORSKI share directorial duties for their film 'FROZEN CROSSINGS', which cost them only $209.42 to make, and has made quite an impression on YouTube after scoring over
1 million views in only 6 days!

The digital effects overall are pretty impressive considering what these guys have had to work with. The dynamic duo are already planning a Part 2 to this series and have already begun turning heads in all the right places. This film is just another great example of the growing number of DIY go-getters who believe that if you want something new, you have to create it yourself! Given more of a budget and more story, I'm positive these guys can give the Hollywood heads a run for their money!

Stay tuned to more PLANET GRIFFIN and THE BIG BUZZ!

Diamond In The Rough

Following the news wire, I was surprised to see that a 19th century mansion went up for auction at the Baltimore County Courthouse in Maryland over the weekend... The historic home formerly belonging to Diamond Comic Distribution CEO, STEVE GEPPI. The foreclosure sold for 7.7 million, with an outstanding mortgage debt of 3.25 million.

Geppi originally purchased the 8 bedroom, 9 fireplace, and 9 acre estate back in 2004 for 4.8 million... Not bad for a man who made a great living from his love of comics and controlled the movement of the industry for the last 3 decades. As of late, the 'Rupert Murdoch of Comics' has been struggling to keep control of a market that's beginning to slip away from him as of late. After being sued over various investment properties, failing to renew the Disney comics license, and suffering from 'glitches' in a software meant to keep track of Diamond's massive inventory (orders improperly shipped; whole orders getting lost, etc.) , the late year has definitely not been a good year for Geppi.

One of the biggest concerns to Geppi and his comics distribution empire is the emergence of the iPad. Since previous e-readers like Kindle and Nook can't provide the full graphics package that the iPad can, MARVEL jumped at the chance to be among the first to develop an iPad app (Apple even features Marvel among the iPad special features on their online store.)... Comics in HD.

By buying digital versions directly from the creators, middlemen like Geppi begin to feel the pinch.

Now, with that said, PLANET GRIFFIN brings you the news: When Geppi won the distributor wars back in the early 90's, the industry was already undergoing massive change... IMAGE hit the scene like a runaway train, the speculator boom began, and Marvel was about to undergo a massive overhaul after a junk bond scandal threatened bankruptcy for the company. Diamond was out to capitalize fully on ALL of it. Slowly, but surely, Diamond began setting the standards: A review panel whose job it is to determine what books would sell and what wouldn't (if you had a 'name' artist or writer attached to your book, it passed automatically without review), a sales cap minimum on what book had to sell in order to remain viable (a 'show and prove' tactic for indies since 'The Big Two' had the cash to maintain), and the ever-increasing price hikes that forced many independents and underground magazines to close up shop or merge with what Diamond considered 'legitimate' studios... With Diamond's stranglehold claims of 'the best game in town', it seemed as though many self-starting creators were forced to pony up business-closing sums of cash in order to get their products exposed to a mass audience.

Remember when Marvel attempted their OWN distribution house, HEROES WORLD? Marvel boasted BIG about breaking away from Diamond, only to return to 'Geppi's House' after it failed in it's FIRST quarter of business! (Diamond bored no hard feelings, they merely printed an INSERT catalogue separate from their own Previews guide.) Keeping that in mind, it would make sense that the House of M would embrace the iPad format so readily... After all, kids make out far better downloading a digital version for $1.99 than buying the brochure for $4 bucks--- only AFTER dropping $500+ for the iPad itself to do it. With Disney backing M.U., the conglomerate merger can ultimately sidestep Geppi altogether in time. The retailer, already fearing from low sales and lost orders (i.e., Marvel, DC, etc.), see the new digital frontier as yellow banner tape across their doors and began looking to other distributor outlets (in the return of Diamond's former rival, COLDCUT rechristened as HAVEN).

Lastly, the indies were already creating an alternate avenue long before the iPad was even introduced in the form of webcomics, the advent of Digital Distribution Sites (like Drive-Thru), and venturing into the much more lucrative foreign markets where indies are viewed in a completely different light... The state of the industry in light of all this has created some rather dangerous real estate that we can't afford to buy, nor want to. With all this in mind, you could almost pity Geppi for having to sell his mansion home.

Almost.

UPDATE: It was released earlier today that effective September 1, 2010, Marvel will move it's graphic novels and trades (notice I didn't refer to them as OGN's, Joe wouldn't like that...) business away from Diamond's Direct Market Book Distribution and begin it's new business relationship with the HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, (Hachette's news website announced the deal this morning) ending the speculation of industry observers of Marvel making their move away from the Geppi empire, despite the fact that Marvel will continue to run their monthly comics through Diamond for the foreseeable future ( just in case, y'know... Heroes World an all...) M.U. hopes to up their sales figures in one of the increasingly important markets for comic sales in North America--- the TRADE Market (hey, Joe caught on.).

Boondocks: 3rd Times The Charm

A few days ago, my man Samax over at GHETTOMANGA.COM had gotten the scoop on a leaked trailer offering a sneak peek at what will be Aaron McGruder's 3rd and final season of The BOONDOCKS on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. After checking it out myself, I will definitely find time on MAY 2nd to begin watching the final episodes! (Besides, the music used for the trailer, Exhibit C from JAY ELECTRONICA was a little too catchy to dismiss!) Enjoy!

THE BIG BUZZ: The Hot Mess Of YouTube

WARNING: Brace yourself, cuz this kid's mouth is DANGEROUS!




Welcome back to another episode of the Planet, and believe me, this particular post is, without a doubt, the most irreverent, hilarious, and outrageous episodes the Planet has yet done. YOUTUBE recently celebrated its 10th year of ruling the online video community, firmly establishing itself as the next evolution of what MTV attempted to do for music video back in the 80's. Of course, when it comes to 'Getting your 15 minutes', YouTube is bloated with people from all walks of life looking to share their opinions, rants, etc., in an attempt to find the broadest audience possible. From singing to personal video diaries, the clips can range from decent to the cure for insomnia.

And then there's this kid. Who is he? Why, IT'SKINGSLEYBITCH!
(Yes, you say it as all one word, kinda like A Tribe Called Quest or A Pimp Named Slickback)

Now, PLANET GRIFFIN may rant/rave about certain aspects of pop culture, but the overly flamboyant It'sKingsley destroys them! His foulmouth observations on everything from Ke$ha to his fears on birds to Lady Ga Ga has begun generating a lot of hype, not only on YouTube, but the Hollywood circle as well! It'sKingsleyBitch's video uploads (the recently uploaded Things I Hate video has already generated almost a half million hits and growing) have created a growing fanbase like you wouldn't believe; with his networking status has tripled in a few weeks time from fans tuning in regularly to find out who, or what, he's going to bash next!

It'sKingsleyBitch is definitely a cure for the boring video diaries that bloat the vid channel, and ultimately more entertaining (check out his off the cuff remark linking a Lady Ga Ga video to his response to PETA advocates in BIRDS--- hilarious!). This is PLANET GRIFFIN and THE BIG BUZZ!

Hard Time: John Aston Strikes Again With RAGE Sequel

PLANET GRIFFIN returns on this EASTER Holiday season, not to promote good tidings and cute and fuzzy bunnies, but pure, unadulterated RAGE... JOHN ASTON, that NEXT 100 lean, mean, crime-writing machine, has spit out the long awaited sequel to RACHEL RAGE: HEARTLAND over at OLDETOWNECOMIX.COM (Copies of the bestselling OGN are still being sold on his site, so hurry). The new tale, SHORT TIME WOMAN, continues the grindhouse saga of a Revenge-driven belle dispensing her now infamous brand of 'Southern Hostility' upon the corrupt system that dominates the 70's southlands.

For those of you who haven't followed up on this multiple award winning webcomic, here's the jive: Since the death of her favorite guardian, POPPA SOL, Rachel has spent much of her troubled growing years seeking revenge against the man she held most responsible--- the pitch black evil SHERIFF STEWART. As Rachel set out upon her blood soaked mission, she learns that the good sheriff is actually her REAL father (take THAT, Luke!), which severely complicates things, yet does not deter her from finding out the answers she wants to know. After blazing a trail (literally!) through the Heartlands, she begins to suspect that the connection between her father and her surrogate runs much deeper than anyone ever realized! Upon learning how the puzzle pieces fit (via a trigger word: Rage), Rachel is captured and sentenced to hard labor, where her fate remained in question. Until now.

The sequel picks up right where the OGN leaves off, with Sheriff Stewart standing trial for his earlier roles as drug trafficker and unrepentant bastard... Beating the rap, the 'lawman' almost immediately begins plotting against the wildcat daughter that caused all the trouble to begin with!

Upon reading the first chapter, it's already a given that writer/creator John Aston has lost none of his bite as the first scenes quickly pull you into the story, whether you've read the OGN or not. John's cinematic panel structure (complete with 'new' theater curtains), returns to great effect as you feel as through John pulled frames from an actual blaxploitation film to tell the tale. Another dimension to STW is that it carries you into another genre of the exploitation era. Where HEARTLAND told you Rachel's tale from the standpoint of a vintage revenge flick, SHORT TIME WOMAN begins the Women-In-Prison era (highlighted by such classics as THE BIG BIRD CAGE and WOMEN IN CHAINS, starring Blaxploitation legend, PAM GRIER).

With that in mind, you can imagine what lurid surprises John's got in store for Rachel next! Oh yeah, keep your eyes peeled, as John plans to release another compilation of short stories (it already went to press as of this writing) in print format just in time for the summer... It even includes a series of pin-ups from up and coming creators such as SAMAX from GHETTOMANGA.COM, JAY POTTS from THE WORLD OF HURT, and yours truly, THE INFAMOUS RODBUDDAH!

HAPPY EASTER from PLANET GRIFFIN!