Bin Fodder - White Picket Fences Comic Review

This is the first in a series of Bin Fodder throwback reviews.  Several years ago I started writing comic reviews on a site and now I want to share them with my core audience: you lovely folks!  I will be publishing these on a fairly regular basis so keep an eye out for them!

Welcome, once again, to another installment of Bin Fodder.  This week I’m spotlighting an indie comic that has been critically acclaimed for its original mini-series and has new issues hitting shelves starting in July 2011.  White Picket Fences is written by Matt Anderson & Eric Hutchins with art by Micah Farritor and is published by Ape Entertainment.  Much the same as with my article last week on Blue Monday, it would not surprise me if you had never heard of this title or even the publisher for that matter.  But Ape Entertainment has had its share of reputable titles such as creator owned properties Athena Voltaire and Subculture and licensed properties like Shrek and the upcoming series Kung Fu Panda.

Courtesy of Ape Entertainment

White Picket Fences is classic 1950s sci-fi meets Leave it to Beaver.  It takes place in Greenview, a typical middle-America town and follows the escapades of three young boys: Charlie, Tommy, and Parker.  In this world anything is possible and things we would think very odd are simply accepted.  For instance, not only are there Martians and Venutians, but they had a war and Earth was involved.
The first mini-series centers around a piece of technology kept, in secret, by Earth after it was supposed to be destroyed on instructions from the Martians.  As was a staple in many of the 50s sci-fi masterpieces, namely The Day the Earth Stood Still, humans cannot be trusted with high-technology because of our propensity for willful destruction.  The main character, Charlie, stumbles upon the “controller” for this weapon while exploring an old barn on the outskirts of town and decides to take it.

In typical child-like fashion Charlie is fiddling with the controller and accidentally activates the weapon which fires a beam of energy into outer space.  This action brings to town American government officials in the form the Army as well as a Martian official.  Remembering that this is a story meant for all ages that is not trying to take itself too seriously, the writers don’t forget bring the funny.  The exchange between the American General Whitman and the Martian official is pretty hilarious and results in Mars launching its forces at the Earth, spoiling for a fight.

I won’t ruin the ending but…the boys live and the world isn’t destroyed.  Ok, maybe that does ruin it.  My bad.

In the follow-up, double-sized one-shot (jeez, that’s a lot of hyphens) the boys are once again facing serious and dangerous ordeals.  The first part, written by Anderson, engages the boys in a bit of exploration of the “creepy” house in town.  As it turns out the house really is creepy where the mad scientist Dr. Vincent Niemann has created a werewolf, a mummy, and several other ghoulish creatures.  You’ll have to pick up the book to find out what happens next!

The second part, written by Hutchins, brings a much larger scale to the exploits of this quiet Midwestern town.  And by large I mean giant…as in giant beetles!  In what can only be considered a “government experiment gone wrong” giant beetles are unleashed on an unsuspecting American public and against all odds they end up Greenview.  This issue introduces a new friend to the group, Ken.  As it turns out he is able to help save the town in a most…extraordinary manner.

As independent comics go, this one is top-notch.  The art is amazing; Farritor knocks it out of the park.  The writing is top-class; Anderson and Hutchins hit their beats strong and make you want to turn the page and see what happens next.

So, my friends, go Bin Diving and find this and other gems!

Until next time,

This is Bin Fodder Guru Tim Blacksmith signing off!

R & R ain't overrated

It's true...today is a seriously lazy day. Sure, I went in to the office for a couple hours this morning (something I truly regret and has left me forlorn) I persevere!

I have a couple new articles up on 8daysageek. I posted one on Wednesday night that talks about the death of Fantastic Four character The Human Torch and how comic book companies continue to kill off characters only to bring them back. So should readers really care? It also explores the opposite side of the spectrum where companies use the destruction of a character or characters for a larger purpose. Even if you're not currently interested in comics you should still check out the article...if only to support me! Haha, but seriously, it has some interesting points of view, which if you're reading my blog you clearly enjoy.

The second post went up today and like previous posts is my weekly review of an independent comic. This week it's White Picket Fences. You could say this was a homer move of shameless proportions since I know the creative team but I would say that the book deserves recognition as a quality independent title! The article reviews the mini-series and double-sized one-shot that have been produced thus far. It's a fun review, check it out!

You may be thinking, "that's a lot of work...where's the R & R you speak of" and you'd be right, thus far. But the rest of my day is gonna be all dinner and episodes of NBC's Community! Gotta rest up for the big basketball tournament tomorrow. Yes, I'm playing in it, not just attending some sporting event that I'm going to watch and thus need to rest up for. Sheesh!

If we win, I will let you know...if we lose, you will probably never hear mention of it ever again.

Alright, short one today.

Peace,

Tb (JQ)

I'm a published writer...? Hell Yeah!

So I know I haven't posted in like...a week. And I do apologize for that, truly I do. The fact is this past week has been somewhat new and crazy with things that require my attention. This upcoming week will be the same, but I should hopefully have slightly more time and as such I may actually be able to post one or two times before next weekend when I will surely have the time to devote to my readership which I truly feel bad for neglecting.

I sit here today a proud, smiling man. Why, you ask, is that? Lots of reasons to be sure. But we'll just go with the easiest and most obvious to explain, which would be that the first page of my first published work was posted today on http://apecmx.com/ufo/. The 13-page short story comic is called Journeys and follows two main characters, Frank and Greta. I don't want to give away anything, because it'll be more fun to read it as it comes out, but sufficed to say as the link may imply to you, there's some UFO's involved along the way. I hope that you like the start and I hope even more that you continue to read it. A new page will be posted every Sunday. I believe they may add pages on Thursday as well, I'll keep you all updated.

Now that I'm a published professional writer what's really changed? Aside from everything you mean? I get to go to conventions now wearing a creators badge. That's something I've wanted to do since I was about 15 and went to my first convention. And if I could actually draw a lick of art I probably woulda been to this point a long time ago, but I spent a lot of my formative years writing Star Wars novels and dark poetry (don't ask) so my comics writing skills didn't come until recently...and by recently I mean the last 5 years or so.

I'm excited to see the fruits of my labor come to fruition with this first publication but it gives me even greater anticipation and excitement for my current project with Matt and Shawn to continue to move forward. I've been really inspired by Matt the last few years. Not only by his success but with his support and willingness to always turn to me for my opinion but also always being willing to read what I've written and provide me with honest feedback that is actually useful, not something that's always true with people.

For now, I shall take my leave and say that I thank you all for your readership and support! I love my readers, I really do. I write not only for myself but for my audience, any good writer will tell you that. The story and it's heart and soul come from me and are written for me, but my audience is something that always maintains a piece of my mind whenever I'm putting effort into anything I do.