Holmes Inc: The Rachael Wells Collection

Last year, I contributed a story to Holmes Incorporated, the annual anthology released by the Toronto Cartoonists' Workshop. Holmes Incorporated features the descendants of the great Sherlock Holmes, who solve crimes too bizarre for the rest of the world to comprehend. It's Sherlock Holmes with a James Bond twist.

Holmes Inc issue 2 cover, by Leonard Kirk

My story featured Elizabeth Watson, Holmes Inc. field leader and descendant of John Watson, who wakes up in a jungle after her plane is shot down. Some bad shit goes down, and basically it's awesome. My artist was Rachael Wells, with inks by Ty Templeton and letters by Keiren Smith. Rachael really put a lot into illustrating the story, and the results were pretty incredible:

And she even gave me the original art for this page!

Anyways, this past summer saw the release of issue 3 of Holmes Incorporated, and Rachael returned to illustrate her third story (she also had a story in the first issue). With three stories under her belt, I'm happy to say that she's reprinted them all (including the one written by yours truly) in one sweet comic.

And yes, I'm proud to say the cover is drawn from my story

If you're interested, you should definitely give this comic a look. In addition to reading my story, it's great to see how Rachael has really developed as an artist over the past three years. She's constantly pushing herself to try out new things and really challenge herself, like any great artist.

I believe you can purchase copies at the Comic Book Lounge, as well as through Rachael's etsy page. Check it out.

Also, you should definitely get your hands on the third issue of Holmes Incorporated. I enjoyed it a lot, perhaps even more so than issue 2 (though you didn't hear it from me), as many of the stories introduce much more emotional stakes than the crazy action of last issue. You can grab copies at the Comic Book Lounge.

UysFaber Day at the Comic Book Lounge

In my last post I mentioned an upcoming signing at the Comic Book Lounge in Toronto, and that I'd keep people up to date on any info that emerges. Well, the information has indeed emerged, and here I am, true to my word, keeping you as up to date as they come.

The signing is this Saturday, September 22nd, from 2:00pm until 5:00pm at the Comic Book Lounge. You can access the facebook page for the event here, and get directions to the Lounge here (hint: it's by College and Bathurst).

In addition to myself, also in attendance will be Andrew Uys (owner of UysFaber and writer of HardWear and Totem Sacred), DK Kartigan (editor and illustrator of HardWear), Rebecca Slack (HardWear illustrator), and Matt Salonen (Totem Sacred illustrator).

Comic Book Lounge - with couch for added lounging!

Come on down! Get some books signed by us! Get some great sketches from the illustrators! Get some shitty sketches from the writers!

Also, it looks like Comics North, located in Sudbury, is carrying our books as well. If anyone finds themselves in Sudbury in the next little while (maybe for the Sudbury Film Festival this weekend?) you should visit them and pick up some HardWear. And watch my mom's movie while you're at it!

HardWear #3 On Sale

Last month saw the release of HardWear #3 by UysFaber comics. Like the issue before it, it featured one of my stories, the second in the Spectrum series. Once again, the art is by Rebecca Slack. It's twice as long as the story in issue 2, and I feel is significantly stronger. And the cover! Mamma mia.

Can we get a shot of the cover illustration, please?

HardWear #3 is on sale for $3.50 and can be purchased at various comic book stores, such as Paradise Comics, Stadium Comics, CyberCity Comix, Red Nails II, and Comics N More.

UysFaber didn't buy a table at FanExpo this year, but I believe that there will be a signing at the Comic Book Lounge sometime in September. I'll keep you informed as the details present themselves.

In the meantime, check out some of the articles I wrote at UysFaber these past few weeks, including a review of Avengers, which was fantastic, and the Dark Knight Rises, which was poo poo potatoes.

Dear Bane

(WARNING: DARK KNIGHT RISES SPOILERS)

Dearest Bane,

Glad to hear that our plan to detonate a nuclear bomb in Gotham City is progressing well. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous about Operation: Rig Entire City with Explosives, especially when the police commissioner stumbled across our underground operation, but it turns out I needn't have worried, as no one on the force believed him. You'd think they'd be extra careful after the Joker managed to plant explosives not only on multiple passenger ferries, but also a hospital as well. But I digress.

The reason I'm writing you this letter is because I've just heard that you've managed to cripple and capture the Batman. Congratulations, that's wonderful news! He's the one man who could have thwarted our plans, so as you can imagine this is a huge load off of my mind.

Now, that being said, it's important that we don't let this opportunity go to waste. I know that the sensible thing would be to kill him, but I also agree with you that his “punishment must be more severe”, as you like to point out. I think we're both on the same page that the best way to get revenge on him would be to chain him up and force him to watch a television broadcast of his precious Gotham slowly destroying itself over a period of five months. So let's go with that.

This brings me to my next point: imprisonment.

I know you're kind of keen to keep him in that one prison you spent most of your life in. You know, the one with the big open hole to climb out of. I understand your sentimental attachment, but it's absolutely crucial, and I can't stress this enough, that Batman be unable to escape. It's for this reason that I suggest we keep looking for other options. Preferably something with, I don't know, a roof.

I know, I know. You like the hole. It gives people “hope” that they might escape, which makes their despair sweeter or something. I get that. I do. But that only works if it's a false hope. If a fucking 8 year old can climb out of the prison, you know what that means? It means it's time for a new prison.

I have a feeling that I might not be able to sway you on this. If that's the case, may I humbly make a few other recommendations?

1. Post guards somewhere in the prison. We've got a whole lot of mercenaries at our disposal – so many that we can sacrifice them in a plane crash if we want. Can we maybe spare a handful of them to watch over this guy? Even just one would give me much more peace of mind. He doesn't even need to be able to stop Batman from escaping. It'd be enough just to keep us informed if Batman does climb out of the prison. Or even to fix the television if Batman destroys it. After all, if he can't watch his city's turmoil, then what's the point of any of this?

2. Can we maybe get rid of that rope? Not the one the prisoners use for climbing, I get why that one's there (give them hope, etc. etc.). I'm talking about the one above it. The one at the lip of the well. Maybe I'm neurotic but what if some villager or something stumbles across the prison? All he'd have to do is throw that rope down and everyone would be able to escape.

3. I'm super psyched that you broke Batman's back – that gave us a huge leg up. That being said, can you please, please, please not give him a cell next to anyone who could potentially fix him up? You know, like a prison doctor? I'd also rather you don't bunk him with anyone who happens to know your one weakness. That shit could really bite you in the ass.

I know it sounds like I'm being overly critical, but you should know that I really do appreciate all the work you're doing. We're making great progress, and will probably have the nuke in our hands soon. Father would be proud.

Best wishes,

Talia

P.S. In regards to your last letter: I'm certainly very flattered, but I value our friendship too much and would hate to jeopardize it.

Post Convention Wrap-up

Photo by Dennis Gonzales. View his photography here.

Wizard World Toronto 2012 has come and gone, and while it's left me completely exhausted and dead inside, it was a lot of fun promoting UysFaber. A big thanks to anyone who came by and had a chat with us about all things geek (a disproportionate amount of that being Mass Effect 3). An especially big thanks to anyone who decided to give HardWear a shot. If you picked up the book at Wizard World, let me know what you thought. I'm hoping to have a booth at Fan Expo in August, promoting HardWear issue 3, which will blow the past issues out of the water, trust me.

Here's a sketch of Scarecrow, courtesy of HardWear artist and editor DK.

In other news, casting's begun on Petty Thieves, a short film I co-wrote. It's exciting seeing this project enter the pre-production stages and really start to take shape. This is probably because it means that, as co-writer, most of my hard work is done, and I get to sit back and watch Daniel Warth do all the heavy lifting. You can find out more about Petty Thieves by clicking on the link to the right, which will take you to our facebook page.

I've also got a new review for Kid Icarus: Uprising up on the UysFaber site. Check it out.

Finally, I'm making it my mission to beat every numbered Final Fantasy (minus XI and XIV), Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid game. It's not a very productive use of my time, sure, but sue me. Two nights ago I beat Final Fantasy IX, making it the third FF under my belt, joining IV and XIII. Even though the game is over a decade old, its great gameplay and excellent charm instil in it a kind of timelessness, one that I'm glad I got to experience.

Next up, Resident Evil.

An open letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee

Dear Sirs,

You probably don't know me, but my name is Aaron Feldman. I'm 25 years old, and live in Toronto, Canada. I'm writing to you today because I would like you to consider my name when deciding on the nominees for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. I am currently unemployed.

I have always cared deeply about those less fortunate than me. In fact, my parents tell me that when I was five years old they took me to a mall Santa. When he asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told him world peace.

Even though helping those less fortunate has been an interest of mine for a long time, it wasn't until only a few years ago that I began putting my philanthropy into action. In 2010, I participated in my first endeavour to make the world a better place; in order to stop child abuse, I changed my Facebook profile picture into that of a cartoon character. I chose the character Braveheart the Lion, a member, appropriately enough, of the Care Bears. Thanks to the new profile picture, I managed to prevent what I can only assume to be countless cases of child abuse across the world.


While this act alone would probably have been enough for me to comfortably associate myself with the Tutus, the Mandellas, and the Gyatsos of the world, my work did not stop there. Fast forward to 2011, when I decided to turn my attention to Prostate Cancer. In order to combat this wicked disease that claims probably-a-lot of lives a year, I, for the first time in my life, spent the month of November growing a moustache. This was not without its hardships, as within only a week the moustache had become a bit itchy. By two weeks, it had become very itchy. But I persevered, because of my devotion to the cause. By the end of the month, my moustache had become a force to be reckoned with, one that I’m sure gave comfort to any prostate cancer victims who happened to come across it.


Some people may have been satisfied with their contributions at this point, and they wouldn’t be wrong. But awareness campaigns, as far as I’m concerned, are like Pringles. One is never enough. After that, I became something of a Mother Theresa, only instead of focusing solely on lepers, I was spreading awareness for EVERY cause. Changing my profile picture to the colour pink for Breast Cancer. Changing it to a photograph of a grandparent for Alzheimer’s. Tweeting the lyrics to John Lennon’s Imagine to raise awareness for war mines. Changing my profile picture back to pink to support the search for a cure for homosexuality. As far as I was concerned, there was no such thing as a disease with too high a profile.

However, the crowning achievement in my campaign for world embetterment came only a few days ago, when someone posted a video by a group called Invisible Children, talking about the violence in Uganda, where children were being abducted and forced to fight in Joseph Kony’s militia. Not only did I watch the entire (29 minute!) video, but once I got to the end of the video, I stretched out my right index finger (my “awareness finger” as I like to call it) and clicked on “share this video”. Problem the fuck solved.

Now, I know that there are many great candidates for this prestigious award, and will not be sorely offended if you decide to overlook my accomplishments. After all, Gandhi never received a Nobel Peace Prize for all the work he did on behalf on the Indians (sorry, “Native Americans!”). That being said, I can honestly think of no better candidate for the job.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go send a needy child a picture of my favourite food.

All the best,

Aaron Feldman

HardWear #2 Launch Party

If you live in the Toronto area, love comics, and aren't going to the Fan Expo this weekend, then head down to Paradise Comics this Saturday for the official launch party for Totem Sacred #3 and HardWear #2, two new comic releases by publisher UysFaber. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I contributed a story (Spectrum) to HardWear #2, so naturally I will be on-hand for signing.


That being said, the real stars of the show are the fantastic illustrators who worked on the two projects, including Rebecca Slack, the illustrator of Spectrum. You can see samples of her work (including some interiors to the Spectrum story) here.

Come on down to pick up a copy of either comic, nab a free sketch, or even just to shoot the shit about all things comic-related. I'd love to see you all there.

Where: Paradise Comics (3278 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON)
When: Saturday, March 10, 2:00pm - 6:00pm.

You can read more about it on the event's Facebook page.

Tdot Comics Book Club

TdotComics is a local site dedicated to keeping Torontonions up to date on all things comic-book related. Recently, site founder Alice Quinn started a segment on the site known as the Quinntessential Comix Book Club. Every month she'd invite guests on the show to discuss different graphic novels, usually under a general theme. Last month, I had the honor of being a guest on the show (this was my second appearance on the book club).

Here's the segment in question. The theme was Surrealist Super Heroes. The graphic novels in question were Umbrella Academy 1 and 2, as well as Doom Patrol: The Painting that Ate Paris. If you're familiar with the comics, give the video a watch. If not, then go out and read the books instead. They're all fantastic.



Though this would be obvious to anyone who watched my first appearance on the Book Club, this time around I seem to be much more comfortable, mainly because I knew what the fuck I was doing. However, looking back, I kind of preferred the conflict that came about when we couldn't see eye-to-eye on a book (last time, everyone loved Invincible, while I was a bit more ambivalent). This time around, we pretty much all loved the books. And that's boring. I want there to be yelling and name calling. If I get asked back, I'll try to suggest more polarizing comic books like Lost Girls or Transmetropolitan.



Also, I wrote an article for UysFaber last week, reviewing the newly-released Resident Evil: Revelations for the 3DS. Check it out.

A Little Too Aaronic

Okay. Last month, UysFaber comics published issue 2 of their cyberpunk comic HardWear, which featured “Spectrum,” a story I wrote (you can still purchase copies of the issue at Paradise Comics in Toronto. Go! Go! Go!). This is the first of several scripts I’ve contributed to the book, with subsequent stories to be published in the coming months.



UysFaber has a table at the upcoming Wizard World Toronto, and I’ll be one of the guests doing signings, which means that for the first time I’ll officially be a Comic Book Writer in Artist’s Alley (this has always been something of a minor aspiration of mine). When filling out my bio for the Wizard World page, however, it occurred to me that I didn't have a site I could link to for anyone who might be interested in my work, and that I should probably get on that. But, I decided, why start up a brand new web domain when I have a perfectly good blog gathering dust?

Now, it’s been 3 years since my last post for Isn’t It Aaronic? (you can read the handful of short comedic pieces I’ve written by viewing this blog’s archives), but from now on this will be the hub for all the things I’m working on. This is where I’ll post info on upcoming comic stories I’ve written, as well as links to other sites where I’ve contributed reviews and articles. Short films, sketches, interviews, whatever.

If there’s something I’ve written that catches your attention, let me know. Leave a comment on this site, or send me an e-mail at feldman1@gmail.com, and I'll get back to you.