David Crumm, the highly respected journalist formerly of the Detroit Free Press, who now publishes ReadtheSpirit.com, (which is a wonderful site devoted to discussing all things spiritual from around the world)...had graciously included Eye Witness: Rise of the Apostle, in his listing of "10 Books to Watch" in his 11/17/08 edition.
In the article Crumm pays me the ultimate complement...and no, I don't mean his labeling me a "radical Christian" (which I kind of like, BTW)... but by bringing my work into focus through a comparison of Eugene Peterson's "The Message New Testament Bible." Crumm states when attempting to describe Eye Witness, "Think about a marriage between Indiana Jones and Eugene Peterson's dramatically rewritten Message Bible...Fresh, Fun, Faithful and Frantically Pulse-Pounding." Wow...that last part felt like Crumm had channeled a bit of Stan Lee's penchant for the dramatic!
Since I was not that familiar with Mr. Peterson's work before reading this, (and I'm always on the look out for books exploring the original themes, writing style and presentation of the gospels), I dug a bit deeper into Mr. Peterson and this book. It appears Peterson and I share a some common goals for our works, (paraphrasing Peterson) "To bring the New Testament to life for those who haven't read the Bible because it feels to distant or irrelevant to them (in its current form) and to those who read the Bible so much, that it's become "old hat"'. Crumm has indeed hit the nail on the head with this comparison, since that is exactly the foundation behind the Eye Witness graphic novel series...to reach those who may not be reachable otherwise through a presentation they are attracted to, as well as entertained by.
Now that sounds like a book I'm going to have to seek out!
R.J. Luedke
http://www.headpress.info/
Monday, November 17, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Wizard World Texas Audio Interview
Here's a two-part interview (so it's quite lengthy) I did at this year's Wizard World Texas, with Eric Shirey of Movie Geek Feed.
For those of you not familiar yet with my Eye Witness graphic novel series, this should answer a lot of your questions about it.
PART 1:
PART 2:
For those of you not familiar yet with my Eye Witness graphic novel series, this should answer a lot of your questions about it.
PART 1:
PART 2:
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Wizard World Texas Feedback
I wanted to file my report on this year's Wizard World-Texas convention.
This was the fourth time I've done this convention, since I began the Eye Witness series (http://www.headpress.info/) and I'm happy to report that this was...far and away...the best year for sales I've had here!
The last time I did the show was in 2006, and I was disappointed in both the lack of attendence but also the lack of interested customers at that show. So I didn't have a whole lot of expectations for this year's version. I don't know what the Wizard gang had did differently since then, but for a relatively small venue, there was a real heathly flow of people from open to close on both Friday and Saturday.
It was real refreshing to see how many people stopped by my table that had bought one of the earlier editions of Eye Witness and were excited to see the third. I hadn't seen this much repeat business from previous visits, since Comic Con International.
...and here's a pic of me working on the piece.
But overall this was a very good show for the fans, because there even though there was not a whole lot of awe-inspiring exhibits (ala CCI San Diego) there was a sizeable artists alley where both legendary creators, self & small press publishers and those artists looking to get their foot in the door...all hobb-knobbed directly with them.
My overall highlight came on the first day, when I spoke with a young man who let me know that he'd watched my Eye Witness developments over the last few years on the web and he was in awe to be talking to me in person. That's the first time I believe someone's been "in awe" of me (LOL)! But seriously, he went on to share that I had inspired him to also do comics that were spiritually uplifting.
It's little things like this that make all the headaches and hardwork, seem worth it!
R.J. Luedke
http://www.headpress.info/
This was the fourth time I've done this convention, since I began the Eye Witness series (http://www.headpress.info/) and I'm happy to report that this was...far and away...the best year for sales I've had here!
The last time I did the show was in 2006, and I was disappointed in both the lack of attendence but also the lack of interested customers at that show. So I didn't have a whole lot of expectations for this year's version. I don't know what the Wizard gang had did differently since then, but for a relatively small venue, there was a real heathly flow of people from open to close on both Friday and Saturday.
It was real refreshing to see how many people stopped by my table that had bought one of the earlier editions of Eye Witness and were excited to see the third. I hadn't seen this much repeat business from previous visits, since Comic Con International.
Also during the con, the Heroes for Heroes gang was on hand both on the exhibit floor and during Saturday night's live art auction, where they raised over $24,000, (see: http://www.heroes4heroes.org/2008/11/heroes4heroes-raises-24000-for-troops-overseas).
Here's my contribution, (my animated style Heath Ledge inspired Joker):
...and here's a pic of me working on the piece.
But overall this was a very good show for the fans, because there even though there was not a whole lot of awe-inspiring exhibits (ala CCI San Diego) there was a sizeable artists alley where both legendary creators, self & small press publishers and those artists looking to get their foot in the door...all hobb-knobbed directly with them.
My overall highlight came on the first day, when I spoke with a young man who let me know that he'd watched my Eye Witness developments over the last few years on the web and he was in awe to be talking to me in person. That's the first time I believe someone's been "in awe" of me (LOL)! But seriously, he went on to share that I had inspired him to also do comics that were spiritually uplifting.
It's little things like this that make all the headaches and hardwork, seem worth it!
R.J. Luedke
http://www.headpress.info/
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