Hello guys!

I know it has been a while in between journal entries. I'm getting back into the swing of things here on Deviant art, so I thought I would update with a few things that are happening. Hope you don't mind the journal dump!

Before we proceed any further I would just like to say a big huge THANKYOU to the anonymous donater of my latest DA premium membership. You are a very kind soul!



First up is OZ COMIC CON kicking off in Australia at the end of March (next week!). Don't laugh at my little face in the photo... (OK.. you can laugh if you wish!) I'm so excited to be a part of the line-up for this con. There are some really great comic guests. I have never been to Adelaide, but I am really looking forward to it! If you are in the area, please do come and say hello! I would love to meet any DA people while I am there.

So, who's coming!?

My DA art bros at Oz Comic Con:


For more details check out the Oz Comic Con web site here:

[link]

Dates for the con are 31st March - 1st April 2012 at Goyder Pavilion
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ART and COMICS update!

top secret comic book: I have been busy in the lab... I have been drawing non-stop comic pages for the past few months. Yep... I am working on a new comic book series. I don't know who the publisher will be yet, but it is a very exciting property. Issue 1 is done and issue 2 is almost finished. It is a 3 issue mini-series, with the 3rd issue being a double sized finale. I can't say much about it yet, but I will be pimping this thing once it is done and ready to go.



GEMINI: Remember this poor guy? Well, here is the update on issue 5... The issue is fully pencilied and about half way inked. As soon as top secret is done, I will be back on to finish Gemini once and for all. This comic will get done one way or another!

Ozmosis Chills 3 :: RED J ARTBOOK:

I'm working on my third art book. I did a small print run of this one for NYCC in 2011, but they SOLD OUT. I am re-designing a lot of the book and including some new stuff in there for the new version. Keep an eye out for a journal entry on how to get a copy of this book soon. For those wondering, it will be 84 pages, Full Colour, featuring thumbnails, sketches, finished pencils and full coloured pieces. It's a chunky book! The size is 10 x 8.5, so it's bigger than the last 2 Ozmosis books. I'm going to set something up so you can preorder the book with extra sketches and stuff. Let me know if you are interested.
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So I wanted to put my thoughts down on John Carter. You know I love talking about movies in my journal from time to time, so please bare with me as I ramble on as if I am someone who knows what they are talking about. This is a movie that needs to be discussed.

I wanted to love this film. I really did. I went in to John Carter (of Mars) with very high expectations and with the idea of walking out of the cinema ready to tell the world how much I loved it and how they needed to go and check this thing out right away. I was ready to give this thing my full support. Sadly, that wasn't the case. I mean, there were parts that I did really enjoy, such as the design work (Tharks were particularly awesome), the voice acting and animation were great, and I'm all for this type of story, but there was something missing. I think it may have been the flow of the story (it does jump around a little) or perhaps my lack of care for the characters themselves. Some of the names also felt VERY dated (helium?) but I get that you can't really update those for authenticities sake.

I really can't say exactly what it was, but I did end up getting quite bored whenever there were scenes of humans having long conversations. The dialogue just didnt have that intrigue that keeps you on the edge of your seat for those chats to be so long. Not like Tarrantino did at the start of Inglorious Basterds, for example. When the dialogue is that good, you can sit and listen for half an hour before you even know the time has passed.

I know there is a great film in John Carter, somewhere. I'm sure if this came out maybe 20 years ago, the world would be gushing all over it today, but that is not the case. (Is it gross to say that the world would be "gushing"?... it IS a saying, right?)

In the end I do recognise that my reaction to the film was probably my own fault for going in with such high expectations... but can you blame me? I mean, this is Andrew Stanton we are talking about here, director of Finding Nemo and Wall.E, and I have loved every little thing Pixar has ever done. I even thought Cars 2 was OK, and I have never been dissapointed by a Pixar film which I have watched with the highest of most high expectations in the past, only to be fully satisfied!

I have since heard from many friends who have gone to see John Carter after all the bad press it got, and all of them except maybe one or two have said that they absolutely loved it! So, I really want to go see it again... Now that I am calm and relaxed about it. Now that I can go in expecting to hate it, and see where it lands for me. I did enjoy the last Indiana Jones on my second visit after being very bored the first time.

I think if you havn't seen it, you really should. If you have read any of this, then obviously you are a fan of this type of movie like me, and so I do recommend it. Go in with low expectations and you might like it. I don't know. I do however think it is important to support this type of movie. I would like to see more get made. I would prefer to see a movie like this get made and sort of fail than to see another formulaic, predictable blockbuster guaranteed to make money and not really offer anything new *cough* transformers *cough* pirates *cough*. Sorry about that... I seem to have a mild cough at the moment.

So what did you guys think? Did you love it or hate it? If you did hate it, would you want to give it a second chance? I think that's what I'm gonna do. I also have a small hope that we might see the rest of this trilogy made, but sadly I dont think it will be the case.
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Whew! Did anyone have a spare 20 minutes to actually read all of that... I realy need to update more regularly so that I don't end up writing so much... That would be the smart thing to do.

Well, thanks for reading and I'll talk more with you guys soon!

Jon.