podcasts

So I got an Ipod for Christmas. Actually, my wife and I got each other Ipods for Christmas, neither one of us knowing what the other one was buying. So I think we are officially the last two people in the world to finally get Ipods.

Anyway, I've been having a lot of fun with it so far. One of the things I've been enjoying are podcasts, a bunch of which I've subscribed to over the past few days. My favorite of the bunch, one that I plugged here on my blog long ago, is Indie Spinner Rack, produced each week by Charlito and Mr. Phil.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll admit that I went to the Kubert School with Charlito and he's one of my best friends that I almost never talk to. So even though he and I only bump into each other on an infrequent basis these days, I'm still kind of biased.

Biased or not, Charlito and Mr. Phil put together a very funny and entertaining show every week. They have good chemistry together and you can tell they're having a lot of fun. Their show is very popular--they even have their own forum-- and they often have big name independent artists on as guests. It makes me rue the fact that I'm a mainstream superhero guy. I don't think I'm quite interesting enough to be interviewed on the Spinner Rack.

Anyway, I had forgotten how good their podcast was because I had fallen out of the habit of listening. Now that it's being delivered to my shiny new Ipod, I'm glad to be able to catch up on all the episodes I missed. You can find it at www.indiespinnerrack.com if you're interested.

And if anyone has any interesting podcasts that they listen to, feel free to share. I'm looking for good material to listen to.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everybody! Wishing you all, friends and anonymous readers alike, a happy holiday.

The Aftermath

Well, my first issue of Green Lantern Corps has been out for about a week now and I think it's safe to say that the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. I've yet to read a single negative comment online and I spent a good chunk of time reading different message boards and reviews the other night, seeing what people had to say.

Here are a few links that are demonstrative of the voices of the fans...

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=94245

http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?threadID=2000099844&tstart=15

http://www.comicbloc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40326

If anyone runs across a review online, feel free to post a link in the comments section.

It's very gratifying and good for the ego to see something I worked so hard on received so well by the people who plunk down their hard earned money to read. One point I would like to make, however...

A lot of people, after enjoying my first issue, seem to be jumping on the Champagne bandwagon and suggesting that DC replace the regular writer, Dave Gibbons, in favor of me.

That's insanely flattering but you guys are CRAZY!! Dave Gibbons is comic book ROYALTY and we're all lucky to be getting the guy to write (and sometimes draw) the book on a monthly basis. Believe me, it's much easier to jump into the mix for a few issues, throw everything at the wall, and walk off stage hopefully having made a big splash instead of a big mess.

Mr. Gibbons is in the trenches, month in and month out, patiently developing a longer term plan for the book. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the story that he's weaving. I think when he's finished his tenure on the book, you'll be glad I was only interrupting things for a few issues.

Seriously. I'm not even in his league! At least not yet...

United 93

I saw the movie UNITED 93 last night.

Probably the most powerful film I've ever seen. I had tears rolling down my cheeks for the last half an hour.

It gets my highest possible recommendation but I wouldn't watch it unless you have some time afterwards to digest it.

Big day

Big day for me and my little writing career Wednesday as the first issue of my Green Lantern Corps story--along with my Green Lantern Xmas story--hit the stands. If you check it out, I hope that you'll enjoy them both.

When I got my comps last week, it was interesting to note that DC changed the title of it's Christmas special from "Infinite Christmas" to "Infinite Holiday." Since when did the word 'Christmas' become such a landmine that it's considered offensive to use it in the title of a comic? The world is ridiculous.

Anyway, if I can just figure out what's going on with the Xena annual I wrote, my December will be complete. I have no idea when it's getting released at this point and I can't get a straight answer out of Dynamite.

By the way, don't be surprised to see me take on my first monthly writing assignment at DC in 2007. It's going to be a fun year.

The test of time

Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas.

Dungeons and Dragons: The Cartoon.

Swamp Thing: The Movie.

Disco Duck, as performed by Rick Dees.

Question: What do those five things have in common?

Answer: They're all things I loved when I was a kid that I cringe at when seeing/hearing now. Too often, our childhood memories don't stand the test of time. I could go on and on almost endlessly, listing examples, but instead I'm going to point out one that I still think is just as good as ever.

Popeye: The Movie. Directed by Robert Altman, with Robin Williams and Shelly Duvall.

Although I didn't know it when it was first released, Popeye was a critical and commercial failure. It got horrible reviews and did lousy business. I remember seeing it with my father and two brothers at the Cinema Six in Groton and then watching it an infinite number of times on HBO the following summer. I still watch it every now and again if I catch it while channel flipping. I caught the second half of it tonight while inking backgrounds before bed and, like a visit with an old friend, it just made me warm and happy.

I thought--and still think--that Robin Williams is terrific as Popeye and Shelly Duvall is an absolutely perfect Olive Oil. She steals the whole movie. The songs are great, the entire cast is terrific, from Wimpy to Brutus to Oxblood freakin' Oxheart and his crooked old mom. The entire movie is filled with character and charm. I still buy into it, even after all these years and to me, that's the ultimate test of time.

Out of all of Robert Altman's movies, how bizarre that this one is my favorite. I would never be taken seriously as a movie critic but... I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam.

Jesus Antonio

Jesus Antonio, are you still out there? I can't find your email address but if you see this, please drop me a line. I'd like to see some of your latest samples.

Thanks,
Keith

GL Xmas story

Here's a page of art from the upcoming GL Xmas story written and inked by yours truly and pencilled by the great John Byrne. For the record, this is page one.

I wonder who Green Lantern could be visiting at Andrews Air Force Base on Christmas day?

It was a great thrill to work with Mr. Byrne on a project, even if it was only a ten page story. I hope to work with him again as soon as possible but I think I'll let him get a 'real' inker next time.

The DC Infinite Christmas special drops (check out my super-hip lingo!) on 12/6 or 12/13.

This time, it's Nightwing...

I did a quick interview with Jen Contino today regarding my upcoming run on Nightwing with Jamal Igle. She beat out Vaneta from Newsarama for the fastest posting of an interview by about...8 hours so, give or take a few minutes.

Take a bow, Jen. You get the trophy!

Here's the link:

http://www.comicon.com/pulse/

Don't ask why I insisted on the pic of the shirtless Chuck Norris to be included. In lieu of any Nightwing art to post, I just thought it would be funny to include something that made no sense whatsoever. And what makes no sense more than a shirtless pic of the legendary Walker: Texas Ranger?

That's rhetorical, by the way.

How's everybody doing out there these days?

What's going on?

Having one of those weeks where there aren't enough days, nor are there anywhere close to enough hours in each day. But then again, that's pretty much every week so it's nothing new.

Om my plate right now, I've got the last four pages of 52 #36 to finish by Friday. I didn't realize I was also inking the two-page character origin in the back until the pages arrived this morning. All of Jamal's and my lead time as we start Nightwing has basically been eaten up waiting for Marv to turn in a script so now we need to start cranking on that.

I also need to turn in written plots for editorial approval, one for an issue of ROBIN that I'm writing and another for the second part of my BATMAN story. I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself to get them turned in by Friday but, realistically, I'll be happy to get one or the other done. On top of that, a few months back I was invited to pitch some Scooby Doo stories which were all approved last week. Four stories in all, two six-pagers and two eight-pagers, something else to finish up by the end of the year. Turns out Scooby Doo and crew will be paying for my Christmas shopping this year...thanks, gang!!

Anyway, DC released their solicitations for February 07 today, here's what I'll have out that month. Seems so far away but by the time one blinks...

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #9
Written by Keith Champagne
Art and cover by Patrick Gleason & Prentis Rollins

Concluding the suspenseful three-part tale “The Dark Side of Green.” The being known as The Dominator arrives on Earth with murderous intent! Halfway across the universe, only the rogue group of Green Lanterns known as The Corpse have the means to stop his destructive rampage...if only they weren’t already dead. Can anything stop The Dominator from destroying the planet? On sale February 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

The cover posted above for this issue of GLC. Again, I believe those are the flat colors. I would expect the final colored version to kick much more ass.

NIGHTWING #129
Written by Marv Wolfman
Art by Jamal Igle & Keith Champagne

Cover by Michael Golden

Introducing Bride and Groom — a marriage made in hell! Two new metas plague New York as an eerie competition begins: Who can achieve the most “kills” before their wedding day? But nothing is as it seems as Bride and Groom’s citywide war affects those closest to Nightwing! On sale February 7 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

This is Jamal and my first issue of the book. I was under the impression we were starting with a new issue #1 but I guess not. Also, I had no idea that Michael Golden was doing the covers. That's pretty freaking cool.

Back to the drawing board on this end...

Script to art comparison

As I mentioned in my last post, here's the page of script I wrote for this page of art, which has been released by DC.

It's a very benign page in that it doesn't give away ANYTHING in terms of the larger story, nothing that hasn't been revealed in interviews so far, anyway. But it's a good example of the type of thought that Pat Gleason puts into his art.

Aside from the dynamic composition, I like the fact that he didn't feel bound to what I was asking for specifically. He gave me what I wanted but wasn't afraid to do it his way and, personally, I like to see an artist make their own choices and use their own imaginations instead of being a slave to mine. I want to work with people who think independently, not who approach the job as robots. If I want something interepreted exactly the way I see it, I make a point to ask for it that way. Otherwise, I hope to be surprised when I see the pages come in.

Prentis Rollins also added a lot with his inks on this page, really solidifying the art. It's a great looking book, I'm lucky to be working with these guys.

Anyway, enough rambling from me, here's the script...

PAGE THREE
SPLASH PAGE

We’re in a large holding cell. The Dominators are looking down from inside the open partition set high up in the wall. They’re all shielding their eyes. Below them--

A Khund warrior, Uruk, is strapped to a futuristic medical table, bound at his hands, feet, and neck by chains composed of pure energy. His body is bowed outwards as he strains with all his might, every muscle about to rupture, struggling in vain to free himself from his bonds. He’s screaming, his eyes clenched tightly shut, straining to look away.

Uruk has been deliberately positioned to face a large, glowing asteroid held in position by a crane like device directly over him. Swirling, rainbow-colored waves of radiation emanate from the space rock and buffet the Khund in an unrelenting storm of cosmic energy.

It looks like it really hurts.

1- CASTE LEADER #1: Your work shows potential.


ORIGIN BOX:

Billions of years ago, the oldest and most powerful beings in existence, the Guardians of the Universe, created a police force to serve and protect every sector of space. Recruited for their bravery and courage, from planets across the universe, the best and brightest serve proudly as members of the intergalactic peacekeepers known as THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS!

TITLE: THE DARK SIDE OF GREEN (part one)

CREDITS

Writer: Keith Champagne
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Prentis Rollins
Letterer:
Colorist:Moose Baumann
Associate editor: Michael Siglain
Dominator: Peter Tomasi

Yet another interview

In the fastest turnaround EVER, my latest interview to promote the Green Lantern Corps stuff has been posted today--in spite of the fact that I just finished forwarding the answers to the questions last night. I wasn't expecting it to be posted until December when the book ships yet, nonetheless, here it is for the world to read and make fun of...

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=89386

One thing I noticed while looking through the art is that the colored pieces (the covers for issues #7 and #8) aren't the final colored versions. I think those are temps that were rushed through to have something to advertise in solicitations. I've seen the finished colored covers and the difference between the two versions is staggering.

The art pictured here is page three from issue #7 by the great Patrick Gleason and Prentis Rollins. I was thinking of posting the script for this page and comparing it to what they drew, maybe I'll do that later this week.

Hope you enjoy the interview if you take a few minutes to read it!

TALES FROM FALLCON

Long delayed in the telling but I had a fun time at Fallcon earlier this month.

This was the first show I've attended where I've been flown out and put up on the convention's dime and, somehow, in some strange way, it makes the whole convention process much more...pleasant. The people behind the convention treated me like gold the entire weekend and I left having had a good time at a show, probably the first time that's happened in about five years. I would chalk up that rare experience to the first class treatment from the convention people, meeting some nice fans, and getting to spend some time with The Minnesota Wrecking Crew, consisting of artists Doug Mahnke, Pat Gleason, and Shawn Moll. Aside from being more talented than I am, they're all much nicer than me.

Pat is currently drawing my Green Lantern Corps arc so it was nice to get to sit down with him and talk about the work a bit. I've been honestly blown away by his interpretation of my scripts and can't wait for the rest of the world to see how great this stuff looks.

Shawn Moll is an artist on the rise and I was glad to meet him in person after being aquainted over the Internet for a couple of years. He's breaking big right now with his work on DC's 52 and I'd be surprised if he doesn't pop up working for Marvel soon. Even though I wussed out of rolling with him and flew home a little early to get back and see my son, I'm still 100% confident I'll tap him out numerous times the next chance I get. Tremble in fear, Shawn. I did you a favor leaving early, you'd be a crippled shell of a man if I had stayed.

And Doug is...Doug. You'd be hard pressed to find a more solid guy and a better artist in this business. Plus he has the strength of ten men and lesser men tremble beneath his gaze. My next goal as a writer is to snare Doug and work together on something. I've already started weaving an intricate web to lure him in.

I also spent a little time with Gordon Purcell, who I'm planning on pitching a project with. For whatever reason, while talking to him, I got the urge to do a giant, Godzilla-like monster book together so when my schedule calms down, it's something I'll try to put together, together.

Most importantly, I got to spend some time with my friend, none other than the legendary Tom Nguyen. If it wasn't for Tom, I would have never gotten out to the show in the first place; it was due to his networking that I made the trip so...thanks, Tom.

Tom is an interesting guy. Aside from being a competetive bodybuilder, he's been inking professionally for about ten years, I'd guess. Maybe more, I'm not exactly sure. But he unabashedly HATES inking, he only does it to pay the bills until something better comes along.

'Something better' meaning pencilling (which he's very qualified to do), which is right around the corner for him. His stuff is all there; in fact, he's better than a great deal of the pencillers working right now. All it's going to take is the right editor at the right time and he'll be rocking and rolling. Check out his work and gorgeous cheesecake paintings at www.tomnguyenart.com. If you're a beauty pageant winner or have posed for Playboy, you're qualified to pose for Tom so feel free to fill out his model application.

Tom also has superhuman endurance. He literally did not sleep for two straight days, Friday through Sunday night, spending his days at the convention and his nights working feverishly to finish a painting of the model who was working his booth on Sunday. I forget her name but I know it wasn't Shannon which, ignorantly, is what I called her all day.

Two days with no sleep would ruin me but Tom didn't even seem that grouchy. If he was, he kept it on the inside.

All in all, a good time and, luckily, I was in the right place at the right time and saved a little girl from drowning in my hotel's jacuzzi the first night I was there. Anyone would have done the same thing, no big deal, but I'm thankful I happened to be there when someone was needed.

Tune in next time for some topic I haven't thought up yet.

Halloween sneak peek

Somebody got his costume in the mail today. Yes, as you can tell, this year for Halloween, I've decided to dress up like a rapidly-approaching-middle age father/artist/writer.

Jack? Oh, that's just his casual, everyday, around the house apparel. I'm happy to report that my household is crime free since he rocketed to Earth from a distant, dying planet.

check it

A story worth reading...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061013/sc_nm/environment_climate_dc

Back soon with a full write up of Fallcon last weekend...I've been so swamped I'm going to change my name to Okeefenokee.

Easy reference for you comic geeks!

Twin City Tango

For the millions of twin city Champagne fanatics out there, I will be appearing at Fallcon in Minnesota this weekend, Oct 7th and 8th. I should be easy to find; I'll be the insanely handsome and ruggedly charming man sitting next to the misogynistic, miniature Vietnamese inker known only as Tom Nguyen.

Stop by and make fun of Tom with me. It never gets old!

Favorite list

Because blogs are basically narcissistic and self indulgent by nature of their very existence, herewith I present to you the five best movies ever seen by MY eyes. I'm not a critic (although I have written six or seven screenplays which really means nothing but I wanted to mention it) but I am narcissistic and self indulgent and this is my blog so my opinion is the only one that matters.

#5: Aliens.

#4: Big Trouble in Little China

#3: Forrest Gump

#2: The Empire Strikes Back

#1: The Natural

Are there technically better or more popular movies out there? Of course there are. But these are my five favorites, in order.

Wizard Interview

What? Three posts on the blog in as many days? Who is this masked blogger??

I did a quick interview (through email) with the Wizard Magazine website to start promoting the Green Lantern Corps comics. Here's the link:

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/001713353.cfm

It's always interesting to me how these things are edited together. Not for good or bad, they just always read differently when compared to the original questions and answers. Kind of like a diet version.

Green Lantern Corps

DC Comics has released their solicitation info for the month of December and it's a busy month for Patricia Champagne's middle son. First up, we've got...

DCU INFINITE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Written by Greg Rucka, Judd Winick, Bill Willingham, Joe Kelly, Kelley Puckett, Keith Champagne and Ian Boothby

Art by Joe Bennett, John Byrne, Jerry Ordway, Ale Garza, Giuseppe Camuncoli and David Lopez.

Cover by Howard Porter.

Time to celebrate the holidays with the greatest heroes and rising stars of the DCU! Join Superman, Supergirl, Batwoman, Shazam, Green Lantern, Flash and Shadowpact as they spread the joy of the new season in their own special ways.This giant sized 80-page Special features stories by Greg Rucka, Judd Winick, Bill Willingham, Joe Kelly, Kelley Puckett, Keith Champagne and Ian Boothby and art by Joe Bennett, John Byrne, Jerry Ordway, Ale Garza, Giuseppe Camuncoli and David Lopez.On sale December 6 • 80 pg, FC, $4.99 US

Next on the list, my very last issue of...

FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN #32

Written by Stuart MooreArt by Jamal Igle & Keith Champagne.

Cover by Brian Stelfreeze.

The epic story “In My Father's House" concludes as Jason Rusch must deal with the catastrophic fallout from his own actions against the mystery villain. It's an ending and a new beginning for DC's Nuclear Man!On sale December 13 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

And finally, the one that I'm most excited about, my very first issue of...

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #7

Written by Keith Champagne.

Art by Patrick Gleason & Prentis Rollins.

Cover by Gleason & Wayne Faucher.

Part 1 of the 3-part “Dark Side of the Green,” written by Keith Champagne with art by Patrick Gleason & Prentis Rollins! What begins as a routine mission quickly spirals out of control for Guy Gardner and new recruit R’amey Holl, leading the duo to discover a secret that could shake the Corps to the core. Meanwhile, a lone Dominator has found the key to great power and plans to unleash it against the Earth!On sale December 13 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

This is one of the writing gigs that I've been patiently waiting to be announced so I could talk about it. And I will when it gets closer to the shipping date, both here and in interviews at various websites. I'm very proud of this 3-part story, they're the best comics I've written to date (which may not say much) and, so far, Pat Gleason and Prentis Rollins have blown my mind with the art. This storyline introduces a new, much more bad ass division of the Green Lantern Corps that will, knock on wood, be spinning off into its own title next year.

It's going to be a fun month for me and will hopefully lead into a very exciting 2007.

Saturday the 14th

Sorry for the lack of updates. Lack of time and lack of anything to blog about, really. No wonder the reader tally for my blog is skydiving by the month. This blog sucks!

Anyone remember a movie called Saturday the 14th? It was a horror/comedy spoof that came out in the early 80's. I remember it being the funniest movie when I was a kid and was thinking of trying to track it down. I doubt it would hold up, most things don't after all these years. But sometimes, one is pleasantly surprised.