RKYV ONLINE # 31

Table of ContentsRKYV # 30 {November 2009}RKYV ONLINE LOGO - David Marshall {current}RKYV ONLINE LOGO – r. j. paré {modified}RKYV COMICS LOGO – Roy G. James {original}

Virtual Cover # 31- Art by Pablo Martinena- Layout by David Marshall

Interior Art- By De Tourist, Engin Korkmaz, LisaMarie Mueller, r. j. paré, Josh Bowe,Giorgos Tsopanos, Mike Grattan, BobLabute, Matthias Crasso.

Editorial Column- “At the Outset: A Few Thoughts from theEditor”- By r. j. paré

World View- Happy New Year- By Tom Rossini

Life- On the Darker Side- By C. S. Cartier

Featured Creators Review– Sam Johnson & Pablo Martinena- By r .j. paré

Poetry- By Frances Nichols Vargas, Eric Lawson,Marie Lecrivain

Pop Culture- “Comic Book Review”- By Brad Bellmore

- “Raised on Saturday Morning Cartoons”- By Pauline Paré

Untitled – by Josh Bowe

At the Outset

A Few Thoughts

from the EditorBy r. j. paré

“But we’ve wandered many a wearyfoot,

since Auld Lang Syne.”

-- Robert Burns

I resolve to be the best damn Dad, I can be.

I resolve to be the best damn husband I can be.

I resolve to write more, work harder and live up to my potential.

Ah hell… I just hope I make it through the coming year without going bankrupt.

With each New Year comes the opportunity to re-affirm, re-invigorate, or evencompletely re-invent one’s self. Embrace this time and make the most of it. Welcome, bythe way, to the latest issue of RKYV ONLINE, your art-lit [free]-Zine. I hope everyoneenjoyed their holidays and I hope everyone is primed and ready to make 2010 andcreative success!

This issue, returning columnists C. S. Cartier, Tom Rossini, Brad Bellmore andPauline Paré, once again regale us with their oft times witty and thoughtful opinions andobservations. As well, contributing poets Frances Nichols Vargas, Eric Lawson & MarieLecrivain share intimate, timely and poignant lines verse with us. I am grateful for theircontinued support. As we are every month, RKYV is pleased to share the works of manycontributing artists [credited throughout the issue] and thanks them for the beautifulpieces they have submitted.

This month also marks a first for us here at RKYV ONLINE. We are featuring acreative team as opposed to a single artist. Sam Johnson and Pablo Martinena sit downwith us and share their thoughts on Geek-Girl [their indie comic hit], art, writing and thecreative process. I hope everyone enjoys the interview & review.

With that I say “toodles” until next month and invite you to… the rest of theissue! Although, come to think of it, I never actually say “toodles.” I mean, does anyoneactually talk like that? Outside of, say… a middle-aged socialite carrying a Pekinesepooch in her arms and waving goodbye to her latte drinking friends while she heads offshopping at some ridiculously expensive boutique… where was I? Oh ya, shutting myyap and getting on with RKYV # 31.

Twilight, New Moon – by Mike Grattan

health

Is it real or is it Memorex?By C. S. Cartier

I have recently been in communiqué with an associate and shebroke down into tears after a couple sentences of pleasantries. [Iknow I sometimes am a bore to talk to but come on.] The truthwas that her home life was so bad, and she was wound so tight,that she could hardly hold it together. Her mate would say she wascomplaining all the time; that all she did was whine and complain.Comments about her lying around, sleeping on the couch twentyfour - seven sounded all too familiar to me. [And man do I mean itdid sound familiar.]

When it was all said and done it turned out that my associate had severe Pancreatitis andan infected spinal cord. The cord had swelled between something called C6 and C7 andwas pinching nerves that were sent to her arm. Did I mention how this sounded?Anyway, being familiar, aside from the specific health issues, and of course contrary topopular belief - I’m a man, well I started thinking. [This is contrary to popular beliefalso, I do think and it was out from the gutter where I tend to dwell.]

“The country needs a heart attack.”

No, no wait, hear me out. Only when faced with death does someone change their ways.Only when faced with extinction do we analyze our life and make changes for the better.I thought my ex-wife was just a big be-auch, I was right mind you, but the way she wastreating me [and yes I can admit it] treating a disabled person, I thought was unique. Iwas wrong, and I can admit that as well. [Something else the %^*&# says I never do.]

Are people that uncompassionate and that insensitive and narrow minded?

Orders – by De Tourist

Are they that shallow and care only about themselves and the current goings on?

People jump to their own conclusions about absolutely everything and are either blamingothers, the government, some odd conspiracy or who knows what else. Takingsomething at face value or doing a little research is so time consuming, I guess.Listening to someone, I’ll call him my Father, [names have been changed to protect theinnocent (or guilty)]. Well, this fictitious person was griping about China and howeverything comes from there. They steal our jobs and only make crap, etc, etc.

Fact: There are over one billion Chinese. That is just under a quarter of the

planet, meaning one out of every four people is Chinese. Ya, chances are a

Chinese person is making it. It comes down to simple numbers.

Let’s continue down this line of thinking, shall we.

Fact: Everyone needs to eat, so everyone needs a job.

That includes everyone in China. You have any idea how much food you need to feed all

the Chinese? [I don’t but I bet you it is a lot. I just wanted to know if you did. It is

something I have always wanted to know. I digress.]

That is a billion people jockey for a job, any

job, our jobs. They will do it, all of it, any

of it. They do not whine and complain

about paid holidays and smoke breaks and

standing for too long or bend and picking up

garbage. I was a manager once and was

actually told by an employee, “I don’t clean

toilets!” These people [Chinese] are proud

people, not second class citizens. But, they

are willing to work hard and for much, much

less than us.

Frankly, I think they deserve our jobs. Whodo you think companies would want to workfor them? If it was my company, and I hadto pay the bills, who do you think I wouldhire? Someone that was willing to work forten or twenty? Someone that would do‘anything’ for the job [now whose mind is inthe gutter], or want a union as soon as yousaid no to any question or asked them to dosomeone else job. Now, be honest,everyone wants to make money. Isn’t thatthe real reason we start a business?


Fact: if nearly one thousand people are applying for the same job, your resume

better be F’N good and it better really stand out.

Those other nine hundred or so people that don’t get the job, well, I bet you that they willwork for pennies or do anything while Bobby Joe is screaming for milk and the fridge isempty. We have become so complacent in the two mighty kingdoms that somehow wedidn’t see the global economy smack us in the ass. While we are sitting at home, gettingfat watching our big screen TVs, others are watching us and resenting our way of life.Government policies are speaking for us, and we allow them to dictate foreign policiesthat rub our way in their faces.

Of course they are going to want this, but we are destroying this so call paradise beforethey even get here. We are no longer the leaders were once were. Our economic andeducational laws, along with family and social trends make us cry babies. Damn right weneed a heart attack. My great grand fathers fought and died to make this country great,and the spoiled kids of my generation do not want to fight to keep it great. Drinking,drugs, crime, laziness, gluttony, selfishness, stupidity; these are things that this countryrepresents now. Mighty? My arse... My generation was once called generation “why.”

It should have been called “Gen More.” Everyone has so much junk, that we now storeit. I remember a commercial from my youth about a native person crying because of thegarbage that was everywhere. Man did we learn from that. Now there are islands ofgarbage in the ocean… no kidding. The commercial today would be a native personlaughing. Something as plentiful as water, dirt, stones and rocks, trees, and plants aresold. We actually spend money on these things. We buy bugs and animals, and peopleactually are spending money on poison, ‘er I mean food. We have lost the art of growingit and instead make it with chemicals. We whine and complain about gas prices.

“Oh no Martha fill up the car today, it is going up to a dollar a litre.”

Will I or won’t I? – by De Tourist

I was shopping yesterday, maple syrup was twelve bucks. Twelve bucks. Maple syrup!It’s a bleeding tree for pete’s sake. We will spend anything on anything. It wasn’t toolong ago that our ancestors did everything they could to payoff the house.

Now, we get bored with the one we have and buy a new one every decade or so and at theend of the day own nothing and cry when the economy collapse and we are threaten withlosing everything. The junk we own is so precious. Do we learn from this…? Homesales were up last week…!

If an economic crisis is not good enough, if a terrorism attack was not good enough,maybe a heart attack will be. Sadly, probably not. Sometimes, a horse with a broken legmust be put down. Eventually the mighty does fall and I think perhaps this is itsbeginning. Perhaps it starts with the more generation. Other countries really havenothing to be envious of because we only care about one thing and that is ourselves. Thatis just… sad.

So what did we learn from all this? Our ancestors are buried in forgotten graves so thatwe have the freedom and liberty to ignore tradition and religion so we can spend our timecollecting junk and mocking the weak and sick.

A place to bury strangers – by Giorgos Tsopanos

Daredevil © Marvel Comics – by Matthias Crasso

World View

A Canadian,

Living in the USABy Tom Rossini

Happy New Year – 2010Or so I hope...

I did some looking back over the years and well here is what I had discovered:

2007 was the year of the cow -- Mad Cow Disease 2008 was the year of the bird -- Avian Flu 2009 was the year of the pig -- Swine Flu 2010 was the year of the cock -- Is anyone else worried here???

But with every New Year comes a tradition…

A New Year’s Resolution

So where did this tradition originate from?

It took some digging but according to Wiki: "some say it originated backaround 153 BC with the mythical King Janus."

Today, we view this tradition as a commitment to change - usually for the individualmaking the resolution. So what are the traditional resolutions?

Well approximately 83% of all resolutions have some sort of effect on improvingtheir health such as exercising more, drinking less, smoking cessation etc...

The next most popular resolution is changing one financial status - maybe gettinga better job, paying off loans or even starting a retirement fund / savings account.

While searching the internet’s various websites, it seemed a majority of the sitesindicated that men, more than women, were most successful in sticking with theirresolutions and that the average length of time one kept a resolution varied from18 to 39 days.

So, why not keep things easy on yourself and make a realistic resolution like...

My New Years Resolution is to submit my RKYV articles on time to our Editor!

Happy New Year

Thomas Rossini

Communication – by De Tourist

Untitled – by Engin Korkmaz

Featured Creators

Review

Sam Johnson & Pablo Martinena

The creative team behind…

Interview presented by r. j. paré

Intro: Words and Art – Image and Script – Illustration and Story. Eddie Wilson confides,in regards to creating great songs “Words and music, man – they need each other,” in thecult classic “Eddie and the Cruisers.” In much the same way, words and art need eachother in order to create a great comic book. For the unfamiliar, Geek-Girl is just that – agreat comic book. This book has it all: slick art, smooth pacing & witty dialogue. I wasable, recently, to correspond with the creative talent behind this book and they graciouslytook the time to participate in the following interview and share some very cool previewimages for Geek-Girl!

Now, what is Geek-Girl all about, you might ask?

Some excerpts from their official Press Release:

“With great glasses comes great responsibility:” Ruby Kaye is GEEK-GIRL!

When 'Little Miss Popular' RUBY KAYE lands a pair of super-tech glasses--invented bybrainiac college geek Trevor Goldstein--in a game of Strip Poker, she's granted flight, super-strength, and--due to a flaw in the glasses' programming--super-klutziness.

“We’re used to it being the geek that stumbles upon super-powers and becomes cool as a result.Geek-Girl is a flip on that,” says Johnson.

Who is Geek-Girl?

New up-and-coming writer Sam Johnson(Cabra Cini, Gold Town and the creatorof comics’ über-cheesecake site,FANBABES) and artist Sally Thompson(Little Thoughts) introduce us to theworld’s newest, klutziest super-heroine:Ruby Kaye a.k.a. Geek-Girl!

And Geek-Girl #0 is just the beginningfor Ruby Kaye, says Johnson, “How sheadapts to her new-found powers andclique-alienating klutziness just might bethe making of her--as she learns that withgreat glasses comes great responsibility,and that geeky can be sexy!”

As well as featuring Geek-Girl’s 12-page introduction, Geek-Girl #0 also includes a 3-pagepreview of the in-the-works 4-issue Geek-Girl mini-series, illustrated by red hot artist PabloMartinena. Johnson says, “I’ve been keeping Pablo’s pages to myself until now, and whenyou guys see them--and his smokin’ variant cover--jaws are gonna drop.”

A co-ed studying Public Relations at AcornRidge college in Maine, Ruby Kaye is somethingof an ‘it’ girl. She hangs with the in-crowd, istop of the party-invite list, and has guys queuingup. “But…” Johnson continues, “When she getsahold of these glasses that she thinks are goingto be oh-so-cool, she finds that what they do toher is seen as anything but by her clique--headedby the über-bitchy Karin Carpenter--who thinksRuby’s lost it, big time.

“This is where Ruby finds out just how flimsyher ‘cool kid’-based friendships are,” saysJohnson; “and by the end of Geek-Girl #0, sheain’t gonna have many left.

“Oh, but that’ll be the least of her problems, withwho--or what--then shows up.”

Note: Sam Johnson is the creator/writer of Geek-Girl& Pablo Martinena is the artist for the Geek-Girl

4-issue mini-series.

r. j. paré: Have you guys always wanted to write & draw comic books?

Sam Johnson: Not always…like manycomic fans, I was into them as a kid,then left them and later came back.Originally I was more geared towardsjournalism, it wasn’t ‘til I was Eighteen--and around the time Wildstorm comicsran a Talent Search--that writing comicswas what I decided I wanted to do.

Title: Cover to Geek-Girl #0Writer/Creator: Sam Johnson

Artist: Sally Thompson

Pablo Martinena: I’ve wanted todevote myself to drawing comics since Ican remember; this desire fully definedsince I was fourteen years old.

r.j.p: Who was your primary source ofencouragement, as a child, in pursuingwriting & art?

PM: My parents and Fabian, my big brother.

SJ: Well, as a child, my parents, but it wasn’t something I was hell-bent on‘til later. :)

r.j.p: What inspires you to write?

SJ: Any number of things; a great movie; other creators doing their thing incomics; new ideas striking…

More than anything, though,having a concept I believe in andthen building on it. Geek-Girl isone of those. The concept is that‘when 'Little Miss Popular' RubyKaye lands a pair of super-techglasses--invented by brainiaccollege geek Trevor Goldstein--ina game of Strip Poker, she'sgranted flight, super-strength, and--due to a flaw in the glasses'programming--super-klutziness.’

Title: Geek-Girl #0, Page 1Writer/Creator: Sam Johnson


Geek-Girl #0--illustrated by SallyJ. Thompson--is out now andseems to be catching people’simagination--and it’s just thebeginning for Ruby:

I have big plans for her--with Pablo (Martinena) on board for the in-the-works 4-issue mini-series that will follow (previewed in the back ofissue #0).

r.j.p: Did you study or major in art while in school?

PM: My father taught me and encouraged me to draw, but for the most part,you could say I’m self-taught.

r.j.p: Do you feel more a sense of community with other comic creators or a sense ofcompetition?

SJ: Definitely a sense of community. I did my first convention--Leeds’Thought Bubble in the UK--in November and it was a brilliant experience.

Everyone was friendly and receptive--and as for competition: well,crossovers are one of the things that appeal to me about comics, and if I seea book that has similarities to something I have, ‘Crossover’--as opposed to‘Competitor’--is the first thing that comes to my mind.



r.j.p: What is your favorite media towork with?

PM: All that are related tocomics.

r.j.p: When working on a comicscript, what method do you prefer: doyou send the artist the finished scriptor a page by page outline of the story?[In other words, do you write finishedscript, based on the visuals created ordoes the artist draw each panel basedon precise descriptions from yourscript?]

SJ: I’ll write the finished thescript--though I’m not too rigidwith the visual descriptions; anartist will naturally have agreater flair for visuals than me;that’s why they’re the artist! :)

r.j.p: Do you use any special tools and techniques to create your art?

PM: I’m currently using a WACOM for my work.

r.j.p: While traditional publishing and distribution has become a difficult goal to achievefor the modern Indie comic creator, what do you think of the impact that social networksand POD services have had as an alternate means of connecting you, your work and youraudience?

SJ: I think they’re great. facebook has been a great way of reaching myaudience with Geek-Girl. Over 75% of the copies of Geek-Girl #0 I sold atThought Bubble were to people who’d heard about it through facebook.

I think you have to be careful not to ram products down people’s throats onsocial networking sites, but I’ll add people that I think would dig the idea ofthe book, and then invite them to join the Geek-Girl group for if they’d liketo receive news--and from there, if they want more, they can go towww.geekgirlcomic.com if they want to check out Previews and buy thebook.

Print on Demand is greatbecause it takes the financialrisk out of things. If you putyour book up at a POD site,it’s out there without yourisking breaking the bank onpotentially unsold copies of abook.


Artist: Pablo Martinena

r.j.p: Which famous artists /creators or styles have influencedyou? Why?

PM: When you're a fan, youhave many artists thatinfluence your art, they arevery numerous, but I willmention a few: Jim Aparo,Ariel Olivetti, Joe Quesada,Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane,Greg Capullo, Romita, DavidFinch Michael Turner, QuiqueAlcatena and my list goes on…

I'm attracted by their well-defined style, they don t́ need to sign their work,because you can recognize them from a distance.

r.j.p: With advancements in computer graphic tablet technology, some artists are nowcreating their work directly in the digital medium and releasing it in purely digitalformats... are the days of paper & pulp doomed to the realm of fading memories?

PM: I think there will be a long, long period when both coexist, but we'll getused to the new technology, I think it is easier to have a graphics tablet thanthousands of comics in your backpack when you travel, isn’t it?

SJ: I hope not; downloadedand online comics aren’tsomething that personallyappeal to me; I’m not againstthem, but I like to have thephysical comic, and I know alot of people feel the same. Ifthe printed comic is doneaway with, what are geeksgonna fill their basementswith?!

I certainly hope it won’thappen.



r.j.p: What do you think of theterm "starving artist"?

PM: As far as comics goes:that term comes from ageneration that doesn’t payattention to the potential thatcomics can provide.

r.j.p: Would you rather have an engaged & loyal but, ultimately, small Indie readershipor work on the latest Spidey, Wolverine or X - book? [the old Art vs Commerce question]

PM: I’d prefer to answer this one when I have both experiences. :)

SJ: I’d like to work on both indie and Marvel/DC books. With Geek-Girl’sdebut comic out, a mini-series is already in the works and I have other indieprojects planned.

It’s great to have creative freedom and have something you can fully investin as a creator, but it would also be a blast to work on books for the BigTwo; I’m really enjoying what Marvel are doing right now and would loveto take on any number of their books. I’d also love to write Doom Patrol forDC; Grant Morrison’s out-there run on the book, back in the day, is one ofmy biggest influences, and part of the inspiration for Geek-Girl villain Mr.Mash-Up: ‘the bastard lovechild of an alien goddess and other-dimensionaldemon.’

Title: Geek-Girl website picWriter/Creator: Sam Johnson


r.j.p: What advice would you have for other indiecreators, trying to break into the biz, today?

SJ: Get stuff published in anthologies; get agood creative team together--that you havegood communication with--get a book doneand get it out there.

In my experience, one thing has lead toanother, but you have to start by gettingsomething published.

r.j.p: Do you have any big plans, shows or Conscoming up?

PM: I am new to this, I would love to be invited to conventions and shows.

SJ: Yeah, I’m going to be doing a bunch of cons with Geek-Girl #0 in theUK this year. If you friend-request me at www.facebook.com/geekgirlcomicyou’ll get news on those as they approach (as well as news on the mini-series). And for anyone outside of the UK, you can get the book atwww.geekgirlcomic.com :)

When the mini-series isout, I hope to also be doingUS cons with that, butthat’s gonna be awhile... :)

Title: Variant Cover toGeek-Girl #0

Writer/Creator:Sam Johnson

Artist: Pablo MartinenaInterior Art:

Sally Thompson &Pablo Martinena

Geek-Girl #0 and Geek-Girl #0 Limited Variant Edition, published by FANBABES, are16-pages b&w, with color cover, and priced $1.99 and $2.50 respectively. Out Now andavailable to purchase at www.geekgirlcomic.com and at IndyPlanet.com

http://www.indyplanet.com/store/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=geek+girl&osCsid=h0ekqo67pghm5mlg766gmi5150

Untitled – by Lisa Marie Mueller

Bad BeatBy

r. j. paré

The Flop

“When the first three community cards are dealt, face up, by the dealer.”Croupier

“Read your opponent’s reactions and bet accordingly.”Gambler

“There’s always some jack-ass who’ll bet with any hand, just for kicks.How the hell are ya supposed to ‘read’ – an amateur?”

Recovering Addict

At this point it would be important to provide a little background. Our dear Missyhad an Uncle Nate, whom she dearly loved, that committed suicide when she was onlyeleven years old. He just gave up.

Now don’t get me wrong Nathan White was a likable sort of fellow. He wascharming, in a roguish manner, and could always be counted on tell an amusing whopperor two. For Missy White, youngster in pig-tails, he was larger than life. Uncle Nathanwould always take the time to pay her attention. When the other grown-ups were busydoing grown up things and being oh-so serious, Uncle Nathan was there with his tonguesticking out, a wink in his eye and tossing her airborne until she fell into fits of laughter.

But Uncle Nathan wasn’t very amusing to her parents.

What Missy didn’t know, at the time, was that Uncle Nathan’s visits were neverpurely social. He was always borrowing money from her dad. Nathan had a seriousgambling problem and always seemed to owe money to the wrong sorts of people. Thingscame to a head when these folks started coming directly to Missy’s parents asking forpayment on Nathan’s debts. That still might not have been so bad, except when Mr. andMrs. White saw how these, slimy, debt-collectors leered at their little Missy.

Something had to be done.

The Whites cut Nathan out of their lives. They’d simply had enough. About twoyears later, on a cold January morning, they received word that Nathan, after a period ofalcohol and drug abuse, had ended it all by taking a swan dive off a bridge and into thefreezing water below. I’d like to say they were shocked, but really, they’d alreadymourned his loss – this was more confirmation, than revelation.

So, you can understand how Missy might object to finding her husband has beenspending his time gambling online, instead of caring for their child… their home. Well,perhaps “object” is a bit of an understatement.

***

“Listen sweetie, I can explain….”

“Don’t sweetie me, you son of a…” Missy growled. Her demeanor was like that of awounded animal, ready, willing, and eager to lash out.

Mr. Grey cringed at the sight of her anger. But really, it’s not like he should be surprised.She’d told him all about dear old Uncle Nate back when they were dating. And at first, usingthe free credits, it wasn’t really gambling anyway, it was more like playing for “fun-zees”. At least, that’s what Mr. Grey kept telling himself.

The problem, from his point of view, was that Missy had an unreasonable biasabout this entire subject. He wasn’t her Uncle Nate, dammit. He had ‘learned’ from thefree site that he had a gift, a natural talent for Poker – so it isn’t really gambling when it’sa skill, is it?

Sure and if you were wondering if Mr. Grey was intimately familiar with a riverin Egypt – well… now you know.

She threw him out, of course. But Missy wasn’t one to give up on a loved one.She would still try and make him understand that their life, their family could besalvaged. Missy never wanted anyone to feel hopeless and abandoned like her Uncle Nate– especially not the father of her child.

“Get help honey… there are support groups that can…” she tried.

“What?!” he snapped. “Some twelve steppers are gonna teach me to surrender to ahigher power and quit doing something just because my wife is nuts?” Mr. Grey wasangry at his wife, her tears – which made him feel guilty, in turn made him all the angrierat her for that. He slammed cupboards and closet doors, while packing to leave.

Pausing, at the front doorstep, he turned to her, “will you please get it throughyour pretty little head that I am not gambling?”

“I AM WINNING!!”

With her head down, trying to hide the tears, she manages to stay firm. “Until youget the help you need, you’re LOSING your family – think about that.” From inside herpocket she pulls forth a small chain. “Here, I love you. I just can’t live with you rightnow. I want you take this and I hope and pray it helps keep you safe. Remember, you arealways in our prayers.”

The Saint Christopher medallion glints under the porch lamp, catching two almostglaring, accusing points of light off its face staring into Mr. Grey conscience. He shovesit in his pocket and storms off, stomping his petulant feet and muttering.

“Stupid girl, who needs prayers - when you’ve got skill?!”

.Tune in next month

For the 4th installment of “Bad Beat”One that could only be called

“The Turn”

Addiction Hurts – from the Painted Aces series– by r. j. paré


Poetry

Selected PoemsBy Frances Nichols Vargas

Holiday Rush

Running in angst to the next big saleLooking to cash in on the greatest deal

Standing on endless linesWatching while babies and toddlers scream and cry

Clamoring for the next available seatJust to be able to rub your feet

Planning every last meal and bite around the prizeBumping and tripping all those in your way

To be able to make your wayFeeling the crush of people

All waiting to be first in the storeAlong with the body odors

Finally done with the holiday rushTime to go home and proclaim you have won

Family – by De Tourist

Time Will Heal

I understand things are difficult.I get that you want things to remain the same.

Believe me, when I say “I am feeling your pain”I walk around grasping at nothing and everythingWondering if there is some way to ease your angst

Knowing full well nothing familiar will remain.I take the responsibility for placing you in this uncomfortable and

Unfamiliar, Unwanted placeWishing there was any other way

I stand by readyTo wash the tears and heartache away

I need for you to recognize in my eyes and view upon my faceHow difficult it is to witness your disappointment, sorrow and your anger

In all the many displayed ways

I really do understand things are difficultIf you take a minute to breathe

You will see a glimpse of what is left of me throughout the dayWhen I watch you play

If only you knew how hard I was tryingTo make your life as comfortable as could be

During this difficult time in lifeYou would understand how much you mean

In each and every way to me

Untitled – by De Tourist

New Year Poem

Scanning images of yesterdays pastVivid images flash

Playing back days gone byOne by one I take stock in time

Secretly congratulating myself on how far I have comeLooking back to see the hands on the clock stuck

All the events moving around me in slow motionTurning back for one last look at all the comotion

Reaching for the handle of the closed doorGlad to bid farewell to all the yesterdays

Looking forward to happier daysEager to turn the page

Ecstatic for the opportunity to write a new chapterIn the story and adventure I have been chasing after

Hearing glasses clang and songs of Old Lang SyneRepeating in the background of my mind

Smiling, I open the doorTwirl around once more

Give a nod and a smileBlow kisses and catch my breathAnd step into the new excitementPassing thru the strange threshold

To face the New Year dayWith anticipation for the adventure ahead of me

2010 – by r. j. paré

Selected PoemsBy Eric Lawson

Failure Begets Success

You must kill the previous youYou must bury him asunderYou must banish your identityYou must erase the epitaphs

All in the name of progress

When you can sink no longerWhen you have given upWhen all others have shunnedWhen there is no alternative

You are finally ready to fail

Fail without fearFail in the absence of loveFail to God and manFail to infinity and back

Now you are ready to succeed

Your authentic self emergesYour quest for Truth beginsYour own path calls to youYour destiny has been revealed

Take my hand, my heatMy heart, my love, my learningTake whatever you needTake it fast, take it now

There is much work to be done


Yellowstoned

The land that we haven’t killedYet

Where trees tickle the sky

Without fearBears forageMoose graze

Salmon leap upstreamOld Faithful salutes

I am at peaceI am lost and found

Again and again

The wind smells aliveThe forest beckons

The symphony of lifeSends me


Selected HaibunBy Marie Lecrivain

Editor’s Note: This piece previouslyappeared in Subtle Tea.

Once in a Blue Moon – by Bob Labute

January Moon

A pyramid of dirty cups rises silently from the sink. A discussion next door becomesstrident. My computer screen is ablaze. The luminous streetlights fail to cheer me.

10:32 PM on a Wednesday in January, three weeks to Valentine's Day, and I feel spikylike a hedgehog, bristly and attenuated. The last of the holiday cheer evaporated thisSunday past when I paid a neighbor boy $5 to haul the Tannenbaum corpse to the curb.My "thank you" sounded foreign to our ears; the first gracious words I'd volunteered tosomeone else this year.

You are three states above and one time zone ahead of me. Right now, you are spoonedagainst a woman who has adopted you, your frailties and your cruelty, where I couldbarely manage yours in foster care. It's 40 degrees colder where you are, and the chill inmy bones reminds me you are the lucky one.

Where you are the moon shines down upon the snowy mountains, through the icicles thatline your roof, and into your window. It highlights the paleness of your skin, and thefrosty line of your mouth as my name wafts through your dreams. Where I am, Luna hasalready ridden the dusk past the horizon. The low hanging clouds wait for me to fallasleep. They will keen for you where I cannot.

tonight the moon isveiled in seven layersof cloud - the same

number of sorrows you usedto shackle my heart to yours

copyright 2006 m. lecrivain

Cloudy Blue Moon – by r. j. paré

Bio: Marie Lecrivain is the executive editor and publisher of poeticdiversity: the litzine of Los Angeles andis a writer in residence at her apartment. Her prose and poetry have appeared in a number of journals andanthologies, including: Aesthetica, Askew Poetry Journal, Luces y Sombras, Poetic Voices WithoutBorders 2 (copyright 2009 Gival Press), The Poetry Salzburg Review, Re)verb, The Los Angeles Review,The Toronto Quarterly, and is forthcoming in Spillway, and Beside the City of Angels: An Anthology ofLong Beach Poetry (World Parade Books, Fall 2010). Marie's new poetry collection, Antibellum Messiah,(copyright 2009 Sybaritic Press), is available through Amazon.com.


Pop

culture

Comic book reviewBy Brad Bellmore

Azrael

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DC has a new “Azrael” title out, drawn by Ramon Bachs and written by Fabian Nicieza.“WOW!” is about the easiest way to begin talking about this. I haven’t really followedthe DC universe much, so I am aware of the character but have not really experiencedhim.

This tale is opening of the latest incarnation of the hero Azrael, which sounds like a jobwith a short lifespan. The character himself is a fascinating combination of the mysticaland your more typical super powers. I love what this character represents and how heachieves his ends:

Taking on those priests in the Catholic Church who molest children, both to bring

justice to them, and also to purge the church of the taint that they have brought.

That is bold territory to walk.

This issue contains a solid balance of revelation and suspense, informing about the heroand the man who became him, while hinting at plenty of mystery yet to be revealed,making me want more but enjoying the tease of having to wait for it.

The art fits perfectly. It is dark and moody. It is sinister. It is dynamic and action packed.It is dramatic and reveals as much through the characters faces as through their dialogue.Azrael has a very cool and vicious look that hints to the wrath (perhaps even righteouswrath) that drives the man.

Unless superhero comics make you want to puke, I recommend you give this a read. Thisis one of the stronger books that I’ve experienced recently, hitting on all levels of what Ilike in a comic.

Raised on Saturday Morning CartoonsBy Pauline Paré

Valley in Action

A quote from the Human Target Trailer:

Client: You wore a vest! Where’s MY vest?! (Referring to Chance’s flak vest)Christopher Chance: I’m your vest.

Ever since I first saw Mark Valley in Boston Legal, I wanted to see him in anaction role. Valley has a strong physique, chiseled jaw and that all American hero lookthat would be perfect for a leading man. Just recently, he was voted to be the perfectchoice to play Captain America via internet poll and I can see why.

Mark Valley was chosen to be the lead in the revival of Human Target. Based ona comic book, Human Target was made into a short lived series in 1992, starring RickSpringfield. This new version of Human Target will star Mark Valley and Chi McBride(Pushing Daisies) and features a full orchestra soundtrack by the prolific and talentedBear McCreary. I am a little leery that it will premiere on the same night (Jan 17th) as theeighth season of 24. It may be overshadowed or it may attract the same audience as 24.These shows will eventually settle into separate nights.

Human Target is a series about a personal bodyguard, Christopher Chance, whotakes his job to the next level. He integrates himself into the lives of his clients in order tofind and eliminate the threat to their safety. The promo trailer is intriguing and the castingseems to be top notch as well. I loved Chi McBride as Emerson Cod in Pushing Daisiesand I am looking forward to seeing him in a more dramatic role.

I know that there are always plenty of action series on the tube to choose from butI personally am looking forward to giving this one a chance because of the actors andalso, it was a popular comic book. Comics are laid out just like a storyboard and it is verydifficult (but not impossible) to misinterpret. There is a new client every week so therewill be plenty of opportunities to get some great guest stars. Human Target will also havea built-in audience which bodes well for a series’ survival. I get shell shocked this time ofyear with unfinished stories and premature cancellations of my favourite shows, whichleads me to my second topic.

Once again, a show getscancelled just when it is getting good. Iam talking about Eastwick, based on thenovel The Witches of Eastwick by JohnUpdike. The series started out slowly butreally picked up pace and becameexciting just after its cancellation wasannounced. How unfair is that?

I will truly miss many aspects ofthis show but especially Canadian actorPaul Gross as the evil yet amazinglysexy Daryl Van Horne.

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