The Colodin Project
Written & Illustrated by Ken Krekeler

This was an impulse buy in Artist Alley. The cover grabbed me, and the writer/artist was friendly and engaging (and he still owes me a sketch). Published by Ronin Studios, the TPB is very well printed and produced, with slick pages that showcase the books art and design well.

Dubbed “a modern murder mystery”, it lives up well to the latter half. With classic noir-stylings, shady clients and private dicks with shadowy histories, the murder mystery hits the right notes, feeling comfortable but also intriguing. As for “modern”… the world of Colodin feels decidedly old-school. The characters carry cellphones, but spend a lot of time leaving messages on antiquated home answering machines. Computers are cursory to their investigations. The real twist of Colodin is Quinn, a 15 year-old master thief and possible murderer, raised and trained in an outside place, an alter realm for only the most gifted, significantly different from our own. The glimpses into Quinn’s past and world are what set Krekeler’s tale apart from the noir tradition. Those scenes are jarring, probably by intention, and occasionally pull the reader out of the story with a “WFT?” reaction. However, as the book progresses, the intrigues hold the interest and the ideas cement satisfyingly. This is meant to be the first volume in a series. I hope they manage to continue – I’m enjoying the story and would really like to see where it goes.

Website: TheColodinProject.com

X-Factor Visionaries: Peter David – Volume 1
Written by Peter David; Art by Larry Stroman & Al Milgrom

I got into comics back around 1993, driven into my local comic shop after watching the new Fox animated X-Men series. I snatched up anything with an X in the title, which eventually got me hooked on Peter David’s now-classic run on X-Factor. Picking up as the new team was assembled – Havok, Polaris, Wolfsbane, Quicksilver, Strong Guy and Multiple Man – I enjoyed being on the ground floor of a new X-team. I was particularly fascinated by Jamie Madrox’s power of multiplicity (an infinitely practical talent I quite envy) and identified with reluctant leader (and Cyclops’ younger brother) Alex Summers. I considered X-Factor my favorite superhero book through the first phase of my comic reading (an era ended when all of my hometown comic stores simultaneously went out of business).

I managed to procure all 4 volumes of X-Factor Visionaries at the con on the cheap, as well as the first 4 volumes of David’s new incarnation of the book. I tore through the new ones first, eager to soak in fresh stories, and found them up to Peter David’s usual standard of quick, witty, light fare. However, a volume into the original series and I’m afraid this is going to be like Goonies for me – a beloved story from childhood whose reality pales to my memory of it.

Volume One’s story arch features all the hallmarks of 80s and early 90s comics – slipshod pacing, unrealistic situations and interpersonal reactions, out-of-place future tech and gimmicky characters. Stroman’s art, known for his graphic design influences and abstract geometrics, bounces between inventive panel stylings and undecipherable visual storytelling. The villains are silly, the heroes foolish and the situations implausible. In the casual manner of pre-911 comics, one of the heroes accidentally destroys the Washington Monument, with very little repercussion. The whole affair feels messy. The dialogue pops and some bits of action are exciting, but the formation of the group feels flimsy and unlikely.

I’m hoping the book picks up across the next three volumes, but I’m a little way into the second (which starts with an Incredible Hulk crossover) and it doesn’t look promising. Perhaps things will improve when Joe Quesada’s penciling run begins, and that the “X-Factor Sees a Shrink” issue lives up to my recollection. That story made a real impression on me as a teenager, an example of how a “superhero” book could tell an effective, emotionally complex story without any superfluous action and mutant shenanigans.

One of my favorite work projects in awhile is the “Save Our City” promotion for 105.7 the Point and Shapiro Metal Supply. I’d been looking for a creative project for our video team that would break away a bit from the usual documentary style of our productions.

Shapiro didn’t lend itself easily to typical promo ideas outside of your basic radio spots. What can you do to make a metal supply yard exciting for a male 18-34 demographic?

Being a lifelong fan of sci-fi and cartoons, the first thing that came to mind was the construction of a giant robot, Asian b-movie style. And why would you need a giant robot? Why, to stave off the attack of a giant monster!

I proposed a pretty crazy promotion, led by an in-house created video (see YouTube video above) shot to look like an amalgam of 50’s sci-fi noir and Sin City style green-screening. The client loved the idea – turns out they have a nice niche business selling scrap and parts to guys building Battle Bots. There was a thematic fit, and we were off and rolling.

The video was shot in a make-shift studio with green screen fabric drops. Documentary portion was shot on location. Filmed on DV tape in 1080i HD, edited in Final Cut Pro. Key Art backgrounds designed in Photoshop.

Special thanks to my co-conspirator Nathan, who really busted his hindquarters on the editing and learning the chroma-key and desaturation techniques on the fly for this project.

• Written, Designed and Directed by Adron Buske (me)
• Videography, Motion Graphics and Editing by Nathan Cowen
• Narrators: Ed Brown and Drew Patterson
• Costumes and Props courtesy of Jason Heeren and Lisa Foiles
• Featuring: Sammy Caputa, Ashley Elzinga, Katie Sorensen, Nathan Cowen, Patrick and myself

Click here for the promotion page on the 105.7 the Point’s website.

I started my 2010 movie year right, with a big screen viewing of Up in the Air, starring George Clooney, Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga. I expect a lot out of director Jason Reitman, seeing as his other two films (Juno and Thank You For Smoking) are in my top twenty favorites from the last 5 years. Mister Reitman delivers here, with a quiet, subtle and engaging little movie. Clooney is, as always, charming, disarming and deft at understated comedy. I was not familiar with Farmiga previous to this film, but her gorgeous eyes and confident sensuality make perfect chemistry with Clooney.

I think the biggest takeaway here is Kendrick, a young actress largely known for a supporting role in the Twilight films. Though diminutive and severely attired, her upstart businesswoman brims over with a mix of perceptive intelligence and naïve personal inexperience. She is Clooney’s real foil, a challenging opposite who is, in many ways, as empty of true personal fulfillment as the isolated traveler.

Kendrick’s portrayal, a poised go-getter on the verge of achievement destabilized by deeper experience, presents that perfect audience challenge – the person you’d likely despise in real life made appealing, developed into someone you want to root for. Prim and stoic or shaken with an embarrassing, hysterical fit, Kendrick glues her scenes together with impressive gravity. She’ll be one to watch**, certainly.

Shot largely in St. Louis, there were a few times where I lost the moment because I recognized locales. In particular, the hotel for the Wisconsin wedding is the Cheshire Lodge, a quaint and cozy little inn I’ve done web promotions for and stopped in for a few drinks. It was cool, though, to hear our Lambert airfield get some loving respect in Clooney’s dialogue.

Up in the Air is likely going to join my list of favorite films – at every point I was enjoying myself, completely taken in by the direction, the cinematography, acting and soundtrack. It fits well on my keeper shelf beside Lost in Translation (which I think of as my favorite film, along with the combined might of the Lord of the Rings trilogy).

* Jason Bateman and J.K. Simmons, both stars of the lamentable Extract, pull smaller – but stronger – roles in Up in the Air. Simmons in particular provides for an emotional scene. I love this guy, seriously. I wish he were my neighbor so we could sit on a back porch somewhere, drink beer and talk amiably about nothing in particular.

** You can follow Anna on Twitter (though she hasn’t posted in awhile) as @AnnaKendrick47. As if she needed to be more endearing, this is her self-description: “Pale, awkward and very very small. Form an orderly queue, gents.”

Fairview Heights is the primary center of commerce for the Illinois-side of the St. Louis metro area. During the holiday season it becomes a national disaster, as Christmas shoppers dog pile on sale racks and litter Highway 64 with fender benders. You’d expect the pandemonium to slow down a bit, though, after little J.C. exits the virginal boy-howdy and the world drinks away the pain of another year. And you’d be wrong.

Pretty much just like this.

There’s an impolite compound phrase, the pairing of simian and feces, which is the only appropriate term for the mess we encountered out and about today. I finished up my holiday gift buying a few days before Christmas, and it hadn’t been this bad. It was like Robert Pattinson was hosting Macy’s white sale – just knee deep in crazy.

Wanna kill any hope or respect for humanity? Go hang out at any retail chain this weekend. Be honest – if the undead rose up in legion to devour the blank-eyed, drooling masses at the shopping mall, you’d be rooting for the zombies. That is, if you could tell the difference between the two groups…

When I was a kid, I remember folks talking down people on the coasts, particularly fast-paced New York and plastic, narcissistic Los Angeles, focused on their lack of friendly decorum. “Nobody’ll even hold a door for you, or give you the time of day,” my small town denizens would remark knowingly. “Here in the Midwest, we’ve still got manners. People have a kind word to spare, know how to be considerate.”

And then we all ejected Pleasantville from the Blu-Ray and dared to step foot in public – just in time to be mowed down by a 65 year old woman dressed like a college girl (oh, gawd, the tights – they burn my eyes!), hell-bent for clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond.

Nothing will kill that old sentimental attachment to Midwestern Hospitality than a day getting pushed aside, elbowed, mean-mugged and bulldozed by your fellow consumers. I’ve grown used to the low number of people who say thanks when I hold a door for them (and the fewer still that will hold it for me). I’ve learned to deal with dirty looks from quatro-moms when their unattended children rebound off my leg in the Target aisles. But these people today, their uncanny valley stare, their aggressive yet directionless trajectories, their disregard for traffic signs and lights, their gumption to cough right in your face without any attempt to cover their germ-spewing maws…

Seriously, I’m 6’1”, 250 pounds of blue-eyed, broad shouldered, pissed off consumer. How can you stare straight at me while playing a game of pedestrian chicken without registering my existence until the point of collision, only to give me the evil eye when I step aside? You should be goram grateful I didn’t body check you into that endcap of iPod stereo alarm clocks.

Midwest politeness, my ass.

But… I’m sleeping tonight on Calvin Kline* pillows ($16.99 at Marshalls!), so I’m feelin’ alright.

*So extravagant! 

2010: Doesn’t it sound like the future?

Welcome to TEN. What are we going to call 2010? Is there an official version, and who decides? Is this what that Pearl Jam record was about?

We partied in the New Year with an impromptu gathering at casa de Wendronimo, also celebrating my wife’s birthday. Double whammy of awesome. With only a few hours of notice for our low-key shindig, we had a full house of merry makers and a full evening of laughs, hugs and good times. We kept it alive, if laid back, until about 4:00am, which is pretty good for a bunch of early-thirty-something/late-twenties folks, right?

Goodbye, 2009. Few will miss you and your Dexter-like habit of killing celebrities. But what of this new, sci-fi sounding year?

I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions, but I’m all for setting goals and making plans and using a milestone (birth of a new decade) to kick-start some new habits and positive inertia.

Instead of a resolution, I’ve decided on a theme for 2010 – “Who do you want to be?” I think this is an important question; it requires self-analysis and reflection, with a focus on the desired positives as opposed to dwelling on perceived negatives. Instead of looking at myself and saying, “damn, here’s a bunch of things that make me unhappy – I should probably change those”, I’m imagining an ideal version of myself, and seeing how close to that model I can become.

I don’t mean some unreachable, fantasy version of myself, but a real world manifestation of my dreams, goals and personal happiness. Not just for 2010, but for my life in general, down the foreseeable timeline. Some of those things will be easily described, maybe easily achieved. Some will be intensely personal, requiring a lot of “behind the scenes” effort. And there might be some lofty ambitions, lifelong pursuit kinds of stuff – but this is about forward thinking and positivity, so that all works.

(My comic book brain says this is like taking an established character and revamping him for a universe reboot, What If? story or parallel universe line. An ‘Ultimate Adron’, so to speak. If it’s half as good as Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man run, things will definitely be looking up.)

I’m still sketching my answer to “Who do you want to be?”, designing my specific archetype, but I can say this much so far:

I want to be happy, healthy and physically active. I want to be a great husband, an excellent friend, a loving pet parent and, eventually, a nurturing father. I want to write everyday, to create a career with my words and vision, to build worlds that people love to get lost in. I want to be a leader in media (of many kinds), to generate quality, to effect change and progress. I want to be an active, performing musician – to play and sing and keep my songs alive. I want to always advance my skills, to never stop learning, to never be complacent – to always grow, evolve and innovate. I want to be strong, to take charge, to not back down from adversity – professionally or personally. I want to de-clutter my life, free it from pointless things that distract or slow me down, to streamline to the things that are important, that are enriching. I want to be a whirlwind of ideas, projects and good works – to always surprise, to capitalize on my poly-talent nature. I want my work ethic to be professional and fruitful, without interfering with the quality of my personal and emotional life. I want to look back without resentment for opportunities missed and roads not taken. I want to live a vivacious present, with eyes on the possibilities of the future. I want to be the man who achieved or failed, but always tried – never squandering my blessings. I want to do right by the ones I love, to never lose sight of their needs and their commitment to me. And I want to always be mindful and grateful, to know how fortunate I am and to give back however I can.

And there’s so much more than that. But that’s my start, that’s my beginning for 2010.

Now then – who do YOU want to be?

Some Christmas Day advice: if you’re hungry, Sonic is open. However, they will forget your $4 popcorn chicken. And your fries. And you’ll be too distracted by holiday cheer to check the bag before driving home. And it’s a bit too nasty out to go back for it. And you’ll be left with mediocre burgers (but tasty tater tots…). So maybe don’t do that.

And may God/Goddess/Xenu/Flying Spaghetti Monster bless us, every one.

Hustler Hollywood Holiday Gift Guide 2009

Last week, under a serious short-term deadline, I produced another digital catalog for St. Louis retail store Hustler Hollywood, in conjunction with a promotion on 105.7 the Point. You can view the Flash catalog here (pretty SFW, unless your workplace is really prudish).

This was definitely a “so many irons” project – I contacted models, arranged the shoot, did all the photography, performed all post-production on the photos, designed the catalog and set up the Flash interface.

Because of the aggressive schedule from client sign-off to launch deadline, I wasn’t able to give this one the high-gloss look on the models that I used in earlier digi-catalogs (Holiday 2008, Valentine’s 2009). Instead, I went for a more natural feel, closer to some of the stuff I’ve seen in magazines like Nylon. The local HH store manager really wanted the models in this catalog to have a girl-next-door approachable vibe, as opposed to the adult stars that usually populate their print catalogs. I think we pulled that off.

The paneled backgrounds were inspired by the DVD box set packaging for Batman: The Animated Series.

The Point models here are Meagan Adamo, Sheila Shafie and Danielle Stewart. They were all a lot of fun to work with and very accommodating given the short notice.

The last time this happened, some 18 months back during a particularly nasty Spring, the rising tide destroyed our carpet and stained some baseboards. But, through fortunate timing and an hours long struggle to contain the wellspring, we managed to keep our property damage to a minimum.

This time was a reversal – the carpet survives, but the walls are soaked. And we say goodbye to two nice drawer-nightstands and a chifferobe. (The chifferobe being notable only for the occasion, some 6 or 7 years ago at The Fortress, when Gene and I did a mediocre job of assembling this mediocre piece of furniture. The rather poor instructions led us to backasswardsly construct several portions of the unit, requiring us to rebuild it. Thus proving why Gene and I are designers and musicians – not construction workers. Wendy still laughs about it.)

Also different this time: our landlord, Jeff, called in The Flood Team, experts in minimizing damage to homes from groundwater attacks. They swiftly vacuumed up a good bit of the water, then installed a number of high powered fans and the mother of all dehumidifiers, rendering the bedroom into a hot wind tunnel. (It’s actually rather fun to stand in, whipping clothes about dramatically and all.) The methodology is effective – the carpet is dry, the humidity gone. The wet funk only welled up late Saturday evening, and was gone by morning. (If you’ve ever had a flooding, you’re probably aware of the intense odor having a big-wet-everything causes after a bit, like a load of wash gone manky after being left damp in the machine.)

The lousy part is that we currently have no bedroom. We’re sleeping on an air mattress in our living room which, of course, is far from ideal – though Domino loves it. All our clothes are in baskets and bags, choking space in our offices.

We’re choosing to place a positive spin on the whole ordeal, though. We’ve recently had some success rearranging our kitchen and living room to highly improved utility and feng shui. We’re trying to make some big changes in our lifestyle anyway, so why not shake things up good and relocate our entire bedroom? Wen is graciously sacrificing her office upstairs to be converted. It’s not as large as the downstairs bedroom, but should accommodate our now-forcibly-streamlined furniture. Plus, it allows us to finally get a real bed frame (foresight upon moving into this house kept us from every having more than the metal stand for our box-springs and mattress, for justified fear of watery-desecration). We’re looking at platform beds, because they fit our aesthetic and don’t require box-springs – seeing as the one downstairs shall not rise above the earth again. It’s not physically possible to get it back up the stairs in one piece. (The story of how it got down in the first place involves Mr. Cory, my thumb as a shoehorn, and a might groove said digital left in the stairwell overhang.)

I suppose I’ll call over @MediumDoug for our time-honored ritual of dismissing undesired furniture by way of hammers and power tools. (We first bonded at the expense of the Union Street hide-a-bed couch, back in mid-2000.)

Unfortunately, this whole process will probably take a few weeks as we find new homes for a corner desk, @Visway’s old recliner and a couple of small bookshelves. That, and a trade from an air mattress on the floor to a real mattress on the floor, until a suitable upgrade is found and delivered. We’re no strangers to that arrangement, though, as anybody who visited The Fortress back in the day might remember my pseudo-Asian bedroom styling. (Which, er, means my fancy waterbed frame collapsed when the fluid mattress was swapped for a solid one, reducing my sleeping arrangement to ground-level. My friend Stacy Small-Molitor delightfully coined it “the sandbox”.)

As for the basement room – after carpet-shampooing, it becomes the new Exercise / DDR / Music room. With, of course, everything on risers…

Currently Reading // The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics

We were celebrating Jack’s 25th year of living with a kidney transplant (he is the longest living kidney transplant survivor in America). They don’t dine out often, so we thought a burger place with a fun twist would be a good destination. Our server, Gentry (cool name!), asked if we were celebrating an occasion, so we told her about Jack.

Apparently Gentry talked to her manager and the staff, and a few minutes later she returned with a “Congratulations” balloon for Jack, attached to an envelope containing a staff-signed card and gift cards to Red Robin and Best Buy. AND they comped our entire dinner.

My family was incredibly touched – my sister took photos of Jack with Gentry and the manager (I didn’t catch her name) for their scrapbook. It honestly made our day and, for Jack and my sister, it created an uplifting experience that means so very much to them. We will be telling everyone we know about this wonderful experience, about the generosity and kindness of the Edwardsville Red Robin staff.

As a side note: our server, Gentry, was absolutely fantastic – such a warm, vibrant personality who made us feel exceptionally welcome from the start and who took amazing care of us.

And I should mention that all the food was very tasty, too – an impressive twist on classic Americana, hearty and satisfying. Kudos, Red Robin – this is how you create an environment that keeps people coming back.

EcoLifeSTL.com is a Green-lifestyle portal focused on promoting sustainability and environmental awareness in the St. Louis community. Our aim is to bring the green-lifestyle message to both the average consumer – new to eco commitment and wanting to learn, and to aid and connect those actively pursuing a sustainable lifestyle. As a gathering place for green-minded individuals, companies and organizations, we facilitate connection, education and cooperation in St. Louis’ eco-lifestyle.

EcoLife is Emmis St. Louis’ first truly web-only brand (the general focus usually being radio stations and their online brand-extensions). The Emmis team perceived that while the Green movement is alive in the StL, and there are many small sites addressing various sustainable businesses and topics, there wasn’t a hub – a natural starting place for the St. Louisan looking to go Green. So that’s what we set out to create.

From conception to site launch was a scant couple of months. The aggressive schedule and nature of the product (content-oriented as opposed to promotion-oriented, as our radio station websites are) made EcoLifeSTL a challenge. However, I’m really proud of the way the site came together. As a hands-on creative director, I designed all visual elements of the brand – logo, color scheme, website design and all promotional materials.

My mission was to create a logo and website that communicated a friendly, organic tone, and that differentiated itself from other green-related brands. So many of the non-regional sites devoted to eco-matters feel cold, cookie-cutter or corporate – the antithesis of what our brand needed to convey.

Did it work? Our clients and visitors seem to think so. But what about you?  EcoLifeSTL.com