November 2008 Archives

BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS

Huh. Go figure. I'm now exactly in my "mid-forties". Not early 40's, not late 40's. Smack dab in the middle. Where to go from here? I have a few ideas...

Someone must know it's my birthday this Friday; here's another good "B.P.M." review, this time at BROKEN FRONTIER: LINK

B.P.M.: Review by Lee Newman, posted November 19, 2008
Roxy is an up and coming DJ in the New York dance club scene. When a local legend takes her under his wing, she finds herself on the precipice of greatness. Is she brave enough to allow that to happen?

BPM is a work by an artist who loves his subject. It is easy to see this in Paul Sizer's script. It brims with a respect and awe for the music and the profession of DJing. Even without the knowledge presented in the forwords, it is obvious from the feeling of authenticity that Sizer is of the world presented.

The passion of the author is infused in the lead character, Roxy. She is a girl trying to find herself. She is torn by her profession. What does it mean to her? How serious is she in its pursuit? Meanwhile, she has to do some significant soul searching. What does a relationship mean to her? Which is more important, her career or love? What exactly does the future hold for her? She does not have ready answers to these questions, but she knows that the music makes her happy.

When a legendary DJ, record shop entrepreneur and producer starts to mentor her, she begins to realize the dedication her path will demand. It becomes time to make some tough life decisions. Some choices she will regret, but as she learns to challenge herself in the booth, she is rewarded in her personal life as well. As her passion begins to surface, suddenly she is not struggling to get by and her life takes direction. She starts to live for the first time in her life.

It is an amazing transformation that unfolds for the reader. Starting slowly, tentatively, Sizer brings the story to a feverish pitch and when the graphic novel is over, the reader is energized, wanting more. Like a good techno set (and yes, they do exist), Sizer elicits the emotions that he wants.

To further cement the experience to its real life counterpart, the author provides a soundtrack as footnotes (and at I-Tunes for download). The length of the soundtrack would mean a very laborious and attentive read. Its staggering length seems overwhelming, but from the songs that this writer knows, the list is deliberate. The songs are chosen to be complimentary to the moods of the scenes they are meant to accompany. Beyond the insightfulness of the choices, there is a broad cross section of popular music represented. This means that there should be a little something for most everybody.

The art is a bit of a prickly subject. The faces of many of the characters in the book are just plain awkward. However, there is a consistency and strong line present that negates any feelings of it being the work of a lesser artist. Sizer's consistency shows that the design is a stylistic choice. It is certainly something that will be a deciding factor for some readers, but it is solid. The design of Roxy in particular is genius. She evokes an edgy style that is timeless and her cute look helps to convey the exuberance of life that she embraces.

There are also very interesting elements in the background. The book starts with several over exposed shots of New York at night. Street lights look like glow sticks at a rave. The mood is set. However, the photographs aren't just a neat introduction taking you into the cartoon world. They are present throughout the book, morphed pixellation and a rotoscope-like coloring effect. This allows them to be used as set dressing in various panels, making for a distinctive look.

BPM is a book that is lovingly conceived and executed. The joy that inspired the book eventually infects the reader. Sizer has created a unique blend of two mediums. Both are known for strong emotional reactions from their audience. He skillfully affects the reader with a powerful affirmation of life, despite its challenges. It is testimony to the power of passionate creation."

Hot damn, another good review for "B.P.M.", this time from Publisher's Weekly:
BPM REVIEW AT PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

B.P.M. Paul Sizer. Cafe Digital (Diamond, dist.), $15.99 paper (92p) ISBN 978-0-9768565-6-6
Roxy is a club kid and aspiring DJ in New York City. Loud, opinionated and a little scattered, she's the kind of girl who keeps her life--including calendar--on her iPod. When Robie, a "semi-legend" who now runs a used-record store, offers to take her under his wing, she gets the chance to play the big clubs and maybe even to cut a record. But to make her dreams of DJ stardom come true, she must choose between the records and her girlfriend Hannah. The "Portrait of the Artist as a Club Kid" plot is standard issue, but Sizer (Moped Army; Little White Mouse) adds distinctive, nicely observed details. He ramps up the art as well: bold ink lines, day-glo background colors, even neon-bordered speech balloons add to the impression that the reader is raving right along with the characters. A soundtrack--referencing songs by Talking Heads, They Might Be Giants and Everything but the Girl--runs at the bottom of each page, bringing the reader as close as possible to a multimedia experience. Call it a mashup, call it a remix, call it a day-glo pop love letter to a misspent youth: B.P.M. is brain candy in the best sense of the word. (Nov.)

A few new newsbytes from the ongoing BPM Perfect Beat Promotional Tour!

1. B.P.M. ON THIS WEEK'S "COMIC GEEK SPEAK" PODCAST
"B.P.M." gets the star treatment on the latest episode of the Comic Geek Speak podcast series
Man, these guys work fast! I just did the interview over the phone last night, and the podcast is already up and ready to download!
Here's the show page link:
COMIC GEEK SPEAK Episode 545

2. NEW PHOTOS FROM THE AUTHOR TALK
Good friend and amazing photographer Thomas Deater took some killer shots of me during my author talk/DJ demo/book signing/reading at the Kalamazoo Public Library in September.
Tom has been teaching himself black and white digital photography over the last few years and has developed a killer eye, so I asked if he would shoot the event.
I finally got my lazy butt around, picked out the best of nearly 300 (!) shots and posted them as a Flickr album that you can check out:
TOM DEATER B.P.M. PHOTOS
Check out more of Tom's work at his home site: LINK

3. "B.P.M." HITS THE SHELVES NOVEMBER 19
Cross your fingers; "B.P.M." is set to hit the shelves of your local comic book stores in the US this Wednesday, November 19 if all goes according to plan.

More soon. Thanks to everyone for the tons of support you've given. As always, it is appreciated!

Hey, I know this is incredibly mundane (and that NO one reads my blog except for spambots), but if you've called in the last week to our home number and gotten a busy signal ALL THE TIME, please let Jane and I know. There may have been a fiberoptic cable severed in our district that may be causing this problem. It should be fixed by now, but just in case, drop me an email if you've encountered this problem.

I am really proud of America today. Lots of work to do, but a good first step is a good first step...

7:15 am, at the polls.
Huge line of people, but got Jane and I got through really quick, maybe 25 minutes total.

I grabbed the black pen and voted the Hell out of that ballot! I can't remember being so pumped for an election, but I guess that happens when the next chapter of American history gets decided today.

So if you're reading this post; vote. And do not screw this one up. We need a change. REALLY. This is no joke, we are headed down a really bad road if the American people assume that everything will take care of itself. Because it won't. You have to make a choice and make it count. So get the hell out and cast your votes. Now!

And as always, Warren Ellis states things far better than I could: