Don't Just Talk About It, BE About It...

Once Upon A Nuclear Fallout

by Antwain Marcy and Robert Trujillo

-gM

Federal Judge Splits Superman in Half!!!

in a move worthy of King Solomon, the honorable Stephen Larson (a Federal Judge in central Cali) dropped a 72 page ruling on the matter of who owns the copyright to Superman (the Original superhero and multi-billion dollar cash cow of DC Comics and parent company Warner Brothers) establishing that Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman, was not considered to be a product of work-for-hire, making the copyright for that issue (and, naturally, the character of Superman) eligible for termination by Siegel’s heirs. What that means in simpler terms -- the Siegels now own half of the Superman copyright, along with DC. in fact, if this ruling stands, DC could stand to lose Superman outright in 2013 when Shuster's case comes before federal courts... (more)

Blood On The Court

Derrick Rose scored a game-high 27 points despite missing almost eight minutes in the second half dealing with a gash above his right eye after a collision during Memphis' 92-74 win over Michigan State in the South Regional semi on Friday. Michigan State couldn't stop him, but the he almost missed the rest of the game because of his fear of getting Stitches...
"I'm terrified of needles," he said. "If I would have got stitches, they would have had to stick a needle right above my eye..." but not to worry big man... they glued it instead (more)
-gM

Black Thought in the Booth

Thought@Work (The Ichiban Remix) by Black Thought, of the Legendary Roots Crew.
i snagged this offa the original workaholic Goldi Gold at the JungleJem!
uno!
-gM

Strings Attached...

Three years ago, two classically trained violinists took Late Night At the Apollo by storm, snagging the coveted Apollo Legends title in 2005. since then, the dynamic duo of Kev Marcus and Will B have gone on to international Fame as Hip Hop/Jazz/RnB phenomenon Black Violin. now, with the help of turntablist DJTK, after guesting on stage and albums with the likes of Linkin Park, Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe and Lil Kim, they're shinin' for self on the Black Violin Mixtape volume 1, available RIGHT NOW on Rhapsody, iTunes, and Amazon.com. for a sample of their hood-rich, classical brilliance, peep their mySpace page, or go to BlackViolin.net.
shout out to SooperSapien for the 4-11!
-gM

the Zoo Crew is BACK!

One of my favorite comics when i was a kid was Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew... one of the best things about Zoo Crew was the great use of humor. still, there was always plenty of slapstick superhero action as well. i didn't buy every issue of Zoo Crew, but i was still disappointed when it got canceled. So imagine my surprise when i saw Captain Carrot and the Final Ark at my local comic shop... (more)

Racism in the Military

Winter Soldier Testimonials, Pt 1
-gM

the big Sho

She's half-Korean, Half-Japanese, and her first Language is Spanish. she has worked all over the world for clients like Nike, Virgin, Mattel, Sony and Electronic Arts... but that's not what first drew me to Sho Murase. that would be her cover work on Nancy Drew (no pun intended).
once hooked, i have since unearthed a wealth of fabulous art, including her many published books of illustrations, her production art for Gundam Wing, and her storyboards for the BlockHedz animated feature... anyways, go to her website and see what this multi-faceted, multi-talented woman has to offer!
peace,
-gM

ghettoManga will be in Denton this weekend...

if you can and will, meet me for this little Mini Comic Convention at the University of North Texas in Denton. sign up to my email list at the show and get a FREE sketch! i should have copies of Spontaneous: Spring 2008 on hand, as well as tons of other goodies upon which you can spend your hard-earned skrill... plus there will be other creative monsters hawking their wares as well!
peace,
samax.
gM

that Little Brother video you never saw...

Speed by Little Brother
props to my man Tyrone for the look.
(kids! if you like hip hop, make friends with at least one really good DeeJay!!)
-gM

Outkast and Raekwon the Chef "Royal Flush"

Royal Flush by Big Boi f. 3 Stacks, and Raekwon the Chef from Wu-Tang.
sweeeet.
download the track here (everybody say "thanks Goldi!")
-gM

Relationship Wisdom

here's a great weekly strip from my Sketchbook Allstars Brethren Leroy rockWELL! check out more here...
peace
-gM

Internal Affairs...

written by
M.Lagocki
"If you've ever wanted to love Green Lantern but just couldn't find the books to justify it, go and pick up the three most recent issues from your local comics shop. [Green Lantern #26-28] Parts 1-3 of The Alpha Lanterns. This stuff is easily the best GL work I've read, and they've got Mike McKone (the most underrated artist in superhero comics) killing it on the art.
Unlike most of the DC Legion of fans, I actually didn't read the recent Sinestro Corps War storyline. It looked interesting, but the first issue was too expensive and I wasn't reading the book, so I passed. But when I saw McKone drew the issue immediately after (#26), I did pick that one up and I read the first few pages. Right away it hooked me. I took it home and loved it, and picked up the next two, and loved them, and now I'm a fan.
If you want the skinny on the storyline, read on
A prophecy has been discovered that claims a war of rings throughout the spectrum of color will tear the universe apart. The Sinestro Corps War was launched with a hidden purpose...to actually prepare the Green Lantern Corps to face this prophecy. Sinestro's plan all along was to attack so viciously, that the guardians had no choice but to increase the power of the Green Lanterns and remove the safeguards that kept their rings from killing.
Now armed with lethal weapons, the GLs defeated Sinestro's forces, but at what price? It doesn't take long before the first Green Latern kills in questionable circumstances. To balance the new lethal force of the Lanterns, the Guardians now create an inner faction of the Corps, the strange Alpha Lanterns. Alpha Laterns are strange, modified GL's, each with two rings, immense power, and directly linked to the book of OA. They exist to police their own.
Really, y'all...this book is great right now. I've never been a regular reader of GL, but this thing is A+ on writing and art.
Sinestro: one of the best written characters in comics?! He's f@$!^ die hard. He'll do anything to ensure the survival of what he truly believes in... astonishingly, what he believes in most... is the Green Lanterns.
Do yourself a favor.
There's a sneak peak of issue 28 here."
-gM

on the subject of Rabbits and Easter...

"A Few Notes About Rabbits" by samax (that's me)
the pagan Holiday most associated w/ Easter is Ishtar, a resurrection holiday... the Catholic church has a long history of co-opting pagan holidays... i'm a Christian, but i don't do Easter. not big on holidays in general... too messy. that said, hope you enjoyed yours!
holla!
-gM

The Uncle Ruckus Show is HERE!

pt uno

pt two

Boondocks, the name you can trust...
-gM

Amulet's on Will's radar...

hey, did you ever check out that book Amulet i tried to hip you to last month?
well, apparently Will Smith did...
he has snagged the film rights and will produce the adaptation of Kazu Kibuishi's new book for the big screen... with his shorties starring, of course. (more)
-gM

Life Sentences...

i remember the first time i watched forest gump, thinking how there couldn't be ANYBODY whose life was that interesting... i mean, how could one person be there for so many different events... well, there actually is at least one: Percy Carey, known better to indie rap enthusiasts as MF GRIMM, grew up in Manhattan in the early days of hipHop. in the course of his carreer, he has been an emcee, producer, drug lord and rap journalist... he's rubbed elbows with everyone from battle emcee Supernatural, to Chuck D, to MF DOOM, to Dr Dre, to Suge Knight.

thankfully, he also rubbed up against comic artist Ronald Wimberly (Lucifer, Swamp Thing, Papa Midnite) at least long enough to create Sentences: the life of MF GRIMM published by Vertigo/DC in September of '07. Sentences paints an exciting but sober picture of the highs and lows of the hip hop universe, including the intersection with gangs, drugs, and organized crime.

"Life is nothing but a chess game, man, and you realize you're just pieces on the board," Carey said in an interview with CBR . "I look at it this way: Instead of totally focusing on the situation itself, the outcome of the situation was a test within myself. It was a test between me and the creator, to show me my purpose on the planet, and I needed to sit down and learn patience and go on the path to learn and acquire a certain amount of knowledge that I was too ignorant to try to get while I was still walking. So I realized I was paralyzed anyway, but now I'm paralyzed physically. You know, before it was mental. I have to say it was really just the fact of me, my temptations, and obviously not getting in tune with the world correctly. I learned a lot from it. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing, because of the knowledge that I have today."

Sentences is an interesting account of a man known well to insiders, yet not a household name himself. SENTENCES: THE LIFE OF MF GRIMM makes the Beg, Borrow, Steal List easily... it has my highest recommendation! in other words: COP IT HERE!
peace,
-gM

Josh Boulet creates a hero for the people!

The Green Reefer and Six Pack
go shopping for some new wheels!
at writer's workshops, they tell you to write about what you know... well, it appears that writer/artist Josh Boulet (Dead @17, Josh Howard's Sasquatch, Experimento Del Alma) took that to heart. and what he knows is weed. and beer, he really knows beer... and he puts his knowledge to maximum comedic effect in his wildly hilarious webcomic, The Green Reefer. the strip, which Josh describes as "Cheech and Chong meets The Tick", follows the hapless title character and his trusty sidekick Six Pack, in their misadventures in crime-fighting and self-medicating.
check it out at TheGreenReefer.com
peace,
-gM

ghettoManga Quarterly preview on mySpace

ghettoManga Quarterly will go to press as soon as next month, but before it even drops, it will have a back issue! the Winter 07-08 issue has been my research project... by putting together this pre-inaugural issue, i've more-or-less taught myself how to make a magazine!
all you mySpace heads, get on the gM friends list so you can peep the exclusive preview here
in addition to what you'll see in the mySpace preview, gM Quarterly will have comics by me and other creative monsters!
holla!
-gM
wanna be in ghettoManga Quarterly? for submission guidelines, go here

Spontaneous finally drops!

After a long hiatus from the publishing scene, ghostWerks returns with a new ongoing project: Spontaneous, featuring art and writing of ghettoManga H.N.I.C. samaxAmen. the Spring 2008 volume-available in both paperback and hardcover- can be purchased in the ghostWerks store. you can get the hardcover for Forty bucks, or cop the paperback for just twenty.

in addition, look for all three ghostWerks artists' work in The Book of Angels and Nightmares later on this year from ArtLoveMagic.com, and the long-awaited launch of quarterly magazine/comics anthology ghettoManga Quarterly.
if you preordered, you can choose the hardcover (at a five dollar discount!) or get the paperback PLUS your choice of Spontaneous promotional teeshirts and swag at no charge! get at me for details!
peace,
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
comics. hiphop. news. art. culture

Boondocks- "HUNGER STRIKES" full episode

"Hunger Strikes" Full Episode!
this is how they won the ghettoManga Teevee Show of the Year Award in 2007

jeeeauh!
-gM

"We The People" by Barak Obama

"We The People"
-Presidential Candidate Sen. Barack Obama, Philadelphia, PA, 3/18/08

Respect the Architects!

Criminal Minded 2008 by KRS ONE and DJ Premier

No Yao? No scoring from McGrady? No Problem!

Houston wins 22nd straight game
with no scoring from MVP-candidate Mcgrady (left)
by playing team ball
Kobe Bryant won the battle of the MVP hopefuls as he scored 24 and held T-Mac to a sickly 4 of 16 shooting (11 pts when the smoke cleared), but that didn't seem to matter as the surging Rockets won Sunday's match-up 104-92 for another double-digit victory. the win gives Houston sole possession of 1st place in the wild, wild west. when the Rockets lost 97-89 to Utah on Jan. 27, they were in 10th place, but since then, they have skewered all comers to lock up the 2nd longest win streak in NBA history. with T-mac shackled and Yao out for the season, Rockets' much-maligned point guard Rafer Alston played savior on Sunday, hitting 8 threes and leading all scorers with 31 points.

right now, the Rockets are playing the kind of team ball all coaches dream of. "There wasn't a time where we wavered from successful team basketball," according to do-it-all Shane Battier, who scored 14 points and chased Kobe around on defense all game... "Different guys hit shots and we tightened the reins on defense."
-gM

Classic Material

Back In The Day by Ahmad

HULK!

-gM

Snoop Luh the Kids!

Snoop DeeOh double Gizzle on Letterman, speaks on his football league...
uno.
-gM

Kid Girl Khamelion by Corey the REY!

a fresh comic by Corey the Rey (Sharknife, Peng, Rival Schools)

my Favorite Hip Hop Song Ever

Sowhatchusayin by EPMD.
built in the Mold of Run DMC, in the shadow of Rakim Allah, 'longside the most under appreciated DeeJay... i give you EPMD. i mean, has there ever been a more electrifying deejay performance on a song? the beat, the progressive complexity of the scratching... in fact, just using scratching in place of a hook!
there's been lots of great songs to come out over the years, but for pure entertainment value, very few even approach the pure glee i get from listening to this joint!
-gM

Cop this FREE Kweli Mixtape...

01) Mick Boogie and Talib Kweli: Intro
02) Talib Kweli f/ Busta Rhymes "Follow The Leader"
03) Talib Kweli "Independent (Amadeus Remix)"
04) Jean Grae "Think About It"
05) Talib Kweli "Hard Faces"
06) Interlude: Origins Of Blacksmith
07) Jean Grae "Mean"
08) Strong Arm Steady f/ Planet Asia "A Problem"
09) Talib Kweli "D'Evils 2008"
10) Talib Kweli f/ Fly Union "Say That Again"
11) Talib Kweli and Buckshot "Hold It Down"
12) Interlude: MCEO Breakdown
13) Talib Kweli f/ Krondon and Phil Da Agony "Hunters"
14) Jean Grae "Love Thirst"
15) Talib Kweli and Phil Da Agony "Dat Piff"
16) Interlude: Kweli Speaks on Strong Arm Steady part 1
17) Strong Arm Steady "Stack It"
18) Krondon "Big Homie"
19) Interlude: KRS-One Speaks
20) Talib Kweli and KRS-One "The Perfect Beat"
21) Talib Kweli, Nina Sky, Blu & Joell Ortiz "Hostile Gospel Remix"
22) Interlude: Kweli Speaks on Idle Warship
23) Idle Warship f/ MC Chris "Screamin'"
24) Talib Kweli and Jean Grae "Thas Wassup Now"
25) Interlude: Kweli speaks on Jean Grae
26) Jean Grae "Number Eight"
27) Talib Kweli, Jean Grae and Ne-Yo "Hot Thing Remix"
28) Talib Kweli and Dr. Cornel West "Bushonomics"
29) Talib Kweli & Novel "I Am"
30) Idle Warship "Industry Diary"
31) Talib Kweli f/ UGK "Real Women"
32) Talib Kweli "Outro
click the Pick for LEGAL free download!
holla!
-gM

Mighty Joseph

peep the EXTRA dope cover art to Mighty Joseph's new ceedee, EMPIRE STATE. in case you didn't know, mighty Joseph (whose name is derived from the Giant gorilla flick The Mighty Joe Young) is Vast Aire (of Canibal Ox) and Karniege... with appearances by other notable NYC rappers like Vast's CanOx conspirator Vordulmega. These dudes are big-time comics and movie heads, exemplars of the spirit of ghettoManga! peep the music here.

Real Talk Radio

Last night my wife and i rented Talk To Me, the story of ex-con-turned-radio personality, talk show host and community activist Petey Green. set firmly in Civil Rights/Berry Gordy era DC, this film is masterfully written, directed, and acted.
Petey's story is sure to relate to hipHop fans with his fast-but-always-real talk. Veteran actor Don Cheadle plays Green, a born Hustler who effectively talks his way out of a 5 to 10 prison bid when he meets the sharp-dressed radio exec Dewey Hughes, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor (Four Brothers, Serenity, Inside Man, Children of Men), who inadvertently gives Petey the Idea that he'll hook him up with an on-air gig when he gets out.
The Movie is a story of relationships: Petey's relationship with his community, with Hughes, with his woman, played brilliantly by Teraji P. Henson (Hustle and Flow, Baby Boy, Smokin' Aces, Four Brothers)... and all the characters' relationships to each other and the growing consciousness of the Civil Rights movement. this is the best film i've seen so far from director Kasi Lemmons (Eve's Bayou, Dr. Hugo, The Caveman's Valentine), who gets authentic, rich performances from comedians Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps (fabulous as Hughes' brother in Prison) and guides the film on an atypical path, while preserving the depth of emotion in the script.
if you're looking for a good movie to buy, or at least rent on DVD... i recommend Talk To Me.
holla!
-gM

Raven stars in 5-issue mini

Teen Titans mainstay, the dark and mysterious Raven, is getting her own book written by her creator Marv Wolfman with ghettoManga fave artist Damion Scott on pencils. as Raven attempts to live a relatively normal life as high-schooler Rachel Roth, she is tormented by a vision of one of her classmates being killed by a sniper. unable to dismiss it as a simple dream, she has five days to determine the identity of both the killer and victim.

I'm not sure how familiar one needs to be with Titans continuity to follow the series, but i HAD to pick up this book, since i haven't seen Damion Scott for a while... he is inked here by frequent co-pilot Robert Campanella, and is still growing into the hip, bubblegum style that makes him a good pick to draw teen heroes (he cut his teeth on Batgirl and Robin, as well as Spiderman), but i'm not sure how it'll work with a darker character like raven, but we'll see...
uno!
-gM

J.J. Kirby returns withThe New Dynamix

Where have all the Heroes gone? writer Allen Warner and artist J.J. Kirby set out to answer that in Wildstorm's The New Dynamix.
“Back in the late 1990s, there were hundreds of SPBs running around the Wildstorm Universe, but lately we’ve only seen the adventures of a relatively small amount,” said Warner. “Basically, we wanted to tell a story exploring why the vast majority of these super-powered heroes and villains chose, or were forced, to disappear from the scene..."
among the characters to appear so far are deejay/super-heroine Love Rocket, the Sword of Damocles, and Black Halo (formerly Omni). the art on the book is pretty good... as always, Kirby's work is clean, authentic hip hop/cartoon blend.
give it a shot...

holla!
-gM

Logan

Wolverine is an all-purpose character. he brings out the worst writing and art from bad creative teams, and the most splendid work from the best guys in the biz. he's been at the center of coming-of-age tales, WWII epics, horror, samurai morality plays, spaghetti westerns and silver age superhero schlock. he inspires every kind of story. This is why i was so excited to hear that celebrated creators Brian K. Vaughan and Eduardo Risso were the creative team on Logan, a new 3-issue mini from Marvel.

Far from an action-packed bloodbath, Logan is a rich, moody, mystical stroll down memory lane. Set in WWII Japan, the story is stylishly drawn and easy to read. for those who know Logan only from the X-men films, it's important to note that Wolverine's healing powers make it difficult to tell that he is over 100 years old, and already a wiley killing machine by WWII. anyways, i'd rather not spoil the story. get in on this mini, created by two modern masters of the medium (the art is so good, Marvel is offering the book in black and white AND color!). Logan gets my highest recommendation!
holla!
-gM

The Roots new vid pays Homage to cult classic movie Office Space

classic material!
Get Busy by theRoots. the new album Rising Down drops April 29th
for behind the scenes footage and ?uestlove innerview/commentary, go to the JungleJem

in case you've never seen Office Space, it's the hilarious live-action writing/directing debut of Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill, Idiocracy). the film is all about a dude who loathes his boring, pointless, cubicle-bound office job so much that he (after a botched attempt to fix his depression with hypnosis) decides he doesn't wanna go back to work... he's not gonna quit, he's just gonna do nothing.

this movie would already get the Classic Material Tag for the Geto Boys-laced soundtrack and multiple instances of supervisor disrespect, but the infamous "Printer Scene" is worth the price of the video all by itself!
so, anyways, Office Space is definitely on the Beg, Borrow, Steal list... if you have ever worked in an office, or any kinda corporate setting, you might die laughing! and even if you haven't, just trust me and peep it any way on general principle!

holla!
-gM