OGN/TPB of the Year Nominees

Original Graphic Novel/Trade Paper Back of the Year Rules: i should point out the difference between the two, to help you impress people at parties first, huh?
an OGN is a long-form comic (either part of a series, or one-shot) that has not been previously published in another form. a TPB is a book that collects previously published work into a volume. for my purposes, hardcover or paperbacks qualify, but collections of sold-out issues that do not comprise an entire story-arc do not. for example, Thor issues 1 and 2 were recollected and released at the same time as issue 3 so people who missed it them catch up. while i appreciate the love, that doesn't qualify for a TPB unless it is reeeeeally long (some stories are long enough to need to be broken up into incomplete segments, like DC's 52 and Seven Soldiers). i don't specify the issue of a TPB or OGN series, as multiple issues may have come out.
anyways, here's some nominees... they're all butter! if you wanna shout out some nominees, feel free.

gM comicbook/Manga of the year nominees

gM comicbook/Manga of the year rules:
any comic available in the US is eligible. it can be made anywhere in the world so long as it is available in english. it can be online or print, so long as it has a minimum of three issues out (60 "pages" for online books). i don't have seperate categories for seperate genres yet, so anything goes: kids' books, mature readers, superhero, slice of life, ongoing books, minis, whatever... i'll drop a few nominees off the dome, but expect the list to expand (especially if YOU contribute!).












the rich tradition of Iran preserved...

Check out this video: EXCLUSIVE PERSEPOLIS clip



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Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novels Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood (Pantheon, 2003, English version) and Persepolis 2: the Story of a Return (Pantheon, 2004, English version) won widespread acclaim in France, now her home, and around the world. Now, she has co-directed, with Vincent Paronnaud, the animated film version of her memoir. The title PERSEPOLIS comes from the Persian capital founded in the 6th century BC by Darius I, later destroyed by Alexander the Great. It’s a reminder that there’s an old and grand civilization, besieged by waves of invaders but carrying on through milennia, that is much deeper and more complex than the current-day view of Iran as a monoculture of fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism. “I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists,” Satrapi says. “I also don’t want those Iranians who lost their lives in prisons defending freedom, who died in the war against Iraq, who suffered under various repressive regimes, or who were forced to leave their families and flee their homeland to be forgotten.”
peace,
samax.

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gM awards: eMCee of the Year nominees

gM eMCee of the Year award Rules:
write rhymes.
spit.
repeat.
any excessively dope emcee is eligible. male, female, underground, well-known, or unknown. doesn't matter... you don't even hafta have a record out! if you dropped 16 or so dope bars anywhere on the internet, you might win.
i am SO into dope rappin'... i welcome people to submit tracks, youTube Videos, or call me and spit 16 on my voicemail for this award! right now, i'm still takin' nominees... so recommend folks to me, okay (and emcees out there, don't be scared to nominate yourself)!
i only got three nominees on my own [EDITOR'S NOTE: Saul Williams was suggested by a voter, and i agreed, so he's listed now!]






gM awards: Cartoonist of the Year

gM Cartoonist of the Year Rules: this award is for comic book/manga artists, animation directors, or anybody that otherwise draws people/animals/aliens/etc. doin' stuff in sequence. as with other categories, make suggestions, and i'll add to this crop of nominees as the week goes by...







gM awards: Illustrator of the Year nominees

gM Illustrator of the Year Rules: this category is meant to showcase the dope artists-for-hire out there... there are varying levels of career stages here, from starvin' harlem to hollywood divorce, but each of these cats is off the chain! they all got Bills to pay, and they pay 'em (at least in part) from the art grind! whether they do comicbook covers, ceedee design, movie posters, or whatever, these cats got that drawin' for money thing workin' for 'em!
anyways, here's the nominees:



gM Rapper of the Year nominees

Rapper of the Year rules: Rapper of the year is for big-name cats. all these people have records in major stores nationwide (selling records is a whole 'nother matter...). i'm not all that into major-label hip hop... BUT i do like it when the level of discourse is raised by cats sneakin' a nice record through one of the Bigs! even if i didn't BUY their record, strong showings on guest shots, video shows, ring tones, youTube, or whatever can definitely get 'em the nod! in this category, i particularly welcome write-in votes! so if you think i snubbed your favorite, make a case by sending links to youTube joints, email me a mp3 or transcribe his/her illest 16!

anyways, here's the nominees:




frankly, i am not NEARLY as interested in "what's hot in the streets" as i used to be, so i picked these guys based on what i HEARD playing and responded to. people who have been reading my blog for a while know who is likely to win without anyone's input, so send me links to youTube joints, mySpace pages, or whatever...
anyways, vote-vote-vote! for more award nominees, go to ghettoManga.com

gM man of the Year

Man of the Year rules: if you held it down for the oh-siete, you are eligible for this award. okay, i'll elaborate: anyone who rises above his station, becoming THE story for a significant amount of time. it's got to be POSITIVE press (sorry, R.Kelly doesn't qualify...). generally, nominees have to make a discernable difference in the world beyond being fly in their sport, art, or industry. anyways, here are the nominees:

honestly, i already know who I think the winner should be, but i'm eager to see the votes. in fact, leave a brief statement about WHY you like the person you're voting for... you could change my mind!

on that note, if there is someone YOU think should'a been nominated this year, lemme know. after all, i may have just forgotten to list 'em. so get your VOTE on!

gM movie of the Year nominees

movie of the Year rules: if it was out this year, it qualifies. look, i don't check release dates, and i have a tendancy to get to things late... so i don't worry about none o' that! if i geeked on it this year, it qualifies! in fact, even movies that came out YEARS ago qualify, so that's what's up! so any movie (including animated features, if they are FLY enough!) that was out in theatres, on teevee, or on dvd qualifies...
anyways, here's the nominees:
if there is a film that came out that was dope enough to deserve to be nominated, lemme know and i'll consider it. the fact is, i don't have a committee hooking this up for me, i do it solo. i could'a just forgot!

vote on the ghettoManga Movie of the Year, and all the categories at ghettoManga.com. i'll try to be democratic about it, but i'll use my VETO power if i have to!

back on your Blok

in case you're among those who slept, peep the Blokhedz video!

Detroit Beats Celtics 87 to 85

the rise of the Boston Celtics is easily the story of the year so far in the NBA. from the boogah basement of the oh-so-soft east, Boston has risen to an NBA-best 20 wins so far this season with the arrival of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. with Paul Pierce rounding out the Boston Three Party, the Celtics have believers whispering NBA finals, but as my uncle always says, "if you wanna BE the man, you gotta BEAT the man..." and the Man in the east has been the Detroit Pistons, who have fought for the eastern conference title for each of the last five seasons. yesterday the unstoppable force and the immovable object collided, and when the smoke cleared, The Pistons walked away confident that they were still the team to beat in the East.

while i don't totally dismiss the Celtics 20-3 record, my people keep reminding me they have yet to go out west, where the team's rep will really get made. it would have helped the case of the Boston faithful to knock off these Pistons, the only contending team the Celtics have faced so far. even a cursory glance at the standings reminds us that the east is still weaker than the west, so if Garnett 'nem want respect, they'll wanna do big things on that upcoming western road trip!
holla!
samax.
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real Talk from the Original Short Dog...

Oakland EmCee/pioneer/pimp/pre-superThug-era badBoy Too$hort dropped MAJOR knowledge in a statement in Ozone, where he talks about the fallacies of gangsta/thug rap, and returning to his positive roots in 2008

"Some of our fathers and grandfathers were criminals and street thugs when they were young. I've always understood how the REAL drug dealers and gangbangers justified the homicides they were doing ...but somehow it doesn't settle the same way with me now that I'm 40 years old and my homeboy's sons are getting shot and murdered in the streets.

"I feel partially responsible for the state of mind these youngsters are in.
I can't 100% blame myself, Tupac, Master P, N.W.A., Scarface, any other rapper, or Hip Hop as a whole for the condition the streets are in now, but I know that if you look at the big picture, we all made thuggin', gangbangin', pimpin' and being a hardcore rapper look like fun..." short continues, "A lot of people in my generation eventually found out, after the judges started handing out 20-30 year sentences, that we were set up... "

"Earlier this year, I recorded a 10 song CD for Jive Records, the last thing I'll do with Jive as a solo artist... and this time I'm not celebrating my album release. I'm celebrating my release from a major label. I'm looking forward to being independent again. There are too many young homies getting killed for me to keep writing songs about bitches sucking my dick. I'm too intellegent to let my knowledge go to waste without passing down some of this real game to the youngsters. When I talk to politicians, teachers and parents, they all agree that rappers have a loud voice and we really don't use it to motivate the kids in a positive way."

This is the guy Pimp C was performing with in L.A. the night before Tuesday December 4th when Pimp C died and Too $hort's album dropped. thanks to ghettoManga award-winning emcee (and street reporter by nature!) Bavu Blakes for the heads up!
don't be hard, be easy...

samax.
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California Love

Golden State Warriors beat the Lakers 108, 106 in Oakland
in the most heavily attended basketball game in california history, Baron Davis and Al Harrington of the Warriors lead all scorers with 22 points apiece. for the Warriors, this victory ended a nine game losing streak to Los Angeles. Bynum and Odom played their best ball i've seen lately... but Lakers star Kobe Bryant injured his groin, yet still attempted to gaurd the Tazmanian Devil-lke Baron Davis. down by 8 points halfway through the fourth, Davis demanded the ball and dominated the hobbling Bryant (and everyone else they threw at him), much to the glee of the Oakland faithful in attendance.
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Ike Turner, 76, Passes

Ike Turner, the legendary musician and former husband of Tina Turner,has died at 76, www.TMZ.com reports. Turner died in his home outside SanDiego, according to the report. No other details were immediately available.
Born and raised in Clarksdale, MS, Turner was inspired bythe old blues artists and embarked on a musical career of his own, beginning in the late 1940s. He later met Anna Mae Bullock, aka TinaTurner, and they developed a hugely successful act together. The couple's often tempestuous marriage and brutal divorce was immortalized in the autobiographical I, Tina - the basis for the movie What's Love Got to Do with It? which turned Ike into the pop-culture posterboy for the abusive spouse.
Alongsidehis former wife, Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

with Jackson in the Golden Trinity, Warriors are dangerous!

The Golden State Warriors named Stephen Jackson as one of their team captains in early October even while the controversial swingman spent the first seven games of the season on suspension.
Jackson was given the ban after pleading guilty to firing a gun outside an Indianapolis strip club during a Warriors training camp.
However, coach Don Nelson said he had no hesitation in naming Jackson as a captain alongside Baron Davis and Matt Barnes.
"We have great confidence in him as a player and a leader,
and I think you'd hear that from most people who have spent time to really get to know Jack," he said.
Jackson was twice ejected from playoff games last season, and was also given a 30 match-suspension back in 2004, when as an Indiana Pacer he infamously went into the stands at The Palace of Auburn Hills to fight with Detroit Pistons supporters.
all that infamy was eclipsed of course when the lanky forward played like a god in the biggest upset in NBA playoffs history against the Mavericks, virtually snatching MVP dirk nowitzki's heart out and showing it to him while it was still beating... now back in the lineup, Cap'n Jack makes the Warriors the team to watch right now! for the record, Jackson's 15.5 ppg last season (19.9 in the playoffs) is up to 21.8 (second behind baron davis) since his return. he' ll earn just over $6 million for his role with the Warriors this season. and he'll earn it... this season, the Golden State Warriors will show the league that they are for real.

Art Conspiracy benefit show


i'm part of a benefit show this sunday Dec 9 at The Door (2513 Main St in Dallas) called Art Conspiracy III ...
i'll be on deck from 6-9pm saturday painting. i'll do a freestyle piece, so i don't know what i'm gonna paint, but i'm taking suggestions all the way up to the time of, so lemme know your ideas!
cover is 10 bucks, proceeds go to St. Anthony's Community Center. it's fun for the whole fam! get at me, and i'll have other swag in my napsack for those that wanna cop somethin'... i'll bring paintings, prints and postcards, PLUS the work i create for the show will be auctioned off, so you can get it cheap, i'm sure!

holla!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
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Holla Day Shopping...

greetings, Fam!
i have added a "Holla Day Cheer" Section to the Ziontific store, which features my christmas image "Ya Better Watch Out" and other designs for festive shoppers. i also added a Men's Wear section for those of you who are shopping for "that Dude" in your life, but wanna make it quick! these sections are STILL being updated, so suggestions are welcome...
peace, love, etc.

samax.

why 2008 is gonna rock #10

the heavily anticipated sequal to instant-classic Batman Begins will arrive in theatres next year, with Christian Bale (American Psycho, Equilibrium, The Prestige) returning as the masked spirit of revenge and justice masquerading as a billionaire playboy. Heathe Ledger (Brokeback Mountain, A Knight's Tale, 10 Things I Hate About You) will play Batman's nemesis, the Joker in The Dark Knight.
while i think it's kinda early to be trotting out Batman's Arch-Enemy (why do they always bring out the arch enemy so soon?), i expect a pretty good film. as always, we'll see!
holla!
samax.
www.ghettoManga.com
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Pimp C of UGK found dead in Los Angeles hotel...

i was shocked to hear about the sudden untimely death of Pimp C of legendary Texas rap duo UnderGround Kingz today, as were most southern hip hop fans.
The rapper was found dead in his bed in a sixth floor hotel room. Details are still emerging.
A representative of Pimp C confirmed his death and asked that, "Everyone please respect his family and those close to him at this time and refrain from rumors and innuendo."
"We mourn the unexpected loss of Chad," said Jive Records' President and CEO Barry Weiss in a statement. "He was truly a thoughtful and kind-hearted person. He will be remembered for his talent and profound influence as a pioneer in bringing southern rap to the forefront. He will be missed and our prayers remain with his family and Bun B. I've known Chad since he was 18, and we loved him dearly and he was a cherished member of the Jive family."
peace,
samax.
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