design for the ghettoManga Award Trophy (click to enlarge).the awards are also called "Cupids" (like the Academy gives out "Oscars")
buy a print of the image here. more on this soon...
-gM
Reflection Eternal is Back
gM's 2008 Rapper of the Year Talib Kweli and DeeJay Hi-Tek (known collectively as Reflection Eternal) interview with HOT 97's Angie Martinez. they build on the shows, their dream beef, naming the new album they're workin' on, and other assorted nuggets of hipHop minutia.jeauh!
ghettoManga.com
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One Wrecks, the other DESTROYS!
Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker (creators of Invincible) have reunited to work on The Destroyer for the Marvel MAX line. because MAX is a mature reader line, they'll be able to bring the ultra-violent brand of comicbook storytelling that Kirkman sprinkles all over his creator-owned books like Invincible, The Walking Dead, and The Astounding Wolfman. Kirkman has done other books for Marvel, but appears to be especially geeked to work on The Destroyer. "[the Destroyer is] touted as being Stan Lee's first comic creation, so I thought that aspect was very cool." said the writer in an interview over at CBR. "It's my favorite thing that I've done at Marvel and I've only written one script so far," he remarked. "I'm really thrilled with this series." 
The Destroyer is about a WWII-era superhero who has been fighting crime for decades. upon discovering he is dying, he decides to hunt down and kill each and every one of his villains so they won't be able to plague the world after he is gone... and if you think an eighty-year-old superhero can't get busy, just click any picture to view preview pages. This really reminds me of the movie Watchmen, and that's a good thing (if you haven't read my Watchmen review, go here)! 
The Destroyer written by Kirkman, with art by Cory Walker and covers by Jason Pearson, is set to debut in September, so keep your eyes peeled fam! peep the interview with Kirkman and preview art by Cory Walker to tide you over...holla!
ghettoManga.com
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John Stewart bodies CNBCs Jim Kramer
full episode of The Daily Show where Jim Kramer comes on and takes a spanking from Stew...
Bun B suggests You Get your Mind Right
Bun B speaks on the current Economic Crisis, Spiritual grounding, and tuckin' ya chains.
-ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture
Quote of the Day
"The only thing worse than starting something and failing... is not starting something." ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture
did you get that Michelle Obama Comic?
if you got that Michelle Obama comicbook, you got me beat! i saw this in my daily blog feeds... and when i called my comic shop they didn't have it. but they still have it over at TFAW.com. just click the pic and search "Michelle Obama".... it was part of a series called Female Force. there's issues featuring Hillary, Palin and Caroline Kennedy too... but ya'll got it. i just want that Michelle Obama joint!holla!
-gM
Bryce Hearts the Lunas
actress Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village, Lady in the Water) recently told G4 that she'd love to play the lead role in a film adaptation of The Sword by the Luna Brothers. as frequent readers of ghettoManga probably know, The Sword was by far my favorite comic book of 2008. Howard's carrot top and shy screen demeanor would play PERFECTLY as the deer-in-headlights protagonista, and the success of Watchmen just might prepare studio execs (not to mention movie goers) for the eye-popping ultra-violence of The Sword. If you're still sleeping, click one of the pics and cop the TPB collecting the first story arc, then start a letter-writing campaign to your favorite director, STAT!
uno.
-ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture
Every man Suge Ever Signed in one Rapper
Crooked I on The World Famous Wake Up Show
freestyle on the "grindin" beat starts at around 5:35... whew!
-ghettoManga.com
Quote of the Day
"President Obama proves change is possible. Madison Avenue shows resistance to change is possible."
-HighJive. blogger, Ad industry critic.
-HighJive. blogger, Ad industry critic.
Comicbook World # 25
after a man in Maryville, Illinois ran into a church and shot a local pastor, his lawyer claims a parasite made him do it. apparently, when the malicious creature bit him, it passed a disease into his bloodstream that eventually drove him insane, turning him into a homicidal maniac! but it wasn't an alien symbiote or a radioactive spider, it was a deer tick! that's right! Lyme Disease has claimed its latest victim!
or not. Dr. Eugene Shapiro, a Lyme disease expert at Yale University, said it would be unlikely that the tick-borne illness would make someone so violent."Lyme disease doesn't cause people to shoot people," Shapiro said.
There are isolated reports of hallucinations and psychotic illness blamed on Lyme disease. But these are controversial and some experts, including Shapiro, believe affected people likely had pre-existing mental problems or were misdiagnosed and never had Lyme disease.
whatever, man... roll your socks up and tuck your chains Fam, 'cause Lyme Disease is catching bodies son!
holla!
-ghettoManga.com
Movie of the Year
the ghettoManga Movie of the Year is The Dark Knight, and one thing is for sure: even though it was not MY favorite movie (or even my favorite superhero movie) of the year, it was a great film, and voters overwhealmingly selected it here, and at the box office in 2008.i doubt if any movie, let alone one about a guy dressing up like a bat and bitch-slapping the wicked, could live up to the hype The Dark Knight brought in with it, but i'd say director Chris Nolan comes damn close to a perfect superhero movie, with this follow-up to his fan-favorite big-budget debut, Batman Begins.
even though it was a dark and dreary film, Dark Knight made me happy [as did its big brother Batman Begins] by breaking superhero movie molds. where most sequels in the genre choose to focus on the villain's sad story leading up to transforming them into the evil bastard that has to be stopped, Dark Knight respects the audience enough not to bother. rather than engage in poorly constructed psycho-babble, The Dark Knight sticks to the psycho. the Joker is an evil bastard that has to be stopped, and that's all you need to know.
this movie, like Begins, doesn't retread any existing Batman story, it creates a new one... part of the genius is that Nolan's films do what other superhero flicks don't: both Begins and Dark Knight actually add to the mythos of the character's universe. he ties the Joker to Batman flawlessly, showing how the strengths and weaknesses of both men tie them together as the ultimate arch-enemies. by the end of the film, Batman turns everything that has happened to his advantage, even the loss of everything he had hoped for the whole film. he is possibly the most pure interpretation of Batman's personality ever seen on screen.
The film is not without weaknesses. i still think these films rely too heavily on action movie logic, where a more horror-suspense bent would work better. talking while fighting, car chases, and technology effects are all a ton of fun, but i don't think they are Nolan's strong suit. speaking of which, the Batman suit still needs work... the cape doesn't do the Batman thing of adding to his general scariness that you get in the comic. the beauty of it is that like Batman Begins, the strength of Dark Knight lies with the story and the actors, not the action-superhero window dressing.
and the acting was fabulous. while there were no weak performances, the late Heath Ledger owned this film. i can't say enough about his low down, gritty, grimy performance. his disturbing performance earned him many awards and accolades, including an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. from his first scene, he erased every prior interpretation of the sneering mass-murdering anarchist Joker, grounding the larger-than-life "clown prince of crime" in the real world...so anyways, in case you can't tell, i thought The Dark Knight was even better than Batman Begins. even with all the flaws i mentioned, i considered it an overall fabulous picture that will outlast its critics. the Batman is brutal and ruthless, and the Joker is even more so. just like we like 'em
holla!
-gM
Quotable
"I'm as good at keepin' a promise as Nostradamus..."
-Eminem
Classic Eminem footage, from The World Famous Wake Up Show.
-gM
-Eminem
Classic Eminem footage, from The World Famous Wake Up Show.
-gM
Starring Mickey Rourke as... no, wait. Nevermind.
Everyone loves a good underdog story...SO LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE! BAMN gets its title from its embittered main character. Surly, washed-up former pro-wrestler Bamn has spent the dying years of his career throwing up in bars. He lives out of his car and uses stolen credit cards to pay for beer. A chance encounter with a pair of local High Schoolers, Art and Ian, brings him to the FWF. A "Backyard Wrestling Federation" ran by the two young fans. When the local High School Wrestling Squad shows up to bully the Backyarders, Bamn steps in. In a rare moment of clarity, he promises all the Backyard kids that he s going to teach them the most important thing they will ever learn...HOW TO FIGHT BACK AND LOOK GOOD DOING IT!BAMN #1 by Troy Jeffrey Allen David Dean and Jay Payne is availlable now on ComixPress.
Timbaland gets Inspired
Tim and Chris Cornell discuss the music making process. visit Sundance Channel for more.
You Can Run...
Now available for free download is the MP3 sampler of Moka Only's upcoming Run & Find EP courtesy of DJ YNOT. Fresh off his latest classic release Carrots and Eggs LP, Moka Only returns with his new Run & Find EP for a March 2009 release on Domination Recordings. The 7inch vinyl features the self-titled track Run & Find along with a bangin fresh remix (+ instrumental) with new lyrics and the Max Faze aka Aceyalone assisted Expect. This is sure to be a hip hop collectors item, in stores March 31st!Free Download: Moka Only "Run & Find" EP sampler courtesy of Domination Recordings
dominationrec.com
dominationrechiphop.blogspot.com
myspace.com/dominationrecordings
cop V for Vendetta for 57% off
there's a DVD sale on Amazon, and some of them joints are priced REALLY low, like my Joint V for Vendetta
for less than half price! so if you got a minute, look around and see what's crackin'. if you want, read my review here.-gM
Synonymous With ILL
Classic footage of Chino XL on The World Famous Wake Up Show. Everything from an Interview, to freestyle to live performance footage.
this cat is one of illest underground legends ever!
holla!
-ghettoManga.com
i watched it...
i saw Watchmen. it was dope. read my full review (don't worry, i don't give anything away) here, then go watch it your damn self and holla at me!
-gM
Witness the Strength of Street Knowledge
you won't See Crips and Bloods: Made in America
, the new documentary about the most notorious street gangs of the 20th century just anywheres homey, so go to the website and check for showings near you. or just click the pic to pre-order the DVD. it's on you.holla!
-ghetto
Manga.com
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Rapper and Album of the Year
ghettoManga's 2008 Rapper of the Year, Talib Kweli speaks with Hardknock TV.
veteran brooklyn emcee Talib Kweli had a reality check. as much as he would like to do records with his buddies Mos Def and deejay Hi-Tek, he hasn't been able to make it happen for a long time, and a brotha got bills. so, the non-Mos half of BlackStar decided to get his mogul on. in addition to droppin' a couple nice records, Kweli has started Blacksmith, his indie rap label (with such noteworthy overgrounders as Jean Grae and StrongArmSteady), continued to litter the digital countryside with mixtapes and generate hit singles. Kweli is a fixture in the true-school hipHop community, doing guest shots for rappers and neo-soul artists.
Kweli's Eardrum
is the ghettoManga Album of the Year for 2008...
it's a nice record. a few joints ("Hostile Gospel [deliver us]", "Give 'Em Hell", "In The Mood", "Eat To Live", and "Country Cousins") stand out at the moment. in what his press release called a "career defining album" with "hard hitting beats and inventive rhymes that serve to not only entertain, but also to educate" Kweli held up his end of it, dropping a nice, classic record. while Mos is conspicuously absent, Hi-Tek and a slew of other guests keep the balance, well BALANCED!
i like Kweli, and this record is what i've come to expect from him. step in the right direction for an artist who constantly insists he is not a solo artist. instead, Kweli insists he is "a frontman for a group of artists, lovers, poets and regular everyday folk" that make up his body of work... As a person who believes that most of today's solo hip hop artists belong in groups not on their own, i applaud Kweli's attitude... and as long as Kweli is unable to get together with co-conspirators like Mos and Tek, records like this one will do in a pinch.holla!
samax.
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Hip Hop Group of the Year
Get Busy by theRoots.
the ghettoManga Group of the Year Award goes to the legendary Roots Crew. the Philly-bred hip hop band slugged it out in two other categories that they didn't win (Video of the Year for Get Busy, seen above and Album of the Year for Rising Down
), but competitors didn't come close in the group category. I'm not sure if anyone really needs to be introduced to The Roots, since they have worked to strategically grow their fan base by approaching every album creatively and touring like there's no tomorrow.Rising Up by the Roots, featuring Wale and Chrisette Michele
the Roots sometimes seems less like a rap group and more like a movement, spawning the website OkayPlayer and helping to bring many young rap and neo soul artists to the forefront. led by iconoclastic drummer ?uestlove, the band's many influences and diverse musical backgrounds draws fans of every stripe, but lest you think they are just another band playing in the rap arena, resident emcee Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter holds it down for the lyricists in the age of diminishing returns in the rhyming category. and in 2008 they once again brought friends like Dice Raw and Peedi Crakk along for the ride. right now, the Roots have taken a break from touring, kicking back as the house band on The Late Show... so maybe someone else will be able to sneak in on the group category next year.
maybe...
-ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture
From Good, to Bad, to REALLY Bad!
okay, so i finally got my hands on Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe, volume 5 of the series by Bryan Lee O'malley. for those just joining us, Scott Pilgrim revolves around the social life of it's twenty-something title character and his adorable supporting cast. it's a lot like Charlie Brown, but with more sex and fight scenes. Its unique blend of action, romance, slice-of-life and humor is-like the immortal Slinky- fun for both girls and boys.
so anyways, similar to vol 3, Scott Pilgrim Vs The Universe is much, much darker than the uparching Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together (for which O'Malley snagged ghettoManga Cartoonist of the Year and OGN of the Year in 2008)... O'Malley meticulously takes apart the good vibes Scott and Ramona brought into this issue from the last volume. the pressures of moving in together would be hard enough on them, but now the unspoken circumstances of Ramona's breakup with evil-exboyfriend Gideon are casting a shadow over Scott and Ramona's future... and did i mention Scott has to repeatedly battle the Katayanagi Twins and their increasingly tough Robots? yeah, there's that too... 
The Darker tone of this volume makes it less fun to read than the last one, but it's still top notch. Scott's repeated references to Clairemont-era X-men storylines echo the concept of this volume that things get much worse before they get better. Even when Scott vanquishes the Twins, there's little cause to celebrate because of... well, you get the idea!when this volume ends, the stage is set for the ultimate battle with Gideon, so you probably wanna read all five previous joints so you can be ready to complete the collection when volume 6 drops!
holla!
-ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture
SSSSSMOKIN'!
Have i mentioned lately that i can't WAIT for the new Rachel Rage OGN that our friends at OldeTowneComix are workin' on? well, i can't! here's a mock cigarette ad they made, apparently just to mess with me... oh well, like it says "Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em!"holla!
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comics.hipHop.news.art.culture
Black Superheroine: Ant
post by gM writer Wallruss
I originally ran across the comic book character Ant while she was at Image comics. When I went out to find out more about her, I discovered that the story about Ant's creator is interesting in it's own right. According to his myspace page, Mario Gully came up with the idea for Ant while he was incarcerated. While he was in the cell, an ant crawled in and gave him inspiration. When he got out he started as an Independent comic book creator, and since then, the character has been through three comic book companies.
Ant is an African-American girl named Hannah Washington who grows bulletproof red skin, and has super strength, speed, agility and various sensory abilities. Her origin is unclear and much of her story is about the search for clues to her unknown past. I read somewhere that Ant is like the girl next door that can kick your ass. She's no nonsense and relatively down to earth. She's also one of those few Black female Superheroes that is actually shaped like a Black woman.
Mario Gully is the African-American owner and creator of Ant who's arrival in comics began at Arcana Studios. The series told the story of a little girl who dreamed that she was the world's greatest hero. The book exceeded expectations and proved to be quite a success. The first issue sold out. The series ran for four issues and it's success brought it to the attention of Image Comics. Ant moved over to Image Comics and right away began interacting with superheroes like Savage Dragon, and Spawn
(these issues are collected in the TPB Ant Vol1: Reality Bites
). The art and story seemed to feel right at home with Image and the series seemed poised to do quite well. Distinct from the previous volume published by Arcana, the story took place years after but acknowledged the previous story. The little girl had grown up and more of her mystery was revealed. Problems began to develop behind the scenes and despite compelling story and artwork the series ended after the 11th issue.Mario Gully's talent enabled him to work on other projects. 
After some time he decided to bring Ant back to the public and did so through Big City Comics. This latest series is entitled Ant Unleashed and is a more mature comic in imagery and theme. Again it is kept distinct from previous volumes as the story takes place after the others while acknowledging what transpired in them. The last issue seems to be #6 which was published back in 2008. Publishing challenges aside, each time Ant shows up she commands the room and each series has surpassed the previous in both art and story. I don't know where and when she'll show up again but I'm looking forward to checking her out when she does.
I originally ran across the comic book character Ant while she was at Image comics. When I went out to find out more about her, I discovered that the story about Ant's creator is interesting in it's own right. According to his myspace page, Mario Gully came up with the idea for Ant while he was incarcerated. While he was in the cell, an ant crawled in and gave him inspiration. When he got out he started as an Independent comic book creator, and since then, the character has been through three comic book companies.
Ant is an African-American girl named Hannah Washington who grows bulletproof red skin, and has super strength, speed, agility and various sensory abilities. Her origin is unclear and much of her story is about the search for clues to her unknown past. I read somewhere that Ant is like the girl next door that can kick your ass. She's no nonsense and relatively down to earth. She's also one of those few Black female Superheroes that is actually shaped like a Black woman.
Mario Gully is the African-American owner and creator of Ant who's arrival in comics began at Arcana Studios. The series told the story of a little girl who dreamed that she was the world's greatest hero. The book exceeded expectations and proved to be quite a success. The first issue sold out. The series ran for four issues and it's success brought it to the attention of Image Comics. Ant moved over to Image Comics and right away began interacting with superheroes like Savage Dragon, and Spawn
(these issues are collected in the TPB Ant Vol1: Reality Bites). The art and story seemed to feel right at home with Image and the series seemed poised to do quite well. Distinct from the previous volume published by Arcana, the story took place years after but acknowledged the previous story. The little girl had grown up and more of her mystery was revealed. Problems began to develop behind the scenes and despite compelling story and artwork the series ended after the 11th issue.Mario Gully's talent enabled him to work on other projects. 
After some time he decided to bring Ant back to the public and did so through Big City Comics. This latest series is entitled Ant Unleashed and is a more mature comic in imagery and theme. Again it is kept distinct from previous volumes as the story takes place after the others while acknowledging what transpired in them. The last issue seems to be #6 which was published back in 2008. Publishing challenges aside, each time Ant shows up she commands the room and each series has surpassed the previous in both art and story. I don't know where and when she'll show up again but I'm looking forward to checking her out when she does...............................
Wallruss is a teacher, traveler, comic book nerd, techie, and internet phenom. he can teach you a thing or two on his BlackSuperhero Blog, and if you're REALLY down, hit him up at Tanjectory.com
-ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture
Better LATE than Never...
the seeds of ghettoManga were laid back when Wu-Tang Clan first dropped Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
When Wu-Tang was at the height of their popularity, heads were clamoring for a Wu-Tang comic, which they did with the 1999 Image effort The Nine Rings of Wu-Tang
well that's exactly what they did in the new 96 page OGN Method Man, from Grand Central Publishing. like that video that turned me on to Wu-Tang so long ago, this book takes advantage of the grimy, hood texture of the Ticalion Stallion. Method hooked up with David Atchison (Occult Crimes Taskforce
holla!
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comics.hipHop.news.art.culture
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