"The Ramen Girl"- Brittany Murphy

Been, working none stop the last several months all of which has lead me to some serious bags under my eyes and some sore finger tips (probably from holding the pens and pencils too tightly).

Still once in a while my brother, Matt and I manage to take a break in the form of eating out(take out) and watching a movie.

Today,on this occasion, we enjoyed some orange chicken from Panda Express and rented a flick from Hollywood Video, "The Ramen Girl"- starring Brittany Murphy.

I really enjoyed this flick and after watching the deleted scenes I came to appreciate it even more; for the great editing choices made.

The story was centered around ,Abby. An American abandoned and stranded by love in Tokyo, Japan ; having just made the move to bridge her long distance relationship gap.

Heart Broken she seeks refuge at a ramen shop that can be seen from her apartment balcony, and imposes herself on the shops grumpy cook.

She finds her calling after seeing the spirit of the shop and buggers the old, cook into taking her on as his apprentice. Of course along the way she forms a relationship, with the cook , his wife, and his friends despite the language gap; and they both manage to help each other mend their troubled souls.

I gotta admit Brittany Murphy, really steals my heart here, with her big eyes and comedic sensibilities, she gives a very honest experience to her emotions that I haven't found in many young actresses.

I highly recommend this film and think fans of Nipon cinema, will enjoy this especially.

I think the best way to watch this is to cook yourself up some ramen or if you like order some chinese and sit back and enjoy this sweet hearted, American japanese exchange.

THE INKING

While working on a short story for ZOMBIE TALES the series(#8) (from BOOM! STUDIOS), I did a little filming of my work process.
(BTW- The ZT cover, shown here, is actually a cover I did for issue #6, not #8)
On this project I used a DELETER-MARU pen nib, BLACK CAT india ink, and a Japanese PILOT-2 sided calligraphy pen.
The video image and sound quality didn't format the way I would have liked it to. But I'm still new to the edit program.

best,
-MATT

yeah, this post ,makes me want to kick my own butt!

One of the personality traits you will come to recognize in me , if you get to know me, is cheapness( if that can truly be considered ,a personality trait).

Don't get me wrong I pick up plenty of checks and treat plenty of people; but I am really cheap when it comes to spending a lot of money at once on myself.

Which is why it took moving to Las Vegas, not far from one of the worlds greatest inventions , the outlet mall , ( on Las Vegas blvd. and warmsprings) to turn me into a sneaker freak!

Well, not really, but it is the first time in my life, that I have owned more than 2 pairs of shoes at once!

I think Las Vegas can be blamed for this change for several reasons.

1). My comicbook purchases have been cut in half by a string of awful Hobie shops out here; that either stock nothing of interest and seem incapable of filling specialty orders.

2). Now with an excess of money ( that I a lot myself for wasteful spending) I find the Van store located in the outlet mall.
And this store really knows how to push my buttons often offering by one get one half off or buy one discounted sneaker and get one free!

Looking back at myself in high school; I am now reminded, how I often referred to guys ,who spent more than a few bucks here and there on clothes as , "Someone in need of a butt kicking!" Ridiculous!

But don't worry I really haven't changed that much...I only take 5 minutes to style my hair! Ridiculous!

"You can do what you want, but don't step on my blue suede shoes"
uh-huh,
Mikey

Life , it ain't easy

Well, hope everyone had a great Holiday Season. A lot has happened, just as some close friends were welcoming a new life into the world an old and precious one, departed.
My grandma June, left behind some great kids and some okay grand kids and a lot of memories, for those that loved her.
She was quiet and kind and a bit of a champion worrier; and I often wished I could say or do something to help her overcome her worries. I have always thought with age, worries should lessen.
I know one things for sure just like money, you can't take them with you(worries)when you pass.
Like my Mom, Grandma June, had a lot to do with my interest in art(obsession really).
She encouraged my Uncle Dave and Aunt Sandy to open their first Art Store (Art Store & More); and helped them run the books.
And She was constantly giving Matt and I art supplies for Birthdays and Christmas.
I remember looking forward to birthdays more then ,than I do now as a result (now it's mostly socks).

I Love you Grandma, and I will miss you.
Say hello to the Big Kid(Grandpa), for me.

(Some art for those who don't like to read , the sentimental.)

Victory!

Germany vs. Allied P.O.W.'s in a soccer match, to take place in occupied Paris, their loss is to demonstrate Aryan superiority, only one will achieve Victory!
Man I love this movie! Having recently purchase and watched "Victory" on DVD. It reminds me of how strong the influence of cinema can be on ones life (or at least my own). And how a good comic book ,can do the same thing. But perhaps on a more personal, more intimate level.

A few new works of mine, are to be published ,in the near future. And I find myself wanting to convey much like Hollywood does a message in my work.
Unlike Hollywood though, not a message filled with false righteous indignation( like many of the new crap); but one that lets people understand me on a more personal level and affects people.
The way a good movie or true to life story (with no hidden agendas) can express what sometimes can be difficult to express.

The first of these works will be short stand alone stories.
Two are for comic book anthologies. One from an established big publisher and the other from an up and coming group of individuals ,that make me excited about comics again! And the last has been along time coming!
Man I'm pumped!

new updates!!

Hey, the first part of this short comic, probably looks familiar to you all!
To make up for not publishing the rest of this earlier; I decided to add color, enjoy! Next up ,some comicbook reviews, from my reading room, see you real
soon!

Mikey's T-Shirt Shop !!

Just recently , I opened up a T-shirt shop at Redbubble.com and hope to gave some more up soon! Visit the link to your right Mikey's T-shirt Shop and pick one up.