The Gentlemen

I'm selling a pair of Oakley Hijinx sung

2008-11-03T10:36:00.000-06:00

I'm selling a pair of Oakley Hijinx sunglasses. Limited edition striped "O" icon, white frame, black iridium lenses. Like new condition. Asking $115.

I call this one Black Ice. Cuz I'm slick

2008-10-24T11:04:00.000-05:00

I call this one Black Ice. Cuz I'm slick.

Is it really this time of year already?

2008-10-13T17:20:00.003-05:00

So, it is October and none of us have posted a blog about what's going on with the Gentlemen since we returned from Comic Con in July. Man, are we fucking lazy or what?

Truth is, not a lot. Frog is working on the Sketch Customs line and with his band A is for Alibi and that whole getting married thing. Matt is trying his damnedest to get Dreamers out by Wizard World Texas and his whole being a dad thing. Chaz is up to no good *cough*jailbait*cough*. And as for me, I'm just kind of doing my own things.

A few other secret things are in the works. Unfortunately, being secret, I can't chat about them just yet.

Aside from that, it's fall, it's election time again, and my birthday is in a couple days. I'll be getting LEGO Batman, so I probably wont be taking any calls for a bit. Until next time, peace out kids.

Back from Comic Con

2008-07-30T09:32:00.002-05:00

So, I suppose I should let you know that we are back from SDCC. Especially since we came home Monday, then yesterday there was an earthquake that rocked the west coast. Man. We missed the fun. Ah well. We got a ton of cool shit, checked out the coast, chilled with friends, made a few new friends, all that fun stuff. Got some new books I'll be reviewing over at www.heroplex.net along with the regular slew of comics and movies. My legs feel like Jello and my brain is about the same. I'm out.

Eric

San Diego Comic Con! Here we come!

2008-07-22T16:46:00.004-05:00

Hey kids! Sorry it's been awhile, but we've been up to no good. Since I last left any bloggage here, we've gone to see Hellboy II and The Dark Knight. You can check out my reviews of both of those films and the new comic Conan: The Cimmerian over at http://www.heroplex.net/ as well as some reviews by Matt and new comic book drops.

On to the upcoming stuff. Frog and I fell behind on getting the webcomic ready but for good reasons. For him, it is his impending (which sounds a bit sinister, now that I think about it) marriage to Miss Sketch Customs, and for myself...It is that Matt, Chaz, and I will be hitting San Diego Comic Con! Getting ready for this trip has been a pain in the ass, but now that the plane out is tomorrow, I am even more stoked than I can ever remember being. HOPEFULLY, we will be coming back with my review of the preview of Will Eisner's The Spirit (directed by Frank Miller!), the movie Fanboys, and possibly the video game Mortal Kombat Vs. DC, as well as an interview by Matt with Dead@17 creator Josh Howard. Who knows what other cool things we'll be back to tell you about? You'll have to check back in sometime next week after we've had a chance to cool down and get our notes and such organized.

Be sure to check back here and at the Heroplex website for the reviews and other news from the con next week.

Eric

P.S. Don't forget to congratulate Frog!

Not sure what Chick Fil A's problem is.

2008-07-16T10:13:00.001-05:00

Damn cows...

From Broadway to Cowtown...

2008-07-15T14:59:00.003-05:00

Ok, I've had a bit of time to calm down since my last post. Well, more that boredom made it impossible to be angry. I digress.

This past week, the Broadway play Avenue Q played at Bass Hall in Fort Worth. I don't really know how to explain to you how good a show it is. I suppose a bit of basic information would suffice, for starters. Avenue Q is, at a glance, an R-rated parody of Sesame Street. Filled with vulgar language, puppet sex, gay jokes and racism. The jokes are not meant or told in offensive ways, but used in a way to hold maximum poignancy while remain incredibly funny. This is where I steer you to listen to the songs "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" and "If You Were Gay". Yes, the jokes are sexist and racist, but they are told in a way that is more like when an alcoholic finally admits to being an alcoholic. With a side order of self-deprication.

In depth, though, is where the story and plot really shine. The main character, Princeton, is a recent college grad who is trying his best to make it in the real world of New York City. But, after all, "What do You do With a BA in English?" He moves into the slums of Avenue Q and meets the rest of the down-on-their-luck cast who would seem more like your actual friends if they weren't made of foam rubber. Many of the characters hit rock bottom at different points throughout the story. It is in these moments that the characters begin to truly find themselves, and in their darkest hour shine their brightest.

The show is no longer at Bass Hall. So, sadly, I can't tell you to go pick up tickets. What I can tell you is to pay attention. See if it comes to your town. If it does, I highly recommend going to see a performance. Go pick up the soundtrack, if you can. I think they sell it at Best Buy, so it shouldn't be too hard.

Until next time, peace kids.

This cake is relevant to my interests.

2008-07-15T12:21:00.000-05:00

It's Frog here with a quick update which, if you couldn't guess, involves my impending marriage. True story kids. Plans are coming along nicely and I'll be updating this a bit more often with further matrimonial updates. For now roll this around in your heads: Nerdabilly.

World Fills with Hate (or how I learned to stop worrying and hate the Pussycat Dolls)

2008-07-15T09:20:00.004-05:00

So, last night I was sitting at home watching TV. The Big Bang Theory, to be precise. Suddenly, the Pussycat Dolls pop up on screen singing some song about when they grow up. The goddamn Pussy-Fucking-Cat Dolls. Not cable, not even basic cable, but regular fucking TV. Looking all slutty as usual. My first thought is, "Oh christ, what the fuck are we in for now?" Then, suddenly, it's a Bally's commercial AND an add for the new Pussycat Dolls reality TV show. Ok. I have three things wrong with this with no necessary brain usage. After that, the brain shuts down from the complete and total FAILURE from the very beginning.

1) How fucking old are the Pussycat Dolls? Really? Because if they're my age or older then "When I grow up" should have been over half a decade ago, and if they are young enough to sing the song then they are NOT GODDAMN OLD ENOUGH TO BE RUNNING AROUND NAKED ON BASIC TELEVISION!!! Prostitots? Anyone?

2) Since when is it necessary to have a gym membership to be a gutterskank?

3) Have we really sunk so low that we are now being entertained by former C-list celebrities background dancers?

If that doesn't make you at least consider moving out of this country, you just failed at life.

At the ol' day job.

2008-07-14T11:56:00.000-05:00

At the ol' day job and despite my calm appearance my mind is alive with activity concerning The Gentlemen, Sketch Customs, a couple bands and some other plans I'm not quite ready to reveal yet. Suffice to say big things are in the cards in the near, medium and not so very far future. I am officially more stoked than I have ever been, about anything, ever. EVER.

Caffeine. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

2008-07-10T09:59:00.001-05:00

Caffeine. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-07-07T14:22:00.000-05:00

So, all kinds of shit going on in the world of The Gentlemen. Frog and I are still working on the webcomic and have plans to sit down for a few hours and do nothing but that a little later this week. Frog has also been working his ass off over at Sketch Customs. You should probably go pick up a shirt or two to reward him for his hard work. Matt and Marshall are almost done with Dreamers. That will be up for sale soon. The first piece of solid, physical work you will be able to purchase from The Gentlemen Productions. We're all working hard at our day jobs. Which sucks, one day we won't need this bullshit. Matt, Chaz, and I are almost totally done with all the details for the San Diego Comic Con trip. See you kids soon with more info on the projects. Peace.

Day jobs, lack of motivation

2008-06-18T10:31:00.000-05:00

As I sit here at my day job, staring at a spiral notebook, wanting to scribble notes and form a basic script of ANY KIND...I have nothing. Not a goddamn thing. Writing is not always easy. Even for those of us that write as easily as we breathe, even if it is random and occaisionally incoherent to others. Boredom is the ultimate killer of motivation. The more bored you are, the less motivated you are to do anything. That includes writing. The irony is that when you're busy or having a good time, you think of all kinds of shit to write down and you usually realize you forgot your notebook to write down your ideas. It's a sick game. Despite having a few tweaks to do on one arc in the webcomic (we're even narrowing the title down! YAY!) I don't have the motivation this early in the day to wake up and work on it. On top of that, there aren't enough calls to get me to wake up enough to have the energy to work. The calls I do get, haven't had anything about them worth making fun of in comic form.

Frog and I have spent quite a bit of time working on this, and we're hoping to begin posting in late July. Frog's working out the last few character designs. Chaz is going to be working as website boy/colorist. Since this is our first step into the realm of "professional" comic work (though nowhere near the last), don't expect the beginning to be great. What it will be is promising. This is the first step, testing the water, preparation to take the plunge. We all have other things we're working on. The other things are more violent/dark/meaningful and much less humorous. This is our outlet for our sarcasm. Our smartassery. Our being US. Now, there will still be witty, smartass one liners in our serious stuff, I'm sure, but nothing like this. After all, the other stuff is going to be action/sci-fi/drama stuff and this is pure comedy. Okay, maybe not PURE comedy. A little bit of comedic spoofing of action/sci-fi/drama stuff will be worked in. But, hey, who doesn't like comedies with Jedi?

Rockin' the writing process

2008-06-03T13:45:00.001-05:00

All kinds of writing and character designs and shit like that going on. I am currently writing an action/adventure superhero type comic, a steampunk-esque scifi/war comic, and a comedy webcomic. All of these are hard into the pre-production/early writing phase. We are hoping to have the webcomic up for your viewing pleasure by late July. Specifically, by San Diego ComiCon. If you have any suggestions on good host sites, please let us know. For now, peace kids.

post con stuff

2008-06-02T11:11:00.000-05:00

So, A-Kon was this weekend. Chaz and I went on Friday and Saturday. Had a blast. Met a webcomic artist named Jennie Breeden. Check out her stuff over at www.thedevilspanties.com because it's rad and hilarious. And it's not satanic porn. She also has a book called "Holy Shit! Fuckin' Pirates!" which is the greatest title I've ever heard. Saw all kinds of crazy costumes. Chaz talked shit to a Pyramid Head from Silent Hill. Because, let's face it, Pyramid head is not suppose to talk or FUCKING HUG PEOPLE! Sat in on some panels. A webcomic panel, part of a video game panel, an R-rated webcomic panel, and a "ladies of voice acting" panel. Got a few photos while in Dallas, though only one was actually at the con. Found out the Bawls now makes G33K B33R. It's root beer. Infused with the psychotic Bawls level of caffeine. Heh. YES.

SO...

It is officially June. San Diego ComiCon is at the end of July. Already I'm ready for that. I don't know why I like cons so much. Maybe it's just knowing where you belong. Getting the last few plotline tweaks out of the books I'm working on. Should be working on the actual script's first drafts soon. Violence is fun.

Gearing up for the next phase in pop-culture

2008-05-21T12:16:00.000-05:00

As the days draw closer to attendence days for convention, summer movies, and us finally dropping the release of our upcoming comics; I have to wonder where everything we know is headed. Greatness? Are we to be "The next big thing"? A new cult phenomena? Disaster? Wasted time and effort? Any of these except the last one is a possibility. Even if we fail and no one reads or likes our stuff, I don't think any of the time we spend creating our own little pieces of historical significance will seem wasted. It's one hell of a ride creating something like this. Striving to create. Using influence without straight ripping it off. It's difficult, challenging, thought provoking. Maybe it's because we are the beginning of the so-called "Generation Y" that makes me feel the need to create. We are the first born, the alpha of a generation that never established an identity. HOWEVER, I now see that this is not necessarily a bad thing. Essencially, we have a clean slate. With nothing real or original being created by our generation, we really don't have anything to lose, but everything to gain. We stand on the precipice of being the first real voice of our generation. Without our identity, the mainstream and pop-culture took everything from us before we had a chance to claim it. Even punk rock, our great rebellion, was stollen and marketed by the mainstream corprostacracy. THIS is our identity. We are making this our statement. We are taking it by force. This is five young men versus the behemoth. Stand or fall, victory or defeat, we will stand with pencils, pens, and paints in hand, bloodied and bruised, and fight til we die. THIS is who we ARE. THIS is our IDENTITY. THIS is our STATEMENT. We are the future. We are the next. We are The Gentlemen.

Sketch Customs

2008-05-20T22:15:00.001-05:00

You should check out our friends and co-conspirators at Sketch Customs.

Legit clothes for legit people.

prepping for the rest of the month

2008-05-19T09:50:00.001-05:00

So, here it is, balls early in the morning. I'm sitting at work because I can't afford not to have a day job. I hate the early mornings. I've NEVER been a morning person at any point in my life. I haven't gotten any writing done in a few weeks, and that disappoints me. I feel like ass today, and for once it's hot and stuffy in the box office. Indiana Jones comes out at the end of the week and the next weekend is A-Kon. I'm a big fan of conventions as a whole. And I can't wait to get something done so I can actually have a booth to hang out and sign stuff at. Dal-Con doesn't count. Somebody bring me some Dr. Pepper and/or Bawls energy drink. Or a decent pillow. Anway, I suppose I should say something important here about going to this particular con. Chaz and I are going and maybe dragging Joe along. Friday and Saturday. You'll probably be able to find us at a voice actor panel or the Nabeshin panel doing the listening thing, maybe asking questions. We'll also be wandering around a lot for 2 days. I will have a comprehensive blog about the con after it's over.

Also in the works is a trip to San Diego for ComiCon. Matt, Chaz, and I are working on getting out there. It's all unofficial and it will just be a fun trip, but if that happens there will be another comprehensive con blog late July/early August, depending on how long recooperation takes.

Graffiti Evolution

2008-05-15T17:20:00.000-05:00

This is some next level business...

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

(via ALBOTAS)

Harrison Ford is The Greatest Man Alive

2008-05-15T12:54:00.000-05:00

In case you weren't excited enough about the upcoming fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series allow us (via IMDB) to remind you why Harrison Ford is The Greatest Man Alive.

This will also lend support to Eric's theory that Harrison Ford is part of a blood line linking Han Solo and Indiana Jones through space and time. In this train of thought Harrison Ford is simply passing down the tales of his ancestors in an effort to inspire the modern world to be awesome.

The evidence is as follows...

He provided the whip-cracks on the song "Desperation Samba (Halloween in Tijuana)" for Jimmy Buffett's album "Last Mango in Paris"

Private pilot, single engine fixed wing and helicopter. Owns a Bonanza, Gulfstream IV, DeHavland Beaver, and Bell 407 helicopter. Destroyed first 407 during simulated "engine-out" practice. Regularly flies himself between New York City and Wyoming homes. Has a loft in Tribeca, NYC.

Chosen as People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive. [1998]

Lives in a white-painted ranch house that he built himself in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Piloted his helicopter to rescue dehydrated 20-year-old hiker Sarah George from Table Mountain near his ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. [31 July 2000]

Credited with "creating" what many believe to be the best scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) because he was suffering from a bout of dysentery at the time of filming: during the scene in Cairo with the swordsman in black, the script called for a much longer fight, but because of his condition, he quietly asked director Steven Spielberg if they could shorten the scene. Spielberg's reply was that the only way it could be done would be if Indy pulled out his gun and "just shot the guy." The rest of the crew, not aware of the change, laughed at this, and it remained in the final cut.

Honored for his work with the environment, Ford was asked to name a new breed of butterfly. He named it after his daughter, Georgia.

Has a species of Central American ant (Peidole harrisonfordi) and spider (Calponia Harrisonfordi) named after him in honor of his conservation work.

Scared director Steven Spielberg and the crew during Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) when, without warning, he ran out across the rope bridge used in the film's climax to test its safety.
During the scene where he is frozen in carbonite in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Carrie Fisher says, "I love you." and Ford was supposed to reply "I love you too." but he suggested changing it to "I know."

Out of the three leads of the original Star Wars trilogy, he was the only one to appear in all three films without ever signing a contract.

Said in an interview that he felt compelled to do his own stunts for the Indiana Jones trilogy because the film was very "action oriented" and that he felt if he weren't in the middle of it, then were really wasn't much else for him to do.

While filming Firewall (2006) in Vancouver, British Columbia, he was so impressed with the beauty of Bowen Island that he purchased a $13-million waterfront property upon the request of girlfriend Calista Flockhart.

One of his jobs in his early acting days was as a roadie on tour with The Doors.

His two most famous roles were actually not written "for him". He became attached to Star Wars (1977) when he was reading lines with other actors doing their screen tests. When it came time to cast Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), George Lucas was adamant about not casting Ford because he didn't want every movie he did to be a "Harrison Ford movie". However, after Tom Selleck backed out, Steven Spielberg suggested Ford again, and Lucas gave in.

Truly a hero to us all.

A rarity, for certain

2008-05-15T09:08:00.000-05:00

So, Joel Schumaker RARELY makes movies I would consider good. However, one such gem is the '80s vampire flick that united the Coreys called The Lost Boys. Maybe you've heard of it. I think we can all agree, it was not a view of what was to come from any of the people involved. That, however, is beside the point. What IS the point is that something amazing happened yesterday. I went by the comic shop I hang out at to pick up my week's worth of new rags and low and behold, what do I find has released? The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs. A Lost Boys comic. About the Frog brothers. I had no choice but to buy it. I mean...Lost Boys comic. About the Frog brothers. Sadly, I have not yet read it, but I probably will tonight or tomorrow through the day. On top of my Criminal Macabre books and BPRD and the rest of the crap I bought, I ended up spending $70. See why I couldn't get to TLB? That's quite a haul, even for me. Now, TLB could be an awful book, but it has the potential to be amazing. Even if it's awful I will probably pick up the entire series because of what it is. I mean, it's a comic book about two brothers who work in a comic book store and fight vampires. And their last name is Frog. And they work in a comic shop. And I can't express my excitement about this book enough. Which very well lead me to be let down by it, but it's about time a comic about these guys was released, be it good or bad.

Random Review: Starbucks Pike Place Roast

2008-05-14T16:59:00.000-05:00

So today I had occasion to test a free cup of Starbucks newest pride and joy, Pike Place Roast.

Seemingly this is some return to form for fresh brewed coffee at the ubiquitous ~~monopoly~~ chain. If that is the case this caffeinated Goliath may have just brewed its own David.

Simply put, this is one of the weakest cups of swill I've ever poured down my gullet. This isn't so much coffee as it is a coffee flavored water beverage. I've had richer, more flavorful cups at IHOP.

It took around five packets of sweetener and an alarming amount of half & half just to tease some flavor out of it. In the end I came up with a cup full of slightly bitter milk-water. Mind you this is a "tall" cup and the amount of cream and sugar involved are comparable to what I generally add to a 24oz cup from QT or Racetrac. These are also much richer and, most importantly, cheaper options when considering where to snag that morning pick me up. You may not leave with that snazzy Starbucks logo on your cup sleeve but with the money you save you might just be able to get a gallon or so of gas.

Post about posting

2008-05-14T10:31:00.000-05:00

Hey, everybody. Eric here. Just wanted to let you guys know I'm happy to be making my first post here on The Gentlemen's new blogger. I'll try to keep this more on the professional level, though I do not garauntee I won't occaisionally drop some swearing in a rant about something or other. I'll go ahead and apologize for that in advance. Anyway, thanks for stopping by and we'll let you know what we're up to sporadically or sometimes fairly often. We also have twitters we updated on a regular basis that are much more random. You might find them entertaining and should add us if you have one. We promise we'll add you back. *note: promises not necessarily kept, but we try really hard.

For now, just know we're working diligently on some new stuff. I'm writing. Matt's writing. Marshall's drawing. Frog's going to be drawing as soon as I get him something to draw and I'm sure he's writing, as well. As for Chaz, well, he's doing his Chazzy things he does. Which probably means he's playing video games or listening to Pink Floyd.

Thanks for taking an interest in us in our endeavor into the depths of the interwebs and crazy world of public domain.

Welcome...

2008-05-14T09:10:00.000-05:00

...to The Gentlemen.

You'll want to go ahead and bookmark this page because once everything is in place we'll be rolling out daily updates on The Gentlemen Productions plus news and info on all the stuff that inspires and/or entertains us.

As for now go check out some of the sites we support and our Twitter feeds.

Stay Tuned.