Back in May I got to visit the famous Monroeville Mall, just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the shooting site for George A. Romero’s film Dawn of the Dead. I have finally taken the time to sort through the video (above) and stills I took. Aspiring filmmaker tip: Baby strollers make really bad steadycams. The place does not look all that different. It’s a shame the carousel wasn’t there back in ‘78. The Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood playground is also a new addition. I actually bought a Dawn of the Dead DVD at the Borders bookstore nearby. Find out more about the mall and the shooting of Romero’s zombie classic at MalloftheDead.net.

Check out the shots on flickr.

Tiger Claw Elite Grand Champion Becca Ross

It’s done! I’ve posted about 200 photos up to flickr of my absolute best shots from last weekend’s 2008 Tiger Claw Elite Championship. Go check out those, and past years shots now! I’m gonna go sleep.

More info on the Tiger Claw Elite Championship.

I wish I’d taken the time to find out who this is, but I was on the way out the door when I took the shot.

Unfortunately my visit to APE this year will be forever colored by the dreary drive to it–which included some most certainly dead people in a very grisly road accident that was followed by further delays due to a submerged section of the I-280. By the time I got to the show–nearly an hour later than expected–I just felt sick. The venue–the Concourse, where My Bloody Valentine (and old BCN pal Suzanne Thorpe!) had played a couple months before–also suffered from a leaky roof, which I personally witnessed and more than one exhibitor commented on (not ideal circumstances for a printed matter-type show). Despite all this I had a grand time and was excited to see many old friends and colleagues. I was also sad I did not get to see a few people who I somehow missed or would be there on Sunday. Picked up some great books. There is just so much great art coming out now. It’s crazy! Got some cool books by Jim Mahfood and Brandon Graham (ok, new to me). Tons others. Good feeling all around.

Very brief flickr set.

The first batch of my many, many shots from last weekend’s Disney’s Martial Arts Festival are up on flickr. These are all of Tiger Claw Elite Champion performers. Shot at the nighttime show on the main stage of the Milk House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Saturday, October 25, 2008. See the set!

More info on the Tiger Claw Elite Championship.

Up on flickr now, 55 shots of classic pinball machines and their insane graphics. Check it out!

I’ve known Jack Tu for a few years now and have watched in awe as he tore up the U.S. martial arts competition circuit and then went to China to even greater success. Recently he was named Jackie Chan’s first ever disciple. A few days ago he made an appearance in America to commemorate this achievement and thank those who helped him on the way. I was sad to miss it… being stuck on planes and in airport terminals all day. It would have been nice to see Jack again before he flew back to China to start shooting movies. I’ve been fortunate to capture several of his performances and competitions. The shot above is from last year’s Disney’s Martial Arts Festival. Jack is incredibly talented as a martial artist and musician. They’ll have to start shooting kung fu movies in hi-speed. He is so quick it is hard to believe (and hard to get a good shot of) Like Bruce Lee before him he will probably have to learn how to slow down for the cameras. One thing I noticed early on about Jack is that he was the first person I’ve seen that really did have that ‘Bruce’ quality. It will be worth the wait.

Read more:
Article in the Argus

Jackie Chan’s revealing blog post about the event

JackTu.com

Video of the Disney performance

My shots of Jack on flickr

Jiayo!

Joshua Baker blows away the Fro’s Squire Strat riffage with some mean air guitar action. 28 more shots are up on flickr now.

An industry where the caretakers of properties make far more money off of creations than the creators themselves due to legal circumstance and standard practices that greatly favor corporate ownership should be an intolerable one to every single person who has even a half-measure of interest in the comics they read beyond the initial thrill of looking at the ink on paper.

Read on, true believer!

Superman spotted hiding out in the Research Triangle In a BT box at a Hampton Inn in Cary, NC.

I’ve just started uploading and making notes on pictures I’ve taken of artist studios. The first batch, taken for Kitchen Sink Press’ Michael Kaluta Sketchbook, is up on flickr now.

It was amazing. Pere Ubu tore it up. I am in fucking awe. They did Sonic Reducer and I completely went fucking mental. It was all a million times better then I deserved to expect. Best damn Easter basket ever. See my choicest shots here.

Karen Ulrich, originally uploaded by Marc Arsenault - Wow Cool.

It’s starting to look like the more exciting Coney Island exhibit that the Brooklyn Museum is hosting right now is the one in the blog by curator Patrick Amsellem. And I’m not just saying that because they picked one of my photos to run in it. Yes, I am beyond flattered, but I’ve long made seasonal treks down to the boardwalk and am worried to see how they might be changing it. I just hope we’re left with more than a bunch of photos and our own Coney Islands of the mind.

See all my Brooklyn photos on flickr here, which are pretty heavy on the Coney action. I have a great roll or two somewhere of the summer that C.I. stayed open extra long because all the schools were closed for asbestos abatement. Gotta find those.

At long last I’ve managed to go through some more of my shots from the intense photo-overload in Florida last month. Some of my favorites are these from the Disney Martial Arts Festival night-time show performance by the Tiger Claw Elite Champions. Now I’m off to Raleigh-Durham in the morning for more martial arts action and to hopefully catch a Bryan Lee O’Malley’s book signing.

See the full set.

You can also watch the whole thing on YouTube.

More info at TigerClawElite.com.

The Comics Journal #285 - front cover by Darwyn Cooke, originally uploaded by fantagraphics.

You may find yourself actually buying the Comics Journal again. Although it has become virtually impossible to find (I have not seen it in a bookstore or newsstand for several years… and I’ve looked) they are still plugging on. My local comic shop actually had a few, and the owner told me that a few people who never buy it picked it up this time. Why? Well, with Power Girl’s greatest power cleverly covered, it was probably the fact that there are over 40 pages of words and art from Darwyn Cooke, the man who gave us Absolute DC: The New Frontier. Why? From my point of view… The New Frontier is probably the one super hero comic book I want to hold on to for my kids to have and keep. That’s pretty damn big. He did it right and so very, very well. I’m still working through the interview. Pretty interesting stuff. A different perspective from what you may be used to. As is usual with the Journal, the copy editing is a sad joke… thus, Toronto is a province of Ontario… and this in the very first column. There’s a few (but not nearly enough) pieces of rare and sketchbook art. It seems like this interview was done at the 2007 Comicon in San Diego, so no mention of Mr. Cooke’s tale of his Eisner Awards experience. Anyway.

Also of note is an interview with Keith Knight, a compadre from back in the day. This was a little bit like the Journal back in the form it had a decade ago… oh yeah, the design on this is just about the best they’ve ever had. Sorry for the rambling review… just wanted to share for those who would really want to read this but might not stumble across it…

smiths, originally uploaded by oh my good gawd.

Yes

Medianeras - "Smog", originally uploaded by Marc Arsenault - Wow Cool | Deptex | Gritboy.

Missing rooms…