Inanimate


Click here for my G.I. Joe blog
Technical problems here at Inanimate
********We're slowly working on it! posted 13 September 2023* Switching servers and still relying on an FTP site and Adobe Dreamweaver when I barely understand them is a triple whammy that Inanimate.com hasn't weathered well. The whole site is still out there, somewhere, but I've got a root directory problem to solve. Maybe it's time for a site-wide redesign? More soon. You can always find me on Facebook and Talking Joe and Atomic Abe and ARealAmericanBook!
Elements of Cinema @ Brattle Theatre posted 25 April 2023 On Tuesday, March 30th I'll return for my third hosting gig at Harvard Square's wonderful Brattle Theatre. his will be a free screening with discussion (not a lecture, a discussion) for the Brattle's "Elements of Cinema" series. We'll screen René Laloux's Fantastic Planet in 35mm, celebrating its 50th anniversary, and did I mention tickets are free?
Panel Discussion @ Fleet RISD Library posted 20 October 2022 On Tuesday, October 25th at 6:30pm, I'll be sharing the stage with Claudia Covert, Special Collections Librarian at the Fleet @ Rhode Island School of Design, and Bill Adler, Music Journalist and Hip Hop Documentarian, on a panel called Collecting Comics. Adler and I have each donated various comix and graphic novels to the RISD Library, and we three will talk about individuals and institutions collecting and curating them. Click here for the event flyer.
So Much Talking About Joe posted 20 October 2022 With Mark and Jay Cordray, I've taken part in about 65 episodes of Talking Joe, wherein we talk new issues of IDW's G.I. Joe and old issue of Devil's Due's G.I. Joe. Along the way we've interviewed interesting G.I. Joe creators like Josh Blaylock, Dan Jolley, Brandon Jerwa, Billy Penn, and Larry Hama! Pick Apple, Spotify, Podbean, Stitcher, or Google podcasts here, and listen to/watch our YouTube and YouTube audio episodes here.
Atomic Abe Videos are a Big Hit! posted 20 October 2022 With creative partners Nick Nadel and Kevin Maher, I'm pleased to report that in just over two years our total YouTube views are over 2 million! Enjoy video essays like Behind the Backdoor Pilot: Daredevil/Thor and 3 Ways to Make a Shark Movie, or the 90-second award-winning festival favorite Crazy Mel's Auto Emporium.
Hub Comics Grand Reopening! posted 20 October 2022 Geez, I sure missed the first part of this, that Hub Comics was temporarily closing in March 2020 for the government-mandated COVID shutdown. And then that Hub Comics was undergoing a full, gut renovation! We were closed for 16 months, and everything -- floor, windows, electrical, ceiling, lights - was redone. You can watch the whole thing here. In fact, I make and we post a 60-second shop update on YouTube/Twitter/Instagram every week!
Inanimate.com active again! posted 19 October 2022 I'm no Dreamweaver wiz, and the local site/remote site interface, with the vagarities of its FTPs and passwords, gives me the internet hiccups every year or three. So after 1.5 years of not updating this website -- but sure wanting to! -- I am back in. I'll update tomorrow with some fun Hub Comics, pandemic-era, Talking Joe, ARealAmericanBook.com, and regular-Tim-art updates.
Co-hosting "Talking Joe" podcast posted 22 February 2021 After a meaty interview for a special episode [Apple/Spotify/Podbean] of Talking Joe and the retirement of his partner, "Funky Bunch" Mark asked me to become full-time co-host. Our first episode [Apple/Spotify/Podbean] is on December's G.I. Joe issue #276, our second [Apple/Spotify/Podbean] flashes back to the 2001 G.I. Joe comic relaunch (audio + images on YouTube), and we'll alternate each week. Co-co-host Jay Cordray joins us for the Devil's Due issues. Thanks, Mark, for this outlet!
Instagram + Cobrember posted 12 December 2020 My book/blog and I have finally joined 2016 and are now on Instagram! Follow @arealamericanbook for more. First up: every day in December I am drawing and coloring an original piece featuring a member of G.I. Joe's villain army, Cobra! This follows in the footsteps of Inktober and Joevember, if you're familiar with those creative internet art memes. Cobra and Decemeber, remember the hashtag! #cobremeber
Atomic Abe launches! posted 12 December 2020 With creative partners in the form of writer/producers Kevin Maher (HBO) and Nick Nadel (The Onion, Bravo's Blind Date), I am pleased to announce our new endeavor Atomic Abe! That means comedy shorts like The 6 Types of Zoom Users, animation like Message From The Future, and comedy series like Behind The Backdoor Pilot featuring The Golden Girls and Star Trek! Click here for all the great work!
Book Update #39: Spring '20 posted 09 June 2020 This update might be a lack of update. The first half of 2020 found me progressing very little as the world turned sideways and my teaching job moved to remote learning. But summer is here (no school!) and just in the last week I've started rewrites of Chapters 2, 3, and 4 with info dug up and interviews conducted since I "finished" them in 2009. Here's the full 2019 year in review for more context.
Hub Comics renovations begin posted 09 June 2020 You might follow Hub Comics on its website, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, so you may already know about our long-planned renovations! Most dramatically the awning has come down and staging will go up around the building, but this is good news! We'll have order-by-phone for another few weeks for curbside pickup or local delivery, but we may then go dark for the summer -- it looks scary but it's all good news. (Here's a last "before" look inside.) Click to the right for a photo of early progress.
Boston Antiquarian Book Fair posted 10 November 2019 updated 09 June 2020 - new image to right This Sunday the 17th I'm on a panel with Liz Prince and Nick Thorkelson, and moderated by Hillary Chute. It's called The Graphic Revolution: Exploring the Comics Culture, and it's at 2pm at the 43rd annual Boston Antiquarian Book Fair. Tickets on-sale for Friday, free admission for Saturday and Sunday. See you at Hynes Convention Center! Info here! Click at right for two photos.
Boston Sunday Review radio/podcast posted 02 November 2019 Tomorrow I'm Mat Schaffer's guest on his long-running radio show, the Boston Sunday Review. We'll talk comics history and G.I. Joe. Thanks to Betty Fulton for setting it up, and producer Tracy Clements, who took the photo at right. Listen live between 6 and 8am on 98.5 The Sports Hub, or stream here.
LadiesCon '19 Panel at the Armory posted 19 September 2019 This Saturday the 21st at Somerville's Armory is the 4th annual LadiesCon, a wonderful free comics convention sponsored by the Ladies of Comicazi! Hub Comics will be there selling books, but more specifically, I'll be one of four people on the "Design For Animation" panel starting at 2:30pm. Click at right for pics!
Little Nemo - Free at the Brattle! posted 18 June 2019 In the works for a few months, but only just now confirmed! Next Tuesday, June 25th, I'm hosting a free screening of Masami Hata and William T. Hurtz's 1989 feature film Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, Cambridge, as part of its Elements of Cinema series. This is not a digital projection, but rather, 35mm film! More here.
Blog Update: Nomenclature! posted 05 June 2019 An upgrade I've been planning on for years regarding my G.I. Joe blog! arealamericanbook.wordpress.com is now arealamericanbook.com
Book Update #38: Winter '19/Spring '19 posted 05 June 2019 Worked on Chapters 16-19, and started my first draft of Chapter 20. Had two photoshoots at Gladworks. Emailed a few people to ask follow-up questions, and met a famous artist in NY to ask about his small connection to GI Joe Extreme.
Department of Nerdly Affairs interview #2 posted 05 June 2019 Rob Paterson and Don Chisholm Department of Nerdly Affairs and I chatted again, this time with Jesse Farrell joining us. Our topic was Hub Comics and the state of comics retail. Listen here.
Site Update: Summer 2019 ********* posted 04 June 2019 After a year-plus of not having access to my Inanimate.com server, thanks to the efforts of UX pro and pal Jordyn Bonds, I can at last post updates here again! A lot has happened with Hub Comics and A Real American Book! and writing and drawing in the interim, and I'm happy to be back at Inanimate.
Book Update #37: Summer '18 Unable to post Septermber 2018 / posted June 2019 - See above ***** This summer has been particularly great for chapter 18, which is all about the development of a live-action G.I. Joe feature film between 1989 and 1995. I tracked down and interviewed three key players and am borrowing paperwork from each, including a 120-page screenplay! Also visited a Kenner sculptor in Rhode Island, for Chapter 19.
Department of Nerdly Affairs interview posted 04 April 2018 Rob Paterson and Don Chisholm take a biweekly deep dive on their podcast, Department of Nerdly Affairs. Their topics range from Taiwanese comics to Chinese webnovels to hero pulps to indie RPGs. Recently I guested, and we three talked about G.I. Joe history, toys, comics, and animation. Thanks, gents! Listen here.
Book Update #36: Fall '17 & Jan '18 posted 07 February 2018 Had my 16th photoshoot. Editor Nick and I revised and locked the text to Chapter 16. Designer Liz sent me the Chapter 17 layout. Examined spreads and wrote notes back for Chapters 11, 14, 15, and 17. Wrote and rewrote Chapter 19, all about GI Joe Extreme. Nabbed a few more interviews.
Hub Comics turns 10 today posted 19 January 2018 updated 01 February 2018 While I entered the picture in mid 2011, my comic book store predates me a bit. It's a day for celebration, as Hub Comics opened on this day, January 19th, 2008. This also marks manager Jesse Farrell's ten-year anniversary with the shop, too! Hub Comics celebrates with a weeklong sale!
Book Update #35: Summer 2017 posted 12 September 2017 Renumbered Chapters 12b and 15b and FILM as 13 and 17 and 18. Finished draft 2 of 16 and draft 1 of 17 and sent to editor Nick. Found G.I. Joe treasure in Los Angeles for Chapters 6 and 18, some of which I'd wanted since 2004. Conducted two new interviews and a follow-up. Chatted with Nick about Ch 16. Worked on 18. Hope to meet with designer Liz and meet the new photographer soon. Attended JoeCon. Attended HasCon. Will blog about those next month.
Book Update #34: Winter 2017 posted 17 February 2017 Designer Liz has revised Chapter 9, and sent first passes on Chapters 10 through 12. I'll give comments on 12. She's starting on 13 and 14 now. I'm finishing the text for 15 and 15b, and still working on a first draft of Chaper 16 and Chapter X. Had two photoshoots with Andre for all these chapters. Logged and transcribed five new interviews. Took notes on Season 2 of GI Joe Extreme. Photo at right by Andre Blais.
My blog at mental_floss posted 08 February 2017 Jake Rossen interviewed me and I provided all the images for this mental_floss article about Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa “joining” the G.I. Joe team. This summer I had jury duty, but this fall I was finally an expert witness! Read it here.
Archive Report: Film Scanning posted 01 October 2016 Both the 16mm Original Camera Negative of Circus 34 and the 35mm OCN of *Limboscape* have been scanned in 4k at Gamma Ray Digital. Thanks to restorer Benn Robbins and tech guru Perry Paolantonio! The aforementioned Steve Baldwin at National Boston transferred the original 16mm mag audio to uncompressed WAV files. I'm no whiz at color grading, and I've not handled DPX files before, so HD versions of these films aren't up here, but that is the goal. The thumbnail to the right enlarges!
Archive Report: Film Remastering posted 05 August 2016 It's been six (!) years since I last archived my old work. Last month I booked time at National Boston to transfer my sophomore animation work from 16mm film to HD Quicktime. Director of Film Services and colorist supreme Steve Baldwin was great to work with. And it was fun to be at National again -- I was last there in June 2000 for the SD transfer of Limboscape! I need to do another round and then I'll look to getting this work up here at Inanimate.
Book Update #33: Summer/Fall 2015 posted 11 December 2015 Since the spring I've interviewed two more toy designers. Added four paragraphs to Chapter 9 and sent it and revision notes to designer Liz. Had a photoshoot with Andre for Chapters 10 and 13. Finished writing Chapter 10 and sent it to designer Liz. Worked on Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and X. Chatted with podcasters.
Her Dork World, His Dork World interview posted 06 December 2015 updated 11 December 2015 This past Thursday I was interviewed by Dean Compton and Emily Scott about G.I. Joe and comic book stores on their show Her Dork World, His Dork World. It's recorded, so if you miss the live broadcast, you can listen to the podcast.
Now on-sale: INANIMATE #1 posted 30 October 2015 It's been two and a half years since I published a new comic, so I'm happy to announce INANIMATE issue #1, a 50-page black and white minicomic containing two new stories and two stories that aren't new but have never seen print. Read it on my tumblr, or buy it at Hub Comics for $6, or here for that price plus s/h.
MICE 2015 updated 30 October 2015 I tabled at MICE (Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo) two weekends back along with Ellen Dubreuil. We sold comics and prints, and had a great time chatting with friends and alums. MICE is held at LUCAD, where we both teach, and in its sixth year has become a big, vital part of the indy comics convention circuit.
I curated a gallery show posted 01 October 2015 On display now through October 18 at the Raizes Gallery at Lesley University College of Art and Design -- Covers, Pages, and Ads: Mainstream Comic Book Art of the 1980s and '90s. Original cover and interior art from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Detective Comics, Amazing Spider-Man, and more. Kate Castelli hung most of the show, big thanks to her.
Follow me on Tumblr! posted 04 September 2015 I have entered 2012! Now I have a Tumblr. The name's similar to "Inanimate," but with an added pun. I'll post sketches and doodles there since the "Sketchbook" section here has been lying fallow. Onward to Finnanimate!
Book Update #33: Winter 2015 posted 03 March 2015 Finalized the text to Chapter 9 and sent it to designer Liz. Thinking about Gary "Goggles" Head. Reviewing the second-to-last draft of Chapter 10 with editor Nick. Photographer Andre and I flew to Texas to shoot the collection of Chris Murray, who took the photo at right. Thanks, Chris!
2014 Year in Review posted 29 February 2015 Most links here on the front page of Inanimate take you to my blog. This one's no exception. Two weeks back I wrote a lengthy explanation-and-list of what I did for the book last year. But there are pictures, too. It's here.
Book Update #32: Fall 2014 posted 15 December 2014 In August, I flew to Chicago to let a smart G.I. Joe fan read Chapters 1-10 of my book and offer feedback. In October I visited a fine artist who sculpted for Hasbro. Later I drove to Rhode Island for a follow-up with a vehicle designer, and trained it to NY for a chat with a famous toy developer. I also telephoned some movie types for a helpful interview. Recently, editor Nick has taken passes on Chapter 9 Draft 6, Ch. 10 Draft 5, Ch. 11 Draft 3, and Ch. 12 Draft 1. I'll incorporate his comments, plus I'm writing Draft 1 of Chs. 13, 14, 15, and X.
Comic Book Store Goings-On posted 15 December 2014 It's been a great year for Hub Comics. In May, Joe Quinones signed for the release of Zatanna and Black Canary: Bloodspell. In August we rented the Brattle Theatre for Liz Prince's Tomboy release. Back at the store, three days later we opened our Sailor Moon art show. In November we hosted Raul the Third for Lowriders in Space, and then two weeks later set up at Suffolk University's NESAD gallery to sell copies at Raul's artist talk. And finally, this Saturday December 20th is the opening of Hub Comics' 6th annual Dark Knight on a Dark Night.
Book Update #31: Summer 2014 posted 11 July 2014 Flew to Los Angeles, chatted with Wally Burr and Larry Houston again, and Larry and I visited his local comics shop. Also, I interviewed a former Marvel editor. Back in Boston I talked with a lawyer about Fair Use. At home and at the library, I broke Chapter 12 into two, am shaping draft 1 of Chapter 14, and am trying to track down the last five or ten interviewees I need for the book.
Interview at 13th Dimension posted 25 May 2014 Clay N. Ferno and I chat about Hub Comics giving away G.I. Joe #200 and Joe collecting. Over at my blog, I have a post mortem for the Hub Comics giveaway.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation review x2 posted 14 March 2014 Over at my blog I've posted two different film reviews of the live-action G.I. Joe sequel. The first is my written review (with pictures!) of the theatrical release. The second is an audio podcast of the director's cut featuring myself and book editor/smart person Nick Nadel in conversation. What did we think? You'll have to click to find out.
My book's on Twitter posted 22 January 2014 Get updates and read pithy announcements @GIJoeBook.
Tabling At MICE posted 15 September 2013 The Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo is September 28 and 29th -- two days this year! I'll be sketching commissions and I'll have on hand Jet Brick, Four Squares, More Squares, Gore Squares, and TransSpoof! What's TransSpoof, you ask? Why, that's the embarrassing Transformers comic I drew between 8th grade and two-years-after-college!
Book Update #30: Fall 2013 posted 15 September 2013 Made contact with four more interviewees, one has responded so far, another I've already interviewed and transcribed (and now the first two pages of Chapter 12 need to be rewritten), and am still working on Chapters 10, 11, 12, plus now assembling early material for 13. At right, a waveform of part of the four-hour interview I conducted in Los Angeles in July.
Hub Comics, Two Years Later posted 15 September 2013 Hub Comics manager Jesse Farrell quietly wished me a happy anniversary two weeks back, a poetic reflection of our less frenetic second year as renovations and stock curating have calmed down. Thanks to Jesse, as well as employees Dave McCarthy and Jack Turnbull for their hard work and dedication, along with designers Kelly Wilbur and Matthew Davis of Wilbur Davis Studios for all the lovely furniture they've made (Archie Tower, Giant Bookcase, Dollar Rack).
Tabling At Boston Comic Con posted 20 July 2013 Boston Comic Con is two weeks away, August 3 and 4!
Book Update #29: Summer 2013 posted 20 July 2013 Working on Chapters 10, 11, and 12. Did a follow-up interview to clarify content in Chapter 12. Visiting someone on the West Coast to look for storyboards. At right, sometimes I need to see a whole chapter laid out in order to work on it.