Steve Ditko is the man 6/29/15 article by Anthony Andujar jr

Anthony Andujar jr

6/29/15

      Steve Ditko is the man. While everyone always says Stan Lee when it comes to most of Marvel , people never seem to mention the other main guys that really contributed to the big chunk of comics, literature and pop culture. For example, Bob Kane made a very different Batman, but Bill Finger was the man who created the design, costume, set pieces and all the other essential aspects of batman while co creating the villains with Jerry Robinson. It's important to know about all the major players that contribute to the very things that the readers (listeners or viewers) have grown up with the material that they love. Jack Kirby helped make a HUGE bulk of the Marvel Comics Universe co- creating characters such as Captain America (with Joe Simon), Ironman, Hulk, Thor (his and Stan's rendition), the X-men (consisting of the first class: Cyclops, Prof X, Jean, Beast, Angel, iceman), and contributed Greatly to DC by creating The New Gods and Darkside. Heck, anyone can't go anywhere down Times Square or anywhere else without seeing some posters, t shirts, or signs that feature Jack Kirby's version of those characters. 

    So why are you reading this article? What's with all this talk about Steve Ditko being "the man" stuff? Here's why, As usual I get up in the morning and check my news feed (as everyone does these days in the 21st century), and I saw this article from Comic Book Resources (personally, I like Comicbook Movie.com but CBR is cool too). I read this article about Steve Ditko , the co creator of Spider-man, Dr Strange, along with DC characters such as The Creeper, The Question, Captain Atom, Hawk and Dove, and his own creator based character Mr A. Ditko is rarely ever seen or heard of In public, he's very private about his life.  Yet despite all that , he takes the time, to write a hand written letter, HAND WRITTEN! To an eight year old fan . It's awesome to read that he responded to a eight year old fan who Wanted to know about his illustrative influences throughout his career. Ditko rarely ever writes Letters, so this was a cool sight to see. How often does an admire , receive a cool response from the very source of the worlds and characters that inhabit our imaginations, that shape, and mold us (in mannerism, way of thinking), to form the essence of what we like and who we are? To even be recognized hey someone who is constantly creating , and for them to take the time to respond back , to give the attention to you, is a very genuinely awesome thing. 

   I don't idolize , I admire. Because when you idolize, you create an image of what you love and cherish, and that will be something that can instantly shatter. Because people do not love up to expectations, just ideals. But when you focus on the ideals of the person, and what they've contributed to those ideals , it's something that can never be broken. With that said, I admire Ditko for taking the time out of his mysterious life to respond back to a young fan. Anyone in that kid's position would be just as ecstatic. The Co- Creator of the beloved Amazing Spider-man writing back? That's a privilege. Little things like that help inspire and make the world go round just as much as the big things that affect and shape out world everyday. 

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2015/06/eight-year-old-comic-fan-writes-steve-ditko-a-letter-and-heres-how-ditko-responded/

Classic DC animated series Blog post 6/27/15 by Anthony Andujar Jr

Earlier this morning, some time around 9am, I came across this cool image asking: Which is the best Animated series. This picture was focusing on the DC comics animated properties which was a great and fun topic of discussion on facebook and message boards. Mind you, I'm a huge comics fan of Marvel, DC aside from Dark Horse, Image, Valiant, and some others. Now mind you, I love the old Marvel cartoons  i.e. 90's Spider-man, X-men, X-men Evolution, Spider-man Unlimited, The 2003 Spider-man The new animated series ( which was voiced by Neil Patrick Harris), Wolverine and the X-men, Spectacular Spider-man, etc. But i wanted to keep the focus on the DC animated properties since thats what this blog post is about ( Also given that Batman: Arkham Knight video game was recently released, why not).

     These core shows (aside from batman beyond and static shock) are the very best, well adapted, well written,  superhero based cartoons ever made. DC is the king of superhero animation. Each show set a benchmark and dug into different issues for different age groups. I love them all. For Batman fans, if you've never watched the Bruce Timm 90's Batman :The Animated series, then you're lacking , because without this series, everything that everyone loves about batman would never have been made i.e. (Mr Freeze's new origin story about saving his wife which then became the standard, Harley Quinn being introduced into DC lore forever becoming a fan favorite, added into the comics after this series, major character development and standalone stories , showing the transition to different Robin's such as Dick Grayson and Tim Drake  and a definite rogues gallery that set a standard idea of what the world of batman was like in addition to how each antagonist mirrored different sides of batman as worthy foes). Heck, this series influenced the Arkham Video games more than the Burton, Nolan films more than any other live action version.

    

   Superman: the animated series is the show (that I could compare to Marvel Studios Ironman 2008 film , in terms of the introduction to the larger dc animated universe, showcasing team ups, paying respects to Jack Kirby: The King of American comic art, and creating the best depiction of superman ever. Justice League and Justice League Unlimited introduced the world to the group and showed each of the characters in their best representation with a diverse line up of characters. There a lot of themes in the show and great character defining moments that shaped a lot of young fans to where they are and what they're interests are now. Along with expanding the roster utilizing characters from different eras of DC comic lore, it was great. Much like its predecessors (BTAS, STAS, Batman Beyond and Static Shock) it managed to dive in deep without losing their viewers whenever showcasing origin stories in animated format that were more accessible to the viewers. And Then there is Teen Titans, and Young Justice which are Both shows depicting different versions of the young adolescent groups. Teen Titans was heavily influenced by the Wolfman/Perez 80's era storylines such as The Judas Contract ( the Terra episodes), The Trigun Saga etc. 

   Young Justice is based off the 90's Comic Book series (in namesake), was one of the last good superhero based content shows to date. It was well written like all the others and had a lot of great moments , it's like Justice league , but through teenage/young adult eyes mixed with covert ops. A lot of  the shows themes dealt with aspects such as the coming of age to young adulthood, seeking identity, acceptance, responsibility, teamwork,  learning the down and upsides of life and relationships, etc. You rarely see good stuff like this anymore for young adults other than good anime these days. while there is no longer american cartoons of this caliber that have yet to surface in the same animation and written quality, surely there will be some new series that'll cover that. At the moment , there are some good anime and such.  At least DBZ is back , along with Sailor Moon: Crystal ! Naruto is spinning off into Boruto The son of Naruto, there are other animes that are out that are on a similar level to Ergo Proxy, Ghost in the Shell, and other generes of anime. It may not be on Cowboy Bebop , or Samurai Champloo level, but there is a good variety of content out there whether known or unknown. When Dragon Ball Super ( the new DBZ series) hits the scene in July, I'll definitely be watching the japanese release since we ( U.S.A viewers) won't be seeing the new series until it hits the states in a few years dubbed in english. Regardless, Tell me what you thought was the best of the DC animated shows discussed in this article and have fun!

 Note: I forgot to also mention Green Lantern: The animated series, which was also a good show too haha).

Bjork Moma Exhibit Art in Ny 3/11/15 post written by Anthony Andujar jr

Anthony Andujar Jr 

Art In NY 

Professor Dina Pizzarello 

3/11/15 

     There have been a variety of reviews by New York Times, NME among others that have expressed their opinions on Bjork's Songlines Exhibit at the MOMA. Personally, as a Bjork fan, I wanted to experience the exhibit on my own. It took me a while to see the exhibit due to MOMA's closing schedule. Luckily, I picked a Wednesday (March 11th, 2015) to see the exhibit. Now originally, I imagined in my head that I would see all kinds of documents and pictures, but I didn't really get a chance to see that on my first visit. I went to the second floor exhibit "Black Lake" theater section of Bjork's exhibit. What I did see was the "Black Lake" music video. The video was shown in a little theater room with two wide screens. A limited number of People can enter the room, sit or stand anywhere they want, and watch the video. As a fan, I liked the video, and I thought it was interesting with the set up having the little theater room mimicking what the Icelandic cave appeared to be ( which the director  Andrew Thomas Huang directed in collaboration with the well seasoned Icon). 

   I could understand the problem that an individual would have when it came to looking at two screens to see what was simultaneously happening since there are slight alterations between the two projections shown with in the music video. It takes minor time to get adjusted since its meant to feel things in real-time, much like a volcano erupting as one attempts to escape at the same time.   Personally, my first visit to the exhibit I enjoyed the music video collection room where people can stand or sit on the red couches and watch every music video from Bjork's musical career. Even the song "I've seen it all" from Bjork's film Dancer in the dark is included ( which is personally one of my favorite tracks from her career including the Selma Songs soundtrack which contains a duet rendition with Radiohead front man Thom Yorke). I enjoyed being among strangers and having a collective unity of enjoying the singers lengthy catalogue while sketching. (Yes, I sketched). On Saturday March 14th, 2015 I met up with my classmate Fernando to check the 3rd floor of the Songlines exhibit. On the third floor, visitors were given a iPhone and headphones exclusively made for the exhibit. It was a timed session of 40 minutes, detailing a loose story based on poems by Bjork, and her friend Sjon. In addition, there were prop replicas of outfits that Bjork wore through most of her music videos throughout her career.    Props such as the clothing material from Bjork's Sophomore album Post, the Vespertine swan dress that Bjork wore for her Oscar winning film Dancer in the Dark(2001), as well as the bell dress from the Medulla album tune "Who is it" along with other material from the Volta, and Biophillia eras. The narrator ( I believe Bjork's frequent collaborator and long time friend Sjon) urged visitors to take their time to soak in the surroundings and information filled with diaries and notes aside from the props. As visitors venture through the exhibit, based on the area, the sound wave technology reacts to the visitors position, allowing them to hear different sounds, narrations and music as a whole.  On March 17th, I visited the Exhibit for the third time with another friend ( Bianca) and this time, I was soaking in more than my last two visits. I really loved this interesting venture through Bjork's creativity. I started focusing on her hand writing and doodle drawings that her lyric notes would contain. interestingly enough, even her hand writing has this interesting style that mirrors most of the fonts in her musical CD sleeves and linear notes. The more I venture and visited the exhibit, the more I felt at home in the conceptual confines that the space contained.  I realized that they didn’t have the music video " Play Dead" but that’s just a minor complaint. I realized what was most interesting about the exhibit, as an exhibit of its own, How much societies opinion on the Icelandic singer had changed. What was considered a horrible fashion dress, is now displayed as a trophy on display. One can't help but sense a feeling of  accomplishment due to how it was once criticized and has now been accepted. Most interestingly is all of the technology that was used for the exhibit.  technology and nature have always been topics and themes that Bjork has always touched upon throughout her career. The audience is able to have a glimpse of some of the tools and instruments used during Biophillia era ( although there wasn't a lot of those tools, it was still nice to see a few sample choices among the bunch).   Personally, I loved the exhibit. It was nice to see a lot of the colorful content and material that The artist has had in collaborations with Alexander McQueen , Spike Jonez, Chris Cunningham and a few others. It was nice to see the props in person as well as see glimpse of how much creative effort as well as imaginative vision was delicately made to emphasize on her visionary career. She truly was and still is ahead of her time ( since she is currently working on her Music Video Stonemilker using Oculus Rift technology).  The only minor thing that I desired more was to enter more into the mind of the artist and what that would look like when it comes to her psychological creative process. Also, I wished that the exhibit was longer to detail her time before her solo career when she was with the Sugarcubes and her work when she was a little girl. In addition I wish there was a little more exploration of the area, because the space just doesn't do enough justice. I wished that I was able to chill in the exhibit as long as I wanted, but given the early closing times that the MOMA has, it's pretty fine for what it is. I just felt that Bjork, the artist, deserved a better space where there would be more content displayed. But for what it was worth, I enjoyed it a lot both as a fan and as a Visitor of the exhibit who was wiling to go in without much expectation.  If there is anything that the Exhibit does absolutely well in, its showing the fusion between technology and nature, Imagination and science, and a sense of innovative wonder that the Singer has always excelled at. her music, her videos, have always emphasized a sense of inclusion, and with what she has accomplished, she's done just that. I'll be visiting all the way till June.

Meeting Legendary Graff artist Chris RWK By Anthony Andujar jr 6/14/15

I reported what I wrote on my Instagram page (antdujar94).

          It was Sunday afternoon around 6pm, June 14th. I was heading to One Stop Beer Shop a few blocks away from Graham Ave in Brooklyn. I went out to meet with some buddies for dinner and a drink and bumped into @chrisrwk #robotswillkill #chrisrwk .  I entered the bar first before speaking to Chris aka Robots Will Kill. I told my buddy Kyle about the guy and how I recognized his work. My buddy suggested that I should talk to the guy, so I did. It turns out we have a mutual art friend who always advocates and showcases the work of artists of various levels, most notably Graff artists (I'm talking about the legendary Lois Stravsky, who is a friend of my ol Middle school to high school teacher Mindy).

    We talked about how I came across his work through Lois (who has a facebook and Instagram page called @streetartnyc ) showcased a batman Graff piece that he did a few years back. I told him that I recognized his work as soon as I was heading toward my friend's bar. Chris is such a cool, humble, boots to the ground, sorta laid back guy. Very approachable, we talked about the art scene in modern times and the importance of maintaining a good relationship between the artist and their audience. It was a privilege to meet this legend since I have his batman picture in my face book photo album (illustrative influences). So the timing was hilariously on point. #graffiti #art #illustration #chrisrwk #robotswillkill photo by #antdujar94 #anthonyandujarjr #streetartnyc.