My Presence will go with you Design

Here's this week's Sermon Design! Pastor Kent will be preaching on Exodus 33, when God told Moses, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." I thought that the minimalistic, stark imagery worked well with this, signifying a seemingly unending path through the snow, which would be a tough journey just as Moses faced. The multiple footprint signifying that, although the walker is unaccompanied, God's Presence walks with him. I topped it off with the Hebrew for Shekhinah glowing underneath the walker's footpath. Shekhinah means "dwelling place, resting place, Presence of God." You like?

Seeking the Kingdom

Here's the latest tentative design for the next series at Word Alive. The end product did not EXACTLY replicate my vision for this design, but I believe it came close enough. The subject matter of the Kingdom is quite vague, as there are many mysteries surrounding it, so I took two parables that Jesus told and merged them into one. the scriptures are Matthew 13:44-46. These parables speak about a hidden treasure in a field and the pearl of great price. SOOO, I hid a pearl in a field. There has already been a suggestion that I remove the crown in the word Kingdom because it might be a bit overused, and I certainly understand that. I just like it for some reason... What do you guys think? With or without crown?

Fast Food Force Interior

Here's the interior artwork for the Fast Food Force Brochure that I posted last night... This project has been quite the popular design around Word Alive, and I decided to post the interior. It's been an adventure, trying to get this order out in time for this weekend, but it looks as if we've turned it around... hopefully! Let me know what you guys think... Please? Maybe the guy from Berlin will comment... Maybe the guy from Singapore. OR one of the DOZENS from around the U.S. will say something. Ehhh, who'm I kidding? It'll just be Andrew, if that. Enjoy, my babies!

Fast Food Force Brochure

Here's the latest and greatest from Word Alive Design Central! Today I was instructed to design a Fast Food Brochure entitled Fast Food Force, which will be a push for Word Alive and other churches to join the Fast Food Program. This program follows the fasting guideline as presented by God in Isaiah 58. The gist of the program is this: you fast one meal a week, and donate what would be the cost of that meal to help feed the hungry around the world. This design wasn't an immediate idea, but everything progressed that way. The design has not yet been approved, but I am hoping it will be tomorrow so that I can continue with the interior. BTW, the fold in panel (the one with the hand) will most likely feature an inspirational scripture or phrase. I just haven't made it that far yet ;). What do you guys think?

EDIT: I added the text that was missing.

Heaven's War REVIEW

Another Review! This one is of Heaven's War by Micah Harris and Michael Gaydos.

This book interested me because I got it for $2 in Myrtle Beach. I normally only read books that I've read a review or two about (hence the high ratings I give) so for me to walk cold into this one was very strange. I was intrigued by it's description as it lists two of my favorite novelists as characters.

Heaven's War is a fictionalized story about three of the Inklings, a group of writers from Oxford university in the 1930s - 40s. The three protagonists being Charles Williams, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien. In the story these authors were pitted against Aleister Crowley, who was famous for his use of Black Magicks during this time frame.

The central part of the story hinges on the mystery of the Rennes-Le-Chateau in France. Most people would be familiar to this mystery if they know anything about The Da Vinci code, as that book hinges a bit on the Rennes-Le-Chateau as well. The concept for the story is a very lofty one and I know that there was sufficient amount of research put into this tale. The lofty side is based on a scripture (and Charles Williams' personal belief) that time is merely a convention for us in the earthly realm (i.e. not on a spiritual plane). The Scripture in question neither confirms nor denies this claim, if taken in context. Ecclesiastes 3:15 reads, "Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before." This idea presents in itself that not only is access to heavenly realms possible from the physical world, but also that time travel is possible and one person can change the outcome of natural and spiritual things. All of the characters seem realistic and appear to act as I know they would have. C.S. Lewis was a very cool headed character, whose mind was always adequately wrapped around any issue or task at hand, while Tolkien was more of the Catholic hot-head that we all know and love. This made for a great dynamic. The art was decent, but was not Gaydos' best work by a long shot. At times it was fairly distracting.

THE FINAL SAY
Well, I moderately enjoyed this book. The art was so-so; the writing was decent; and the concept was very enjoyable. The best part about reading this story is the fact that it inspired me to do some research on the real life locations, mysteries, and people presented and I learned a lot. This book could've been great - but the high spiritual fashion and assumption of the nature of time often made the book disjointed and very strange. I liked the book, but it could've been a lot better.

The Goon - Nothin' but Miserey REVIEW

WOW.

2 reviews in 2 days! It's like I'm on fire! After watching Flordia completely humiliate Ohio State for the National Championship tonight, I thought it would be good to read another trade. So The Goon got the nod.

This book by Eric Powell was another spectacular read! It was a very strong change of pace from last night's Loveless read, and I appreciated it even more because of it. The Goon is infused with an awesome amount of humor that is mostly self propagated due to the horror roots the concept was obviously birthed out of.

The stories were all fairly self contained and only hinted at a larger underlying theme throughout the book, but I was impressed with the concision of everything. No element in the book takes itself seriously, and that is such a fresh and different take than a lot of independent works are after. The Christmas tale was easily the most hilarious Christmas story ever, and I may have to read it yearly during the holidays. The off-the-wall shenanigans of The Goon and his pal Frankie are just what the Doctor ordered, and the occasional pseudo ads will have you in stitches!

The Art was spectacular. I'd like to compare it a bit to Jeff Smith's cartoon like renderings from Bone, but I'd have to say that Eric Powell takes the cake all the way home with him. He's got multifaceted skills that shine when he paints a beautifully painted, albeit humorous cover or takes a different approach to artistic storytelling.

THE FINAL SAY!
Well, I have to say that I was pleasantly pleased with this book and I look forward to more volumes of The Goon down the road. All in all, The rating for this book should've been a 7 out of 10 - however - one quote changed that. After coming across a large fortune in one of the stories, The Goon's sidekick Frankie belts this out, "First, I'm gonna buy a new hat. Then, a giant solid-gold statue of Rita Hayworth naked, rubbing fluffy buttery biscuits all over her nakedness!" No sir. It doesn't get much more golden than that!

New Audio Bio Posted

I've wonderful news! Someone mysteriously posted a new song on my long dormant Audio Bio! Who could it have beeeeeeeen? Maybe it was Popeye! Go check it out. Now-ish.

Loveless: A Kin of Homecoming REVIEW

OH, SNAP!

I finally have another review of a trade. Imagine that! This one is Loveless: A Kin of Homecoming by Brian Azzarello and Marcelo Frusin. It's a great read that sets up the series very nicely and really does so in a way that makes you want to read more. I suspected that Azzarello would present it this way because I collected 100 Bullets for the first 50 issues and it was the same way.

Azzarello really socks you right in the mouth with this one, making a statement that is rarely, if ever, taken in a Civil War era story. This is an adult book, so the themes and language are very much adult. Looking at that, however, one could see that this is a story that very well could have taken place in the South after the war was over, when Reconstruction was a "goal" and "peace keeping" was a term that was loosely used in a broken society. This book also comes with a hefty point of view that the main character's brother thrusts upon us about 3/4 of the way through. This perspective makes one think for quite a while, as a war should rarely be taken for face value. Very thought provoking.

The art was very complimentary to the storytelling, much like Eduardo Risso's on 100 Bullets. The use of shadows and silhouettes is very apropos in this series, as all of the characters seem to have some ulterior motives. I can't wait to get the next trade to find out what happens next in the series.

THE FINAL SAY!
Nothing can really be better than a book that makes you think about things. This book definitely has a new, original, and subtle voice about how things might've really gone down in the South after the Union won the war. Remember, folks, reconstruction was an occupation, much like what's hapening in Iraq. Surely there were those that just wouldn't let it go, eh? This is why I have rated this book:

THE SCALES OF JUDGEMENT HAVE SPOKEN!