New York Comic Con 2011

Bliss on Tap will next be at the 2011 New York Comic Con, October 13-16, in booth 2753 (on the corner) directly across from "Artist Alley".

ANDIE AND THE ALIEN

ANDIE AND THE ALIEN

by Bliss on Tap Publishing
written & created by Brian Phillipson & Phil Phillipson
art by Alex Nino
color / 108 pages

Premiering at the San Diego Comic Con 2011 / in stores Fall 2011:
from the creators of God the Dyslexic Dog comes an extraterrestrial retelling of the classic Aesop's fable "Androcles and the Lion"...

Over 500 years ago, an alien spaceship crashed in the undiscovered Americas.

The little alien was rescued by the local natives.

In return for saving him, the alien promised to protect the natives from foreign invaders by placing a force-field over the Americas -- preventing exploration and colonization of their land -- and altering the course of history as we know it forever.

500 years later, in a world without the United States of America, the Nazi's have just won World War II and rule absolutely.

Until one day, a captured British scientist named Andie, with the help of Albert Einstein (of course!), hatch a plan to rescue the alien and save the future from the Third Reich.

Bliss on Tap is at the San Diego Comic Con! Come visit us at booth 5533 in the Independent Press section (think red carpet)...same place we've been these last few years.

Spotlight on Alex Niño...

Thursday, July 21

11:30-12:30 Spotlight on Alex Niño— Widely regarded as one of the world's greatest Filipino comics artists, Comic-Con special guest Alex Niño has had an amazing career in American comics, too. Niño will talk about his past, present, and future projects in this spotlight panel. Room 4


5:00-6:00 Figure Drawing for Popular Media— Emilio Soltero, Ph.D. (Draw the Line, Figure It Out, John Buscema: A Life in Sketches), along with Alex Niño (Mulan, Marvel, DC) and Stephen Silver (Kim Possible, Clerks), presents a primer on drawing the figure for popular media, including drawing for comics and character design and a demonstration on figure drawing. There will be some cool giveaways and a chance to draw as well. Come ready to take notes and to draw. Room 30CDE


Sunday, July 24
12:00-1:00 The Philippine Invasion— Back in the 1970s, comics were "invaded" by an incredible influx of talented artists from the Philippines. Some of them became mainstays in American comics. This year, Comic-Con has invited some of those artists to appear at the event as special guests, including Ernie Chan, Tony DeZuniga, and Alex Niño, along with current-generation Filipino artist Gerry Alanguilan. Writer and editor Mark Waid talks with this quartet who have made an indelible mark in American comics. Room 4

More Alex Niño San Diego Comic-Con panel info:

SUNDAY, JULY 24

Hall H

12:00-1:00 The Philippine Invasion— Back in the 1970s, comics were “invaded” by an incredible influx of talented artists from the Philippines. Some of them became mainstays in American comics. This year, Comic-Con has invited some of those artists to appear at the event as special guests, including Ernie Chan, Tony DeZuniga, and Alex Niño, along with current-generation Filipino artist Gerry Alanguilan. Writer and editor Mark Waid talks with this quartet who have made an indelible mark in American comics. Room 4

San Diego Comic Con 2011 schedule update, with Alex Nino info, per comic con press release:

THURSDAY, JULY 21

Hall H

11:30-12:30 Spotlight on Alex Niño— widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest Filipino comics artists, Comic-Con special guest Alex Niño has had an amazing career in American comics, too. Niño will talk about his past, present, and future projects in this spotlight panel. Room 4

Brian Phillipson did a podcast with Alan Abbadessa at www.allthehappycreatures.com, discussing "God the Dyslexic Dog" and the new, upcoming book from Bliss on Tap, "Andie and the Alien".

Link is HERE and HERE

Bliss on Tap Publishing will be at the San Francisco Wonder Con April 1-3, in booth #608. Stop by, say hi and purchase God the Dyslexic Dog Volume 3!

New review by Ant at My Take Radio:

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REVIEW

Another new review, this time from BROKEN FRONTIER (click here or read below)

For review of VOLUME 2 (click here)

For review of VOLUME 3 (click here)

The philosopher Diogenes of Sinope consulted the Oracle of Delphi in order to discover his purpose in life. She told him: “deface the currency.” But Diogenes didn’t interpret this as destroying money, but rather challenging the common, ordinary perception of life, specifically norms and customs. He dwelled in a large barrel instead of a house. He destroyed his only wooden bowl out of solidarity when he witnessed a beggar boy drinking water from his cupped hands. And he famously patrolled the streets of Athens with a lantern in broad daylight, searching for just one honest man.

All of this eventually led to his nickname of “Diogenes the Dog.” But historical records claim that the philosopher took the term as a mantle rather than a slander, for dogs are not pretentious. They eat, dwell, defecate, and copulate in public without any shame. And most importantly, dogs have an instinct for knowing friends from foes. Diogenes always felt that we could learn a thing or two from dogs because they're more virtuous than man could ever dream to be.

At the opening of the first volume of God the Dyslexic Dog, the creation of time and space takes place. A wandering vagrant-poet is responsible. Perhaps he’s God, and perhaps not. Maybe he’s just the cosmos anthropomorphized. He wears tattered robes, a wide-brimmed hat, and is grizzled. He looks a little bit like Odin and Gandalf the Grey, but he has the spirit of Diogenes. Why do I say this? Because for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and when the celestial poet gives life to the cosmos, he creates an inversion—the Dog.

This is our world, but it’s still primordially psychedelic. I’ve referenced the substance Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in past writings: it is a powerful hallucinogen that occurs naturally in human biology. Its effects when ingested are drastic; they’re said to transport the mind of the user into a parallel universe beyond tangible conception. As one unknown source once said about the psychedelic: “Load universe into cannon. Point at brain. Fire.” This is the only way I can describe the appearance of God the Dyslexic Dog.

This is intended to be the highest of compliments, because Philip and Brian Phillipson, the creators and writers of the series, have crafted extraordinary interpretations of world myth and legends. Their work here isn’t unlike the mystical challenges postulated by Neil Gaiman in The Sandman, Alan Moore in Promethea, or Grant Morrison in The Invisibles. I say this because after the vagrant creates the universe and his dog as its inverse, he lets the chips fall where they may. Gods come into being, all the gods we know about from our history lessons in school. And the world comes into being, too, with humans to worship the gods.

All of these elements were ordered by the vagrant-poet into a box, which was given to the mortal Pandora for protection. So long as the gods existed in the box, their roles as idols of the human imagination would remain safe. But this is not to the liking of Bacchus, the Roman deity of wine and the frenzy. Like a destructive alcoholic who appears to be the life of the party but is actually filled with pain and suffering, he wants to open the box to set the gods loose in the hope that it will bring his own existence to an end. If the world’s deities are no longer contained inside Pandora’s chest, then they no longer have a purpose in the world’s collective unconscious. Order is lost to chaos.

An epic quest ensues that spans time and space. Pandora and a young boy named Nez must find the salvation of creation: the Dog. He is the only one who has the ability to face and destroy the now-renegade gods that are only interested in dominating the world they once inspired.

I apologize if this seems confusing, but I promise that the plot comes together rather concisely as the first volume of God unfolds. This is a feat, because the narrative is quite dense with a lot of material I neglected to touch upon. The main reason why I am so attracted to the story and themes of God the Dyslexic Dog is because it doesn’t assign judgments of what beliefs are right and what ones are wrong.

It’s not a secret that I am no friend of religion. Add to this the fact that the Phillipsons have created a new deity around scientific theory and progress called “Dar Win.” While I don’t agree with the premise that science is something to be worshiped instead of religion (science is a process of objective discovery outside of faith—that is all), their story doesn’t proselytize. Rather, they set up a grippingly unique epic unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a comic book.

When looking at the breathtaking illustrations of artist Alex Nino and the colors of Dennis Venizelos, I am instantly reminded of the collaborative works of Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. Nino, a long-time veteran of comics himself, combines the appearance of grizzled and rough characters with fine-lined details that is only possible in a comic book. He undertakes incredibly elaborate interiors in this book, and they are all a grand success in conjunction with Venizelos’ colors.

This is the first in three trades. While I don’t have the other two on hand, I will set out to purchase them soon enough. It’s a story that’s so attractive because of the bombastic courage of its imagination. The book takes a lot of chances, which is applause-worthy in its own right. But when those chances prove successful, well, it’s all the sweeter. God the Dyslexic Dog is a celebration of dog as man’s best friend, but it’s also an inquiry into why he’s our pal and ally.

I think Diogenes would have enjoyed a book like this.
Posted by Steven Surman on Oct 20, 2010