Are you interested in making comics? Do you want break in to the industry?  If so, Andy Schmidt and Comics Experience is offering a chance for unprecedented access 140 characters at a time.  Tonight, January 4, 2010, starting at 8pm is the first ever Tweetup for making comics.  Join Andy Schmidt (Former Editor Marvel Editor, Former Senior IDW Editor, Current Hasbro Muckety Muck), Chris Sotomayor ("Soto"--coloring God), and Robert Atkins (Artist for Marvel, IDW and a whole bunch of other things I can’t remember).

I know each of these guys and each one of them have an enormous amount of great information. In fact, I hosted a panel with them at the CGS Supershow called, interestingly enough “Breaking Into Comics with Andy Schmidt.” You can listen to that here:

Or you can ask them your own questions tonight, at 8pm. Just use the hashtag #CMXEXP in all your questions or comments!

Here's an example:

@Sotocolor Why are you so awesome? #CMXEXP

Starting at 8pm Eastern Time, just begin tweeting your questions to any of the Comics Experience instructors:

@ComicExperience -- Andy Schmidt

@SotoColor -- Chris "Soto" Sotomayor

@RobertAtkinsArt -- Robert Atkins

Have fun and enjoy!

Today is the third day of Hanukkah (or Chanukah, Chanukkah, or Chanuka or even חנוכה or חֲנֻכָּה or the Festival of Lights--cut me some slack I had 13 years of Catholic school), an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.

With respects to Mr. Sandler and In honor of the occasion, "here are a list of [comic] people who are Jewish, just like you and [he]."  Some you may know (like the Thing, Kitty Pryde, Magneto and Batwoman), some you may not  (Ragman, Moon Knight, and the golden age Sandman.)  To make it more fun, I didn't list their names only the pictures. Post a comment if you need me to identify any.

In his latest move to take over the Universe, Andy Schmidt has teamed with iFanbiy to create the Making Comics Podcast.

Here are the details from an email I recieved.
 -------------------------------------
 NEW PODCAST WITH ANDY &
IFANBOY!!!
 -------------------------------------
We're happy to announce a new collaboration with iFanboy-- the
"Making Comics Podcast with Andy Schmidt," hosted by Josh
  Flanagan!
 
Each week, Andy and Josh will be discussing all aspects of
breaking in and making comics! As Josh himself put it over on
iFanboy:
 
"Whether you’re a writer, artist, writer/artist, colorist, or
just someone who appreciates the craft, we hope there will be something for you,
and if your dream is to make comics, that you find yourself one step closer to
it.
 
The first show is live now, and available on the regular iFanboy
podcast feed. We’ll have a new 10-15 minute show every week. Episode #1 is
'Start Writing.'"

So, get it onto your mobile device -- or check it out on the web
right here:

 http://ifanboy.com/podcasts/making-comics-podcast-1-start-writing/

For some reason (perhaps it is because of space restrictions), Universal Studios does not add new attractions to its Orlando Theme park. Instead, they replace existing attractions with new ones.  As a result, despite its short lifespan (the park opened on June 7, 1990), Universal Studios has a rather lengthy list of extinct attractions.  Kongfrontation begat The Mummy; Ghostbuster begat Twister; Psycho begat Shrek; Back to the Future begat the Simpsons; Earthquake begat Disaster; and I can't remember all the things that have been where the now-closed Jimmy Neutron rocket is. Well, last week, Universal announced another great attraction that will be added to the list of permanent closures.  The announcement was short.

Jaws The Final Voyage

On January 2, 2012, one of Universal Studios' most iconic rides is heading out to sea for the last time. In order to make room for an exciting new attraction, Captain Jake's Amity Boat Tours is closing and we invite you to come celebrate with one final ride of JAWS®.

Come relive your favorite memories and get ready to scream as the Great White Shark takes its last bite.

Now, to be honest, I can't remember the last time I went on Jaws. It certainly wasn't an attraction that I had to go on each time I was in Universal Studios.  But still, I took comfort in the fact that it was there. And perhaps took it for granted. I will say that the Amity area, which features games of skill and chance in a boardwalk setting was one of my favorite places in Universal Studios Orlando. I will miss going there with my daughter, where we faced off with water guns to see who could pop the balloon first. But, i look forward to what will be coming to the space. (Perhaps it will be the Florida version of the new Transformers ride that is opening in California next year).  Still, I do wish universal would have given me more than 3 weeks notice that Jaws is closing.  I would have liked an opportunity to say goodbye to Bruce, Sheriff Brody, Captain Jake, and Skipper Billy, Sharkey and the rest of the broadcasters at Amity's WJWS13 (The Station that Bites). And if you got any of those references, then you will probably miss the attraction as well.

_So, in honor of this closing, I provide a little bit of history about the attraction (statistics are from Wikipedia, so take them for what they are ;-).

• The original attraction at was inspired by the scene on the Backlot Tour in Universal Studios Hollywood (I have not heard that this is closing).
• The ride was designed by MCA/Universal Planning and Development, in association with Ride and Show Engineering, which designed the original tour scene. (Steven Speilberg, director of Jaws was a creative consultant).
• the ride opened on June 7, 1990.
• Because of technical problems when it first opened, the ride had to be evacuated almost daily and the ride was closed for repair from August 1990 through the Spring of 1993.  During that time, Universal hired the Totally Fun Company to create a new version of almost the entire ride (They also sued Ride and Show Engineering).
•  The ride was then officially re-opened by Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gray and Steven Spielberg in Spring of 1993.
• The ride was closed again in 2004 after several hurricanes that struck Central Florida.  The rife was not damaged, rather the cost of petroleum went up and the ride's pyrotechnical effects became too expensive). 
• The ride finally reopened in December 2005 and was run "seasonal" until February 2007. then, as a result of numerous guest requests, Jaws became a full time attraction in 2007.
• The attraction was further refurbished in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
• The attraction's queue holds a maximum of 1,000 guests for up to 90 minutes.
• Over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of electrical wire are used throughout the attraction.
• The ride track is approximately 1,140 feet (350 m) in length and features a total of three track switches; two near the unload dock to take tour boats in and out of the boat storage siding, and one near the load dock to take tour boats in and out of the boat maintenance building.
• The tour boats travel through the attraction at an average speed of approximately 2 knots.
• The total ride time is approximately 5 minutes.
• The attraction's Theoretical Hourly Ride Capacity is listed at a maximum of 2,500 guests per hour.
• Amity Harbor covers an area of roughly 7 acres (2.8 ha) and holds approximately 5,000,000 U.S. gallons (19,000,000 L) of water.
• The shark animatronics move through the water at speeds of up to 20 feet (6.1 m) per second and thrust with the power equal to that of a Boeing 737 aircraft at takeoff.
• Jaws appears seven times throughout the attraction; five times on the port side of the tour boat and twice on the starboard side.

And now, let's take our final ride on Jaws:

Happy Halloween!

In honor of this amazing holiday, where people can dress as their favorite characters, people wear amazing costumes and attractive women wear skin tight scant clothing . . . wait a minute that’s  not Halloween, that’s Comic Con. 

This is Halloween, where ghouls and goblins come out and I get to scare the bejeezies out of the neighborhood kids. In honor of this holiday, I thought I would highlight some of my favorite Halloween/Horror comic stories. Of course, I’m not including the Walking Dead.  A great series--yes. But, given the popularity of the television show, I thought it was too easy (in the same vein I avoided the obvious EC horror series like Tales from the Crypt).  That being said, if you haven’t read Walking Dead, what the heck are you waiting for? It is, by far, one of the greatest comics ever written!

But, I digress, so now I present some of my favorite stories: