Innocent: The Sword #1 & Devil Water #1 Make IndyComicsReview

Devil Water #1
http://www.indycomicreview.com/Reviews/DevilWater1/tabid/199/Default.aspx

Innocent: The Sword #1
http://www.indycomicreview.com/Reviews/InnocentTheSword/tabid/198/Default.aspx

More reviews of the first installments...#2 for both is coming soon.

EROSION by Ann Lu

A fellow indy filmmaker, Ann Lu, sent me some info on her recent film. It definitely looks like something I want to check out.
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She said "Want to tell you about my new film EROSION, which opens at Laemmle Fairfax 3 in LA on April 21st, followed by a North American DVD/Video release from LifeSize Entertainment on April 25th. Check out the reviews below."

"EROSION is my second feature film and was completely financed by independent investors and made true indie style. Dubbed "an erotic walk on the wild side" by Variety, EROSION (starring Emmanuel Xuereb, Charis Michelsen) is about a couple who break into stranger's homes to have sex as a way of escaping reality. Compared by many to LAST TANGO IN PARIS, EROSION includes some highly charged visceral sex scenes. "

"Its shady mood is further enhanced by the poetic cinematography of my late husband Neal L. Fredericks' (THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT). Neal was an active indie club member and his life was tragically cut short in a plane crash while shooting a film in 2004. Now having the film out is the final chapter to this life changing journey. The opening day shows also feature a companion documentary entitled TWO FACES OF EROSION. This evocative doc details many amazing events that happened during and after the shoot, pushing indie filmmaking to the next level."

Pre-Order at Amazon.



There is more info for EROSION at www.erosionmovie.com. For showtimes, visit www.laemmle.com. This is definitely something worthy to pass on.

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"Erosion is an emotionally scathing, undeniably erotic, painfully beautiful exploration of identity, love, and futures broken by fragmented pasts." - Film Fanaddict Magazine
"An erotic walk on the wild side...greatly profits from enigmatic perf by Emmanuel Xuereb in the sexy loner part" - Variety
"This gripping drama, from hot young Chinese director Ann Lu is...like a William Faulkner novel. The film in a broader sense is not just about dealing with death and abusing power, but about the human condition..." -Homemediaretailing.com
"A mix between Basic Instinct, Lost in Translation and Unfaithful, this film deserves its place in my collection. " - Horreur-web.com
"Director Ann Lu explores the relationship between pleasure and pain. Aptly titled, the film eats away at us." - NewYorkCool.com

Before you get #1, check out FAMILY BONES #2

I know it's a bit early, but we're going to do our best to stay on deadline. So before #1 is back from the printers, I already have a preview of FAMILY BONES #2. I hope you like it.

Chapter 2 : Enters Wendy

Art by Benito Olea Bellido
Cover by Benito Olea Bellido
Back Cover by Dimitar Bochukov
Written by Shawn Granger
http://www.kingtractorfilms.com/FamilyBonesIss2.html

Family Bones #1 Sawed To Pieces By Broken Frontier

"The tale is instead evocative of a very quiet, very subdued Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with the gritty realism of the first movie edged with faint touches of the zaniness found in its sequels. "

Dave Baxter, Broken Frontier
http://www.brokenfrontier.com/reviews/details.php?id=732

Kidnapped Girl Found! Thanks to everyone!!!

That's right. On a lead they go at the end of last week, the Barstow, California police were able to arrest the kidnapper this weekend and found Kristina Colon. She's alive. The kidnapper it appears was wanted on a slew of charges, so he'll be spending a long time in the Barstow jail while they figure it all out. Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word! The Colon family is very grateful!

Photo of Kidnapping Suspect.

Here is a photo, it's not much but so far this is all the police seem to have to find this Mike Downing.

If you know him don't forget to call.
PLEASE notify the Police at 818.238.3000 report number 06-3699

Friend's Daughter Kidnapped! NEED HELP!

I know this sounds like a weird dream but this definitely isn't. Lourdes is a friend of mine and her daughter was kidnapped by a guy she met on Myspace. Please spread the word so that someone who might know something can help find her.

"Hola Dear Friends & Colleagues,A fellow colleague of mine, actress Lourdes Colon ("Without a Trace," "The District") sent me updated info about her daughter that just went missing this weekend. Please, I call upon you dear Friends, Entertainment contacts, Media contacts on this, my private e-list that reaches almost 1,000 of you from California to N.Y....Please, if you have any leads, contact Lourdes and/or Burbank Police. Please see notices & phone numbers below....The notices are: two e-mails from Lourdes, including her daughter's picture. And a note from Lourdes' other daughter. All three notes offer a bit of info which the others don't.Gracias for any help you can offer...please feel free to forward notices to your own e-list.

Teresa-Michelle Ruiz

Actor / Writer / ProducerHermosa

Productions~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1) UPDATED INFO FROM LOURDES COLON TO TERESA-MICHELLE RUIZ:

I really need all the help I can get. she is believed to be now with three guys.... I know she is scared. I think they might be headed towards Bakersfield maybe going towards San Francisco on the 5 north. I did have a psychic who does this kind of thing and did pick up this area.. He was driving a copper orange like Chevy Cobolt and might have changed into a car that is a chevy maybe a capri some kind of muscle car older car maybe 60's or 70'sAny help would help.Thank you so muchL2)

E-MAIL FROM LOURDES COLON TO NOSOTROS ORGANIZATION:PLEASE notify the Police at 818.238.3000 report number 06-3699. She went missing in the middle of the night on Friday while I was sleeping. She is believed to have left with a 21 year old man that she just met on the internet on MYSPACE.com... He had her leave her cell phone and erase everything on it before she left. If you could help that would be very appreciated. The guy is 6'4 about 220 lbs blue eyes and light brown hair.Thanks, LourdesMISSINGKristina ("Tina")3)

NOTE FROM LOURDES COLON'S OTHER DAUGHTER, ANITA:Please help me find my sister!!!!! Her name is Kristina and her nickname is Tina she's a missing person and was kidnapped from my home on the night of April 7th 2006. She is 5'3" 110 lbs, has dark brown hair and eyes, she's 17 yrs old and may be with an older male named mike Downing. He has blue eyes and 6'4"Caucasian he's 21 yrs and very dangerous. He took my sister in the middle of the night and she does not even have her cell phone. Please if you see her notify the California Burbank police Department 818-238-3000 of this missing person from Burbank California. Thank you for your time. The case number is 06-3699.

Thank you for your time,

Anita (her sister)

Here's more info.

http://nvfc.us/content/view/2164/70/

Devil Water Makes Comic Avalanche Excellent Board!

The Comic Avalanche has a list of "MUST READ" books and today I'm very proud to announce that DEVIL WATER has made that list!

"For me personally this was a very fun and enjoyable story with some twisted suspense thrown in for good measure. The pacing, for the most part, is well done, the dialogue is fitting, and the art is superb. "

And #2 is just around the corner!

Cinescape reviews Devil Water #1

DEVIL WATER shows some promise for King Tractor Press, but it needs polish. But, I think I’m interested.

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Comics&action=page&obj_id=50979&type_id=270288&cat_id=270410&sub_id=270418

Preview of Family Bones #1 is up.

http://www.kingtractorfilms.com/FamilyBonesIss1.html

In FAMILY BONES Chapter 1, rebellious teen Sean is shuttled from one family member to the next, finally landing at the farm owned by his elderly Aunt and Uncle. There, the city boy must quickly adapt to the rigors of farm life. Sean must also adjust to the emotional and physical abuse that Uncle Ray visits upon his wife and nephew. Family Bones is based on a true story about teenage angst, family secrets, and murder on a small Midwestern farm.

Art is by Orlando Baez and Kenneth Landgraf. Cover by Dan Howard. And written by me.

Devil Water wakes the sloth.

Optical Sloth has just reviewed Devil Water #1.
"I'd say this has some serious potential, and Steven Barr has apparently been involved in all kinds of movies, so he should have the money to keep this going until the story plays out. "

http://www.opticalsloth.com/index.php?module=pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=7&pid=935

I'd like to point out that it's a misconception that film people make tons of money. This is not a comment on Steven's bank account, but a general point that I'd like to make. There are a lot of people with money in Hollywood, but they are the bankers.

From the U.S. Department of Labor website....

"Median hourly earnings of actors were $11.28 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $7.75 and $30.76. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $6.63, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $56.48. Median annual earnings were $15.20 in performing arts companies and $9.27 in motion picture and video industries. Annual earnings data for actors were not available because of the wide variation in the number of hours worked by actors and the short-term nature of many jobs, which may last for 1 day or 1 week; it is extremely rare for actors to have guaranteed employment that exceeded 3 to 6 months."

"The average income that SAG members earn from acting—less than $5,000 a year—is low because employment is sporadic. Therefore, most actors must supplement their incomes by holding jobs in other occupations."

"Median annual earnings of salaried producers and directors were $52,840 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $35,550 and $87,980. Median annual earnings were $75,200 in motion picture and video industries and $43,890 in radio and television broadcasting."

Average income for an actor is LESS THAN $5,000 a year. Most IT Technicians make more than Producers or Directors. It's a big misconception that most of Hollywood is rich. Most people leave this place after 2-5 years. Personally I think the fantasy of Hollywood is part of what they use to sell it.

Still...I made less than $10k a year for a few years and loved every celluloid minute of it. I'm sick like that.

Vote for some good music.

Some musical friends of mine have a couple websites up and are looking for votes. Rachel Guerzo (vocals and piano) and Vincent Ong serve an evening of Jazz at The Living Room Bar. It's probably too far for most of you, but via the internet you don't have to miss out. And then there is GruvAvénue, another taste of jazz. They've got some cool samples at their website. I hope you check them out.

Indy distributor, DIMESTORE, moving to new host.

If you prefer to order our books through Dimestore Distributions (as some do) then be aware they've had some difficulty with their host. BUT they are still in business. You can find the new store at http://www.dimestoredistro.com/catalog/index.php .

The regular site at http://www.dimestoreproductions.com should be up soon as well. The site traffic has spiked so much that the hosting company pulled the plug. The jerks couldn't figure out how to increase bandwidth so instead just dropped a client. You wonder how some people got jobs in IT in the first place.

And now Broken Frontier reviews Innocent: The Sword #1

Tonya seemed a bit more wait and see about Innocent: The Sword #1...but you can read for yourself. Can't wait to see what she says of #2.

"Overall, Innocent: The Sword #1 has an interesting idea and an artist perfectly matched to tell the story. There were, however, too many unanswered questions and too much mystery to fully enjoy the story."

http://www.brokenfrontier.com/reviews/details.php?id=699

Broken Frontier reviews Devil Water #1

Devil Water #1 just got reviewed on Broken Frontier.

"The creative team on Devil Water truly has taken a bundle of odd components and created a mixture that is an enjoyment to read. Engaging and fun with more than a hint of mystery to keep the reader coming back for more; this title promises to turn the wild west into the weird west...and that is a very good thing." Review by Tonya Crawford, posted March 30, 2006

http://www.brokenfrontier.com/reviews/details.php?id=697