Every month or so—The DoubleTree Hotel’s Ballroom turns into a parade of Steampunk and Neo Victorian allure. Dorian’s Parlor is a wonderful event for anyone who is looking to party with the darker side of life. This is where the freaks come to be freaks, and everyone is accepting and friendly.

While at Dorian’s Parlor you may see top hats, corsets, and gas masks being worn by people on the dance floor. You’ll catch a glimpse of a cute clown walking around on stilts making balloon animals. The mystery behind some of the people at Dorian’s Parlor is what will bring you back for more.

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Guest Post by Brian Lynch

I had the pleasure of briefly interviewing comic book writer Michael McMillian and artist Anna Wieszczyk, the creators of Archaia Publishing’s LUCID. The fourth and final issue hit shops back in March. But while you’re here, find out how Mike worked (actual) magic into the pages, and why Anna’s love of extreme fashion could’ve made main character Matthew Dee’s wardrobe just a bit more… interesting.

What series and / or writers most directly influenced your work on LUCID?

MICHAEL MCMILLIAN: I’ve been reading comics since I was a kid back back in Kansas, but much of LUCID was influenced by the comics I read in college, mainly Alan Moore’s line of ABC books and Warren Ellis’ Authority and Planetary. Those books really re-ignited my love for comics as an adult. Mostly, LUCID comes from a long love of occult mythology and modern American folklore. I wanted LUCID to be a fun, fantasy-adventure set in a very contemporary world.

LUCID has a unique art style – it reminds me a lot of the anime coming out of Madhouse, and at the same time, the computer-generated qualities give it a unique feel. Was this a conscious decision for the project, Anna?

ANNA WIESZCZYK: I was probably picked up for the project because of the “manga vibe” in my style. I’m afraid I’m still nowhere near Madhouse, but I think I’d like to push my style in direction where the comics I make looks like screens from the anime.

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Earlier this month, Institute Bar and Gallery was host to a traveling art show presented by Wemerge Local Arts and Entertainment Magazine . The steampunk themed artwork ranged from paintings to prints by various Wemerge artists.

The bar served as an excellent location, and the variety of pieces helped showcase the genre extremely well.

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As a fan of edutainment in all its forms, I was excited to check out the American Philosophical Society’s newest exhibit, Of Elephants and Roses.

The exhibit documents the time between the French Revolution and the July Revolution. During this time, French and American scientists and intellectuals were sending letters and specimens back and forth across the Atlantic, as they struggled to understand the natural world and its many mysteries.

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The Characters of Broken Plot Device

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Philadelphia has an actual, honest to gosh webcomic creator in our midst. Philly’s own Liz Boriss began Broken Plot Device in June of 2008 and has been creating comics ever since. She was nice enough to talk with me recently about Broken Plot Device and webcomics in an email interview.

Have you always wanted to be a cartoonist?

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and I always wanted to do SOMETHING with it. Making comics just ended up being a natural evolution to me. I’ve had these characters for years and naturally would give them personalities and stories without even thinking about it. So when it came time to start Broken Plot Device, I already had a basic cast of characters fleshed out, and just let them interact and tell their own stories from there.

When did you decide that a webcomic was the right avenue for your work?

I’ve always been very independent as far as my artwork. What I mean is, I like being able to pick-and-choose what I do and when I do it. If I were to work for a large comic publisher, I would be working on other people’s projects for years before being given the chance to work on my own IP. I had also built up a modestly-sized audience online with my illustration work, so I had a pool of people there I could jump off from for readers.

I also have to mention a podcast called “Webcomics Weekly” and accompanying book “How to Draw Webcomics”, both done by 4 webcomics veterans (Scott Kurtz, Kris Straub, Dave Kellet, and even fellow Philadelphian Brad Guigar) which gave me all the practical business information I needed so I wasn’t just dumping comics into the endless void that is the Internet. It’s going to sound silly, but even considering everything else, BPD would never have gotten off the ground if it wasn’t for their advice.

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Recently, I was invited to sit in for a day and check out the new 3 day Final Cut Pro course at Drexel.

As a film geek and someone who is currently in producing a short film, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to take a day and learn something new about one of my favorite video editing programs on the Mac platform.

This course which runs 3 days and will be held every 2 to 3 weeks on Thursday, Friday and Saturday is meant to prepare students for Apple Certification in Final Cut Pro.

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Ever since since Tromeo and Juliet I’ve been a fan of James Gunn. To say that his career has been diverse would be an understatement. From Scooby Doo to Slither, Gunn has been all over the place with projects that showed off his range as both a writer and director.

I got to chat with him about his newest film he both wrote and directed, SUPER starring Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page. We talk about what its like going from the independent to the studio system and then back to independent to shoot his very dark, violent and disturbing superhero film. Be warned, there are some spoilers below.

Since SUPER was written back in 2002 before the whole “Real Superhero” trend started, what was the inspiration for the film?

I just wanted to look at the Superhero from a completely different angle. When I first started writing the script it was supposed to be a short film, but I sort of fell in love with the characters and kept writing till it became essentially SUPER.

I don’t remember what the exact inspiration was, but I was trying to write a story about the seedy side of a superhero. Frank was also much more of a stalker in my first draft as well. Frank D’Arbo was a guy that dressed up like a superhero and just basically stalked his wife and it definitely ended up being more layered than that in the final product.

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Photo via the IDGA

Did you miss out on all of the excitement that was Global Game Jam (GGJ) earlier this year? Fear not, because IGDA Philadelphia is hosting its third Philly Game Jam (PGJ).

For 2011, it will take place during the Too Many Games Expo from May 6-8. According to this Too Many Games post, Philly Game Jam “is a 48-hour game-building marathon where game professionals, students, and amateurs alike compete to build new game concepts based on a theme announced at the start of the contest.”

This is a lot like GGJ, with some minor differences. PGJ costs money to enter – it’s $70 per team, which also pays for you to get into the expo ($20 per person for a weekend VIP pass). Also, teams are pre-determined, as opposed to creating them on the fly. Keep in mind, too, that unlike GGJ, which focuses on collaboration, PGJ is a competition.

Sound like your kind of friendly competition? Check out the game-jam official IGDA Philadelphia page for more details. Keep in mind, this is a BYOT event (bring your own technology), and it takes place in Oaks, PA at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center from Friday at 5 pm until Sunday at 5 pm.

Better bring some Bawls.

For more information, visit IGDA’s official website.

This week in the Comic Roundup we check out Robert Kirkman’s new series Super Dinosaur, see how invincible Iron Man is against Fear Itself and visit with a long lost friend in Dark Horse Presents.

Super Dinosaur #1
By Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard

By now I really don’t think I need to tell anybody how good a writer Robert Kirkman is. His two Image titles, The Walking Dead and Invincible, regularly get great amounts of attention because they are a) very good and b) everything a creator owned title should be. But with his new series, Super Dinosaur, he is trying something that has generally been a dead end in comics: an all-ages book. How does he do? Pretty well actually.

Super Dinosaur is a book that is all about being fun. I know I use that term a lot, but to me that is what comics are all about. Sure, Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns have their place, but at the end of the day a comic book should be a fun read that leaves you entertained. Super Dinosaur accomplishes that whether you are 8 or 80. The adventures of Derek Dynamo and his best pal Super Dinosaur will appeal to just about anyone. Kirkman writes a straightforward story that is not dumbed down for kids or overly simple to adults. The art by Howard has an uncomplicated style that fits perfectly with what Kirkman is trying to do. Plus SD (as Derek calls him) might be the coolest looking new character I have ever seen.

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Back in February, I swooned over Scott Derby’s awesome, geek-tastic illustrations. His fantastic Star Wars (Han Shot First) and Shaun of the Dead drawings simply screamed ‘get me tattooed on you’, what with their Sailor Jerry-esque inspired styling.

Well, now you can get something slightly less permanent from this talented local artist. His Shaun of the Dead “You’ve Got Red On You” illustration will be available tomorrow, Tuesday, April 26th, for a mere 24 hours on Teefury.

If you’re unfamiliar with the site, Teefury sells limited edition shirts for one day only, and the designs are almost always spectacular. No surprise that Scott is appearing on the site.

So make sure you head over to Teefury tomorrow morning, immediately, as soon as you wake up, to pick up this awesome tee. Great design, great artist. Congrats Scott.

Teefury.com [Official Website]

The Robolancers Hard at Work

For a long time, science fiction has provided a plethora of famous robots. Cylons, R2D2, and Bender, just to a name a few that I got on this Sporcle quiz before I gave up. Sorry, C3PO.

But what about real-life robots? What’s going on in the world of today? Well, the Robolancers from Central High School hope to tell you all about that in 1st Annual Philly Robotics Expo at Drexel University. The event, taking place on Thursday, April 28th of Philly Tech Week, invites you to “have a blast playing with real robots and learning from the Philadelphia businesspeople, engineers and students who are transforming science fiction into science reality!”

Did you hear that? You get to play with real live robots. AND IT’S FREE. Why are you not already lined up outside of the Drexel Recreation Center? Proceeds from the event get put back into local robotic and engineering programs in Philadelphia, with the goal of one day building a Robo-Mayor Nutter, who uses social networks at high efficiency and legislates with an iron-alloy fist.

Philly Robotics Expo
April 28 2pm – 8pm
Drexel Recreation Center, 3301 Market Street
Free Admission

This post brought to you by OgilvyInteractive. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ah, digital magazines. Seems like a lot of companies are trying to jump into the appzine market, and few are doing it right. I mean, with an application like Flipboard that delivers a magazine-esque experience, why even bother?

Well, in comes The Collection, a new appazine delivering a monthly, pay-per-issue digital mag, brought to you by Ringier, a Swiss-media company founded in the early 1800′s. You heard me. The 1800′s, a fact that astonishes me.

What are they doing different? They’ve put together a unique content management system especially made for The Collection, that lets you experience the content in an entirely new, intuitive way. Photos, videos, text… all delivered interactively.

The app aims to stay up to date with current events in our ever changing media landscape, which is an impressive statement to say the least, considering how quickly news breaks all over the Internet. But if a media company founded in the 1800′s can still continue to move with the times, I think its safe to assume they’ll achieve this goal.

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