Studio Ghibli has announced that it will be releasing a new film next summer, to be directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, an animator for the company (this will be his directorial debut). The film’s title is The Borrower Arrietty, and is based on the British story The Borrowers, “an enchanting story about miniature people living under the floorboards of a home.” Via Spoon & Tamago.

I’m pregnant. It’s a girl; we’re expecting her on or about April 21st of next year and we’re going to call her Tallulah. (Haven’t settled on a middle name yet. Once we do, I’ll probably go ahead and get a blog set up for her.  Because, well… we’re those people.)

We’ve kept if off the internet up to this point for a variety of reasons, the most pressing of which being that my pregnancy with Henry was a harrowing experience–more emotionally than physically. My body handled it well, but as a result of two previous miscarriages, my mind was a nervous wreck. In addition, I lost my maternal grandmother in a brutal battle with COPD [note to loved ones: please quit smoking] during which I was lucky enough to be at her bedside. I wouldn’t trade that time with her at the end for anything, but… Anyway, I fell behind on some deadlines.

So, when we got the news about this kid, while overjoyed, I was afraid sharing that news might make editors understandably jumpy about assigning me work. And with the relocation… well, we just aren’t in a position for me to take an extended leave of absence. (Nor would I want to; I like what I do for a living and feel incredibly blessed to earn my keep this way.)

ANYWAY, work has been going swimmingly, we’ve got a fantastic childcare situation here in Portland, we’re more than half-way through the pregnancy [sans drama, knock wood!] and we’ve gone ahead and shared the news with family and clients… Our life here is pretty peaceful and my stress-level this go-round so low that, well, I feel silly keeping it a “secret” anymore.

(Of course this makes perfect sense, but I still find it amusing: during my pregnancy with Henry everything was so new and so exciting/scary. I was *obsessed* with every detail. This time… well, I’ve got a two year old and a job and I sometimes just forget I’m pregnant. Often, in fact. Then I get a swift kick in the bladder and all is recalled, but yeah… very different second time around.)

So there you go. We’re having a baby. Well… not right this minute, but come April. T-A-L-L-U-L-A-H.

Okay: back to work.

Dave Gibbons illustration for the upcoming DMZ #50.

Our work here will not be complete until every Wikipedia page contains an "In Anime" sub-section.

• Crucifixion - In Anime.
  
• Asperger syndrome - In Anime.
  
• Previously, previously.
  

Is there a blog that highlights the stupidest Wikipedia events? I subscribe to the RSS feed of the Lamest edit wars article, but I find that insufficient.

You’d think that after the past, oh, six years on the internet, an image of human flesh mingling with cephalopods would scarcely register with a seasoned browser. It seems that time has finally proved that even the most devout of C’thulhu enthusiasts occasionally reach a tentacle limit. However, my deep, personal fear of web frigidity was dispelled with but a glance at the painting below.

Yes, I can still feel.

Monica Cook, a painter from Georgia, started out as a self-portraitist, moving on to other subjects several years into her career. Her earlier work is relatively sober, with solitary female figures peering and gesturing enigmatically from their canvas quarantines.  2009 marked a period of transformation for Monica, when she created a series of sexually-charged paintings for a solo show at Marcia Wood Gallery, titled Seeded and Soiled. Showcasing mostly-nude, slimy women in glimpses of bacchanalian orgies and a more commanding brush stroke, these paintings are in quite a contrast to the self-reflecting maidens of Cook’s earlier work.

Delightfully energetic and fetishistic, Seeded and Soiled covers everything from power exchange and food play to asphyxiation and foot fancy. Click the jump for two more pieces from the series and two bonus cephalo-phallic images by Monica Cook.

Read the rest of Monica Cook’s Food Fights

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Post tags: Art, Cthulhu, Fetish, Flora & Fauna

A ramp-up drawing I did while working on Strange Adventures for DC Comics this summer. Here we have the cool, calm, and collected Cap'n Easy floating over the mountains of Afghanistan in a makeshift balloon. Vintage high adventure.

So… it would appear that Issue 04 is coming out next week. This means two things:

1. Mark your calendars! Be ready for the mysteries of Issue 04 to be revealed.
2. You can’t get Issue 04 as a Christmas gift. We’re sorry about that, guys. We tried, but we couldn’t rush this one out the door. You’ll understand when you see it, trust us.

Because Issue 04 is only coming out next week, we wanted to put out our Issue 04 Small Business Advertisers before the issue’s actual release, so that you can see them all right now, in case you’re still looking for last-minute gifts. The diversity of the advertisers who have made Issue 04 possible continues to inspire everyone on the Coilhouse staff. You’ll recognize some of them from Issue 03, but there many new artists, designers and makers joining us this time around. Strange and atmospheric music projects, science fiction magazines, bone/clockwork jewelry, knit capelets and scarves, metal sculpture, web hosting, graphic design, art books, vinyl toys… click here to see them all. We’d much rather have these folks in our pages than a Toyota or a Budweiser, so we hope you support them by checking out their projects.

Rather than cramming it all into a blog post, we’ve made a special site where you can see the Issue 04 ads (designed by the talented Nubby Twiglet) in all their glory. Please click here to check it out!

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Post tags: Advertising

Craig Mod posts a terrific write-up on his experience with the Panasonic Lumix DMC GF1 — a camera I’ve been lusting after — during 16 days in the Himalayas.