Mike Luoma Writes Science Fiction, Comic Books, and This Blog...
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The end of VATICAN ASSASSIN on today's Podcast!
Listen to the final two chapters (30 & 31) of my science fiction adventure Vatican Assassin - Remastered on today's podcast. Plus some bonus chatter from me on the history of Vatican Assassin and how many copies have sold & been downloaded, etc. More info at http://glowinthedarkradio.com
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Hear THREE Chapters of VATICAN ASSASSIN Free On the New Podcast!
My new Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast is up - with chapters 27, 28 & 29 of my science fiction adventure Vatican Assassin Remastered - listen in as I read you my book -- it's free!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Two Chapters of VATICAN ASSASSIN On My New Podcast!
As we near the end of the book the chapters of my science fiction adventure Vatican Assassin come fast and furious! Hear chapters 25 & 26 on this week's podcast:
Saturday, June 19, 2010
For Your Listening Pleasure... Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast Episode 108
My new Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast is up with chapter twenty-four of the Remastered edition of my science fiction adventure Vatican Assassin!
Monday, June 14, 2010
FREE "Alibi Jones" Short Story!
My short story "Alibi Jones: Vacation" - a sort of stand-alone sequel story to the novel Alibi Jones - came out originally as an audio only contribution to the audiobook anthology Podioracket Presents: Visionaries. Now you can get a free pdf copy of the short story when you become a fan of the Alibi Jones facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burlington-VT/Alibi-Jones/142797717510
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burlington-VT/Alibi-Jones/142797717510
Saturday, June 12, 2010
New Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast With BRAND NEW Alibi Jones material from the Upcoming Sequel
Chapters 22 & 23 of my science fiction adventure Vatican Assassin on today's podcast... PLUS I decided to share some of the new Alibi Jones 2 that's in the works - brand new material written into novel form just this week!
Live on Podioracket!
I was on Podioracket's live Blog talk radio Show this week - check out the archived show:
PR-PV Authors descend on the Podioracket
Listen to internet radio with PodioRacket.com on Blog Talk Radio
PR-PV Authors descend on the Podioracket
Saturday, June 05, 2010
PodOmatic | Embed a Podcast Player
My new podcast episodes features both chapters 20 and 21 of the Remastered Vatican Assassin:
Join Me on PodioRacket.com/ Blog Talk Radio Wednesday Night!
Join myself and the other 7 authors from the second half of the short story audiobook anthology Podioracket Presents-Visionaries this coming Wednesday night, June 9th at 9pm EDT on www.blogtalkradio.com/podioracket! Speak with myself, Philippa Ballantine, Basil Sands, Teel McClanahan III, Brian Rathbone, J. Daniel Sawyer, H.E. Roulo, and Phil Rossi. Brian Holtz will be co-hosting with Rhonda Carpenter and, to add even more excitement, there will be book give-aways. Don't miss out! PodioRacket.com on Blog Talk Radio
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast Episode 105 Is Live!
You can hear Chapter 19 of my science fiction adventure Vatican Assassin Remastered as well as an "archival" recording of my tune "Don't Look For the Sun" from 2006 on this episode of my podcast:
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast Episode 104 now LIVE!
The new episode of my Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast is now up - hear chapter 18 of Vatican Assassin and a song, too - "Let It Fly"!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
New Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast Up!
There's a new episode of my Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast up - listen to chapters sixteen and seventeen of my science fiction adventure Vatican Assassin on the new episode!
Friday, May 07, 2010
Great News AND a New Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast!
On Monday, I start as the new Music Director and Midday host on The Point!
It's great to be back at the station, even better to be back as the station's Music Director. You'll be able to hear me every weekday from 10am to 3pm (Eastern Time), on the air in Vermont and online everywhere at http://pointfm.com.
Aaaaand there's a new Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast:
The podcast will be moving from Fridays to Saturdays as of next week due to my new schedule.
It's great to be back at the station, even better to be back as the station's Music Director. You'll be able to hear me every weekday from 10am to 3pm (Eastern Time), on the air in Vermont and online everywhere at http://pointfm.com.
Aaaaand there's a new Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast:
The podcast will be moving from Fridays to Saturdays as of next week due to my new schedule.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Episodes One-Hundred and 101!
The Landmark 100th Episode of the Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast:
AND the 101st Episode - Brand New!
AND the 101st Episode - Brand New!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Cross Promote on the Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast!
Next Friday marks the 100th episode of my Glow-in-the-Dark Radio podcast! I started the podcast back in September of 2006 to get my book VATICAN ASSASSIN out. It faded for a bit in 2008, but came back strong in late 2009, and has now made it up to a hundred. I'm currently presenting the remastered chapters of my science fiction adventure Vatican Assassin.
All that is background for my invitation to cross-promote your podcast, website, book or current project while I shamelessly ask for you to congratulate me on reaching my 100th podcast episode
Interested? Please record a short promo - tell us who you are, promote your latest thing and give a web address. Then wish me, Mike Luoma, congratulations on reaching the 100th episode of the Glow-in-the-Dark Radio podcast. Doesn't need to be too long or elaborate.
By the way, my last name is pronounced Loo-OH-mah. It's Finnish
I'm hoping to run a few of these throughout next Friday's anniversary special. If you'd like to be a part of it, please send me an mp3 of your greeting/promo before next Thursday night at midnight PDT - Send it to: glowinthedarkradio@gmail.com
Would love to have you on the podcast!
Mike Luoma
All that is background for my invitation to cross-promote your podcast, website, book or current project while I shamelessly ask for you to congratulate me on reaching my 100th podcast episode
Interested? Please record a short promo - tell us who you are, promote your latest thing and give a web address. Then wish me, Mike Luoma, congratulations on reaching the 100th episode of the Glow-in-the-Dark Radio podcast. Doesn't need to be too long or elaborate.
By the way, my last name is pronounced Loo-OH-mah. It's Finnish
I'm hoping to run a few of these throughout next Friday's anniversary special. If you'd like to be a part of it, please send me an mp3 of your greeting/promo before next Thursday night at midnight PDT - Send it to: glowinthedarkradio@gmail.com
Would love to have you on the podcast!
Mike Luoma
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Considering "The Source" - Questions about the "Q Gospel" Or Synoptic Sayings Source
Just re-reading and re-considering Burton L Mack's important 1993 book The Lost Gospel: The Book Of Q & Christian Origins.
In the fifteen or so years since I first read the book, I've learned a lot more about modern scholarship on early Christian history and origins, about what we think we know about the formulation of dogma and canon in the early Christian churches. And so my new reading of Mack's book was done with a better educated and thus, perhaps, more critical mind. I certainly have more questions than answers at the end of my reading.
If you're used to my writing about comic books and science fiction this discussion of heavy, esoteric theological and historical deconstruction may strike you as strange - but this stuff fascinates me. Matter of fact, my whole book Neo-Gnosis is dedicated to related exploration, reading and studies. I grew up Roman Catholic, but the more I learned about Christian Origins and the Church the less I wanted to be a part of it.
So I find my own way. And while I'm writing fiction, I have a hard time reading new fiction - just hard to keep so many fictional worlds alive in my mind all at once. So I read a lot of non-fiction, and a lot about early Christianity and the quest for the "historical" Jesus - stripping away the "myth" from the "man" as best we can.
It's not easy to hold discussions about Jesus, who he was, what he did, and how his scattered followers became the Church we know today. The extremists who use his name would like to claim exclusive rights to JESUS CHRIST as a trademark, of sorts, for their brand of religion. The so-called Christianity that calls itself Fundamentalist, or Conservative Evangelical, is actually an anti-Christ system in my opinion - see my "Holy Shit: Or... Pat Robertson is the Anti-Christ" for more. Their fragile "faith" will brook no questioning of the Jesus story they THINK is in their Bibles. Evidently, they don't actually READ their Bibles... or else their supposed "literal" reading of the Book is much more interpretation than they care to admit. 'Cause what they get out of it? I don't see it in there.
These rabid folks on the so-called "Christian" Right and their constant misappropriation of Jesus' name make it hard to talk about him and his legacy in reasonable terms with rational, thinking people. But there are rational, thinking historians, form criticists, and scholars who are looking at the origins of the Jesus movement, and what we can learn from the texts we have and the ones we've found in the last century or so, like the Dead Sea Scrolls and the lost Christian writings dug up in Egypt near Nag Hammadi. Primary source scholars are pouring over the evidence we still have to try to reconstruct what we can know about its evolution, to try to peer back through the veils of history to see what was going on back then, when Jesus was walking around the Palestine and Galilee.
As I cannot read Aramaic, Greek or Latin, I must rely on those who can... I'm more a reading or secondary source scholar, I suppose. The more I read, the less the primary source scholars agree with one another - the nuances of their disunity become more apparent. But reading these various ideas is like mental exercise - like mind candy for me - and so I continue to look for new and different ideas and considerations of the sources.
And speaking of sources... this brings me to my current question about Q.
The briefest background on Q, in case you need it: It is widely accepted that the Gospel in Mark's name was written first, circa 70 AD. Matthew's came next, probably in the 80s, John's and Luke's in the 90's, early 100s. Though the gospel in John's name is very different, when you place Mark, Matthew and Luke side-by-side you see they have similarities and overlapping phrases and stories. It is apparent to many that Matthew and Luke both copied from Mark - the way each borrowed from Mark also showed what each cared to emphasize about Jesus in their versions.
In addition to the material from Mark, Matthew and Luke share other material. Some argue this is because Luke copied from Matthew, end of story. But many more have shown that the "Markan" material copied by both gospel writers came from slightly different source documents, and sometimes Luke's gospel's version of Mark's events or phrasing is of an earlier form than Matthew's, in a more primitive Greek, which is evidence that Matthew and Luke were written independent of one another. That being the case, it appears that Matthew and Luke both used another common source or two, because there is overlapping material in both that doesn't come from Mark. The German theologians who originally figured this out called their hypothetical source "Q" - from the German for "source" - "quelle".
Over the last 100 years or so, scholars using form criticism and other textual redaction techniques have attempted to draw this lost source out of the gospels. They found it was probably not a narrative book, but instead a collection of sayings. The discovery of the lost "Gospel of Thomas" in the mid-twentieth century bolstered this viewpoint - though it was not Q, it was a collection of the sayings of Jesus, and showed that his followers did indeed create such collections. In addition, Thomas also shared some of the previously identified Q material with Matthew and Luke!
Others went further, and argued that textual criticism showed that Q had to be a unified whole of its own, even though an original document has never been found. Still others took that hypothetical whole and broke IT down even further, suggesting that 3 layers of development could be perceived in the the text. The most strident of this group went so far as to then say you could deduce who the earliest followers of Jesus were from what was included in the earliest layer, or strata of Q, which they called Q1. This is Burton Mack's point of view, and he hammers it home in The Lost Gospel: The Book Of Q & Christian Origins.
As I read Mack's confident stratification of Q (advancing his arguments from another scholar's, John Kloppenborg',s stratification), and once again encountered his gleeful stripping away of the apocalyptic overtones from the earliest layer of his Q material, I now understood he's arguing directly against others who cast Jesus as a Jewish Apocalyptic Prophet, from Albert Schweitzer down to modern scholars like Bart Ehrman.
But another question bothered me. Mack suggests - actually, he insists... he doesn't really ever just "suggest" anything - the Hellenization of the Galilee and Q's location in Galilee argue for the possibility - for Mack the "fact" - that Jesus was a Cynic Sage. But when we strip away the apocalyptic overtones of the Q2 strata to get at Mack's sage, we also strip away ALL the references in Q to the places of Galilee. Q1 not only has no apocalyptic phrasing, it also lacks any locations and thus any possible certitude of its locale of origin. No?
Mack argues audaciously not only for the reality of Q, but also for the ability to stratify the work chronologically in order to deduce from the earliest "layer" the character of the group of Jesus' followers who compiled the earliest form of the work. But part of his argument stems from the character of the Galilee at the time of Jesus and his earliest followers - even though the earliest layer is as bereft of references to places as it is apocalyptic proclamations. How can he have it both ways?
I don't have the answer. But it is an interesting question to ponder...
In the fifteen or so years since I first read the book, I've learned a lot more about modern scholarship on early Christian history and origins, about what we think we know about the formulation of dogma and canon in the early Christian churches. And so my new reading of Mack's book was done with a better educated and thus, perhaps, more critical mind. I certainly have more questions than answers at the end of my reading.
If you're used to my writing about comic books and science fiction this discussion of heavy, esoteric theological and historical deconstruction may strike you as strange - but this stuff fascinates me. Matter of fact, my whole book Neo-Gnosis is dedicated to related exploration, reading and studies. I grew up Roman Catholic, but the more I learned about Christian Origins and the Church the less I wanted to be a part of it.
So I find my own way. And while I'm writing fiction, I have a hard time reading new fiction - just hard to keep so many fictional worlds alive in my mind all at once. So I read a lot of non-fiction, and a lot about early Christianity and the quest for the "historical" Jesus - stripping away the "myth" from the "man" as best we can.
It's not easy to hold discussions about Jesus, who he was, what he did, and how his scattered followers became the Church we know today. The extremists who use his name would like to claim exclusive rights to JESUS CHRIST as a trademark, of sorts, for their brand of religion. The so-called Christianity that calls itself Fundamentalist, or Conservative Evangelical, is actually an anti-Christ system in my opinion - see my "Holy Shit: Or... Pat Robertson is the Anti-Christ" for more. Their fragile "faith" will brook no questioning of the Jesus story they THINK is in their Bibles. Evidently, they don't actually READ their Bibles... or else their supposed "literal" reading of the Book is much more interpretation than they care to admit. 'Cause what they get out of it? I don't see it in there.
These rabid folks on the so-called "Christian" Right and their constant misappropriation of Jesus' name make it hard to talk about him and his legacy in reasonable terms with rational, thinking people. But there are rational, thinking historians, form criticists, and scholars who are looking at the origins of the Jesus movement, and what we can learn from the texts we have and the ones we've found in the last century or so, like the Dead Sea Scrolls and the lost Christian writings dug up in Egypt near Nag Hammadi. Primary source scholars are pouring over the evidence we still have to try to reconstruct what we can know about its evolution, to try to peer back through the veils of history to see what was going on back then, when Jesus was walking around the Palestine and Galilee.
As I cannot read Aramaic, Greek or Latin, I must rely on those who can... I'm more a reading or secondary source scholar, I suppose. The more I read, the less the primary source scholars agree with one another - the nuances of their disunity become more apparent. But reading these various ideas is like mental exercise - like mind candy for me - and so I continue to look for new and different ideas and considerations of the sources.
And speaking of sources... this brings me to my current question about Q.
The briefest background on Q, in case you need it: It is widely accepted that the Gospel in Mark's name was written first, circa 70 AD. Matthew's came next, probably in the 80s, John's and Luke's in the 90's, early 100s. Though the gospel in John's name is very different, when you place Mark, Matthew and Luke side-by-side you see they have similarities and overlapping phrases and stories. It is apparent to many that Matthew and Luke both copied from Mark - the way each borrowed from Mark also showed what each cared to emphasize about Jesus in their versions.
In addition to the material from Mark, Matthew and Luke share other material. Some argue this is because Luke copied from Matthew, end of story. But many more have shown that the "Markan" material copied by both gospel writers came from slightly different source documents, and sometimes Luke's gospel's version of Mark's events or phrasing is of an earlier form than Matthew's, in a more primitive Greek, which is evidence that Matthew and Luke were written independent of one another. That being the case, it appears that Matthew and Luke both used another common source or two, because there is overlapping material in both that doesn't come from Mark. The German theologians who originally figured this out called their hypothetical source "Q" - from the German for "source" - "quelle".
Over the last 100 years or so, scholars using form criticism and other textual redaction techniques have attempted to draw this lost source out of the gospels. They found it was probably not a narrative book, but instead a collection of sayings. The discovery of the lost "Gospel of Thomas" in the mid-twentieth century bolstered this viewpoint - though it was not Q, it was a collection of the sayings of Jesus, and showed that his followers did indeed create such collections. In addition, Thomas also shared some of the previously identified Q material with Matthew and Luke!
Others went further, and argued that textual criticism showed that Q had to be a unified whole of its own, even though an original document has never been found. Still others took that hypothetical whole and broke IT down even further, suggesting that 3 layers of development could be perceived in the the text. The most strident of this group went so far as to then say you could deduce who the earliest followers of Jesus were from what was included in the earliest layer, or strata of Q, which they called Q1. This is Burton Mack's point of view, and he hammers it home in The Lost Gospel: The Book Of Q & Christian Origins.
As I read Mack's confident stratification of Q (advancing his arguments from another scholar's, John Kloppenborg',s stratification), and once again encountered his gleeful stripping away of the apocalyptic overtones from the earliest layer of his Q material, I now understood he's arguing directly against others who cast Jesus as a Jewish Apocalyptic Prophet, from Albert Schweitzer down to modern scholars like Bart Ehrman.
But another question bothered me. Mack suggests - actually, he insists... he doesn't really ever just "suggest" anything - the Hellenization of the Galilee and Q's location in Galilee argue for the possibility - for Mack the "fact" - that Jesus was a Cynic Sage. But when we strip away the apocalyptic overtones of the Q2 strata to get at Mack's sage, we also strip away ALL the references in Q to the places of Galilee. Q1 not only has no apocalyptic phrasing, it also lacks any locations and thus any possible certitude of its locale of origin. No?
Mack argues audaciously not only for the reality of Q, but also for the ability to stratify the work chronologically in order to deduce from the earliest "layer" the character of the group of Jesus' followers who compiled the earliest form of the work. But part of his argument stems from the character of the Galilee at the time of Jesus and his earliest followers - even though the earliest layer is as bereft of references to places as it is apocalyptic proclamations. How can he have it both ways?
I don't have the answer. But it is an interesting question to ponder...
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sketch Cards for Cancer - My 4 Cards
Here's the Event Information:
Here are the 4 Cards I'm contributing to the Sketch Cards for Cancer Auction:
If you're an artist and you want to get involved, you have until April 21st to get your cards in. The details on the auction can be found here over on Bill Nichols' blog: http://comicsmentor.com/?page_id=94
Come May 15th or so, you'll be able to bid for these on eBay, with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society!
Blue Line Pro Sketch Card Event for Cancer 2010
3rd Annual
SKETCH CARD BENEFIT AUCTION
AND GALLERY SHOW
FOR AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
May 22, 2010
SKETCH CARD BENEFIT AUCTION
AND GALLERY SHOW
FOR AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
May 22, 2010
The Third Annual Sketch Card Event for Cancer has been announced!
Comics 2 Games is hosting a SKETCH CARD GALLERY SHOW and Benefit Auction for American Cancer Society on May 22, 2010.
Proceeds will go to the AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY.
Location: Comics 2 Games, 8470 US 42., Florence, KY 41042 phone: .
For more information about participating or attending the event email: Sketchcards@bluelinepro.com .
Here are the 4 Cards I'm contributing to the Sketch Cards for Cancer Auction:
If you're an artist and you want to get involved, you have until April 21st to get your cards in. The details on the auction can be found here over on Bill Nichols' blog: http://comicsmentor.com/?page_id=94
Come May 15th or so, you'll be able to bid for these on eBay, with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society!
Monday, March 29, 2010
PodOmatic | Podcast - The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast - Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Episode Ninety-Six
Just up - a brand new podcast episode! Featuring chapters three and four of the remastered version of Vatican Assassin - plus news and stuff:
Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast - Episode Ninety-Six
Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast - Episode Ninety-Six
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Guest Blog at Podioracket.com!
Not only do I have a new Alibi Jones story in their anthology, I've also written a guest blog this week for Podioracket on why writers might give their work away free....
PodioRacket - What are you putting in your ears?
PodioRacket - What are you putting in your ears?
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
All About Marvel's Cosmic Warrior Killraven!
Spent a long time putting together this extensive profile on the Marvel Comics' character Killraven. I'm not writing for any website (except my own) right now, but was still itching to share the fruits of my labors. So... I've put it up on my site for your reading pleasure:
Mike Luoma's Cosmic Crackle: Killraven!
Mike Luoma's Cosmic Crackle: Killraven!
Monday, March 08, 2010
My New Story Debuts At MegaCon This Weekend!
I was just posting about this over at http://comicrelated.com and realized I needed to mention it here!
If you're going to MegaCon this weekend, you'll be able to check out a new story from me in a brand new anthology! MegaCon is this weekend, March 12-14, at the Orange County Convention Center Hall D
9899 International Drive in Orlando, Florida.
If you're going to MegaCon this weekend, you'll be able to check out a new story from me in a brand new anthology! MegaCon is this weekend, March 12-14, at the Orange County Convention Center Hall D
9899 International Drive in Orlando, Florida.
Earthbound Comics (http://earthboundcomics.com) is debuting the new issue of the anthology series Lady Fight - Aggression at MegaCon! In the pages of the new issue (check out that stunning cover by Rob Nix!!) you'll find my newest installment in the ongoing saga of SOUVERAIN!
In SOUVERAIN: UNDER GOD, Souverain decides vengeance is HERS! Souverain has gone rogue, leaving the army to wage her own vigilante war for social justice against the warlords and drug traders of Afghanistan!
Ben Ferrari, Earthbound founder and creator of the character, is on art duties once again. The other charter Earthbound man, Matt Grant, lends a hand as well. It's a joy working with these guys!
Earthbound's PR guy, Sebastian Piccione will be at MegaCon with Lady Fight and the other Earthbound titles. Stop by table RED 4 in the Independent Press section, say hello to Sebastian (his cool Cat 5 is in Lady Fight) and take a look at the books. You'll be able to get a copy of Lady Fight: Escalation, too, containing my first Souverain story.
Here's a link to the Earthbound Comics blog with more details:
http://earthboundcomics.com/index.php/2010/02/megacon-details-announced/
AND if you're like me and unable to venture to the con, hope you don't mind if I point out that the issues are also available now at Indy Planet: http://www.indyplanet.com/store/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=earthbound&osCsid=ate0sl1f9agos594m3carf11h4
Ben Ferrari, Earthbound founder and creator of the character, is on art duties once again. The other charter Earthbound man, Matt Grant, lends a hand as well. It's a joy working with these guys!
Earthbound's PR guy, Sebastian Piccione will be at MegaCon with Lady Fight and the other Earthbound titles. Stop by table RED 4 in the Independent Press section, say hello to Sebastian (his cool Cat 5 is in Lady Fight) and take a look at the books. You'll be able to get a copy of Lady Fight: Escalation, too, containing my first Souverain story.
Here's a link to the Earthbound Comics blog with more details:
http://earthboundcomics.com/index.php/2010/02/megacon-details-announced/
AND if you're like me and unable to venture to the con, hope you don't mind if I point out that the issues are also available now at Indy Planet: http://www.indyplanet.com/store/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=earthbound&osCsid=ate0sl1f9agos594m3carf11h4
Friday, February 26, 2010
Ain't It Cool News Comics Reviews Vatican Assassin #1
Pretty Cool Review! Halfway down the page - under "Indie Jones":
VATICAN ASSASSIN #1
Glow in the Dark Radio Comics
A few years back, Mike Luoma sent me a comic called HOLY SHIT OR PAT ROBERTSON IS THE ANTI-CHRIST. In my review, I tried very hard to be constructive, but ended up giving it a pretty negative review. Basically, I panned the book as barely a comic since it basically was a bunch of splash pages with text adorning either side of the page. The subject, as the title would indicate, was religion. And the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. After reading VATICAN ASSASSIN, Luoma’s follow-up, it appears that the writer took some time to gain understanding of comics. VA reads in a much clearer way, with a definite plot and a theme that may be appealing to some. In the future, the moon has become a hotbed of political and religious turmoil. The Muslim-dominated Mars colonies constantly pose a threat to the moon’s Catholic Church, forcing them to enlist a man known as BC, the Vatican Assassin. That’s the plot, and as you see, it’s of the religified variety. Religion is often a hard sell in comics, and I have to give it to Luoma for writing what he feels passionately about. The book is still as indie as you can get with capable and oft times nicely angled panels, suffering from the usual stiffness of characters that one often associates with indie books. VATICAN ASSASSIN is a much more digestible read than Luoma’s first book, and I have to commend the author for evolving and showing a lot of growth from his first project to this one.
Parting of the Ways
I'm no longer writing for Cosmic Book News... there was a difference of opinion. All good folk over there, but you won't be finding my writing on their site any more.
For those of you kind enough to ask about my "Shut Up and Put Out Yer Comic Book" article, it's now available here:
http://mikeluoma.com/SUAPOYCB.html
For those of you kind enough to ask about my "Shut Up and Put Out Yer Comic Book" article, it's now available here:
http://mikeluoma.com/SUAPOYCB.html
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
A Great Auction for A Great Cause!
Watching the wet snow pile up outside in Burlington...
There is book news to share with you, but the main reason for posting is to let you know about a very cool charity auction going on this weekend. I've donated signed books and original art to “The Boom Effect” – a charity effort on behalf of a young girl who recently lost her mom. You may have heard the promo on my “Glow-in-the-Dark Radio” podcast. More details at http://www.theboomeffect.org/.
From the blog:
The Boom Effect is an “auction to raise funds for Sonic Boom, and was started by a group of podcasters and writers as a way for these communities to show support for the Morris family. Tee Morris is a beloved founding father of the podcasting community; co-creator of Podiobooks.com, writer of four social media books, and the first novelist to serialize his novel. On the 5th of January 2010 Tee found himself facing raising his daughter (with the alias of Sonic Boom) alone, after the sudden, shocking death of his wife Natalie.
The podcasting, writing, and social media community gathered around and within days had raised over $10,000 to cover funeral expenses and other pressing bills Tee was facing. This response was incredible, and showed just how much Tee has touched the lives of others. However now, as a community we are turning our attention to Sonic Boom’s future. She is only five now, and relying on Tee to provide everything for her. We have the aim of providing a trust buffer for her, so that she can go to college if she wants. Nothing is going to replace her mother, but the funds raised will give more opportunities . So writers, podcasters and creative types of all stripes are offering up items for auction.
This event will be a webathon run by Podcasting’s very own Rich Sigfrit, with a plethora of special guests and fun. It will take place live online at 10am EST February 27th, 2010.”
You'll be able to watch the webathon here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/theboomeffect.
My Items will be auctioned with the “Literature Lots” between Noon and 1pm EST on Saturday. You can place a proxy bid ahead of time, just follow the instructions on the item pages linked below. Proxy bids can be placed up until 10am EST on February 26th. Just so you know – in the interest of keeping things simple, you'll need to pay for successful bids with PayPal.
You can bid on two different auction items from me:
Item One: SB081- Signed copy of doodle-rama and the art work too!
This is a signed first edition of my new paperback design collection, doodle-rama … along with the ORIGINAL ART for one of the designs in the book – “Another Eye” – You’ll own the original signed and dated pen and ink drawing, suitable for framing.
In case you didn't know, I post a “doodle” design every weekday on my doodle-rama website. Released in December of 2009, doodle-rama collects 50 of my favorite designs. I'm going to sign the book to the top bidder and include with the book an actual piece of art found within its pages – “Another Eye”.
Item Two: SB080- Signed copies of of Alibi Jones and Vatican Assassin – The Graphic Novel
I'll sign an issue of my new comic book based on my popular novel and Podiobooks.com Science Fiction Adventure “Vatican Assassin” and a trade paperback first edition of my latest novel Alibi Jones. If you're not familiar with the books – BC is an assassin for the Pope of the New catholic Church in the year 2109 – His latest assignment? Eliminate the Governor of the Moon colony Lunar Prime! AND 23 years later, BC’s son Alibi Jones is off on his own adventures, tracking down a missing friend kidnapped by a sinister alien race…
There are many crafty and creative items in the auction – head over to http://www.theboomeffect.org/ to check out more of the donated lots. There's also more about my books at http://mikeluoma.com and http://glowinthedarkradio.com, naturally.
Speaking of “Vatican Assassin”and Alibi Jones – You can now read the entire first issue of the Vatican Assassin Graphic Novel adaptation, with art by Cristian Navarro, online for free: http://www.drunkduck.com/Vatican_Assassin/ AND you can listen to the entire audiobook of Alibi Jones free at Podiobooks.com: http://www.podiobooks.com/title/alibi-jones Both are complete as of this month!
Also out this month: the new project from myself and artist Juan Carlos Quattordio (we did Panthea Obscura together) – “Everybody Lies”. This “cautionary tale for grown-ups” is a dramatic short story in the form of a comic book – a story of two couples whose everyday lies grow large as their lives unravel. It's not a comic for kids – it's dark, and there's sex and nudity and profanity. It's also free to read online – the pages have been coming out every weekday here:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Everybody_Lies/
Of course, I wouldn't be much of a self-promoter if I didn't ALSO point out that both “Vatican Assassin” #1 and “Everybody Lies” are now available for just $2.99 at Indy Planet :)
And Alibi Jones is on sale everywhere! You can get it direct from the printer here:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/alibi-jones/7256433
Still reading chapters of Alibi Jones on my weekly Glow-in-the-Dark Radio podcast – you can listen here: http://glowinthedarkradio.podomatic.com/. There's a new podcast every Friday.
Well, don't want to blather on too much – my real focus IS on The Boom Effect. If you can't watch and bid this Saturday, please consider making a proxy bid. It's a great cause.
Read All of Vatican Assassin #1 Free at DrunkDuck.com
The pages have been going up 2x a week - and today the last 2 pages went up! Read all 23 pages of the first issue of the graphic novel adaptation!
It's science fiction adventure, based on my Vatican Assassin trilogy. The comic book tells the story of BC, who kills for the Pope of the New catholic Church in the year 2109. His current assignment? Eliminate the Governor of Lunar Prime!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Read Over Half of Everybody Lies Free
Juan Carlos Quattordio and I are posting free pages from our new book "Everybody Lies" every weekday through February. As of today, twelve pages are up and free for you to read - that's just over half of the story!
Click here to read the comic: Everybody Lies
Friday, February 12, 2010
New Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast Episode
Just posted! With Chapter 17 of my Alibi Jones, read by yours truly...
The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast - Episode Ninety
The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast - Episode Ninety
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Monday, February 08, 2010
Everybody Lies - Week 2!
Week 2 of Everybody Lies is underway!
Click on the link to read the first 7 pages for free!
(A reminder - recommended for readers 17 and over)
Click on the link to read the first 7 pages for free!
(A reminder - recommended for readers 17 and over)
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Alibi Jones Now Complete At Podiobooks! - free audio book
Wanted to be sure to let you know... went a little nuts and loaded up the rest of the audiobook! You can now listen to Alibi Jones in its entirety: Alibi Jones - A free audio book from Podiobooks.com
Monday, February 01, 2010
Everybody Lies!
I'm releasing a different sort of comic book today: Everybody Lies. I've called it "A Slice-of-Life Cautionary Tale For Grown-ups" and tagged it "Sex, Lies and Betrayal" to give you some idea of what it's about.
No capes, no heroes. Just people, living and messing up their lives. Spike & Angela and Dave & Margie are a couple of normal couples, with the usual insecurities, foibles and vices. But when their everyday lies begin escalating, their lives spiral out of control...
"Everybody Lies" is free to read online: A page (or two) goes up every weekday this month at:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Everybody_Lies/
or... Pick up the issue for $2.99 at Indy Planet:
http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_in...roducts_id=3264
Available for direct market distribution through Comics Monkey:
http://www.comicsmonkey.com/index.php?id=3264
I'm creator, writer, and letterer and my good friend Juan Carlos Quattordio (artist on my Panthea Obscura: Deifornication) is on the illustration duties here. There is some brief nudity, there are a couple of sexual situations, and the book is full of language some may find offensive - recommended for mature readers 17+. Any reviewers interested in looking at the book should contact me directly at mike.luoma@gmail.com.
Thanks!
Mike
No capes, no heroes. Just people, living and messing up their lives. Spike & Angela and Dave & Margie are a couple of normal couples, with the usual insecurities, foibles and vices. But when their everyday lies begin escalating, their lives spiral out of control...
"Everybody Lies" is free to read online: A page (or two) goes up every weekday this month at:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Everybody_Lies/
or... Pick up the issue for $2.99 at Indy Planet:
http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_in...roducts_id=3264
Available for direct market distribution through Comics Monkey:
http://www.comicsmonkey.com/index.php?id=3264
I'm creator, writer, and letterer and my good friend Juan Carlos Quattordio (artist on my Panthea Obscura: Deifornication) is on the illustration duties here. There is some brief nudity, there are a couple of sexual situations, and the book is full of language some may find offensive - recommended for mature readers 17+. Any reviewers interested in looking at the book should contact me directly at mike.luoma@gmail.com.
Thanks!
Mike
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Anti-Romance Comic Out In Time For Valentine's Day!
Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Comics Presents:
EVERYBODY LIES
Written and Lettered by Mike Luoma
Illustrated by Juan Carlos Quattordio
22 pages
Black & White Interiors
$2.99
Creator Mike Luoma and Artist Juan Carlos Quattordio proudly unveil their latest project, the slice-of-life one-shot Everybody Lies.
Spike & Angela and Dave & Margie are a couple of normal couples, with the usual insecurities, foibles and vices. But when everyday lies begin escalating, their lives spiral out of control...
A cautionary tale for grown-ups? An Anti-Romance comic? Judge for yourself this February as Luoma and Quattordio unveil the story with new, free pages every weekday online at http://www.drunkduck.com/Everybody_Lies/. The entire issue will be presented day-by-day over the course of the month. The comic book will be available for purchase and distribution through IndyPlanet.com and ComicsMonkey.com.
More information available at http://glowinthedarkradio.com
Cover:
Page One:
EVERYBODY LIES
Written and Lettered by Mike Luoma
Illustrated by Juan Carlos Quattordio
22 pages
Black & White Interiors
$2.99
Creator Mike Luoma and Artist Juan Carlos Quattordio proudly unveil their latest project, the slice-of-life one-shot Everybody Lies.
Spike & Angela and Dave & Margie are a couple of normal couples, with the usual insecurities, foibles and vices. But when everyday lies begin escalating, their lives spiral out of control...
A cautionary tale for grown-ups? An Anti-Romance comic? Judge for yourself this February as Luoma and Quattordio unveil the story with new, free pages every weekday online at http://www.drunkduck.com/Everybody_Lies/. The entire issue will be presented day-by-day over the course of the month. The comic book will be available for purchase and distribution through IndyPlanet.com and ComicsMonkey.com.
More information available at http://glowinthedarkradio.com
Cover:
Page One:
Friday, January 15, 2010
Podio Wave - 2010, An Early Review: Book blog
Imagine My surprise to click over and see my art/cover leading the way :)
Podio Wave - 2010, An Early Review: Book blog
Podio Wave - 2010, An Early Review: Book blog
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Artist Needed for Science Fiction Story
Artist Wanted: Science Fiction Story in Upcoming Anthology
Mike Luoma here, writer of "Panthea Obscura" "Red Hot!" "Vatican Assassin" and more – http://glowinthedarkradio.com – looking for ab artist for a 16 page black and white science fiction story which will appear in an upcoming anthology from Earthbound comics.
This isn't a cash job. Instead, creators working with Earthbound get a comp and then issues at cost plus shipping to sell to make profits (akin to putting out your own book). There's more information at their site: http://earthboundcomics.com/submission. If this arrangement sounds beneficial to you, read on and see if you'd like to join my team.
As a reference, Lady Fight from Earthbound is a 2009 Project Fanboy Award Nominated title – I've got a story in the latest issue (here: http://ow.ly/vj5Z) – Now Earthbound is taking on science fiction! My new story has been approved for inclusion in their upcoming anthology. The 16-page story features the lead character from my novel “Alibi Jones” in an early adventure on the planet Cat's Eye, as he runs into an old acquaintance, a con game and, of course, trouble. The story features a few aliens, exotic locations, spacecraft and sexy people.
Need to find the right artist to make the story shine. If you are interested, please send me an email at: mike.luoma@gmail.com. Please include information about your work and links to your material online. Looking forward to hearing from you – Mike
Mike Luoma here, writer of "Panthea Obscura" "Red Hot!" "Vatican Assassin" and more – http://glowinthedarkradio.com – looking for ab artist for a 16 page black and white science fiction story which will appear in an upcoming anthology from Earthbound comics.
This isn't a cash job. Instead, creators working with Earthbound get a comp and then issues at cost plus shipping to sell to make profits (akin to putting out your own book). There's more information at their site: http://earthboundcomics.com/submission. If this arrangement sounds beneficial to you, read on and see if you'd like to join my team.
As a reference, Lady Fight from Earthbound is a 2009 Project Fanboy Award Nominated title – I've got a story in the latest issue (here: http://ow.ly/vj5Z) – Now Earthbound is taking on science fiction! My new story has been approved for inclusion in their upcoming anthology. The 16-page story features the lead character from my novel “Alibi Jones” in an early adventure on the planet Cat's Eye, as he runs into an old acquaintance, a con game and, of course, trouble. The story features a few aliens, exotic locations, spacecraft and sexy people.
Need to find the right artist to make the story shine. If you are interested, please send me an email at: mike.luoma@gmail.com. Please include information about your work and links to your material online. Looking forward to hearing from you – Mike
Friday, January 08, 2010
New Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast Up!
Hear Chapter 13 of "Alibi Jones" and readings from my notebooks - some juicy background info this time around on the podcast!
The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast
The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Self-Published in the 802 | Seven Days
Got a very nice mention for myself and Alibi Jones in Margot Harrison's look at self-publishing in Vermont in Seven Days Newspaper:
Self-Published in the 802 | Seven Days
Self-Published in the 802 | Seven Days
Monday, December 28, 2009
Vatican Assassin #1 - The Comic Book Is Out!
I'm releasing my new comic book this week, the first issue of my graphic novel adaptation of my science fiction novel Vatican Assassin. Cristian Navarro is the artist helping me bring the story to life in images.
It's out now in the Indy Planet Store:
http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3144
Pages start Friday at Drunk Duck:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Vatican_Assassin/
It's 2109 and an interplanetary religious war is raging between Earth, The Moon and Mars. “BC” – Bernard Campion – may appear to be a priest in the New catholic Church, but he's actually an undercover assassin for the Pope. His new assignment? Visit the city on the Moon, Lunar Prime, act as Public Relations liaison for the Cardinal there – And assassinate the Governor of Lunar Prime, Meredith McEntyre!
Vatican Assassin has enjoyed success as a novel (the first third of my “Vatican Assassin” Trilogy). Also very cool? The chapters of the audiobook (available for free at Podiobooks.com) have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times! The remastered version of the audio book went up earlier this year: http://www.podiobooks.com/title/vatican-assassin-remastered/
There are some preview pages on the Indy Planet page:
http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3144
It's out now in the Indy Planet Store:
http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3144
Pages start Friday at Drunk Duck:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Vatican_Assassin/
It's 2109 and an interplanetary religious war is raging between Earth, The Moon and Mars. “BC” – Bernard Campion – may appear to be a priest in the New catholic Church, but he's actually an undercover assassin for the Pope. His new assignment? Visit the city on the Moon, Lunar Prime, act as Public Relations liaison for the Cardinal there – And assassinate the Governor of Lunar Prime, Meredith McEntyre!
Vatican Assassin has enjoyed success as a novel (the first third of my “Vatican Assassin” Trilogy). Also very cool? The chapters of the audiobook (available for free at Podiobooks.com) have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times! The remastered version of the audio book went up earlier this year: http://www.podiobooks.com/title/vatican-assassin-remastered/
There are some preview pages on the Indy Planet page:
http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3144
Friday, December 18, 2009
And Now... Vatican Assassin - The Comic Book!
I'm proud to announce the upcoming publication of Vatican Assassin Issue #1 as artist Cristian Navarro helps me turn my book into a graphic novel! I'll be posting the link to pick up the book here soon. For now, you can see the cover over at Drunk Duck, where I'll be posting free pages every Wednesday and Saturday, after debuting page one on January 1st, 2010!
Vatican Assassin at DrunkDuck.com:
www.drunkduck.com/Vatican_Assassin/
Loving The New Avett Brothers Album
Finally. A new album penetrates. Soulful honesty, honest artistry, songs of yearning and loss, and being lost, and trying to find - "I and Love and You". They've moved to a big label, with a big-time producer at the helm, but the emotions and the production remain raw as Rick Rubin brings out the best from the Avett Brothers throughout, polishing their sound without rounding off its edges - in fact, he gives them an extra edge, a sharpness, an almost brittle quality that sounds more live and crisp than their previous studio efforts. I don't want to analyze it too much. Rather just sit back and listen again...
Monday, December 14, 2009
Artist Wanted: Science Fiction Story in Upcoming Anthology
Artist Wanted: Science Fiction Story in Upcoming Anthology
I'm writer Mike Luoma – http://mikeluoma.com – and I'm looking for the right artist for a 16 page black and white science fiction story which will appear in an upcoming anthology from Earthbound comics. This is a portfolio builder. This is not a cash job. Instead, creators working with Earthbound get a comp and then issues at cost plus shipping to sell to make profits (akin to putting out your own book). There's more information at their site: http://earthboundcomics.com/submission. If this arrangement sounds beneficial to you, read on and see if you'd like to join my team.
Just posted this around today:
I'm writer Mike Luoma – http://mikeluoma.com – and I'm looking for the right artist for a 16 page black and white science fiction story which will appear in an upcoming anthology from Earthbound comics. This is a portfolio builder. This is not a cash job. Instead, creators working with Earthbound get a comp and then issues at cost plus shipping to sell to make profits (akin to putting out your own book). There's more information at their site: http://earthboundcomics.com/submission. If this arrangement sounds beneficial to you, read on and see if you'd like to join my team.
As a reference, Lady Fight from Earthbound is a 2009 Project Fanboy Award Nominated title – I've got a story in the latest issue (here: http://ow.ly/vj5Z) – Now Earthbound is taking on science fiction! My new story has been approved for inclusion in their upcoming anthology. The 16-page story features the lead character from my novel “Alibi Jones” in an early adventure on the planet Cat's Eye, as he runs into an old acquaintance, a con game and, of course, trouble. The story features a few aliens, exotic locations, spacecraft and sexy people.
Need to find the right artist to make the story shine. If you are interested, please send me an email at: mike.luoma@gmail.com. Please include information about your work and links to your material online. Looking forward to hearing from you – Mike
Monday, November 23, 2009
Latest update...
Just sending out this email:
Happy Thanksgiving!
There's a lot going on with my books to share with you – lots to be thankful for as we head towards Thanksgiving. Also added some names to the email list, so if this is the first time you're getting one of my updates and wish to be taken off my list, please reply and let me know. Heck, if you've been getting these but are fed up, let me know and I'll take you off the list. Don't mean to annoy.
As you know, I'm still trying to make a name for myself, so any recognition that comes my way is very cool. ProjectFanboy.com gives out the Project Fanboy Awards – and a couple of group efforts I'm involved with have been nominated for this year's awards! The anthology comic book I'm writing “Souverain” for – Lady Fight: Escalation – is up for Best Black and White Title. And the web site for which I've been writing features and my column – http://www.cosmicbooknews.com – is up for two awards: Best Comic Book News Source and Best Comic Book Web Site! You can vote for this year's awards through December 31st at http://www.projectfanboy.com. I hope you'll stop over there and cast your vote. Speaking of my column, the latest one is here: http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/articles/mlmakingup11. And my most recent “Cosmic Spotlight” was on Monark Starstalker, here: http://cosmicbooknews.com/articles/csmss.
ALIBI JONES continues to come out as an audio book – you can get the free chapters weekly in their “pure” form at Podiobooks.com (http://www.podiobooks.com/title/alibi-jones) and with commentary and news on my Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast. The 80th episode went up last Friday with chapters seven and eight of ALIBI JONES: http://glowinthedarkradio.podomatic.com/.
My apology – the discount code I shared with you for Lulu.com last month was not a good one. Lulu messed up. They've given me a new 10% off code for November. I double-checked it – seems to work fine, this time: GREATBOOK. You can use it to get 10% off of any book you buy at Lulu.com when you check out. My books are here: http://stores.lulu.com/mikeluoma
Actually, my books are a lot of places. My thanks go out to fellow Podiobook author and publisher Brian Rathbone. Brian not only interviewed me for an upcoming Podioracket podcast, he also got my books up on Mobipocket! The Vatican Assassin Trilogy and my new ALIBI JONES are available for reading on your phone through White Wolf Press, LLC: http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/AuthorDetails.asp?authorId=117289&authorName=Michael+Luoma. ALIBI JONES has been available for the Kindle – now you can get the paperback through Amazon.com as well. Thanks to Smashwords.com, my books are available as eBooks from Barnes & Noble, too. Mark Coker of Smashwords is actively forging beneficial new partnerships – glad my eBooks are on Smashwords – you'll even find some of them there for free, with set-your-own pricing.
Finally, a couple of holiday-related items: Thanks to Podiobooks author A.P. Stephens for organizing “The Gift Of Lit” – you can find books of many genres from independent authors for holiday giving all gathered in one place – my Vatican Assassin Trilogy Omnibus Edition Hardcover is featured: http://glowinthedarkradio.blogspot.com/2009/11/gift-of-lit-holiday-2009.html. If you're looking for unique gifts, you also might want to check out my doodle-rama store. I just went through and updated the designs for T-Shirts and prints: http://www.cafepress.com/doodlerama.
Again, Happy Thanksgiving – I'm especially thankful to have friends and fans like you. Thank you for your support!
Mike
--
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Doodlerama : Mike Luoma's Doodlerama!
Just went through and updated all the T-Shirt and Print designs for doodle-rama. Give an original design on a T-Shirt this holiday season:
Doodlerama: Mike Luoma's Doodle Designs
Doodlerama: Mike Luoma's Doodle Designs
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
My Books Are On Mobipocket!
Now you can read my books on your phone - Thanks to White Wolf Press and Mobipocket! http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/AuthorDetails.asp?authorId=117289&authorName=Michael+Luoma
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