DIARY OF MINX

LATEST EVOLUTIONS IN DREAMTIME

2006-11-13T00:08:00.000-08:00

All the extra sleep I have been taking the past few days in order to stay in Dreamtime longer has been beneficial. I am fighting entire wars in my sleep and having intense conversations with all the characters. Issue #1 is going to press any second and I am thrilled about that. There are a few surprising last minute additions to the page count but it will be worth the wait.
I will be appearing at the National Big Apple Con next weekend at the CAG table. The latest MINX short story 'Everything's Coming Up Halloween' is appearing in a CAG anthology in January.

I am working on something new which will feature my own collage art (as shown above). The story is called 'WOMANIZED.' This title is a re-interpretation of the word 'womanizer' and is meant to describe the perspective of a woman who is receiving unwelcome perverted male attention. Ever-horrified by the frequent murders of women in the newspapers, I am writing this story about a deranged stalker who obsessed with Minx. It gets into a lot of back story of her life, pre-coma.

With this story, Minx will surely be categorized as 'fantasy-horror' which is interesting since I cannot stand to watch scary movies and I don't really know where this is all coming from, only that I have always been repulsed by certain horrors of society and I acknowledge this in my new work. I want to have a glimmer of social consciousness now in everything I produce.

HALLOWEEN RADIO SHOW WITH DAME DARCY

2006-11-06T02:10:00.000-08:00

My insomnia these days is pretty awesome. At least I am doing productive things with my time, like writing my goals on flash cards so I can read them while I drown out the noise of the streets with Frank Sinatra on the stereo attempting to sing me to sleep in the early daylight hours.

Anyways, I did a radio show with Joey Reynolds for Halloween. The link to listen is here: http://wor710.com/pages/46370.php.

The coolest thing was meeting Dame Darcy (in photo above) who is also a chick in comics. We clicked instantly in the waiting room, comparing storylines. Then we went to a dive bar to meet up with her bandmates and my friends. There is nothing like New York City, seriously. So much fun.

Oh, yes, this is my first post of any photos with my HAIR CUT OFF!!!! Stop crying, boys. Minx needs to evolve. What are you going to do if she turns bad for awhile and I dye it dark? Hunger strike?

SATURDAY NIGHTS AND MORNINGS ARE REALLY ALL THE SAME

2006-10-22T03:56:00.000-07:00

My apologies to the CAG members for not being able to attend the meeting...one part due to organizing some legal matters, one part due to the most terrible but inspired insomnia in a while. I am talking pacing the apartment & writing fevered ideas till at least 6 am then wide awake by 11 am, whereupon I place the pillow over my eyes and beg the gods to let me rest another hour. I hate sleeping but I need a little rest or else I get too sensitive to every subtext.

By way of redemption, I give you a candid snapshot of Minx in disguise with The Empress in a Harlem convenience store. She visited last week from Bermuda, stopping men dead on the street with her cat eyes.

I will be at the CAG Halloween party this Saturday, however. Promise.

I have been getting a lot of letters from the Native community this week commenting on Minx and the wolf spirits. The profundity of this affects me.

PTOLEMY'S REAL IDENTITY: THE RAPPER

2006-10-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

When I was living in Vancouver, there was this amazing hip hop group called Swollen Members who made this crazy dark rap with killer beats and interesting lyrics. Prevail struck me as the perfect archetype for Ptolemy, Minx's archnemesis. So I asked him if he would play the part and he said yes.

We did some photo shoots so I would have some good imagery, and then we lost touch for awhile when I came to NYC. I ran into him a couple of months ago when Swollen Members were playing a show downtown. Prev was still as cool and enthusiastic as ever, and I realized that even though I've had some stand-ins, it was his particular fire that suited my character.

I'm glad to see that his band is back on track with a new album, and I intend to bring him down for some upcoming Minx video projects because he wears leather pants so damn well!

Check out the new songs:

http://www.myspace.com/swollenmembers

NATIVE AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY GETS REWORKED

2006-09-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

Minx is not a traditional superhero comic.

The characters are multi-dimensional and serve to represent archetypes. I cast everyone in real life as an artistic statement: the artist and the work are conjoined and cannot be separated. My friends inspire me. They are all brilliant, complicated, creative individuals. I think this is a relevant concept because nowadays people crave work that is of a more autobiographical nature. We are all connected.

My ultimate goal with Minx is to rework ancient myths in an attempt to preserve them in our modern consciousness, especially Native American legends, which have not been explored much in the comic book medium.

Traditionally Natives tell their stories verbally, but I am part of a younger generation that needs to write things down. I want to honor my culture because it’s so beautiful and spiritual. I want to provoke people so that they come out of this modern day apathy and open their minds to new possibilities.

Minx has a lot more layers to it than may be initially apparent, and it’s important to note that the comic book is just one aspect of my creative work. All of the pieces fit together like a puzzle and can be examined separately or together as a whole.

SPEAKING OF KNIVES

2006-09-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

This is a panel from an 8-page Minx short I am doing for the Comic Artists Guild anthology, due out sometime in winter. This is a modern retelling of the 'white man killing all the Indians' stories in Native American culture. Minx goes on a rampage of revenge...

GENIUS GETS STABBED IN THE NECK AND DIES A FEW YEARS LATER...

2006-08-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

I am in California right now and to drown out the sound of construction to the house next to where I am staying, I play the radio.

I woke up at 4 a.m. to the news that Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, the first writer in Arabic to win the Nobel prize for literature, died.

His health has suffered since his hospitalisation in 1994 after an Islamic fundamentalist, angered by his portrayal of God in one of his novels, stabbed him in the neck.

The knife caused nerve damage in his neck, limiting his ability to use his writing hand and causing his eyesight and hearing to deteriorate.

Is this what people do to writers who tell the truth?

Born in 1911, Mr Mahfouz is regarded as one of the best writers and premier intellectuals in the Arab world, publishing more than 50 novels, short story collections, plays, newspaper columns, essays, travelogues, memoirs and political analyses.

His works, including Palace of Desire, Adrift on the Nile and Children of Gebelawi, are often seen as depicting the social history of Egypt during upheavals of the 20th century, and have been published in 25 languages. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988.

I read in someone else's blog on his work: 'Isn't that great?The Arab world produces a good novelist after centuries and what do the Islamists do to honor him? Stab him in the neck because they don't like his protrayal of "God" (betcha they find it blasphemous to Islam!). Of course, I'm forgetting about Salman Rushdie, another good novelist from the "Arab world" who was honored with a fatwa demanding his death for "betraying Islam" with his work The Satanic Verses. Hope you get well soon, Mr. Mahfouz! You sound like a decent guy and I must make an effort to check out your books soon.'

Indeed. Rest in peace, darling.

DREAMTIME COLLAGE, THE EMPRESS SPEAKING

2006-07-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

I've been buried in work but I wanted to post one of the Dreamtime Collages that I have made for Issue #1. Production is still delayed because of the DC thing but the lawyers are communicating and trying to work it out.

THE MUSIC

2006-06-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

Because people have been asking lately about where to get my music...it's on ITunes now.

Andrea Grant a.k.a. Minx: Want Some Scratch?

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=60540162

INTERVIEW WITH COMIC FOUNDRY

2006-06-08T00:17:00.000-07:00

I am in L.A. this week on business, but was pleased to see that a recent interview with Comic Foundry is out for the June issue. Here is the link:

http://www.comicfoundry.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=238

I notice that the most popular MINX photo reporters are using is the one taken in Chinatown last New Year's, confetti on the ground and freezing cold weather requiring a coat.

I just shot some new images with fantasy photographer Adam Gazzola, which will be online soon. This might be the last shoot in the latex suit during 100 degree summertime.

Just to give you dear readers something new, here's another one by Melissa Ulto from the day of that infamous video shoot.

WHAT EVERYONE IS DYING TO KNOW...

2006-05-25T00:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, there is some tension between my Minx comic project and DC Comics. But I am letting my lawyers handle it and I am focusing on getting Issue 1 out as soon as this dispute is resolved.

Responses to FAQ's this week:

1. The actual website for Minx is www.minxcomic.com. This webpage serves as my blog only, so if you want to know more about the project go to that URL. My artist's website is www.pinuppoet.com which houses some poetry, audio & video.

2. It's true that the Minx comic project is one of several literary projects I am working on. These include a coffee table book of poetry and photos and “Fever Cult,” a memoir of growing up in the Jehovah’s Witness religion and the trauma of breaking free of it, which is being shopped to publishers by former Fox News executive Ian Rae and PR man Ted Faraone.

3. Yes, I am flattered that DC has taken notice of my Minx project. But I am not the only one to receive 'cease and desist letters.' It obviously happens all the time to indie creators. These letters are designed to intimidate artists into backing down while simultaneously flattering our tender egos (oh...a letter from the majors!)

4. I believe that what I am doing is important or I wouldn't be able to work this hard. I intend to preserve aspects of Native culture and stories that are often lost because of oral tradition, and Minx is a vessel for this. Plus it's fun as hell. I don't know if people realize there is a subtle vein of humor in all of my work.

5. No, I do not walk around dressed up in character all the time. On days off I wear glasses and spend hours on the computer. However, my friends who play characters are always dressed up in leather pants and corsets, even while working out. So what?

Bring it.

MINX VIDEO CLIP IS ONLINE

2006-05-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

For the launch party back in February I really wanted to have some MINX video to carry on the tradition of my multi-media aspect. So I rustled up my friends and had them play out the comic characters in real time. It was very cold that day and we were shooting in Chinatown after the Chinese New Year parade, confetti everywhere. A scene is available here, shot by Melissa Ulto:

http://multo.com/vlog/wp-content/minxtrail.m4v

Also, I am going to have some major news this week so check back...

INTERVIEW WITH CRAZEE COMICS!

2006-05-09T23:54:00.000-07:00

This podcast starts with my ‘Crazy On You’ track...and then some talking. This is one of my favorite interviews. Crank up the volume.

http://www.catchdacraze.com/episode17.html

The artistic struggle.

How the MINX crew collaborates.

The other projects.

Thank god those Crazee guys ask great questions.

SKIN

2006-04-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

"The Skin is your outer covering, that holds things in and helps define your physical presence. The Skin is the first line of defense against invading organisms. Skin problems represent difficulties with boundaries... keeping things in and keeping things out. A lack of balance between the inner you and the outer you results in things coming out such as rashes, boils, and pustules and things coming in such as colds, flu and infections. In Chinese Medicine, Wei Qi which resides on the surface of the body is responsible for protecting against such things. Skin eruptions indicate long standing resentments not being expressed appropriately. Rashes represent the Heat of Anger. Itching represents dissatisfaction with the way things are going and/or dissatisfaction with yourself. Invading organisms such as the Flu, colds, or parasites represent a lack of ability to protect yourself or put another way, a lack of discrimination about who and what you let into your life."

- A Chinese medicine quote for spring and all those allergy sufferers who wonder why the hell they are getting hives...Oh, I know.

DESIRE

2006-03-26T16:07:00.000-08:00

An excerpt from my upcoming memoir entitled 'Fever Cult'...I am posting this to celebrate the fact that I just signed an agency deal this weekend.

Desire is born in the dark, in the streetlights that reflect through windows, ignoring the curtains. Desire melts upwards from the loins to the heart and brain, a vague meandering. It starts during childhood, when seawater dries on the skin in a circular pattern, sand in the crevices of swimsuit. The tactile feel of paper on fingertips, and how sometimes it cuts that first layer of skin, because you are not paying attention, you only need to touch something.

Desire cannot be measured. Desire is music that plays in the night, with thick guitar chords creating a soundtrack in the memory that will always be recalled in random, inappropriate places like supermarket aisles. Desire occurs at the moment when the lights are most fluorescent and obvious.

Desire lives in the voice, in that heavy longing that sounds like it's been broken down by too much scotch, too many late nights on the telephone. The beginnings of Desire are implanted during pre-adolescence, when the idea of attraction is finally understood and one day your social studies teacher has the most beautiful curve of upper lip, and you regard him with pining eyes so that he squirms and you feel the full power of pleasure…

- Andrea Grant 2006

6:11 a.m.

2006-03-26T03:12:00.000-08:00

Having trouble sleeping.

Must stop with the Red Bull at 10 p.m. in an effort to revitalize for the evening...it pulsates through the body in a likely detrimental way.

I have so much on my mind. I feel pulled in several directions, and probably a lot of that is the impending springtime paired with multiple projects. People ask whether I am excited about everything happening. Yes, but mostly I am really just calm about it. There's just a lot to do, and I am very much in Dreamtime right now, sometimes forgetful.

I had this epiphany tonight that I like salt in my tequila and brine in my vodka because I grew up swimming in the Pacific Ocean swallowing sea-water accidentally. It's familiar.

I am reading this great biography called 'Shadows and Light' about Joni Mitchell. She is striking not only because she captured the feeling of an entire generation, but also because she did exactly what she wanted with extreme self-posession and determination in a time when women were not taken that seriously.

I like to read biographies, sometimes it helps me get out of my own head for a while and through that pause find solutions to problems.

6:30 a.m.

Ridiculous.

MINX VIDEO INTERVIEW ON THE REVIEW ZOO

2006-03-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

Andrew McDonald from Rapture Press/The Review Zoo was cool enough to come to the comic book launch party and hang out and then interview the Minx Comic crew at the NY Comic-con.

Here's the video links he just sent me:

On Google Video here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7434877811877534601&q=The+Review+Zoo

On YouTube Video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=swF0sPiiTho

And on their Podcast site which is in much better quality but has to be viewed either on your video Ipod or with the latest version of Quicktime on your computer:

http://thereviewzoo.libsyn.com/

So check it out! I am on dial up internet for the next 2 weeks...pathetic for someone this into her computer, yes. It's a long tragic story which involves recently moving to a new neighborhood where I could not get DSL and I am just now finally breaking down and getting cable and subsequently, terrifyingly my first TV in YEARS...god help us all if I start watching TV.

Side note, last night I ran into rapper Prevail of Swollen Members who was the original prototype for Ptolemy. Crazy, I have not seen him in 2 years since he agreed to wear leather pants for this photo shoot we did. His group is touring all over the States along with my beloved Sweatshop Union boys. Look up their music, it's Canadian underground hip hop at its best! They are all on Battleaxe Records.

That's all for today.

ALTERNATE WAY OF ORDERING MINX #0

2006-03-15T15:04:00.000-08:00

If perchance Minx #0 is temporarily unavailable from Dimestore due to backorder, here's an alternate way to get a copy.

Send $2 per issue + $1 for shipping and PayPal to this email: info@andreagrant.com.

I will sign it for you and mail it out within 24 hours.

Thanks!

MINX COMICS NOW HAS A MESSAGE BOARD!

2006-03-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

My friend Philip Clark has created a message board where everyone can go in and get the underground Minx news...

Here is the link:

http://www.phpbbplanet.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=50&mforum=quantumboard

This is my first time using a message board, and it perplexes me slightly but it seems to be the way people are communicating lately.

I am hoping my writing partner Gerry Jobe will go on some fine rants in the forum, and that Liza and Celi can also be persuaded. The Empress is currently moving to Bermuda, but when the dust settles perhaps she will grace us with her divine presence.

Readers, send your good thoughts to Liza Biggers also - her brother was injured in army duty overseas and is being brought to a hospital in Maryland today.

DREAMTIME CHARACTERS - BIOGRAPHY

2006-03-03T11:19:00.000-08:00

MINX

Infused with wolf-blood due to a bite from supernatural black wolf, Minx spent 7 years in a Dreamtime coma being trained as a warrior. In Dreamtime, MINX leads a pack of white guardian wolves to protect the Native Indians who are under attack because of their magical connection to the ley lines of the earth. She spends a lot of time battling her arch-nemesis Ptolemy.

Being part wolf, she has heightened agility, eyesight that gives her the ability to see the heat on people’s bodies, which means she can anticipate their movements and avoid their blows.

This eyesight is too sensitive in the daytime, so she often wears eyeglasses when it’s bright out in Wakesleep.

Also, her hair comes alive and has its own energetic power, like the wolf’s fur.

Minx is more passive in Wakesleep because she often feels disoriented moving between worlds, but battles the corporate mind control of T.H.E.Y. CORPORATION through her arts magazine. Believing that the preservation of stories and mythology is vital for the intellectual well-being of mortals, and that such things as REALITY TELEVISON are turning people into numb robots, she seeks to awaken humanity by giving the VISIONARIES a venue. She makes her money modeling for an agency at T.H.E.Y. Corporation, keeping her enemies nice and close.

BLUE, MINX’S CHIEF WOLF

Blue is named for his pale, almost human eyes. He wears a crucifix around his neck that was given to him by The Magician after completing a difficult quest when the black wolf was still alive. Blue is Minx’s chief guardian wolf spirit, and she has a close relationship with him because he stood up for her when the other wolves were opposed to the idea of a human girl leading the pack.

PTOLEMY, THE ARCH-NEMESIS

Son of Cleopatra and her lover Mark Antony, he watched his mother’s premature death and vowed to serve ARIES, God of War, if given revenge. Granted immortality, Ptolemy has spent several lifetimes as a hunter, fighting various wars in Wakesleep and Dreamtime.

In 2010, Aries has made a deal with T.H.E.Y. to kill Natives Indians in Dreamtime so that T.H.E.Y. can gain control of the Earth’s ley lines, and Ptolemy and his Eagles are the mercenaries sent to do this.

In Wakesleep, Ptolemy exists as a hip hop producer with a tremendous fan base who is also an accomplished artist who works with mixed mediums on large canvas. He is an energy vampire – and the more people exalt him, the more he gains his own power and status in DREAMTIME.

His fights either maintain or upset the balance in DREAMTIME, sometimes causing a ripple effect and affecting WAKESLEEP. He runs the nightmare areas in DREAMTIME and is greatly feared. He strives to return Aries to power…and then eventually take the throne himself. He’s bored, he craves action, he’s jealous of the wolves because they are close to Minx…he fights Minx because she’s got a vendetta against him for putting her into the coma in the first place.

THE EMPRESS

Queen of the Tarot Deck, the Empress symbolizes the dual forces of creation and destruction. Feeding enchanted pomegranates to bring dreams to the lost ones seeking answers, she is compassionate but shrouded in mystery. She appears in Wakesleep as every goddess/Virgin Mary statue you have ever seen, white lady of stone. The Empress rules Dreamtime. She is maiden/mother/crone, a triple goddess. She watches over the COMA-SLEEPERS, who are the special cases called to live in the Dreamtime world for a particular purpose – as Minx was.

ARIES, GOD OF WAR

When ARIES was reduced to a C-level god due to a fight with Apollo, he lost almost all his power (also jeopardizing PTOLEMY'S immortality). When T.H.E.Y. approached him about their mission to murder Natives in their sleep in exchange for giving Aries Wakesleep power, he jumped at the chance. Now, he is the star of his own ‘MEDIEVAL BACHELOR’ reality television show that is number 1, with a growing fan base. His ego is getting out of control.

SABRINA THE ORACLE

Remember the Oracle of Delphi in ancient tales of the Mediterranean? Sabrina has pale otherworldly eyes that reveal and conceal in the same instant. Stare into the mirror sometime, and if your own face blurs and you think you see something else reflecting back, it is this goddess of prophecy who worships THE HIGH PRIESTESS. Knowledge is a curse or a blessing. Make sure you really want to know the answer before you ask the question.

RHIANNON
The Celtic goddess who finally divorced her terrible king-husband, Pwyll and opened a bar called the Dreamtime Lounge. She knows everybody’s name, everybody’s drink, and everybody’s secrets.

JAKE DESINE a.k.a. DESTINY

Swarthy, with a tendency to drink too much, Jake Destine walks a fine line between logic and anarchy. He can’t decide whether he wants to be a hero or a villain, and he takes pleasure in controlling the minds of susceptible teenagers when they are visiting Dreamtime, and delivering bad news to Minx while simultaneously trying to romance her.

SOLIFICATIO

As an alchemic operation, Solificatio is the sublimation of desire into aspiration – moving from the lower to the higher mind. The entire potential of mind and body are activated. In Dreamtime, Sol is the master of transformation and martial arts, and teacher of MINX. In Wakesleep, he appears as her ‘fitness and lifestyle coach’.

THE MAGICIAN

The Greeks called him Hermes, the Messenger God. He is cunning, fast, skillful, a flatterer, and a bit of a gossip. He wears a belt which is a living serpent, representing life, death, and rebirth, and which signifies the highest degree of skill and knowledge in magic practices. Master spellcaster, he prefers to stay in Dreamtime but has been known to create some paranormal happenings in Wakesleep.

THE FOOL (a.k.a. The Trickster)

The Native Americans call him Coyote, the one who first brought havoc and laughter into the world through his pranks. The Alpha and the Omega, he has always existed as pure spirit and air, searching for a new direction. He is the acolyte looking for initiation into life’s mysteries, outrageous and wise. Sometimes, he causes trouble.

THE HERMIT

Also known as Saturn, the god of old age and wisdom, he is Father Time with an hourglass of sand. He constantly searches for perfection and self-realization. He is the number nine in the Tarot deck, a solitary exile wearing a cloak which protects him from outside forces and his withdrawal from the world. Being alone for extended periods of time often causes visions and revelations. If you can find him, he gives good advice.

THE HIGH PRIESTESS

Also known as Athena, she is a face of the goddess that Oracles worship. She practices heavy alchemic magic and dresses like a dominatrix. She is also a Wing Chun master. Solificatio is her consort.

THE LOVERS

Yin and Yang, lovers in mythology are always two deities…Venus and Cupid, Aphrodite and Eros, Adam and Eve. The Lovers are the number six in the Tarot deck, signifying harmony and love – sometimes physical, sometimes spiritual. They are the therapists of Dreamtime, the ones with great feeling…commentators speaking for the other gods. They like to speak in riddles.

DEAD GIRLS

2006-03-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

Me and my girlfriends are horrified by the recent brutal murder of a young woman in NYC. It is shocking and sickening, and reminds us how cautious we have to be. My parents programmed me at a young age to be paranoid, and I am lucky that I have always listened to my instincts and stayed safe. But every time I hear about things like this it depresses me as to the state of this twisted world. I still get nightmares.

This is a poem I wrote a couple years ago after cops found a factory of slaughtered women in the suburbs of Vancouver...a scenario not unlike what was featured in the Sin City story.

* * *

DEAD GIRLS

The eighties had a depressing element of missing girls with their hair parted down the middle who would never come home. Anguished parents. I had the sort of parents who warned against getting into cars with strange men & wearing cosmetics too young, a come hither odor. Clifford Olsen a household name in horrific bedtime stories of strangled teens, don’t take candy from anyone, razorblade apples. The price for being a girl was to always look over one shoulder while riding your bike, to never go in the woods alone. Photographs of weeping women, shredded clothes & the bloodstain of rape in the air like metal. I saw their faces in my dreams at night – they whispered, “Be careful.” I grew eyes in the ridges of my shoulder blades, fine-tuned instinct. The dead girls gave me a mask of indifference, to hide the adrenaline scent of fear that I might be a crusader. It has made me hard. This archetype is dangerous to predators – the cold expression of the huntress before the weapon is fired.

THREE LEVELS OF GODS IN DREAMTIME

2006-03-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

This is the hierarchy of power in Dreamtime:

LEVEL A
The Almighty God and Devil archetypes. Opposites – light/dark, Apollo/Dionysus, order/chaos. They are felt energetically in the polarity of opposites but do not interact with B-level gods except in extenuating circumstances.

LEVEL B
Archetypes of the tarot deck, who are gods who wield magic/power over humans, and also famous gods of mythology. The gods who exist at B-level have had to work to get there, and pass a series of tests. They are intelligent and elite, and sometimes have their own agenda that can be misguided. This is the top level, because these gods cannot achieve A-level as it’s reserved for supreme god/devil only. Examples of B-level: The Empress, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Fool, The Lovers, The Hermit. If they misbehave they can be demoted back to C-level, but at B-Level they pretty much have free reign to do what they want.

LEVEL C
Where the gods start off, before they have ‘ascended’. Some demons and lower deities will never learn the compassion for humanity that makes one ascend, and they are stuck on C-level which sometimes angers them. Therefore, they do bad things and need to be controlled by B-level – or sometimes by Minx in warrior mode. Examples of C-level: the Minotaur, who likes to drug young women in their sleep and take them back to his lair. Jake Destine who is the voice of destiny, but he stays at C-level because he has a drinking problem that keeps him at a base level. Some gods don’t care to ascend to more power and they stay at C out of choice, even if they are not causing trouble.

* * *

The gods can also move up and down levels depending on the HUMAN BELIEF of people in Wakesleep. The Tarot archetypes are powerful partly because people ‘play the cards’ in fortune telling games.

MINX TERMINOLOGY

2006-02-28T16:59:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are reading the ashcan...and some of this relates to the full length Issue #1 also!

MINX TERMS

COMA SLEEPERS: The coma-sleepers have tremendous psychic power when they are in their beds at the Empress’ castle and work healing magic through dreams. They have usually been brought there by some freak accident and their bodies remain in stasis in Wakesleep. Some stay sleeping and some are periodically ‘awakened’ in Dreamtime to fulfill their purpose. The chosen become warriors or inventors, and come from different countries and cultures.

HALLOWEEN: When it ‘comes up Halloween’ it’s a holiday/day of magic in Dreamtime when the veil between the worlds and levels is thinnest, and this is the only time the gods can walk among humans in Wakesleep without consequence. Usually they have to obtain special permission from the supreme A-Level to be able to go into Wakesleep. It’s a dangerous day, as the C-level demons like to cause trouble. Minx has extra warrior work on that day!

SUBURBIA refers to the outer areas of Dreamtime, the place where humans end up in different scenarios of dreams and nightmares…it changes and looks like familiar scenarios to the sleepers and most are not aware that they are actually in another realm altogether.

THE LOTUS EATERS are C-level monsters who attack humans in Dreamtime and suck bits of their energy – like leeches – leaving the people exhausted when they wake up.

The HOUSE OF THE HUNTER is another name for Ares’ realm

The Philosopher’s Stone is a magical object used for alchemic process of transformation in Dreamtime.

POST COMIC-CON & LAUNCH PARTY

2006-02-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

I have so many updates...working on a new Minx site that will have video clips and tons of photos which I am sorting through.

But for now...I will just say I am overwhelmed and so pleased by the reaction to MINX. The launch party at Soho 323 was packed with an amazing crowd. Thanks to Arson class for the DJ set, Jessica Ciarla for publicity, Melissa Ulto for kick-ass video which will eventually be on the new site.

The New York Comic-con was a wonderful experience, especially since my table was located by Philip Clark and Rich B. and James Rodriguez - it makes all the difference to have your crew around. The fans were great - intelligent questions and much enthusiasm.

On Saturday Minx cover artist Liza Biggers and comic artist Celistella Rosario were at the booth signing autographs with me. I wish that Gerry Jobe could have made it down from Canada, but he was there in spirit.

My super-cool arch-nemesis Ptolemy was present at the con, and I had two Dreamtime Goddesses with me - The High Priestess and Rhiannon. Everyone was into the fact that ALL THE CHARACTERS EXIST IN REAL LIFE! And the corset & latex costumes didn't hurt either.

Yes, I cut my finger quite badly Saturday night (fighting crime after dark has a price, kids) and therefore was not able to be there all day Sunday. That's the first time I actually saw the inner workings of my own flesh, which freaked me out because I didn't have the energy to go to the hospital, but was sort of cool in a sick way, reminding me of my humanity. It's healing fast thanks to my friend Paul's first aid.

Stabbed on my left hand and I am left-handed...the wedding ring finger. I'll probably use this image in a collage or something.

More later...

MINX AT THE NEW YORK COMICON - BOOTH AA86

2006-02-09T01:11:00.000-08:00

Copious Amounts Press will debut MINX at the New York Comic-Con.

The first edition of New York Comic-Con begins on Friday, February 24 and does not stop until Sunday, February 26. You’ll find everything from the latest comics, graphic novels, anime and manga, to celebrities, TV, movies & gaming tournaments. Go to www.nycomiccon.com for all the updated show information.

GUESTS OF HONOR
Neal Adams * Brian Michael Bendis * Jim Lee *
Todd McFarlane* Brad Meltzer * Joe Quesada *
Kevin Smith* Jim Steranko

DON'T STAND IN LINE. BUY TICKETS NOW!
Visit www.nycomiccon.com or call 1-888-605-6059 to purchase your tickets. (Children 12 & Under Free with Paid Adult Admission.) While at the con, make sure to visit Copious Amounts Press at BOOTH AA86.

LAUNCH PARTY FEB 22ND NYC

2006-02-01T10:38:00.001-08:00

Writer/Creator Andrea Grant will debut a Collector’s Preview Edition of her new comic book MINX: Coma Sleepers Hear It All on Wednesday, February 22nd at Soho 323. Entertainment will include a DJ set by Arson Class, known for his musical collaborations with Moby, Vertical 8 and Girls Against Boys, and a MINX short film presented by VJ Miixy.

Inspired by Andrea Grant’s Native American heritage Coma Sleepers Hear It All is a sardonic look at the conflict between the spiritual world and a world driven by corruption. Illustrated by newcomer Celistella Rosario, the characters are physically based on actual people in Ms. Grant’s everyday life. MINX is lettered by Philip Clark, the creator of Quantum: Rock of Ages.
This is part 1 of 4 in the first Minx Comics miniseries.

To RSVP email: RSVP@minxcomic.com. Wed. Feb. 22nd - Soho 323 @ 323 West Broadway.
Media Call 6: 45 PM, Event Starts at 7:00 PM.

TO HELL AND BACK AGAIN

2006-01-21T15:31:00.000-08:00

I cannot even describe the recent workload as I try to get the MINX Collector's Preview Edition to the printers on deadline so that I will have them for the New York Comicon in February. It's very hard for a creator to actually say 'it's done' and send it off to be permanently immortalized in the public consciousness. How the eyes won't work sometimes, and you overlook the most obvious errors.

It's almost done.

I am pleased to announce that Liza Biggers came up with a brilliant cover, which will be on the preview as well as Issue #1.

I am letting you see it, pre-logo even!

THE END OF 2005

2005-12-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

What hell & heaven to be on deadline during the holiday season, which is already manic. Nothing much got done between Thanksgiving and December 15th, and it made me crazy. But something about it being the foreboding END of December is firing everyone up.

Celi has really come through on the pages, and so patient with all the revisions/additions. Philip is lettering like mad past couple of weeks, and correcting my Canadian vs. American colloquisms. 'Amok'...we spell it 'amuck' where I come from. I am glad 2005 is almost overwith. I will probably sleep most of December 31st away as I am up drinking Haitian rum in a wine glass, still wide awake. Counting pages in my head, and which strange obscure references will the Minx audience enjoy, and are there any mistakes?

We are going to have an insane party in February.

ABOUT MY NATIVE INDIAN TRIBE

2005-11-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

The COAST SALISH people are quite different from the other B.C. First Nations. The weather is the mildest off of Vancouver Island where I was raised, the resources the most varied. Because of this, the land of the Coast Salish became the most inhabited by European peoples. Ironically, their art was the most neglected, as though the outsiders became apathetic to the local beauty and preferred something foreign. The difference between Haida art versus the Salish art is distinguished by the eyes of the animals. In Haida, the eyes are larger, so as to make the creature appear almost unattractive. The Salish keep their proportions tight.

They are more concerned with the aesthetic beauty of the face. There was a great tribal sorrow when the use of art was diminished during the years when ceremonies were outlawed and children were required to attend residential schools where they could not learn the ritual. My grandfather was one of these children, carrying shame like a heavy coat.

Traditional Salish art adheres to the repetition of form and a balanced juxtaposition of positive and negative space. The repeated shapes of fish and birds create a dynamic flow in and out of the composition, and evoke a spinning motion through the repetition of pattern. The oval crest-shapes suggest human faces, delineating the intricate relationship shared by wildlife and humans. The ability of animals to transform into humans is widely represented in Northwest Coast art. Shape shifting is an accepted concept.

OCTOBER NIGHTS

2005-10-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

Things are moving along. These things take time and it's so hard to be patient sometimes, with the days swirling at lightspeed around me. We are planning to exhibit in 2006, so there are lots of things to get together by then. I hauled some more of my girls out to Brooklyn to shoot with Ted, and can't wait to see the photos.

Above is a snapshot of my lovely villians Tarale (who plays Elizabeth) and Gloria (who plays Yvette) out on the town after a few tequila shots.

Most of the female characters in Minx have now been photographed. I still need to cast a High Priestess, who has to have an Earthy quality. And I need to now collect images of the girls with their 'daytime' looks because there are two realities occurring simultaneously in the storyline.

FINALLY THE MINX COMIC WEBSITE IS UP!

2005-09-12T23:18:00.000-07:00

It's been months of work to get things to this level. I'm not going to say anything boring about the artistic struggle. We all know what this means.

But nothing is as easy as it appears and everything has a price. Sometimes it's cost, sometimes it's finding out the hard way. But the site was launched at www.minxcomic.com as of a few days ago!

Battling the Minotaur on a regular basis was worth it.

I went to Atlanta for DragonCon last weekend. Hanging out with my Southern friends, and measuring the traffic patterns to get ready for our own upcoming showcases.

My acupuncturist says that when I talk about the comic book project my pulse strengthens and levels out. It's the balance to all the other mad chaos. So I am taking my vitamins and replenishing for fall, when everything happens harvest. When I think about what's to come in the next year I get the most beautiful vertigo ever.