Randall Trang

Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick #1

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:00:00 -0400

Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick #1:

I wasn’t able to debut it at Boston Comic Con as originally planned, but my first solo comic is NOW ON SALE in my online store! Click the link above!

The lives of Deborah Baum, the city’s finest roller derby player, and martial arts master Han Kit Lau change when the mysterious Ai brings a chaotic alien war to the shores of Port Side City.

Superhero/Sci-Fi/All-Ages
Release: April 2013
Self-published (printed through Ka-Blam Digital Printing)
Black and White
32 pages w/ full color front and back covers
$8.00

Please reblog! If you like it, please recommend it or pass it along!

First edition prints are almost all gone! Get your copy today and support independent comics!

My dad’s reading my comic! #comics...

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:35:09 -0400

My dad’s reading my comic! #comics #RollerGirlandTheFlyingSideKick

Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick #1

Thu, 02 May 2013 10:29:41 -0400

Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick #1:

randalltrang:

I wasn’t able to debut it at Boston Comic Con as originally planned, but my first solo comic is NOW ON SALE in my online store! Click the link above!

The lives of Deborah Baum, the city’s finest roller derby player, and martial arts master Han Kit Lau change when the mysterious Ai brings a chaotic alien war to the shores of Port Side City.

Superhero/Sci-Fi/All-Ages
Release: April 2013
Self-published (printed through Ka-Blam Digital Printing)
Black and White
32 pages w/ full color front and back covers
$8.00

Please reblog! If you like it, please recommend it or pass it along!

trivia-lad: fashiontipsfromcomicstrips: [Above: Caleb...

Wed, 01 May 2013 09:50:16 -0400

trivia-lad:

fashiontipsfromcomicstrips:

[Above: Caleb Goellner, Chris Sims, Andy Khouri, Your Humble Narrator, & Joe Hughes, at the ComicsAlliance HQ at San Diego Comic Con 2012]

Last Friday, AOL shut down a handful of subsidiaries, including ComicsAlliance (source: CBR). Ever since its debut in 2009, ComicsAlliance was my primary resource for comics and pop culture. I forget how exactly I discovered ComicsAlliance or Laura Hudson (though I do recall getting the premiere issue of Comic Foundry while I was tagging along with Kaiju Big Battel at MoCCA Fest 2007), but the tone and presentation of ComicsAlliance’s content greatly resonated with me and cemented itself as my homepage ever since. Over the years, ComicsAlliance’s staff has grown to include a rich variety of contributors who have written pieces that made me laugh, cry, think, critique, and most importantly, relate. These were people who I wanted to sit down and have long discussions about Batman, karaoke, and inequality (preferably over drinks). These were people who I could see myself being friends with.

Back in 2009, I had only just started implementing social media into my life beyond LiveJournal, with a Twitter account and the launch of Fashion Tips From Comic Strips. I dabbled in comics-blogging and convention coverage, but I was really just dicking around in the humble little space that I carved out with my web presence. I bugged and befriended some of my favorite comic creators and comics journalists on Twitter, and at some point, a childhood friend of mine connected me with Laura Hudson. After proper introductions and brainstorming over content, Laura granted me the opportunity to write for ComicsAlliance, starting with a series of Halloween costume tutorials. Since this was my first journalistic freelance gig (let alone, for a media outlet that I held in such high regard), I struggled with a rare case of insecurity (in my case, at least) and excessive self-criticism over the content I was producing. However, Laura and Andy repeatedly reassured me that I was over-thinking and over-complicating my writing process, and encouraged me to believe in my intuition and my voice. I’ve taken this advice to heart since, in both my freelance work and various other endeavors in my life.

In May 2011, I launched Best Cosplay Ever (This Week) on ComicsAlliance, a weekly feature where I showcased a gallery of exceptional cosplay. To this day, I’m still completely floored and humbled by the overwhelmingly positive response to Best Cosplay Ever. During my time with ComicsAlliance, I got to meet some of my favorite creators and cosplayers, ramble about Jem & the Holograms at great length, host a proper style critique of the DCnU redesigns with the staff, and more. Although I’ve continued to struggle with my own journalistic obstacles (along with balancing CA deadlines with my full-time day job), I was honored to be a member of this crew, and I always felt like a valued contributor, thanks to Laura, Joe, Andy, Caleb, Chris, and all of the other staff members whom I’ve bothered over the past few years.

As a reader, ComicsAlliance provided me with information, insightful op-eds, and hours of entertaining content. As a contributor, ComicsAlliance gave me confidence, an outlet, and an entourage of coworkers whom I’m incredibly proud to call my friends. I am eternally grateful for ComicsAlliance for giving me a sense of belonging in a community and industry that often overlooks fans like me. And that’s why I’m still in utter shock and heartbroken over AOL’s decision to shut down ComicsAlliance.

Despite AOL’s decisions, I fully believe that the spirit of ComicsAlliance will live on in some incarnation, because if there’s anything we can count on in the comics industry, it’s the compulsion to reboot nice things. And if and when ComicsAlliance is properly retconned, my only request is that my coworkers and I get to work together once again (and that my redesign isn’t a hot mess).

Until then, thank you, ComicsAlliance. For everything.

Bethany’s cosplay coverage was one of many reasons I went back to Comics Alliance every day. It was a fantastic site, balancing news with well-thought out commentary and analysis, and with a strong commitment to progress and equality.

The sudden way it was shut down was a tragedy, and I can only hope the fantastic staff find a new home quickly.

Bethany: my lady-bro-homie forever, and an excellent writer-ambassador for cosplayers everywhere. I hope all these talented writers find a home soon. Long live Comics Alliance!

Boston Comic Con 2013 has been rescheduled and relocated!...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:51:23 -0400

Boston Comic Con 2013 has been rescheduled and relocated! I’ll be there with ROLLER GIRL AND THE FLYING SIDE KICK #1 (still on sale at my online store) and maybe some other things! If you got tickets to the April event, they’ll still be good for this show, and more tickets are stil on sale!

Hope to see you there!

What? 2ND DAN RANDALL is evolving! Leveling up in all areas of...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:00:15 -0400

What? 2ND DAN RANDALL is evolving!

Leveling up in all areas of my life right now. Feels good, man :) And I can only assume that as a 3rd degree black belt, I’ll gain the ability to fly. If not, what is the point of learning martial arts??

Black Belt Testing 2013
Saturday, May 4
8 am - 2 pm
FREE
Alumnae Hall at Brown University
200 Meeting St.
Providence, RI 02912

From my facebook:

Not only is my first comic completed, published, and on sale - I’m testing for my third degree black belt in Taekwondo under Master Park! For those in the Boston/Providence area, the test is totally open to the public and I invite you to come check me out!

It’s five/six hours long and incredibly rigorous. You can come and go as you please (God, don’t subject yourself to sitting there that long!) or you can just come for the end, when I am dead tired and will be forced to kick and punch through boards and concrete blocks.

Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick #1

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:00:40 -0400

Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick #1:

I wasn’t able to debut it at Boston Comic Con as originally planned, but my first solo comic is NOW ON SALE in my online store! Click the link above!

The lives of Deborah Baum, the city’s finest roller derby player, and martial arts master Han Kit Lau change when the mysterious Ai brings a chaotic alien war to the shores of Port Side City.

Superhero/Sci-Fi/All-Ages
Release: April 2013
Self-published (printed through Ka-Blam Digital Printing)
Black and White
32 pages w/ full color front and back covers
$8.00

Please reblog! If you like it, please recommend it or pass it along!

Official statement from the folks at Boston Comic Con: So...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:11:38 -0400

Official statement from the folks at Boston Comic Con:

So here’s where we stand. First off, Boston Comic Con apologizes profusely to all the attendees, vendors, and guests who were inconvenienced by the postponement. We held out as long as we could and had the suspect been caught and the lockdown lifted just a few hours earlier we could have pulled it off. Unfortunately the Hynes was forced to pull the plug and the situation was out of our hands. No one could have anticipated this unprecedented shutdown of a major metropolitan area.

Secondly, we are looking at new dates for this year. We are working diligently on trying to reschedule sometime this summer subject to the convention center’s availability. We will announce the new date as soon as we book it and invite all of the guests back.

Any admission tickets purchased online will be honored at the rescheduled show. Once we announce the new show date, if for any reason, you can not come to the show on that date, we will refund your ticket at that time. Simply submit a refund request through Eventbrite.

Finally we want to extend our most heartfelt gratitude to all the shops who opened their doors this weekend and the artists who so generously gave their time to the fans. We spoke to many attendees who had driven long distances from the likes of Canada, Florida, and Missouri to be here and were so happy to have the opportunity to still meet some of the guests. And to all of you who have been so supportive in this trying time and sent very kind words of sympathy and support. There are several comic book events coming up in the next few weeks and we encourage locals to check them out and keep the comic community going.

As far as I’m concerned- yes, Boston Comic Con was a big deal to me personally considering that it was going to be the con where my first solo comic project debuted. Yes, it would have been loads of fun setting up my table next to awesome friends like Emmy, Lindsay, Alex, Ming, Neil, Joe, and Maris.

But in this past week, my city has gone through a lot, and all of the above listed tablemates/friends were within a couple neighborhoods of some serious danger (Lindsay and Alex were down the street from a full-on firefight, and the National Guard parked their tanks on their street)!

As far as my comic goes, ROLLER GIRL AND THE FLYING SIDE KICK, CHAPTER ONE is finished and printed. I made my April 20th publishing deadline. 32 pages of self-written, self-illustrated, self-published DIY glory. I’m proud of myself for taking the plunge and finishing something on my own. Whether or not it gets a single sale (it already has a few) is bonus for me at this point.

I’m just glad my friends are safe and that we can sit down and eat some pizza together.

Reposting this cutout ink drawing I did back in 2010 of my...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:39:52 -0400

Reposting this cutout ink drawing I did back in 2010 of my hometown. Because of recent events, I wanted to make something new, but then I remembered this very personal drawing I made that includes areas of my city that played important roles in my life. The Copley/Boston Public Library area is near the center of the drawing.

I love you, Boston.

2013 National Collegiate Taekwondo Champions: Brown University....

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:46:01 -0400

2013 National Collegiate Taekwondo Champions: Brown University. 3rd year in a row! The joy I see on the faces of my friends/students/former classmates in this picture will stay with me for a very long time… #taekwondo #3peat

The Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Not a bad place...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:46:57 -0400

The Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Not a bad place to hold Collegiate Taekwondo National Championships. #COLO #3peat

Preview Part Two! Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick: Chapter...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:00:00 -0400

Preview Part Two!

Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick: Chapter One premiers April 20-21 at Boston Comic Con and online at http://randalltrang.bigcartel.com! Get your tickets to Boston Comic Con now!

Preview Part One
More info on ROLLER GIRL AND THE FLYING SIDE KICK

smalllindsay: Hello hello! Alex and I have a table at this...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:19:55 -0400

smalllindsay:

Hello hello! Alex and I have a table at this year’s Boston Comic Con, April 20th and 21st! We will have some Baman Piderman tee shirts and buttons and prints, and will be doing cheapo commissions right there! Saucy winks are free though, my friend. Ohohoho. So if you’re at the con, please feel free to stop by and say hello!

My bros Lindsay and Alex of Baman Piderman fame will be at Boston Comic Con this year! You all better be there too!!

Haven’t painted in a long time. Forgot how...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:23:15 -0400

Haven’t painted in a long time. Forgot how terrifying/beautiful a blank canvas on an easel is.

Now that the first chapter of Roller Girl and The Flying Side...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 18:27:45 -0400

Now that the first chapter of Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick is done, I’m going to take a bit of a break from working on it and go back to doing commissions and this weekly regular comic. No better way to make a comeback than on WrestleMania day with my pro wrestling watching buddy: Grandma!

Also, we’re only two weeks out from Boston Comic Con and Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick’s premier!

smalllindsay: swegener: joshtierney: One of my favourite...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:34:54 -0400

smalllindsay:

swegener:

joshtierney:

One of my favourite pieces by Roger Ebert is his “Great Movies” appreciation of Spirited Away (read it in full here). At the end of the piece he details an encounter he had with Hayao Miyazaki himself, where Miyazaki defines one of the key differences between the work of Studio Ghibli and mainstream American animation. I can see his words relating to comics as well, and these words are well-worth reading for any creative and parent.

Here is the excerpt from Ebert’s piece:

I was so fortunate to meet Miyazaki at the 2002 Toronto film festival. I told him I love the “gratuitous motion” in his films; instead of every movement being dictated by the story, sometimes people will just sit for a moment, or sigh, or gaze at a running stream, or do something extra, not to advance the story but only to give the sense of time and place and who they are.

“We have a word for that in Japanese,” he said. “It’s called ‘ma.’ Emptiness. It’s there intentionally.” He clapped his hands three or four times. “The time in between my clapping is ‘ma.’ If you just have non-stop action with no breathing space at all, it’s just busyness.”

I think that helps explain why Miyazaki’s films are more absorbing than the frantic action in a lot of American animation. “The people who make the movies are scared of silence” he said, “so they want to paper and plaster it over,” he said. “They’re worried that the audience will get bored. But just because it’s 80 percent intense all the time doesn’t mean the kids are going to bless you with their concentration. What really matters is the underlying emotions—that you never let go of those.

“What my friends and I have been trying to do since the 1970’s is to try and quiet things down a little bit; don’t just bombard them with noise and distraction. And to follow the path of children’s emotions and feelings as we make a film. If you stay true to joy and astonishment and empathy you don’t have to have violence and you don’t have to have action. They’ll follow you. This is our principle.”

He said he has been amused to see a lot of animation in live-action superhero movies. “In a way, live action is becoming part of that whole soup called animation. Animation has become a word that encompasses so much, and my animation is just a little tiny dot over in the corner. It’s plenty for me.”

It’s plenty for me, too.

Yes

Yes.

Mmhm.

The first two pages were posted in the past; back before my book...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 19:57:00 -0400

The first two pages were posted in the past; back before my book was announced, but here’s a four-page preview of Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick, Chapter One! Starting off with a real sci-fi kick.

Roller Girl and The Flying Side Kick, Chapter One premiers at Boston Comic Con and online at http://randalltrang.bigcartel.com, April 20! (Original announcement post: http://randalltrang.com/post/46171317846/rollergirl)

laupoisan: randalltrang: Hello followers! If you’ve been...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:17:25 -0400

laupoisan:

randalltrang:

Hello followers! If you’ve been wondering why I haven’t been updating as much with comics (and to my personal friends, why I haven’t been seen out and about AT ALL), it’s because I’ve been working on my first solo project!

ROLLER GIRL AND THE FLYING SIDE KICK, CHAPTER ONE will be premiering at Boston Comic Con 2013 (April 20-21, Hynes Convention Center). If you cannot make it to Boston Comic Con, it will be available through my new online store at http://randalltrang.bigcartel.com/ on the same date! Information on a digital release will be available at a later date.

So what’s it about? Here’s the official solicitation blurb:

“The lives of Deborah Baum, the city’s finest roller derby player, and martial arts master Han Kit Lau change when the mysterious Ai brings a chaotic alien war to the shores of Port Side City.

Superhero/Sci-Fi/All-Ages
Release: April 2013
Self-published (printed through Ka-Blam Digital Printing)
Black and White
32 pages w/ full color front and back covers
$8.00”

I’ve spent many years trying to find the resources to put together this little indy all-ages superhero book, and I’d like to thank all of my family and friends who have been incredibly supportive and have made this project finally possible. I love you all.

Hope you guys stay tuned! I’ll be posting preview pages of CHAPTER ONE every Wednesday leading up to the premier at Boston Comic Con. Thanks again!

WOOOOO COME AND SUPPORT MY BIG BROTHER !

Boston Comic Con 2013 , be there or be square [>.<]

Woohoo! Got a bump from my baby sister! Reblogging for the weekday work crew in case you missed the big announcement :)

Hello followers! If you’ve been wondering why I...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:00:32 -0400

Hello followers! If you’ve been wondering why I haven’t been updating as much with comics (and to my personal friends, why I haven’t been seen out and about AT ALL), it’s because I’ve been working on my first solo project!

ROLLER GIRL AND THE FLYING SIDE KICK, CHAPTER ONE will be premiering at Boston Comic Con 2013 (April 20-21, Hynes Convention Center). If you cannot make it to Boston Comic Con, it will be available through my new online store at http://randalltrang.bigcartel.com/ on the same date! Information on a digital release will be available at a later date.

So what’s it about? Here’s the official solicitation blurb:

“The lives of Deborah Baum, the city’s finest roller derby player, and martial arts master Han Kit Lau change when the mysterious Ai brings a chaotic alien war to the shores of Port Side City.

Superhero/Sci-Fi/All-Ages
Release: April 2013
Self-published (printed through Ka-Blam Digital Printing)
Black and White
32 pages w/ full color front and back covers
$8.00”

I’ve spent many years trying to find the resources to put together this little indy all-ages superhero book, and I’d like to thank all of my family and friends who have been incredibly supportive and have made this project finally possible. I love you all.

Hope you guys stay tuned! I’ll be posting preview pages of CHAPTER ONE every Wednesday leading up to the premier at Boston Comic Con. Thanks again!

My new comic! Part of its cover anyway. Roller Girl & The...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:01:06 -0400

My new comic! Part of its cover anyway. Roller Girl & The Flying Side Kick Chapter One premieres at Boston Comic Con, which is only one month away! (4/20-21, Hynes Convention Center)