I am extremely proud and pleased to present today’s comic strip to you all. It was sent to me recently by one of my favorite new webcomic creators, Mark Stokes! For the life of me, I can’t recall how I came across Mark‘s work. It may have been through Twitter or maybe just spying him hanging out on someone else’s comments page, but once I backtracked him to his own site, I’ve been taken away by his style.

From the first glimpse of his art, I thought that Mark was a professional cartoonist who’d been working and honing his craft for years. It looked that natural. His style could fit right in with the best in the business like Mort Walker, Dik Browne, and Charles Schulz.

Mark Stokes is the creator of the webcomic series, Zombie Boy. ZB has been around for quite awhile and has gone thru various incarnations (all of which are very entertaining). Personally, I’m a huge fan of Mark‘s flair for coloring. His palette rivals my own and each of his comics (which are posted Mon-Wed-Fri) have a distinct look which certainly sets a mood.

I am so glad that Mark sent this strip to me. I love the way he captured the characters from ADDANAC CITY, giving them their own unique style and identity. It’s fun to see your creations thru someone else’s eyes. So give it up for Mark Stokes and please, pay him a visit over on Zombie Boy to get your chills and chuckles on!

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BONUS: Don’t miss my personal review of the super-powered movie Chronicle!

I turned my family down when they invited me to watch The Devil Within with them. I said No way, Jose when asked to accompany them to Paranormal Activity 3. I even downright balked when they attempted to trick me into viewing the last Twilight flick.

What it all boils down to is, I don’t watch just anything. To me, my time is extremely valuable. I create a seven-day-a-week, full-color comic strip series. I don’t have much that can be declared as spare time, so if I’m participating in an event, you can bet that it’s gonna be worthy.

This weekend, I discovered a movie that was well-worth my time and expense. This movie is Chronicle.

I’m not gonna spoil the movie for you at all. I just wanna give you the basic nitty-gritty about the flick, tell you what I thought of it, and let you make your own decision whether to go see it or not. Chronicle is written by Max Landis (son of director-supreme John Landis) and is directed by first-time director, Josh Trank.

The basic premise is simple. In fact, it’s so simple, that you wonder why no one has ever thought to do it before. The film is about three unlikely friends who discover this crazy hole-in-the-ground outside of a teen party. When I say that these friends are unlikely, I mean that without these special circumstances, these three guys probably wouldn’t have ever spoken to one another for any reason during their high-school matriculation.

One dude, Stephen (played by Michael B. Jordan of TV’s The Wire and the latest George Lucas film Red Tail), is a really cool black guy. He’s friendly, handsome, letters in sports, and aspires to be president of the country as well as his student class. And the strange part is, I can actually see him accomplishing all that.

Another guy, Matt (played by relative newcomer, Australian actor Alex Russell) is your inbetween dude. He’s not a nerd nor is he super cool. He’s the kinda guy you wouldn’t mind your kid hanging out with. He’s popular enough to get by, yet respectful enough to know where to draw the line when firm decisions need to be made. He’s the basic conscience of this crew.

The final homie who rounds out this trio is uber-loner Andrew (played by rising actor Dane DeHaan). Andrew has it bad, y’all. His dad is a disabled fireman with no prospective employment opportunities. Pops just wants to spend the day drinking hard liquor and crying about his lack of ability to provide, all the while placing the blame for the family’s misfortune soundly on the back of pitiful, lil’ ol’ Andrew as he beats the young boy like a drum with a consistency you can just about set your watch by.

Oh, and did I mention that Andrew‘s moms is dying while all of this is going on? Yeah, loner boy has his share of problems and grief that are totally unrelated to your basic high school dilemmas of “what am I gonna wear to the prom?”.

So, you’ve got these three unlikely friends discovering…something. We don’t know if it’s the remnants of a meteor, or if it’s an actual alien, or if it’s even extraterrestrial in nature at all. We learn right along with the stars of the film. They wake up to a new world, and we’re taken right along for the ride.

When you’ve got cool powers, who needs an explanation? It’s like that extra ten grand that mysteriously finds its way into your bank account. Are you really, really gonna hunt the world over trying to determine where that windfall came from, or are you gonna just enjoy it as it is, a fortunate blessing?

The stars of Chronicle do exactly that. They enjoy their newfound power. And what it makes it interesting is the fact that they all have the same power. It’s none of that Fantastic Four-type stuff where everyone gets a different ability and has to live with themselves and their ghastly, horrible new talents.

And being that they all have the same power makes it more logical that they’re gonna hang out with each other as much as they do. They basically cut the rest of the world off in order to concentrate on their secret. And with any identical “talent”, you know that someone is gonna be way better at it than the others. This makes for a great transformation in plot and story. If three people had the powers of say, Spider-Man at the exact same time, what would happen between them? Who would web-sling better?

And the film was realistic to me because no one’s first thought was to use their ability to fight crime. I know that’s a selfish sentiment, but c’mon, be truthful. If you found out that you could turn invisible, are you really gonna run out and stop a mugger here and there as first on your list of things to do today?

More than likely, you’re gonna have some fun using your power and that’s what the fellas in Chronicle did. They enjoyed themselves until the going got tougher than leather.

I really had a good time watching this movie. It’s the type of film that would make an excellent television show in my opinion. I could have watched this movie for four, heck…five more hours without growing weary of it.

If you’re the sort of movie-goer who enjoys fantasy, science fiction, high-school movies, buddy flicks, or even comeback dramas, then you may wanna take the time and money to go see this film. I’ll probably go watch it again this weekend.

And that’s truly saying a lot for me.

This comic was originally posted on July 17, 2009.

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Sheesh! No wonder Hank doesn’t have but one good tooth left.

If that’s all the education you need, perhaps Hank should give it a try.

This comic was originally posted on February 20, 2009.

For some reason, this strip always cracks me up on so many different levels.

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Don’t miss tomorrow‘s double-sized comic as we catch up with Dr. Proctor and his latest patient’s husband to find a cure for her dilemma.

This comic was originally posted on April 28, 2009.

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I don’t think Harvey looks good in any beard beside the lil’ ‘stache and goatee he’s been sporting for the past year, but I love all of Hank‘s smart-aleck comebacks.

I guess you could say this is one of my experimental (heavy on the mental) comic strips. I’m concerned that far too few of the people who read today’s comic is gonna “get it” on the first read. I hope it’s not that complicated and I apologize if it is.

All in all, I do enjoy seeing Christie again. I don’t get to draw her but so often these days.

This comic was originally posted on February 13, 2010.

HEAD FOR THE HILLS, HARVEY!!!

And, oh yeah, don’t forget to save the boy.

This comic was originally posted on August 12, 2009.

One of the fun things about creating ADDANAC CITY is that I get to meet a lot of different people frpm all walks of life and who work in many diverse occupations. I met one young lady who was an aspiring model. Here is the original interview and some of her photos from a a recent shoot. I hope you all enjoy.

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Photographer Frank Antonio and Makeup Erica Diggs

Photographer Charles Gardner and Makeup Michael Reyes

Photographer Frank Antonio and Makeup Erica Diggs

*****ADDANAC CITY and Elan Extreme Magazine are proud to present this special-edition triple-sized comic featuring the one and only Consuelo Dee. Consuelo is an up-and-coming model who has been turning the world on its ear with her striking beauty, smoldering looks, and evident talent.

I was extremely fortunate to be able to catch Consuelo Dee between modeling shoots so I could ask her a few questions.

GEORGE: It’s great having you here today, Consuelo Dee! I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about you, and I’ve been seeing you almost everywhere lately. I would love for my audience here at ADDANAC CITY to get to know a bit about the real you. Allow me to begin by asking: Where are you from?

CONSUELO DEE: I was born in El Salvador, but I am based out of Ocean City, Maryland.

GEORGE: I’ve heard that EL Salvador is a beautiful place. I’ve always wanted to visit there. What about your parents? Where are they from?

CONSUELO DEE: My mother is from El Salvador and my father is from Costa Rica.

GEORGE: I’m always interested in different occupations in the entertainment industry. What’s the best thing about being a model?

CONSUELO DEE: My favorite part of the modeling industry is that I get to travel, meet interesting people, and do things I would otherwise not have the chance to do.

GEORGE: I imagine that you do get many opportunities to discover new things that the average person may never get to experience. It sounds like an amazing life. I can tell that you have your own style and persona, but do you have any influences in the modeling industry? Or anyone who inspires you?

CONSUELO DEE: Some of my influences/role models are Angelina Jolie, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Denzel Washington (just because it’s Denzel ) just to name a few.

GEORGE: Those are some strong personalities. They’re definitely doing their thing, and I know that you’re going to set the world on fire soon. What are you up to nowadays?

CONSUELO DEE: Currently I am in the running for Ms. Belleza Latina USA and am very excited about the upcoming pageant.

GEORGE: That’s impressive, Consuelo Dee! I wish you the best of luck with the pageant. What can we hope to see from the lovely and vivacious Consuelo Dee in the future?

CONSUELO DEE: In the future you can expect to see my name in lights. Hopefully on both the small and big screen.

GEORGE: Well, I can’t argue with that at all. Consuelo Dee, I’d like to thank you for being in today’s ADDANAC CITY comic, and for taking a moment to talk with my audience about what you do. Hopefully, we’ll see a lot more of you in time to come.

Well, folks, be sure to check out Consuelo Dee’s website and get to know her better. She’s a rising star in the making. And also be sure to go visit Elan Extreme Magazine. You’ll be thoroughly entertained.

Hank should be happy that his grandfather is taking the time to pass down some wise proverbs and much-needed information to the prevailing generations. He’d better get a pencil and write this one down.