Ahmad Al-Mahir Online

I’ve found a way to upload the posts from almahir.com to my Facebook account. So now people can read snippets of updates from my personal site from FB. At least that’s how I think it works…

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So many things have happened since my last posting. A few months ago I was made manager of a new diploma that’s to begin in 2010 (Diploma in Digital Animation) and with it the team of lecturers that are to teach the course. There’s been a new addition to my family; a beautiful baby girl named Azra Mushira. She arrived in the afternoon of October 9th 2009. In between my last update and now, there have been lots of time spent on preparations for teaching, course marketing and promotion, actual teaching, meetings and other assorted manager-related stuff. Recently I even decided to splurge a little and bought the computer game “Dragon Age: Origins”.
For a long while I barely had time to update my blog let alone do any artwork to showcase here.
Occasionally, I’d drop by my website and feel bad about not updating it. Sure, I’d type bits and pieces of Status updates into my Facebook account once in awhile, but the further it went from my last posting here, the harder it seems to start proper. And so it went on and on and on with my time filled doing other stuff and my website left unattended.
Well, as I did on more than a few occasions before, I’m doing something about it. I won’t be blogging all day every day or make up for lost artwork time with tons of stuff, but I have decided that I will not leave my online home neglected. I’m taking that small step. And I hope to keep going.
Whoever out there still reading (why?!) I thank you and hope to give you more to read (and see) soon!

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Managed to go through a few more collections recently and since I haven’t been posting I thought might as well offer up some thoughts:

• “DC: The New Frontier” by Darwyn Cooke. I borrowed the Absolute edition and it is massive! It’s a hardcover, nicely produced and chock full of details. We get an insight into the inspirations and references the author compiled while developing the entire series and homages placed within the pages. Lots of great nuggets of information in there for new readers as well as old timers like me. The story is a chronicle of events throughout DC comics history which ultimately leads to a huge climax and resolution. The series taps on early DC comic characters’ adventures and origins and follows a time-line right up to when the Silver Age Justice League had their first official team mission. It’s a cool reinterpretation of DC comics history, and the care and love the author has for the characters and storyline shine through brilliantly. The art has a retro feel which appeals to this old-fashioned comics fan. A must read!
• “Popgun” Vol. 1. I found this at my school’s library and it’s a decent anthology. A good sized collection but nothing really stood out for me. Or I’ve forgotten, unfortunately. Volume 2 obviously feels more polished by comparison.
• “Elephantmen: Wounded Animals” by Richard Starkings. I’ve read a few good reviews on this title and thought I’d check out what the deal is. I liked how the author mentions the inspirations and references he drew from (scifi adventures, 1970’s shows like “Saphhire and Steel”) in his introduction, and I found myself agreeing with a lot of the stuff he brought up. It gave me much hope. Then, after reading through the collection of issues #1-7, I lost some of that enthusiasm. The issues brought up in those pages felt too familiar (e.g. cloning, racism, hero with a tortured past). The characters weren’t as interesting as I’d hoped, although I did develop a dislike for a few of the characters with a passion (e.g. camelguy) so maybe that’s something. I enjoyed the quotes that preceded each chapter though. And I thought the mini-story “Captain Stoneheart and the Truth Fairy” was very well told, even though (again) it felt like a tale I’ve read before a long while ago in some form or other.
• “Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil” by Jeff Smith. This is a reinvention of Fawcett Comics’ Captain Marvel’s origin and early adventures by the creator of “Bone” ( I need to borrow that incredibly thick collection and really finish reading that story one fine day). I like the concept of the superhero Captain Marvel; he always comes across as clean-cut and heroic. There’s no ambiguity about his morals or purpose. That’s what I remember of him way back when. Anyways, I didn’t quite appreciate the way the author drew the kids (sometimes they look kinda like adult heads attached to kids’ bodies) and Mr. Mind in this book (looks more like a snake than a worm). I also wondered where those crocodile men came from, but overall the story was decently told and cleanly presented. I especially liked his depictions of the Wizard and Tawny.

On a side note, I’ve been busy with work (as usual) but I’ve been getting some sketches and basic animation exercises done in the midst of it. So that means I shall be posting up some new stuff real soon!

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