Via: Boing Boing
Graphic novel on stage in Los Angeles By David Pescovitz

No Good Deed is a new multimedia play in Los Angeles that melds a graphic novel with live theater. Created by the edgy, experimental Furious Theatre Company — including my brother Robert Pescovitz — No Good Deed is a classic, dark superhero story of good and evil injected with the cultural criticism that is Furious’ modus operandi. The live production, written by Matt Pelfrey and directed by Dámaso Rodriguez, employs projected illustrations, intense fight choreography, and compelling characters to immerse the viewer in the action. And if you’re thinking that sounds like Broadway’s Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, here’s what industry mag TalkinBroadway wrote, “I want to hold this production up to the producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark and say, ‘This is how you put a graphic novel on stage.” No Good Deed is actually the first story in an ongoing narrative that continues with Hellbound Heroes, a print comic with art by Ben Matsuya. You can grab a copy by donating $5 to Furious Theatre. The play runs until February 26 and Furious has kindly offered Boing Boing a discount code to save $5 on admission. Just enter BoingBoing as the coupon code when you purchase tickets here!

This is what LAist had to say about No Good Deed:

Nick Cernoch leads the cast as Josh Jaxon, a conflicted and abused high-school student that must deal with a major change in his social status. As both a hero and antihero, Cernoch easily makes a bold transition feel natural. He guides Jaxon away from an appropriately subdued modality as a bullied kid to an energized, engaging and exciting alter-ego realized through a drug-induced multi-dimensional fantasy.

Shawn Lee and Troy Metcalf play Jaxon’s “fucking-with-crime” sidekicks Bryant Feld and Danny Diamond. As Feld, Lee is a charismatic and commanding actor that often drives pulsed tension on stage. Metcalf renders Diamond as a sympathy-drawing underling, beautifully executing Diamond’s most tragic scene and delivering the best performance of the show. Finally, Robert Pescovitz renders the role of Jaxon’s frightening step-father with impressive authenticity.

The complex staging of No Good Deed must be a nightmare to direct, but Damaso Rodriguez smoothly orchestrates the entire production with raw grace and a little kitsch. In fact, Rodriguez has crafted an indie-version of Broadway’s Spiderman, minus all of the Spiderman failures, of course. Brian Danner’s fight choreography is perfectly executed, conceptualized and is a huge audience draw. Scenic design of John Icovelli, costuming by Christy Hauptman, graphic design of Ben Matsuya and original music composition of Doug Newell contribute tremendously in capturing the essence of a great comic book.

Furious Theatre Company presents No Good Deed

About the Meltdown Comics EXTRAS edition

Included in this pack will be a commemorative Meltdown Comics envelope and letterhead, Meltdown Comics sticker, vintage Baby Melt ribbon (yeah, we made this), a tiny 1:6 scale T-Shirt (Sized-to-Fit the DEATH RAY ACTION FIGURE, the Hi-Fashion Enid DOLL or to class-up your child’s BRATZ doll if you will), a little silkscreen print, a pin, plus other surprises. All using the Meltdown Comics Mel Mascot and logo designed last century for Meltdown, Inc. by Dan Clowes. That is like  back in the 1990s,man! ONLY 200 sets will be made. FUN! Will cost us more that 10 bux to make all of these bits but will only add 10 bux over the cover price if you buy the book from us.  Pre-order Meltdown Comics EXTRAS edition here

Throughout his 25-year career, alternative cartoonist/screenwriter Daniel Clowes has always been ahead of artistic and cultural movements. In the late 1980s his groundbreaking comic book series Eightball defined indie culture with wit, venom, and even a little sympathy. With each successive graphic novel (Ghost World, David Boring, Ice Haven, Wilson, Mister Wonderful ), Clowes has been praised for his emotionally compelling narratives that reimagine the ways that stories can be told in comics. The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist is the first monograph on this award-winning, New York Times–bestselling creator, compiled with his complete cooperation. It includes all of Clowes’s best-known illustrations as well as rare and previously unpublished work, all reproduced from the original art, and also includes essays by noted contributors such as designer Chip Kidd and cartoonist Chris Ware.

Alvin Buenaventura recently started the publishing company Pigeon Press. He previously published artistic and insightful graphic novels, books, and prints under the imprint Buenaventura Press from 2003 to 2009. Buenaventura also edits the monthly comics section for McSweeney’s literary magazine, The Believer. He lives in Oakland, California.

Gil: The MUTANT SEASON

So my middle son Gil has a Nerdist Industries podcast and his own twitter account. He learned about entertaining and putting on shows from Mo Fathelbab and the NerdMelt crew over the Summer break in 2011. He wasn’t sent to camp or participated in other seasonal activities because hanging at Meltdown Comics and the NerdMelt Theater was all he wanted to do. Katie Levine, who produces podcasts for Chris Hardwick, spotted Gil when he was on Mo and DC Pierson’s Nerdy Secrets show. She gave him a test run and it went beyond everyone’s expectations. Now, more than 10 episodes in, “The Mutant Season with Gil” is picking up steam and picking up followers.

Please take the time to check out some of my son’s past shows. Hope you find them to your liking. If you do, please “Like”, follow and/or comment on iTunes: https://bitly.com/itunesTheMutantSeason

or via Nerdist.com: http://www.nerdist.com/podcast/the-mutant-season/

Past guest have included: DC Comic‘s Scott Lobdell, “Real Steel” producer Don Murphy, The Chief Services Officer for The Mayor of Los Angeles Rafael Gonzales, Stussy‘s Adam Weissman, comedians DC Pierson and Colton Dunn, Machinima‘s Beau Ryan, fencing coach Victor Cervantes, “Big Time Rush“‘s Stephen Glickman, magician and “Cupcake Wars” host Justin Willman, and Kevin Eastman co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles plus Chris Hardwick says: Amazing new @Nerdist Industries podcast for nerd kids & grownups alike! 9 yr old Gil’s The Mutant Season.

You can also follow Gil on Twitter: @MutantSeason for updates.

Mars Attacks!!

DnDMelt’s Beginner’s bootcamp 101. The first part of our Boot Camp Series where we teach you the ABC’s of Character Creation.

Price: $10  

DAY: Saturday December 17, 2011 TIME: 1:00pm-5pm

In this 4e BootCamp we will show you:

- EXACTLY How to make a character & what makes a character

- What to do in what order and what to add up to calculate all the things that need calculating

- Choosing Feats & Powers

- the importance of Armor, Weapons & Equipment. *Always be prepared

- Easy steps to leveling up

Bring Yourself and a pencil. We will have the character sheets here as well as other handouts

Questions? check out http://meetup.com/DnDMelt or Email DnD@Meltcomics.com

Go behind the scenes of the making of the #TMNT Mural at Meltdown Comics, painted by Ninja Turtle creator Kevin Eastman and Graffiti icon Mark Bode. Filmed and Edited by Adam Dorsey.

For more information on all of the events in the 35 Days of Kevin Eastman celebration at Meltdown Comics, visit http://tinyurl.com/meltdowneastman

November 30th: “TMNT” Exhibit Opens
December 7th: “Underwhere” Exhibit Opens
December 14th: “Biz and Buzz” Exhibit Opens
December 21st: “Lost Angeles” Exhibit Opens
December 28th-January 4th: Heavy Metal 35 Anniversary Exhibit Opens

35 Days of Kevin Eastman Calendar

Hosted by Howard Kremer, the master of having a Summah, this all day affair will feature food, fun, booze, music, water guns, a bounce castle, and comedy. Featuring Steve Agee, Eli Braden, Jonah Ray, Kumail Nanjiani, music from The Manx, and too many fun surprise guests to count. It’s free, but only if you RSVP to summahfest@gmail.com.

Tickets are limited so respond today!

July 16th

Party starts at 2pm, comedy starts around 6pm!

BRING SUNSCREEN!
http://tinyurl.com/3lp2rcn

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011,  7pm Hollywood, CA:

Former Brand X editor and current LA Times feature writer Deb Vankin signs her new graphic novel “Poseurs” at Meltdown Comics.

ABOUT THE BOOK Poseurs follows three teenagers from distinctly different corners of Los Angeles who meet in the underworld of LA nightlife and Hollywood parties – and get in over their heads! From the graffiti-tagged streets of LA’s eastside to the bloated, billion dollar mansions of Bel Air, it’s a full-blown party noir!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR DEBORAH VANKIN is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, where she covers arts & culture, entertainment and nightlife. Prior to that, she launched — and served as Editor-in-Chief of — the LA Times’ alt weekly publications/websites, Metromix LA and Brand X. Deborah’s work has also appeared in LA Weekly, Variety and The New York Times, among many other places. Her essays and short fiction have been produced at Spoken Interludes and Word Theatre in Los Angeles. Originally from Philadelphia, POSEURS is her first foray into comics. She’s currently working on her second graphic novel.

April 13th, 2011 7pm
Meltdown Comics
7522 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046 (map)

04/27 @ 8:00pm / Series: Mondo Superhero!
Silent Superheroes Serial Sampler (feat. live scores by Cabeza de Vaca Arcestra!)

04/29 @ 8:00pm / Series: Mondo Superhero!
Marvel Comics Mondo Mix - 8:00pm Co-presented by Stussy
DC Deconstruction Mix – 9:30pm (programs for this evening are separate admissions.)

04/30 @ 5:00pm / Series: Mondo Superhero!
Superhero Saturday Marathon! featuring The Rocketeer
and Jerry Beck’s History of the Animated Superhero!

05/01 @ 5:00pm / Series: Mondo Superhero!
Superman Triple Feature (Superman: The Movie, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut & Superman III)

BUY TIX HERE!

Stussy x Marvel

Stussy teamed up with Marvel Comics for a collaboration that immerses classic characters from the Marvel universe and teleports them into Stussy’s galaxy of iconic imagery.

Series 1 (April 27, 2011)
A collection of tees and hats that fuse archival Marvel images with Stussy’s iconic graphic language. We scoured comic books conventions, ebay, and local comic book stores for old issues with classic covers that would mold well with Stussy’s design aesthetic. Scanned from the original comic books and rare collectors posters from the 1960′s – 1990′s, the tee designs capture the essence of the characters, the texture of vintage comic books and the soulfulness of the Stussy brand. Featuring Captain America, Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, Ghost Rider, Punisher, Silver Surfer and Wolverine.

Series 2 (May 6, 2011)
A collection of tees and hats that feature new works by a pool of international artists, invited to revisit their childhood inspirations and interpret their favorites utilizing their signature styles. Featuring artwork by Noah Butkus, Mr. Cartoon, Todd James, James Jarvis, John K., Gary Panter, Bill Plympton, David Shrigley and Will Sweeney.

The Stussy x Marvel Project will be available at Stussy.com, Stussy Chapter Stores and select specialty accounts around the world.