www.dannyzabbal.com

Last night was a fabulous. What a treat, what a treat indeed. At 6:00pm I raced down to NDG, from my humble shanty in little Italy. After a brief and delicious dinner of Texas style barbeque chicken wings, I traversed the street to Sub-V (5666 Sherbrooke W) where I attended Robby’s Reis‘ aka RAGE 5’s vernissage November Reign; an ensemble of pristinely painted penguins.

Now, I’ve know RAGE 5 for quite some time now. We didn’t take baths together or anything but I like to think that I have an informed understanding of the man’s aesthetic vocabulary.

That being said, I feel confident in saying that these lovely pieces are RAGE 5. They encapsulate his character, in all it’s facets, extraordinarily sincere self-portraits. To see these paintings is to know RAGE 5; generous, funny, wholehearted, sensitive, romantic, macabre, genuine, inquisitive, grotesque and, most of all, imaginative.

Each piece makes the sum of his character. I highly recommend everyone to head down to Sub-V, check out his work and, if you’re inclined, purchase a piece. It’ll be like taking a little slice of Robert home with you.

photos taken by Natalie Reis

First off, I’d like to thank everyone for the overwhelming response to my write-up on Drawn.ca. I’m so very thankful to all those who took the time to visit. I hope to see you all again, very soon.

That said, a blog is only a blog when it’s blogging. Here’s this week’s hero

The Electric Filament:

These past few years have been lean, they’ve taken a toll on him. Sure, the mayor gave him the key to the city but his wife has left him and he’s been evicted from his penthouse stronghold (The Electro-loft). It’s getting harder to keep his act together; his bulb’s getting dim. Still, he’s not out of tricks yet. He’s getting on a bus and leaving town. He’s going to stay with his mom for a while and sort things out. There’s been an offer from the Fraternity of Brotherly Justice, maybe it’ll turn out to be something positive?

Marooned:

I’m a sucker for hapless misadventure, Tom Del’Aringa’s webcomic Marooned: A Space Opera in the Wrong Key is a perfect example of that. His comic reminds me of how I felt when I was a boy, hopelessly lost in science-fiction land without any hope of ever escaping. It’s funny, check it out: http://www.maroonedcomic.com/

Natalie Reis:

She’s my buddy Rob’s sister and she’s a really stupendous painter. You should look at her work, you’ll be surprised and moved. Although, to be honest, a lot of these pieces are even more impressive in real life. Check out her site: www.nataliereis.com

¡Asilo De Arkham! or Arkham Asylum – the Fan Film:

I know what your thinking, “Fan Film? Come on, aren’t they those guys who make Star Wars movies with horrible green screen effects, half-assed actors and squareness dripping out of their pores?”

Any other day, you’d be right but this one is a gem. Its a short adaptation of Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, a Batman Graphic Novel written by Grant Morrison and beautifully illustrated by Dave McKean. The film was directed by Miguel Mesas, who, as far as I can tell is from Spain. The reason I know this is because the film is in Spanish. I tried navigating his site but unfortunately my Español isn’t up to par. At any rate, enjoy this film, its an impressive effort.