Where pop culture meets geek culture and they make out a little.
Posts tagged gilgrim
This Week In Normality — Summer Entertainment
Jul 3rd
Hey there faithful Normalinauts. It’s been a while since we here at NR have produced content with any amount of consistency or energy. It became apparent to Gilgrim and I that, as an endeavor, Normality Restored was far lacking in what we had hoped it might one day become.
Very, very, very late Kilian B-day!
Apr 25th

Greetings to all faithful Normalinauts old and new!
I’m sure that our vast entourage (all six of you) have noticed some new faces around here, or at least new names and voices, their “faces” will be coming soon. And unfortunately, as with everything else in my life this will have to wait just a bit longer until our move finally takes place this coming Monday (O_O)!
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
Mar 31st
No comic this week (Been the week from hell), however I am going to be posting something special for the birthday boys (Kilian and Salem). First up, because it’s all done and in announcement of his first ever birthday (EVER!) is Salem’s:
The other will follow later, and is for Kilian, hopefully this week.
Sorry, but I’m running around like a crazy person… will check in soon. I love you all,
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–Aleister
Misfits – Last Carress
Werewolves VS Unicorns — Updated by the Victor, Kilian
Mar 13th
There are many things in which Kilian and I don’t see exactly eye to eye. Kilian loves bacon, while I’m a vegetarian (I eat fish, but telling people you’re a pescetarian usually only causes confusion). Killing thinks that Werewolves are the mightiest of mythical creatures, while I of course am partial to disturbingly horrid and brightly coloured depictions of Unicorns. And while we are both unapologetically big fans of the old Football (read: soccer, here in the states) and follow the Premier League in particularly we do not cheer for the same clubs (read: teams for yanks).
Bad Dreams
Feb 5th
What do you know O_O a proper comic has emerged, here, on NR of all places! Woot! Told you we would be doing this sort of thing again, and we are, so there. Take that unbelievers! In your arse! Ha! OK, it’s waaaaay late, I’m waaaaay tired, and I think I’ll leave Kilian to post the remainder of this one for me, as I’m sure he’ll have much to say. But for those not familiar with at least the main part of why this strip might be considered funny (aside from my well known love of unicorns), consider this:
Cheers,
–Aleister
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Graham Norton (Best of 2008 Special) – BBCA
Yeah, and where was Gilgrim two months ago when Liverpool was atop the Premier League table?
Ok, so I sent a rambling e-mail to Gilgrim (I think) two weeks ago. It went like this:
Hey,
Sorry about still not being around much. The last two weeks I’ve been getting to the store at 6 am. Which means I get up at 4:30. But since I don’t go to bed until after 11, and then wake up for an hour around 2, I’m just about dead and useless at home. Basically, I’m a zombie who wants to eat pie instead of brains.
So I had this weird dream I want to turn into a comic.
The dream, as far as I can tell, happened in comic panels.
I was on trial for something…I’m not sure what. You were defending me. The jury was made up of Smurfs, all of whom looked angry (maybe I stepped on Smurffette or something). For some reason, Clarence Darrow was the prosecuting attorney. All of the scenes were very bright/colorful ala an episode of the Smurfs. There was one “panel” where Katrina was sitting behind me with both the kids crying.
I think I got off on a technicality and all the Smurfs were pissed. Darrow yelled something about justice being thwarted.
I don’t know.
Also, I saw that Unicorn v Werewolf thing.
I’m writing a short story called “After the Unicorns.” I won’t tell you what it’s about, but the word “Cornocaplyse” figures prominently.
I may be losing my mind.
So there you go. I’m not sure what (if any) insight I’m expecting anyone to gain from that, but we’re all about the full disclosure here.
And that stuff about the unicorn story is true. Although, I think I might submit it to a journal, so I won’t be posting it here. Well, after it gets rejected I’ll probably post it.
So, you ever wonder what the site might look like in a miscellaneous asian laguage…well, voila!
And, because I really want to infect everyone with my sickness, please enjoy some more Phineas and Ferb.
The space armada from the planet Plumbing Supplies! Fucking brilliant!
The Von Bondies — Nite Train
Save The Monkey Project – Design Blog 02
Jan 18th
Welcome faithful Normalinauts, and newcomers as well (don’t have a clever name for specific followers/supporters of the Save the Monkey Project – someone get to work on that, will ya? Awesome, thanks). Okey doke, diving in to the Design Blog 02. In the first Design Blog the main image was a character study for the story’s title character (different than a lead character, but we’ll cover that later), Monkey. This time around, as the process is refining itself, we have character designs for the four main characters of the series, Monkey, Ras, Hari and Pig (the fifth, Naga, is not pictured here). You may notice that Monkey looks slightly different in this version, which is completely natural. Right now the designs for all of the characters (as viewable above) are pretty finalized, meaning that the basic components and the rough shapes and features that make them them are pretty set in place. However, this isn’t the real final version of any of the characters since they will continue to be polished and refined, until the actual drawing style including the line weights and amount of detail is finished by me… like I said, it is a process, but for the most part, these are finished enough to be recognizable from here on out.
I said originally that this design blog would follow the progress of putting the story from concept to completion, and so it will. However, there is something to clarify, this is not merely just to be a GN, instead the entire project is being planned as both a GN and something else (something moving) which for now, we’ll simply think of as a cartoon. So this blog will actually be the documentation of the design process for both sides of the project concurrently. Believe me, this makes sense, especially because it’s being developed the same way for both end products. So there you go, a little more bang for your buck ^__^. With this in mind, let’s get into the main subject of this entry in the STMP Design Blog 02: Beginning the Process/Story Start.
Basically everystory starts with a script (This is a basic Script Format breakdown), but before that is the outline. The outline covers the basics of the plot events and when things are going to happen without delving into specific dialog or the smaller series of non-plot-moving action.
This is a screen cap of the outline for Monkey3030. Obviously, since the story is not released yet, I can’t show a full readable version of the outline itself (trying to avoid spoilers etc ^__^)

Monkey3030 Plot Outline – GN & Cartoon
There are different ways to do outlines, and everyone does them a bit differently. In my version I tend to write something more akin to what’s known as a Story Bible, but it isn’t nearly as detailed as an actual one. The outline above covers the main characters and a simple run through of their journey throughout the entire first portion of the series (roughly 2 seasons of the cartoon and several GNs, depending). It also lays out some of the important ideas and events that make the world of M3030 the way it is as well as defining the main characters, who they are, how they inter-relate with eachother and what their part is in the overall story and their individual motivations are (their “why’s”).
From the outline the next phase (short of finalizing the outline, which some people do first, while others, like me, tend to do during the next phase… it doesn’t matter how you do it, it’s completely individual) is the rough pass, or first draft of the Script. There, in theory, is a difference between scripts for comics and scripts for film/teley. However, it really doesn’t matter. I think that mine tend to fall somewhere in the middle of the two. While I don’t follow the exact format of a tele-script (where one general rule is that each pg of script = roughly 1 min of film), I do write in a form closer to a film script over a script for comics which traditionally give a panel by panel and page by page breakdown of the story and the action. Below, you can see a screen capture of the pilot script for M3030, in its current state. Even though the series is being developed for both GN and cartoon formats, this pilot script will likely be the basis for the beginning entries in both versions. This is the first pass, or rough version, which means it’s the very first draft of the script. The most important thing, and the thing that Miss April December has been steadfastly and reminding me of, is that it needs to just get banged out and done.
After the first pass is done, the next step is to take that roughed first draft and to do another pass on it. This next pass is when you take a real critical look at the entire script and how it flows and make the first series of changes to help improve it and make it the best version of what it can be. This will include dialog changes, scene shifts and pretty severe editing (if you’re being honest). Not everyone likes to do this themselves, and it’s always a good idea to get another set (or two) of eyes that you trust on it to help you out. And while we’re on the subject of editing and going into the next pass on the initial rough, there is another stage that can also be combined with the first run of editing. We’re talking about Punch Up.

Monkey3030 Pilot Script – GN & Cartoon
Punch up is something that is especially needed for scripts that aren’t quite hitting their stride, or their rythem for the intended audience. Most people (like Urban Dictionary dot com) think of Punch Up as merely applying new jokes, one liners and other additions to make a script more appealing for an audience different than was originally intended. This is close, but not entirely accurate, Punch up does include that more times than it should, but it basically means to take an existing script and refine it, usually make it a bit flashier and infuse it with story elements (action, jokes, dialog) that make it mpore exciting, to make it jump… hence “punching” it up. Currently, the pilot script is just over the 20 pg mark, and roughly half-way through the actual plot of the episode. Once it’s finished and we go through to punch it up a bit, where the length will probably be cut down somewhat, and the dialog will likely be altered and edited (added to as well as cut down). Which brings me to the other weird part about my scripts, why they’re so long…
When I write scripts, I’m more than a little paranoid that the action isn’t clear enough, or I have a very particular and specific idea in mind for how something happens on screen (or on the page), which means my prose descriptions tend to be somewhat lengthy. Add to that, the fact that I’m very wordy as a writer (you couldn’t tell yet?) and you can see why the “prose chunks” are big fat portions of the script. In my script format you can tell the prose sections since they’re Left Justified, while all dialog is centered. Look back at the script again (sorry it’s not easier to see, but you should still be able to see the shapes) and you can likely see what I’m talking about.
As I said before, the pictured script will be used for both versions of the story, but there will be some differences in how the final translations happen. This has to do with the different strengths that each format has, for instance in the GN format (much like more regular prose work, ie novels, fiction etc) it’s a lot easier and less jarring to the story to break suddenly into internal monologues and asides, or as is done often in manga and its ilk, to cut to ‘chibi’ stylized snippets allowing the characters to comment on current story situations and dialog in a way that can sometimes break the fourth wall a bit. The teley version of the script will also likely have a bit more dialog, but overall might have less ‘content’ because the delivery of certain lines of dialog may be faster than and take less screen time then the amount of space they take up printed on a page in a word bubble. Add to that, that the GN’s page count restrictions for individual chapters, doesn’t exactly match the more restrictive time constraints of actual film. For better or for worse, the pilot ep of the cartoon will need to be no longer then about 22 min, where the GN’s chapter can be any length I want (genrally accepted as about 20-30 pgs) and the content of the cartoon pilot could be spread over several GN chapters. It makes sense in my head, which is where I guess, it’s most important for that to happen.
The last thing that I want to mention is that even though M3030 is based on The Journey To The West, it isn’t exactly a retelling, a reimagining, or even pure homage… frankly, I’m not sure what term should best describe it. JttW is certainly the original source material, but the themes and point of that story are not the same as M3030… all the same for anyone interested in learning more about the ’source’ of M3030’s story I have some good things to check out:
- Monkey Magic Teley Series (crazy 70’s weirdness and fun – pretty literal translation)
- Journey to the West: Plot Summary (broken down chapter by chapter, in awkward, but very accurate language)
- Journey to the West: Complete Translation (much better and I think, more accurate that the traditionally known Timothy Richard version of the manuscript)
- Monkey: Journey to the West Stage Adaptation website (the official website of the new stage production created by Damon Albam, and Jamie Hewlett, of Gorillaz fame)
Until the nest enrty in the Save the Monkey Project – Design Blog, remember, I love you all,
–Aleister
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Acumen Nation – Rally & Sustain
NR The Holiday Spirit
Dec 7th
Greetings Normalinauts. Lookie, lookie, I finally figured out how to make a post for tyhe actual comic section O_O woo-hoo! You’re all doomed now… >__>
This week’s comic actually was supposed to be number 2 in last week’s line up since the Save the Monkey Project comic went up on an off-date. Unfortunately, things got a bit hectic and we weren’t able to post it when we wanted (and I was a bit late in wrapping it up). But just the same, here it is, ready for your enjoyment.
This comic stems from a conversation between myself and miss April about alternate xmas iconography. So much of this holiday has been anthropomorphically personified by elves, santa, reindeer, moose, penguins and sundry other cold weather animals, beasties and mythological creatures. We thought that there was plenty of room in the beastiery pantheon to add a few new creatures, which begat the first couple of designs shown in the comic and lovingly modeled by the gobos.
As for the last one, well, that came from (as in the comic) a very literal analysis of what the xian version of the winter holidays are all about. And literalism being what it is, I took it to the logical end and you get the “the Crowning of Christ” as seen in the final panel. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. It is exactly what it looks like. And yes, if there actually were such a thing as a xian hell, I’m sure that my future table reservation would already be firmly reserved. Luckily, this isn’t the case. But all the same, if someone is offended by this, I would apologize, except I would find it hypocritical to do so, however, it was not my intention to insense anyone or upset them personally. Sorry, religion is funny, life is funny, and NR has been pretty even about leveling its venomous sights on anyone and everyone (as illustrated below).
Salem and Tako are here to represent for NR
Kilian will be resurfacing to the land of the living and cognascent sometime in the very near future. As a matter of fact, he did prepare script for this week’s comic (not shown) which dealt directly with his current experience and degree of fatigue. Funnily enough, I was writing this comic with that in mind as well, and presented him in the fashion/state in which I envision him to currently be. Life immitating are or vice versa as you see fit.
We love you all,
–Aleister
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Aha – Take On Me
Save the Monkey Project
Dec 1st
‘Allo everyone, and welcome to an off-date posting of Normality Restored. Normally, we would be putting this up on Friday, but holidays sometimes screw things up. Kilian will be back later, but for now he has to finish wearing down his nose on the Thesis grind stone.
However(!), there was a comic made, in fact I actually finished before I left for my own holiday journey on Wed. But like I said, despite the best preparations these things can still get lost in the shuffle. It’s no big deal, because lookie, it will be likely that you get 2(!) comics this week, barring that we get lazy after this post.
As for the comic itself, I must admit that this was entirely spurned by my own selfish motivations, and done without the aesthetic help/direction or word-smithing-genius of or own beloved Kilian. I have since received his blessing for this strip even though it is skewing a bit from the norm… or maybe not… I’m not sure that we have a norm yet… do we?
Just a bit before the real post
Nov 22nd
I’m not gonna make a long post here, because there’s to be a longer one up on NR soon enough. But in the same vein as the upcoming NR post (WITH a NEW comic!) I also made this quick gif which i thought I would share… and yes, I have absolutely no love whatsoever for this horrid series, or the tepid piece of cinematic trash that it has spawned and released into theaters nationwide as of today (Friday, which is now yesterday, whatever). Enjoy… or don’t.
I love you all,
–Aleister
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Seabound
Instead of a comic….?
Oct 25th
Apologies for not updating the comic yesterday as planned it should be up either Mon or Sun…. put simply, shit is wack, and shit done got out of hand. But so it goes.
But, instead of comic, how about a live appearance, and better yet how about the chance to meet creators less dubious than myself? Such awesome folk as the lovely Tommy Kovac and the infamous Steve Niles? Well, here’s your chance:
For anyone interested the Gilgrim clan will be trucking our way to Bellflower this afternoon for the 10th Anniversary Celebration of Metropolis Comics. Come on down and join us and take hold of your chance to meet the amazing Tommy Kovac, and dastardly Steve Niles in person, hang out, buy shit, get autographs and all of that fun stuff ^__^.
10th Anniver-Scary party at Metropolis Comics in Bellflower,Ca.
MAP
Metropolis Comics Bellflower
16509 Bellflower Blvd.
Bellflower,Ca. 90706
(near the corner of Bellflower and Oak)
Saturday Oct 25th 4pm – 7pm
Steve Niles – 30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre
Aleister Gilgrim – Cemeterians
Tommy Kovac – Wonderland, Autumn
I love you all,
–Aleister
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Project Pitchfork – Chaka Red
Behold! I come to you from 30 seconds in the future!
Oct 7th
Greetings all!
Sorry once again for the extended absence, needless to say “shit be crazy” lately. I won’t bore you with all the details yet (future post most likely), but I’ve been stretching myself in directions I never thought possible,
I did want to confirm what kilian said earlier, it’s true, I will be doing a signing later this month. It will be in Bellflower I believe, and it will be on or around the 25th. What I do know for sure is that it I will be signing with the lovely Tommy Kovac, and the mysterious Steve Niles. More on that later this week.
Most importantly, I wanted to let all interested parties know that we will be celebrating the lovely Ms April December’s birthday (26 years young she will be!) with pumpkin carving and booze (but NOT in that order!). We will begin with the celebrating around 3ish (pumpkin defacement) and move to drinks and food around 7ish. All will be done at our current abode in Tustin. For those that wish further information and all that good stuff, please feel free to contact me directly ^__^ :
gilgrim at gmail dot com
I will be updating more later, I thik I see a light at the end of the tunnel for a lot of this “being pulled in all directions” thing. I hope everyone is wel, I love you all.
Cheers,
–Aleister
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Misfits – Last Caress
PS
Salem became 6months old officially yesterday… he’s huge, vocalizing like crazy, and getting ready to crawl… life as we know it in the Gilgrim household is soon to be over…
Paypal update
Aug 29th
Somehow, this seems to have slipped through the cracks a bit, but there has been an update to the current Paypal drive for yours truly, with one gracious Normalinaut donating a cool $100 USD to the great casue! And what did we do in honor of this most generous donation? Nothing… yet! But we will, now with renewed vigor as it has been brought to our attention in the first place.
And btw faithful, gracious and giving Normalinaut, we will need a picture of you and the proper name you wish to be identified with to complete our end of the bargain ^__^ feel free to send these to either myself or Kilian when you’re ready.
For all Normalinauts keeping track, this puts us almost exclusively to the halfway mark for our ultimate goal!
Just a bit further you mighty and faithful few, we’re almost home! Current balance $203.01
We love you all,
–Aleister
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Gorillaz – D-Sides
Checking in…
Aug 28th
So, as APrilhead mentioned earlier in the week, there is to be serious birthday style bashings this Saturday at casa de gilgrims. I’d give you all the address but I haven’t been to their current place of domicilation so…
If anyone is interested, drop me an e-mail, kilian.heap at gmail.com. I hope to see as many (I’m thinking 5, since I know Kerri is in Minnesota) Normalinauts as possible.
So today began, what will no doubt prove to be a low point in the history of academia, my career as instructor of all things “research and writing related.” You know what’s awesome? Having a class of 20 freshman at 7:30 in the morning and seeing the looks of sheer panic as I called on random people (mostly by pointing and saying something like, “you!”) to answer questions.
It’s the simple things that make life worth living.





