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WORK TITLE: Dead Weight
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://terryblas.com/
CITY: Portland
STATE: OR
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
http://terryblas.com/briarhollowcomic/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Male.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, illustrator, and podcaster. Artist and illustrator for comic book and graphic novel publishers. Gnerd Podcast, host.
WRITINGS
“Briar Hollow” (a web comic series), writer and illustrator; You Say Latino (an autobiographical mini-comic), writer and illustrator.
SIDELIGHTS
Terry Blas is a writer, cartoonist, and illustrator working primarily in the field of comic books, graphic novels, and webcomics. He is the illustrator and writer of the web series “Briar Hollow.” He has also contributed covers to comics series such as Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, Bravest Warriors, Regular Show, and the Amazing World of Gumball, noted a writer on the Terry Blas website. He belongs to the Portland, Oregon based illustrators’ collective Helioscope Studio.
Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom is a graphic novel written by Blas and Molly Muldoon and illustrated and colored by Matthew Seely. The story is a murder mystery set at a summer weight loss camp for teens. Jesse, a female Latina teen, is a rather reluctant attendee at the camp. Her family insisted she come to Camp Bloom, but Jesse isn’t sure why; she doesn’t even believe she needs to lose weight. Tony, an African American, is another attendee who idolizes one of the counselors, Cory, who is highly fit and an encouraging role model for Tony. Noah, a white teen, is back at the camp for the third time, looking for additional help with losing weight and improving his health. So far, he has been unsuccessful with his weight loss and fitness goals, and he is unsure he’ll be able to meet them this time, either.
Bored, hungry, and craving sweets, Jesse sneaks out of the camp one night in search of chocolate, a major form of contraband for those trying to lose weight. Noah follows her on her search for candy. Instead of sweets, however, the two teens stumble upon the terrible scene of Counselor Cory being murdered. They discover that the entire crime was accidentally captured on Jesse’s camera, providing a video that will be of great importance to the police. Noah approaches Kate, a white teen who finds the camp a place where she can be safe from homophobia, for help. The group includes heartbroken and traumatized Tony in their amateur investigation, even though the young man is devastated that his mentor and favorite counselor is dead. As the story progresses, the four protagonists become more and more determined to locate the murderer and find justice for the unfortunate Counselor Cory. Unfortunately for them, the murderer hasn’t stopped. After another killing at the camp, it looks like they may be high on the list of those who are destined to lose not weight, but their lives, at Camp Bloom.
A Kirkus Reviews writer commented that readers “will find this lighthearted mystery with diverse characters an accessible, if not entirely satisfying, read.” School Library Journal reviewer Maryanne Olson remarked, “Blas and Muldoon offer a refreshingly nuanced perspective on body image.” Olson further observed that Jesse, Tony, Noah, and Kate are “fully realized” with individual and distinctive “quirks and opinions.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2018, review of Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom.
School Library Journal, February, 2018, Maryanne Olson, review of Dead Weight, p. 110.
ONLINE
Proud Queer website, http://www.proudqueer.com/ (July 9, 2018), T.J. Acena, “Bent-Con—An Interview with Portland Artist Terry Blas.”
Terry Blas website, http://www.terryblas.com (July 9, 2018).
ABOUT
me conventionTERRY BLAS is the illustrator and writer behind the ongoing web series Briar Hollow. His work has appeared on comic book covers for Bravest Warriors, Regular Show, The Amazing World of Gumball, Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, and The Legend of Bold Riley. As the host of The Gnerd Podcast, he runs a monthly pop culture examination show. He is a member of Portland’s own, Helioscope Studio, a collective of award-winning illustrators, cartoonists, and writers. His latest project with Oni Press is an original graphic novel, a murder mystery set at a fat camp, called Morbid Obesity, which he co-wrote. His auto-bio mini comic, You Say Latino, was featured on NPR, OPB, Vox.com and Cosmo.com.
Bent-Con – An Interview with Portland Artist Terry Blas
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By TJ Acena, PQ Monthly
As nerd culture breaks into the mainstream more and more people become familiar with comic/game conventions (‘cons’ for shorthand), with Comic-Con in San Diego being the flagship. As bastions of a predominantly straight dude nerd culture these spaces are not always inclusive spaces (see: The New York Comic-Con commissioning a special poster to curb harassment) and so we are seeing the rise of cons that aim to be inclusive. I’ve previously talked about GaymerX, an LGBTQ video game convention (which I’m happy to report will have a third year). Now I’d like to turn your attention to an LGBTQ comic convention, Bent-Con. Bent-Con bills itself as ‘the premiere convention that celebrates and recognizes LGBTQ (and Allies) contributions to pop-culture and geekdom.’ I learned about Bent-Con from my new friend Terry Blas, who I unceremoniously befriended by begging on the Internet, he offered to give me a report on Bent-Con (which just wrapped up it’s fourth con earlier this month) to introduce it to wider audience. What was your overall experience at Bent-Con this year? The overall experience was incredible. Bent-con isn’t like any other show out there. It’s a whirlwind of art and comics and costumes and gay nerdety. Everyone you meet is friendly and welcoming and interested in you and your work. It’s not to say that at other shows that isn’t the case, but everyone at Bent-con automatically has several things in common which makes everyone slightly more comfortable. Usually after a convention, I’m pretty wiped out and I was after Bent-con but I was more energized to get to work and make more comics, than anything. What was the most amazing/weird thing that happened to you at Bent-Con? The most amazing thing that happened to me at Bent-con was meeting artists I have admired for years, or been friends with online and never met in person. Glen Hanson! Chad Sell! Alfredo Roagui! These are all heroes of mine and it was incredible to talk about art and comics and the industry with these fantastic men. Also, I was the moderator for a panel that showcased the web series, Paragon School for Girls written and directed by the amazing Jim Hansen. So meeting actors like Jack Plotnick (Girls Will Be Girls, Space Station 76) and Drew Droege (Drunk History, The Chloe videos) Jeffery Self (30 Rock, Jeffery and Cole Casserole) and Tom Lenk (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Witches of East End), who I’ve been big fans of was so inspiring and intimidating. Everyone should watch Paragon School for Girls on Youtube. It’s incredible. You went to Bent-Con a few years ago, how has it changed since the last time you went? It’s grown. The show floor is bigger. There are more exhibitors and guests. The convention is three days instead of two now and there is more energy and excitement around the show. It’s always fun to go to and exhibit and show people your work. What was the best Cos-play you saw there? One of my favorite cosplays was Matthew Michael Brown, dressed as Sora from Kingdom Hearts. There was also some amazing body painting being done by Jason Adcock.
Sora Sora! Photo provided by Terry Blas.
Photo provided by Terry Blas. The aforementioned body paint! Photo provided by Terry Blas.
Was there anyone there you fan-boyed out on? I did my best not to fan-boy/girl out, but like I mentioned, Glen Hanson is one of my idols. He did the comic Chelsea Boys and was a character concept designer for Daria and the Beetlejuice cartoon. As far as inspirations go that was it for me. Alfredo Roagui came to the show from Guadalajara and I’ve loved his work since I saw it several years ago. And I did my best all weekend not to geek out all over Chad Sell and his Drag Race art. Everyone should really read his comic, The Sorceress Next Door and see the series of demons that he’s drawing right now. Why should there be cons specifically for LGBTQ fans? It just provides LGBT comics fans with a safe space to be themselves in and express their nerdiness. For someone who can’t travel to a place like Bent-con, are there any local (Seattle/Portland) ‘cons’ you recommend? Definitely go to Emerald City Comic con in Seattle (March 27-29) and Rose City Comic con in Portland (September 19-20). Both are very well run shows that are a lot of fun. With so many queers in one place (and often in costume) does it give it a ‘sexy times’ atmosphere? Well, obviously. TERRY BLAS is a graduate of PNCA with a degree in Illustration. He is the artist and writer behind the web series Briar Hollow. His recent comic covers include Adventure Time with Fionna and Cake, Bravest Warriors, Regular Show and The Legend of Bold Riley. In 2013 he completed a guest run on the web comic, PVP, and has contributed work to Compete Magazine, helping to promote Ben Cohen’s Stand Up Foundation, an organization combatting bullying and homophobia. He is the host of the pop culture rant show, The Gnerd Podcast (Gnerd with a G) and is a member of Periscope Studio, a powerhouse collective of over two dozen award-winning artists in downtown Portland. He can be found at www.terryblas.com, and @terryblas on twitter. BlogTail_TJ (1)
Blas, Terry: DEAD WEIGHT
Kirkus Reviews. (Mar. 1, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Blas, Terry DEAD WEIGHT Oni Press (Young Adult Fiction) $19.99 4, 24 ISBN: 978-1-62010-481-1
Four teens attempt to solve the mystery of a murdered camp counselor.
Latinx Jesse's family makes her attend Camp Bloom, a summer weight-loss camp, while black Tony is excited to be with his buff role model, Counselor Cory, who is white. Third-year attendee Noah, also white, wants to prioritize his health and lose weight but is unsure whether he can. One night, Jesse sneaks out to procure contraband chocolate. Noah follows her, and both stumble upon Counselor Cory's murder. Purely by chance, the crime turns out to have been documented on Jesse's camera. Noah looks for help from Kate (also white), who finds Camp Bloom a safe refuge from homophobia. Kate includes Tony, heartbroken that his mentor is dead, in the investigation. Armed with a list of the camp counselors and a camp map, the foursome decides to find the murderer. Close-ups of the protagonists convey great emotion and are interspersed with more active panels featuring the quartet and other characters. As the teens work through the suspects, another murder occurs, and the young sleuths nearly become victims themselves. Exacting readers may be disappointed by the lack of clues or clear motives for the murders and by the strange ending. Those willing to forgive these shortcomings will find this lighthearted mystery with diverse characters an accessible, if not entirely satisfying, read.
Passable. (Graphic novel. 13-17)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Blas, Terry: DEAD WEIGHT." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528959713/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=25a77aa9. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A528959713
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BLAS, Terry & Molly Muldoon. Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom
Maryanne Olson
School Library Journal. 64.2 (Feb. 2018): p110.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
BLAS, Terry & Molly Muldoon. Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom. illus. by Matthew Seely. 176p. Oni. Apr. 2018. pap. $19.99. ISBN 9781620104811.
Gr 6 Up--When Jesse and Noah, two teens at a weight loss camp, stumble upon the body of a murdered counselor, they and two other campers, Kate and Tony, begin an investigation into the secrets of Camp Bloom. This engaging title is a promising start to what will hopefully be an ongoing series. Bias and Muldoon offer a refreshingly nuanced perspective on body image. The four central characters are fully realized with their own quirks and opinions--especially Jesse, who questions why she even needs to lose weight. Readers will be intrigued by many of the secondary characters, and this world may offer more stories that reflect changing attitudes toward so-called misfits. Exaggerated cartoonish illustrations are reminiscent of popular comics or TV series such as Adventure Time and The Regular Show and will appeal to tweens and younger teens. VERDICT A solid addition to graphic novel collections, particularly where comics such as "Lumberjanes" and "Backstagers" are popular.--Maryanne Olson, Queens Borough Public Library, NY
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Olson, Maryanne. "BLAS, Terry & Molly Muldoon. Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom." School Library Journal, Feb. 2018, p. 110. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A526734150/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=57235a4b. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A526734150