by Daniel Robert Epstein

Dame Darcy is best known for her Fantagraphics comic book series Meatcake. But now she has taken on the ambitious project of adding illustrations to the Charlotte Bronte classic Jane Eyre for The Illustrated Jane Eyre. I got a chance to talk with Dame as she was traveling the country doing signings and shows with her band Death By Doll.

Read our exclusive interview with Dame Darcy on SuicideGirls.com.

by Brad Warner

A few people have responded to my blog by comparing me to this or that teacher and saying those guys are much better because they encourage their followers to help others. One reader advised me to get over myself and, “learn to live for others.” It’s good advice, to be sure. But what exactly does it mean?

One of the complaints often lodged against Zen is that it’s a selfish philosophy and practice. Spiritual teachers of other schools are always talking about how we should give to others, help those in need, lend a hand to our brothers and so on. But when you take a look at Zen literature there’s not a whole lot of that. Oh, Dogen Zenji talks a bit about compassion and sometimes you hear the Metta Sutra, the Buddha’s words on kindness, chanted at Zen temples in America. Although elsewhere in the world this chant is more associated with the Theravada school than with Zen.

Zen, on the other hand, tends to seem self-centered. Rather that hearing a lot about how we should be of service to others, the standard canonical texts of Zen appear to focus on what we need to do to improve our own situation and state of mind. They do sometimes make reference to helping others and saving all beings. But these references are almost always a bit abstract. They say we need to help others, but don’t go very deeply into how that might be done. This focus on the self is ironic considering that Zen is often portrayed as a practice aimed at eradicating the self.

But have you ever glanced up randomly when you’re on an airplane ignoring the flight attendants safety instructions? When they tell you how to use those oxygen masks they say that you should first secure your own mask before helping others. There’s a good reason for this. If the plane is losing oxygen you’re going to be too woozy to be of service to anyone else until you first get your own stuff together. This is the way it is in life as well.

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By Andrea Larrabee

“You’re going to get so sick of me,” quipped Olivia Wilde, when a journalist at a recent press conference noted that she was “going to be everywhere in the next couple of weeks.” Though it’s true we’re going to see a lot of Wilde (who took her stage name from a certain Oscar), the likelihood that we’ll tire of the actress – who is as smart as she is attractive – in the immediate future is slim to none.

She first came into her own as Thirteen in House, but her role as Quorra in the 2010 blockbuster Tron: Legacy firmly established her as big screen leading lady material. This summer she has two major films opening back to back: Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens, which also features Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig, and The Change-Up, which is, by and large, the topic of this Q&A.

Styled after classic body swap movies like Freaky Friday, the set up for The Change-Up sees Dave, the over-stressed and over-married lawyer (Jason Bateman), and his BFF Mitch, the too happy go lucky and very single actor/stoner/whatever (Ryan Reynolds), coveting each other’s lives. Wilde enters the frame as Sabrina, an associate at Dave’s law firm whom the guys mutually covet, however she refused to play her as your run of the mill, caught between two men, one-dimensional love interest.

The daughter of two renowned journalists, it’s perhaps instinctive that Wilde worked closely with the film’s writers, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (of Hangovers 1 and 2), and director David Dobkin (Friends With Benefits and Wedding Crashers) to ensure that Sabrina jumped off the page as a fully fleshed out, post-modern woman. Though the film is somewhat flawed, it’s these moments that she brought to the table –– such as a tattoo scene in which a gaggle of Sons of Anarchy-types gather between her well-spread thighs –– that are among the film’s most memorable.

Here Wilde talks about why she took on Sabrina, and how she avoided the stereotypes associated with such a roll.

Read our exclusive interview with Olivia Wilde on SuicideGirls.com.

by Steven-Elliot Altman (SG Member: Steven_Altman)

Our new Fiction Friday serialized novel, The Killswitch Review, is a futuristic murder mystery with killer sociopolitical commentary (and some of the best sex scenes we’ve ever read!). Written by bestselling sci-fi author Steven-Elliot Altman (with Diane DeKelb-Rittenhouse), it offers a terrifying postmodern vision in the tradition of Blade Runner and Brave New World…

By the year 2156, stem cell therapy has triumphed over aging and disease, extending the human lifespan indefinitely. But only for those who have achieved Conscientious Citizen Status. To combat overpopulation, the U.S. has sealed its borders, instituted compulsory contraception and a strict one child per couple policy for those who are permitted to breed, and made technology-assisted suicide readily available. But in a world where the old can remain vital forever, America’s youth have little hope of prosperity.

Jason Haggerty is an investigator for Black Buttons Inc, the government agency responsible for dispensing personal handheld Kevorkian devices, which afford the only legal form of suicide. An armed “Killswitch” monitors and records a citizen’s final moments — up to the point where they press a button and peacefully die. Post-press review agents — “button collectors” — are dispatched to review and judge these final recordings to rule out foul play.

When three teens stage an illegal public suicide, Haggerty suspects their deaths may have been murders. Now his race is on to uncover proof and prevent a nationwide epidemic of copycat suicides. Trouble is, for the first time in history, an entire generation might just decide they’re better off dead.

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by Daniel Robert Epstein

Over the past 15 years Jae Lee has become one of the most stylish and innovative comic book artists in recent memory. He burst onto the scene with a stint on Namor the Sub-Mariner and since then has worked on dozens of other books from Fantastic Four to The Sentry to his creator owned Hellshock.

But recently Jae Lee has a wild time throwing himself headfirst into the horror genre by working with two of the great horror creators, by proxy. I use that word because currently he is working on a series of comic book miniseries based on the Stephen King novels The Dark Tower with the legendary Peter David doing the dialogue. But I was lucky enough to get to talk with Lee about his work creating the pictures for The Illustrated Dracula.

Read our exclusive interview with Jae Lee on SuicideGirls.com.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

If I didn’t know better I would think David Lynch was Italian. He uses his hands to describe ideas more than anyone I have ever met. It’s fascinating to watch this man communicate. He pulls out the cigarette pack, the lighter, moves the ashtray, lights the cigarette, puts the pack away the and then, once his hands are free, resumes emphasizing his words with enigmatic gestures.

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by A.J. Focht

Strange things are happening over at Marvel Comics as a Doctor Strange movie is in motion. Marvel Studios already exploited their rights to most of the mainstream heroes, and, as they look toward the studio’s future, they’re going to have to start pulling from the lesser known source material. It looks like Doctor Strange is going to be the first of them, tentatively seeing a 2013 release date.

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