Jeff Hopp's Blog

January 5, 2022

Legend of the Mind fantastic review

The following is the amazing review of my 'Legend of the Mind' graphic novel from the comic review website AP2HMC.com posted on January 3, 2022 written by Harrison Ostrosky.

Jeff Hopp’s Legend of the Mind, dedicated to the late Philip K. Dick, is a wonderfully bizarre read. The story follows the exploits and trips of a man named David. He’s a conspiracy theorist and self-proclaimed precog. Through traversing many strange worlds and situations inspired by, and paying homage to, Dick’s many works; the reality of Legend of the Mind’s story is always in question. For example, the visuals and dialogue pack in many references and allusions to Dick’s classic sci-fi tales and concepts. Some are a little more obvious than others.

Legend of the Mind’s art perfectly captures the weird and wild drug-fueled hallucinations of its characters and world. The colors range from muted and pastel, to vibrant and neon. Everything, from the settings to the characters, fluctuates with a mix of cartoonish and realism. Overall, these come together, making everything feel just the right amount of distortion. It’s very impressive how many different tones the artwork and coloration can evoke. Much like its inspiration, this graphic novel similarly takes you to worlds of a campy sci-fi future, or a void of existential dread.

I’m a little sad to say that I didn’t immediately recognize the name Philip K. Dick. But I absolutely should have! His works and their adaptations have had a colossal influence on pop culture through the years. His notable novels and short stories include Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (later adapted into Blade Runner), We Can Remember It For You Wholesale (adapted as Total Recall), The Man in the High Castle, and The Minority Report. Research on Dick – his troubled life; his fascination with philosophy and existentialism; that exceptional creativity he has – clarified this comic for me and gave me a greater appreciation for it. Additionally, it also piqued my interest in exploring the canon of Philip K. Dick.

Legend of the Mind feels like a deeply personal and intimate work; both to its creator and to Dick. It is heart-warming—sometimes oddly so—and genuinely inspiring in its own way. Especially seeing the profound respect that the Hopp has for the late writer. Depending on your level of familiarity of Dick, you may miss out on some nuance and deep-cut references. But as a tribute to the writer’s life and his legacy, I feel that it strongly succeeds. Even if you have no idea what is happening in Legend of the Mind, it may still inspire you to explore his work that you may not be familiar with, as it did for me. In summary, Legend of the Mind is a stunning piece of art; it’s a love letter to an influential creator; a message about how art like his can inspire us to be who we are, no matter how strange.

Please check out this amazing review/blog/podcast site at https://ap2hyc.com/ as well as Legend of the Minds website at: https://sites.google.com/view/the4thS...

Thank you, stay safe and Be Blessed,
Jeff
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Published on January 05, 2022 20:48

August 3, 2021

Easter Eggs from 'Legend of the Mind'

This is a quote from a customer review on Amazon -
'This comic book is filled with hidden meanings and each reader may interpret it in his or her own way. I found it exciting to decipher all the intentional or unintentional hidden meanings. Even some of the names and titles of the characters could be seen as a play on words. Truly a book that baffled but intrigued me. It was an afternoon well spent. Brilliant!'

It is really rewarding when someone 'gets it'. As the reviewer states, the book is filled with secret meanings.
Here are a two of my favorite Easter eggs hidden in the pages:
At the end of chapter two there is an advertisement poster for a musical called 'ASOLIC', the obvious hidden meaning is I repainted PKD's book cover for 'VALIS' for my poster, but the real gem is part of the ASOLIC soundtrack is by Mini's Synchronicity System - this was a concept from VALIS and it is music beamed down to a planet that creates an alternate holographic reality. So, David in chapter 3 and 4, and everyone else, may actually be living in a hologram. Or maybe we are, and he is now in the 'real' world.
Another Easter egg is in chapter two: David heads to his study to make notes in his journal of messages he is receiving from a star-ship known as the 'AXIS', the obvious Easter egg here is the journal is David's version of PKD's Exegesis. But the better gem is his quote 'Ignorance brought about anguish and terror and the anguish grew solid like a fog and no one was able to see'. You see, in the final chapter Horselover Fat explains that living information, known as the Logos, had been unearthed and let lose by the discovery of the codices at Nag Hammadi. The Nag Hammadi codices, are ancient manuscripts containing over fifty religious and philosophical texts hidden in an earthenware jar for 1,600 years, and discovered in upper Egypt in the year 1945. David's quote regarding anguish, is a quote directly from one of the codices found in 1945. David, just like Horselover Fat, even in chapter two was well aware of the Logos, because he and Fat both were receiving the telepathic transmissions.
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Published on August 03, 2021 11:24

July 31, 2021

My book's first 2 star rating

I'm starting to get customer reviews on my latest comic book, Legend of the Mind, and most all are great, but I did get my first 2 star. Here is what was said:
'This was a tough one for me - the pictures, drawings, and coloring were really beautiful and obviously well done. The story ... just wasn't for me, it simply didn't make any sense'.

To me, this was a compliment.....
The book is dedicated to Philip K. Dick and influenced by his writing. If you know anything about PKD, his books are all about realities that don't make sense and may or may not be real. It's like a dream, it flows from one idea into the next freely, which is how the lead character's perception works. It is dreampunk and its purpose is to question 'what is reality', and is this real or a dream or something else?
So, saying the book doesn't make sense is actually a compliment. You see, David himself does not know if he is dreaming, on a bad trip, in a hologram, or perhaps he is just crazy, or perhaps everyone else is crazy. If I was able to capture his madness by the reader feeling the same thing, touche.
The book also is clearly targeting PKD fans and those who have read his books. For that crowd, the book makes absolutely complete 'sense'. It would be an added bonus for the non-PKD fans to enjoy it as well, but I'm sure it won't be everyone's cup of martian-fnickjuice.
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Published on July 31, 2021 20:25

July 6, 2021

Now Available on Comixology Unlimited!

Both my new graphic novels are now available to read for free with Comixology Unlimited subscription.
Please check them out here:
https://bit.ly/35akU7w and https://bit.ly/3eLWfvV

Rockology - a Sendak, Bradbury, Hawkwind and Mahogany Rush tribute: Tales of the Imagination.

A full-color illustrated anthology featuring four fantastic stories of science-fiction and imagination in comic book panel format as well as full-page psychedelic illustrations by artist Jeff Hopp.
Chapter stories include:
'Where the Wild Things Rock' - a rock and roll parody of Maurice Sendak's classic 'Where the Wild Things Are'.
A fresh look at a classic tale. Our young hero stumbles into a land of rock & roll legends and becomes the leader of the band.
'Fall of Earth City' - an illustrated song written by Hawkwind.
A mysterious presence from the past is woken from centuries of slumber, and a corrupt world is transformed forever.
'A Day at the Beach with Picasso'- an illustrated poem inspired by Ray Bradbury's 'In the Season of Calm Weather'.
Picasso creates his greatest masterpieces in the sand that endlessly get swept away by the tide.
'King Who Stole the Universe' - inspired by the Mahogany Rush song 'King Who Stole (...the Universe)' from the 1975 'Strange Universe' album.
A deceiving king with an evil plan finds himself all alone.
Full-page paintings include portraits of John Lennon, Jim Hendrix, Owsley Stanley, and Albert Hofmann.

Legend of the Mind - a Philip K. Dick tribute: The 4th Stigmata
A Phildickian Trip thru Space, Time, and Beyond!
A full-color illustrated graphic novel dedicated to author Philip K. Dick.
This colorful, psychedelic adventure carries the reader along a convoluted stream of events like a leaf riding rapids. The loosely drawn, lively narrative panels are interspersed with dazzling full-page compositions of surreal magnificence.

Space opera meets mysticism in a series of images that carries you beyond the familiar world and into pastures bizarre. In 'Legends of the Mind' our hero (David) flits from one state of reality to the next, waking from a dream, activating or deactivating an immersive hologram, or being teleported to a new realm. There is no way of telling which, if any, of the arenas he finds himself in are 'real' reality or some alternative illusion. Woken by his radio playing the song The Martian Time-Slip, David drops the hypodermic on the floor. Staggering to the bathroom he is 'zapped' into a space car, flying through the air towards a concert hall. Arrested for being a 'commie', he finds himself interrogated by a telepathic slime mold from Ganymede... a creature who soon becomes frustrated at David's dogged insistence on his conspiracy theories. Rescued from a mental institution by a mysterious author, he finds himself communing with a higher dimension of intelligence. A new journey begins.

The Legend of the Mind consists of four primary chapters filled with time travel, telepathy, drug paranoia, political conspiracies, space travel, rock and roll, dystopian future, alternate realities, and spiritual overtones. There is also an epilogue that consists of fine art paintings inspired by quotes from Philip K. Dick's Exegesis, as well as illustrations to poems from poets that Philip K. Dick was inspired by.
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May 24, 2021

Where the Wild Things Rock new edition!

Hello,
I've just published a major upgrade to my Rockology ebook on Amazon.
Originally, the book was called 'Where the Wild Things Rock', and then 'Three Dreams'. It then became Rockology when I added a fourth story to the anthology.
I've spent the past 2 months totally redoing the book, mainly because the old ebook was done in the .mobi format, and the new updated version was using kindle's new tool that uses a new format that is far superior.
I also added several new pages of art and updated the cover and back cover.
It is a far superior book but still contains the same 4 fantastic stories, although I did update many art cells of those as well.
So, if you have purchased the book previously, please resynch your purchase to get the new version.
If you have not purchased it before, here is the link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094XBFSM8
I'm currently working with a printer to update the paperback version as well which will be far superior to the Amazon print-on-demand one currently available.

Here is what the book is all about:
'ROCKOLOGY' is a full-color illustrated anthology by Jeff Hopp, featuring four fantastic stories of science-fiction and imagination which feature both comic panel pages as well as full-page illustrated artwork.

Chapter stories featured:
'Where the Wild Things Rock' - a rock and roll parody of Maurice Sendak's classic 'Where the Wild Things Are'.
A fresh look at a classic tale. Our young hero stumbles into a land of rock & roll legends and becomes the leader of the band.
'Fall of Earth City' - an illustrated song written by Hawkwind.
A mysterious presence from the past is woken from centuries of slumber, and the world is transformed.
'A Day at the Beach with Picasso'- an illustrated poem inspired by Ray Bradbury's 'In the Season of Calm Weather'.
Picasso creates his greatest masterpieces in the sand that endlessly get swept away by the tide.
'King Who Stole the Universe' - inspired by the Mahogany Rush song 'King Who Stole (...the Universe)' from the 1975 ‘Strange Universe’ album.
A deceiving king with an evil plan finds himself all alone.
Full-page paintings include portraits of John Lennon, Jim Hendrix, Owsley Stanley, and Albert Hofmann.

Quotes from Amazon reviews:
'Each of these stories is not only well-conceived, but the art is stunning and if anyone can draw the attention of serious art critics and audiences alike, it is most assuredly Jeff Hopp. This is a must-own art book for the library'.
'All four stories were captivating, and I enjoyed them immensely. Great writing styles overall and like I said, the artbook was amazing'.
'In this sensitively entertaining book, Jeff brings to life his own version of stories we all know and he has populated his redefined tales with wonderfully bizarre characters'.
'Jeff Hopp's illustrations are beautiful, to say the least. Eye-catching and mind-boggling'.
'What is important to mention is that this is beautifully illustrated by the author's own artwork and it's a book I highly recommend even if just for that reason alone'.
Thank you. Jeff
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March 30, 2021

Legend of the Mind - A Phildickian Trip

I am very excited to finally release my latest book - The Legend of the Mind, which is now available on Amazon and from my direct stores. The paperback is a top-of-the-line production, printed on 80lb satin pages and 100lb satin laminated cover by Mixam Books. The first print run was a limited edition of 100. Here are all the books details:

TITLE OF BOOK:
Legend of the Mind - a Philip K. Dick tribute: The 4th Stigmata

This is a full-color illustrated art/comic book dedicated to Philip K Dick, written and illustrated by Jeff Hopp. An original sci-fi story that pays tribute to many Philip K. Dickian concepts found in some of his most important books. The book consists of four primary chapters filled with time travel, telepathy, drug paranoia, political conspiracies, space travel, rock and roll, dystopian future, alternate realities, and spiritual overtones. There is also an epilogue that consists of fine art paintings inspired by quotes from Philip K. Dick's Exegesis, as well as illustrations to poems from poets that Philip K. Dick was inspired by.

Although the target audience for my book is serious Philip K. Dick fans, I believe every science-fiction fan will love the artwork and story, as well as find it spiritually fascinating.

WHERE PEOPLE CAN BUY:
facebook.com/ManAndRobotSociety/shop

Instagram @manandrobotsociey
https://www.jeffhopp.net
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578858177
https://facebook.com/ManAndRobotSocie...

CREATIVE TEAM:
Jeffrey Hopp (writer, artist, colorist, text)

QUOTES from REVIEWS:
A Phildickian epic tale of space, time, and beyond!
Hopp has created a colorful, psychedelic adventure in which the reader is carried along a convoluted stream of events like a leaf riding rapids.
The loosely-drawn, lively narrative panels are interspersed with dazzling full-page compositions of surreal magnificence.
Space opera meets mysticism in a series of images that carries you beyond the familiar world and into pastures bizarre.
This book plays like a music album not just with its imagery but its musical ties.

Genre:
Science-Fiction

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Book is printed by Mixam. 100lb satin laminated cover, 80lb satin interior.

WEBSITE/SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS/CONTACT INFO:
instagram @manandrobotsociety
https://twitter.com/jhoppart
https://facebook.com/ManAndRobotSociety
https://facebook.com/jeffhopp.mars
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Published on March 30, 2021 10:17 Tags: artbook, comic-book, graphic-novel, philip-k-dick, pkd, science-fiction, scifi, sprititual

September 1, 2016

Story Monster Approved!!!

description
The Rainbow Dragon is Story Monster Approved! Book will be featured in Story Monster Approved listings in October issue of Story Monsters Ink magazine".
To get approved book is sent to 4 grade schools around the east coast and the kids vote on if they like it or not.....If approved, it gets the Story Monster Seal of Approval and is featured in their magazine and website. Personally, I think it is a really nice honor that the approval comes from the kids readers it was written for. Sweet!!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092BYK2JD
Online subscription is free at: http://www.fivestarpublications.net/s...
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Published on September 01, 2016 00:21 Tags: children-s-book, dragons, five-star-publications, seal-of-approval, story-monster-inc

May 5, 2016

Introduction

Jeff Hopp is a Tempe, Arizona artist, author and musician. Since the 1970's he has been creating fine art paintings, Album/CD covers, event posters, graphic novels, children's books, and space rock music. His award winning art and music has sold in over 30 countries. Please visit his website and 'Like' and share him on Facebook.
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Published on May 05, 2016 11:38 Tags: author, childrens-book, fantasy, graphic-novels, illustrator, introduction