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Thursday, September 30, 2004
Comedians of Comedy 9/29
I usually devote this blog to the type of comics that are books with pictures in them, but this time the comics I’m going to be on about are people who stand-up and tell jokes. Mark H. at Chaos Monkey wanted a full report and dammit if I ain’t gonna try.
The 9/29 show at the El Rey Theater was the last show for The Comedians of Comedy tour starring Maria Bamford, Brain Posehn and Patton Oswalt. Don’t be sad you missed it; it’s going to become a movie. The LA show was slated to have “special guests.” While I didn’t get to see Sarah Silverman like I hoped, but I was not disappointed. What guests were there? How does Bob Odenkirk sound? How does Louis C.K. sound? How does two sets from Jerry Minor sound? Sounds nice, eh? Well it was. I’m going to go over it, but remember two things. One, I was drinking throughout the show so my memory might not be too hot. Two, whatever jokes I write here on my blog isn’t going to sound nearly as funny as when it’s delivered by someone who has actually practiced saying the jokes in front of many crowds. Please keep those in mind.
The whole thing was hosted by Blaine Capatch, who most people know as “the guy who hosted Beat the Geeks after that other guy.” He’s also the voice that introduces David Cross on It’s Not Funny and has been making the comedy rounds. His set was pretty good with most of it being LA jokes. As he said “local jokes get me local work.” He had a bit about being so disappointed he couldn’t get the rims that made the wheels look like they’re still moving when the cars stopped so he just got legs that made him look like he’s still walking when he stand in place. I thought that was pretty funny.
Up next was our first special guest, Bob Odenkirk, who frigging rules. He spelled out the rules of alternative comedy for when the judging comes up. “Mentioning a French film director is three points, mentioning a Hong Kong film director is five points, mentioning a 70’s Blaxploitation is ten points and mentioning Michel Gondry is an automatic win.” Bob was funny, because that’s what Bob is.
Then we got Louis C.K., who might be one of my favorite stand-ups today. His whole bit about hating his wife and daughter is so misanthropic, but he delivers it so well that it’s just hilarious. I won’t try to write them here because you can see a lot of his stuff, including what we lucky audience members saw, at his site.
Jerry Minor came out as a comedian from Africa. While he told jokes an audience member from a rebel tribe was booing him and telling us all not to believe this man. Eventually the strife of their country spilled into the act and Minor had to cut off the other guy’s arm. It was kind of like an Andy Kaufman skit, and was funny.
Next was Maria Bamford. She did her voices, talked about God and some people’s stupid application of the concepts and of course made everybody laugh. Her rendition of “Old MacDonald’s Farm” featuring a Pterodactyl might be one of the funniest things I’ve heard.
Brian Posehn was on after her. Posehn is the king of nerds. Speaking as a total nerd his very presence feels me with glee. His act is a lot filthier than it was on his Comedy Central special, which I liked. The bit about going to his high school reunion was great (“apparently after I left there was a 20-year sausage eating contest between all the hot chicks at my school”). His bit about Star Wars just might be the last word on the subject (paraphrased here):
I hate Star Wars, because I used to love Star Wars. The new movies aren’t even bad compared to the first Star Wars; they’re bad compared to whatever Sandra Bullock just said yes to.
You know what it’s like? It’s like you’re uncle putting his cock next to your mouth. Not gross like if it happened when you’re younger, but like if it happened now. Like if at Christmas time when everybody’s asleep and suddenly feel something next your ear and your like “Owww!” And then two Christmases later…it happens again!
I don’t even think there’s going to be a third one. I think it’s just going to be me walking into an empty theater and Lucas raping me. I’ll be crying on the floor already and then he’ll put on a Greedo mask and call it the Special Edition. Greedo came first!
That just ruled. Just plained ruled.
Minor went on stage for a second time, this time as himself campaigning for the role of “America’s Next Favorite Black Person.” “With I, Robot and Catwoman America’s current favorite black people have let us down…As America’s Favorite Black Person, I promise that when I sleep with your white women, and I will sleep with your white women, unlike some blacks I know I will not rape them!” The fact that he delivered this like John F. Kennedy was just brilliant.
Then Patton Oswalt came on. One of the funniest stands up out there was on stage and I was watching him! It seemed too awesome to be true. I knew a lot of his material already, but it was great to see it done live. The new stuff I heard sounded great, too:
In romantic comedies you’ll have the OCD guy and then he’ll move in with the crazy girl. But she’ll be like Hollywood crazy. She’ll have a ferret on a leash or keep her records in an orange crate.
Now I’ve dated crazy, and that’s not crazy. Crazy is walking up at 3 a.m., and asking “what are you doing?”
“I’m carving your initials in my arm so I’ll cum when you punch me!”
Then he came onstage again and did the Robert Evans bit. It might be the funniest thing ever recorded by a human being and he did live and it was awesome! Oswalt is just a master of comedy.
If you have a chance to check out any of these comedians, I suggest you try it. When The Comedians of Comedy movie comes out dear God, go see it. You will laugh like you just discovered how.
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Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Where Will I Be?
No real update today. Why? Because I'm going to this:
They're at the El Rey tonight with, they say, tons of surprise guests. I'm hoping for Sarah Silverman, but we'll see.
And hey, Posehn and Oswalt are huge comic book fans. That's cool, I guess.
Permanent Link: 10:35 AM |
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Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Black & White
In their latest Basement Tapes column Matt Fraction and Joe Casey go over manga. A good column overall but I want to post about something specifically that Fraction brought up. He praises Taiyo Matsumoto and his series Black & White. I just want to join in on the praise by expresses how much I enjoy Matsumoto’s work.
I can’t say I am or ever was really big into manga. I picked up a few issues of Akira when Epic was publishing it and I looked at and liked Lone Wolf & Cub. Like many American comic book readers I enjoy the work of Junji Ito. As a fan of horror books like the Colan drawn Tomb of Dracula or Bisette drawn Swamp Thing I felt Uzumaki, Tomie and now Gyo share the same sensibilities as those books. But the favorite manga I think I’ve read so far would have to be Matsumoto’s Black & White, and I’m not even done with it.
Here’s how I know I liked Matsumoto’s work. As soon as my eyes saw the pages I exclaimed to myself “who the Hell is this guy?” It happened when I first came across Bernie Krigstein in some EC reprint, it happened when I first came across Dave Mazzucchelli in Batman: Year One and it happened when I came across Walt Simonson in the Batman: Strange Apparitions trade. With barley any or no knowledge of the artist I’m already hooked. I think it was because, like those other artists, Matsumoto creates his own world for his stories.
Looking over Black & White Vol. 1 I noticed that the characters looked like no other figures I has seen in comics, manga or not. They seemed almost like freakish caricatures one would find in a political cartoon, if that even comes close to describing them. All the buildings in the backgrounds bend to and fro to create a sense of disorientation. The panel structures looked like broken glass strewn across the page, further creating this wonky sense that made the whole comic feel dreamlike.
The story was just odd enough, too. There have been many comics featuring organized crime, but this one had two acrobatic little kids fighting their own war on crime. Instead of Batman and Robin think Smart Robin and Dumber Robin. Again, this barley comes close to what the actually book feels like.
I’ve only procured the first volume of Black & White. I’ve been up to my eyebrows in comics lately, and I promised myself after I buy Jack Kirby Visionaries that would be the last collection I would buy for a few months. Still, I do need to get the rest of the series as well as pick up Matsumoto’s other work available here in the States, No. 5. Ah the life of a college student/freelance journalist/comic book lover, so much to buy and barley enough to buy it with.
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Monday, September 27, 2004
Talkin’ Chaykin pt. 2, Blackhawk
Part 1, The Shadow
Before I start my essay I would like to link to Augie DeBliek Jr.'s recent column on American Flagg! I probably won't get to AF! here beacuse I only have the "Southern Comfort" graphic novel so I suggest you read Augie's column, which is pretty darn good. And now, Blackhawk:
Howard Chaykin is an artist and a writer that knows the meaning of style. His particular style in both departments is pretty easy to recognize, although that doesn’t take away from its effectiveness. In fact, many of the touches that Chaykin can be counted on to include in his work only improve it and have certainly helped him build a fan base. Blackhawk is the book that has everything that makes Chaykin’s comic great. In this post I want to go over some, but certainly not all, of the things one might find in a Chaykin book. The typical Chaykin hero, the complex plot and that element that makes Chaykin feel like one of those “bad boy” creators that can be sure to enrage as many comic book fans as delight some of them.
Let’s start with what Blackhawk is. According to their entry in Toonopedia Blackhawk and his crew were created by Will Eisner in 1941 and published by Quality comics. The team was made up of fighter pilots, all of free European nations and all ready to shoot down those nasty Nazis. The exception of this being the Chinese Chop-Chop whose earliest portrayals made him nothing more than an Asian stereotype. In this story and some others Weng Chan (don’t call him “Chop-Chop”) gets a more dignified depiction. The Blackhawk men continued to have adventures sporadically throughout the years fighting all types of villains, changing publishers from Quality to DC and becoming superheroes for a while. They were never really that popular but there was a movie serial and Steven Spielberg did option a movie somewhere in the 80’s. In 1988 Howard Chaykin took a crack at a prestige three-issue mini-series for DC featuring these fearless fighter pilots.
As I said above, Blackhawk works wonderfully because it has pretty much everything you would ever want in a Chaykin yarn in it. First, let’s look at out hero. One constant a reader will find Chaykin’s work is that the hero always has the look of a square-jawed, raven-haired handsome fellow (his cover to Superman #400 is probably the best example of this). Chaykin drew Blackhawk, Kent Allard, Reuben Flagg, Cass Pollack of Black Kiss, Lincoln Reinhardt of Mighty Love, Cody Starbuck and now Holden Crosse in Challengers of the Unknown pretty much the same way. Hell even Harry Kraft of American Century had that look, and Chaykin only drew the covers of those. Some say that’s Chaykin self-portrait but in this video interview Chaykin maintains that it’s just easier to draw that way. I’ve seen Chaykin in person and I must say the typical “Chaykin hero” doesn’t bear much resemblance to the actual artist (although if you do want to see a hero that actually is based on Chaykin I suggest you track down the Walt Simonson story “Return” in Star-Spangled War #180 or pick up the trade The Art of Walter Simonson where the story is reprinted). Another constant seen in Chaykin’s heroes is that, when he can, Chaykin will make the heroes’ religion Judaism. This does mirror Chaykin’s own life. As found just as often then the hero’s adversary will harbor anti-Semitic feelings, as in Blackhawk where the villains are honest-to-goodness Nazis. If you think about, Chaykin’s book starring the same guy for his protagonists is really not that different than John Ford films often starring John Wayne or Werner Herzog films often starring Klaus Kinski.
Another thing Chaykin tends to do in his work, and to me this is what makes him great, is that he is unafraid to make the storyline complicated. I have yet to read a book by him where the story feels complex for the sake complexity. Instead Chaykin admits in the same video interview posted above that he feels people should have to invest more thought in his work than just your usual “good guys v. bad guys” story. In the course of the three issues of Blackhawk we get a great noir-ish mystery during World War II instead of just a typical war story (there’s really only one dogfight scene). We get two femme fatales, double- and triple-crosses and a great MacGuffin that characters go all over the world for. Blackhawk is being persecuted by a proto-McCarthy Senator, an Errol Flynn look-a-like is in league with the Nazis, a former Communist beauty queen proves that she’s tough enough to partner up with Blackhawk and everybody’s trying to get their hand on the atomic bomb. This allows Chaykin to also display his chops as a history buff, something else that’s found in his books like American Century. I really appreciate this as I enjoy it when creators pack as much story into a book that they can without causing the plot to crumble under its own weight. The international cast and settings give Chaykin’s long-time collaborator Ken Bruzenak a chance to pull off one of the greatest achievements in comic book lettering, something we haven’t seen until the late, great Bill Oakley’s turn in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Chaykin proves himself to be a master storyteller when he comes up with these great tales of deception, greed, sex, and occasionally heroism that respect the reader’s intelligence and don’t censor themselves. That brings me to the third point.
Remember the controversy I wrote about when Chaykin’s The Shadow hit? Do you think, two years later and working on another decades old character, Chaykin would perhaps ease up on the “adult situations?” You’d best think not. The big hub-bub with Blackhawk was the depiction of fellatio in the first issue. It’s nothing too graphic, but there’s no mistaking what is meant to be depicted. Blackhawk, like the The Shadow as well as Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns and Mike Grell’s run on Green Arrow, take comic book characters that are known (how well known varies) and puts them in mature stories that some feel they shouldn’t be in. I would suggest that’s too dogmatic a way at looking at things. Believing that the characters are more important than the creator’s freedom is a dangerous mindset to take and unfortunately it is a mindset many fans and publishers feel no reason to disavow. Blackhawk helps uphold the noir tradition it comes from by not pulling any punches when it comes to sex, violence or just plain realistic depiction of human behavior (or if not realistic, over-the-top in a burlesque fashion). In my opinion, I never felt that anything in the book was done solely to sell books to those not old enough to see an R-rated or too afraid to go buy a porno mag. The characters in Blackhawk are multifaceted and authentic. Their actions create a story that’s a lot better than a simple morality play. And besides, by 1988 Chaykin had been in the industry long enough. He had his taste of Code-Approved storylines and wanted to do something new. Kudos goes to DC and Editor Mike Gold for not castrating his story or stamping any type of rating or “mature readers” message on it.
I would say to anyone who is unfamiliar with Chaykin and who wants to check out one of the greatest talents in the comics business that Blackhawk is a good place to start. Like most of Chaykin’s best stuff, though, it isn’t readily available. It shouldn’t be too hard to track down on eBay or back issue bins. Maybe DC will release a trade, but it doesn’t seem very likely.
Permanent Link: 1:54 PM |
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Sunday, September 26, 2004
Who Wrote That Book Anyway?
There will be more Howard Chaykin talk in the coming week, but first I want to link to Abhay Khosla (formerly of Movie Poop Shoot's Title Bout column) excerpts from an interview Chaykin did in a 1989 issue of Comics Interivew.
This part made me laugh:
Chaykin on DC and a certain current star who goes unnamed because Chaykin can't remember his name: "I mean, bear in mind that DC is the company that was convinced DARK KNIGHT was a commercial dog, and was convinced that THE SHADOW [Chaykin's successful comic, not the shitty Baldwin movie] was going to go right down the toilet. DC continues to shoot itself in the foot by never knwoing when its output is any good. I mean, I had the first page of ARKHAM ASYLUM read to me on the phone yesterday[..], and it was one of the funniest things I've ever heard, but not intentionally. I'm not talking about the script. I'm talking about the plot, the artist's direction - this guy is the most pretentious asshole I have ever read." More on this MUCH later in the interview: "As I said, I had this page of ARKHAM ASYLUM read to me, and this guy in his art directions demonstrates that he's read Freud, Krafft-Ebing, Jung, tons of material on early religion, and this is all to service Killer Croc and the Mad Hatter. Do you see any irony here?"
Permanent Link: 3:59 PM |
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Friday, September 24, 2004
Constantly Talking Isn't Necessarily Communicating
Sums up the entire blogosphere, doesn't it?
That's an illustration by Tomer Hanuka for Priemer magazine. It's of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, probably one of the best films I've seen in a long time. Anyone who has seen a movie written by Charlie Kaufman or a music video directed by Michel Gondry knew these guys had talent, but Eternal feels like both were at the top of their game. I can't imagine a film being more powerful and being more wondorus as well.
If you missed it in theaters the film is coming to DVD Sept. 28 with commentary by Kaufman and Gondry, Deleted Scenes, documentaries and a video by The Polyphonic Spree directed by Gondry (it's great). Hell, while we're on the subjects of DVDs I recomend the collection of Gondry music videos and the 2nd greatest Kaufman movie, Adaptation. There's meant to be a Special Edition of Adaptation coming out, but no dates have been announced.
Thanks to Mick at Being Charlie Kaufman for all the info.
While on the subject of cartoonists appearing in magazines, the latest edition of ARTnews magazines has a cover feature on one of the greatest cartoonists of all time, R. Crumb. The article details the art world's embrace of Crumb. As you might guess he's pessimistic about it. It's still a pretty good article on Crumb, but nothing new to fans of the man's work. The cover is beautiful, though.
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Thursday, September 23, 2004
Talkin’ Chaykin pt. 1: The Shadow
This is the first edition of a short series where I spotlight a different work by Howard Chaykin. This is all gearing up towards the release of two trade paperbacks and a hardcover edition of the first 12 issues of Chaykin’s American Flagg. Maybe Image and Dynamic Forces will send me over a copy, but probably not. Don’t mind me; I’m just a comic pundit getting out the word on a big release of theirs.
Whoring aside, though, I picked the four-part Shadow mini-series that came out in 1986 because it’s the first major work by Chaykin that I read. I had known of his work but before had only read his contributions to both Batman: Black and White volumes. The Shadow is a textbook example on how to do a comic book mini-series and also raises questions about updating the character to the time of that mini-series. Let’s look at what evil lurks in the hearts of men, shall we?
Chaykin’s pacing for this mini-series is not only excellent; it’s a blueprint for any other creators out there who want to know how to structure their plots. The first issue we got some hints of The Problem. By hints I mean people being shot through peepholes, people getting stuffed into water coolers, a massacre at an orgy and other people, all senior citizens, meeting a grizzly end. The villains and the hero’s supporting cast are introduced; setting up what will be some of the conflicts in the series. The title character does show up, in his civilian identity, on the very last page of the book. This is a way of ending first issues that Marvel can’t seem to do enough.
The second issue is the origin of The Shadow a.k.a. Lamont Cranston a.k.a. Kent Allard. We get sex, violence, drug smuggling and a mystical land named Shambala. In fine pulp fashion we get villains who betray like it’s going out of style and heroes that are only slightly better. This is The Shadow in his own element. When he arrives back to the U.S. in 1986 from his second, longer trip to Shambala we soon we get to see him in a whole new world.
Issues three and four are part one and two of the real adventure of the story. Tracking down a nuclear missile, finding out more of this mysterious villain who happens to be a dark figure from the past and The Shadow dealing with life in 1980’s America. Keep in mind the Shadow isn’t the kind to go around saying “gee whiz, New Coke!” The Shadow makes the 1980’s adjust to him. This is especially prevalent in his handling of women, something that was a just one of the many controversial aspects of this book, but I’ll get to that later. Soon enough the world is safe, lots of people are dead and The Shadow is back just in time for a continuing series to start two years later. In the end Chaykin has crafted a great adventure yarn that serves as a simple yet effective display of his, master letter Ken Bruzenak and colorists Alex Wald’s talents. The plot is as tight as it gets, the characterization and dialogue are smart and really, who doesn’t like a lot of bloodshed with their pulp heroes?
A few people it seems. With The Shadow Chaykin created a great story with the very confusing continuity of The Shadow character. The text pieces in the back by Shadow historian (and sometimes comic book colorist) Anthony Tollin are wonderful looks at the character, but there’s no mistake reading those that the long career of The Shadow got plenty confusing. It’s the way that Chaykin straightened everything out that left a few cranky.
In Chaykin’s accomplishment we see a character that was cherished by many since its creation in 1930 re-imagined in a tale that was one of the first comics put out by DC that bore “for mature readers” on it. Keep in mind that when the first issue of The Shadow came out Dark Knight Returns was one month away and Watchmen was five months away (described by editor Len Wein in the Meanwhile… column as “the most eagerly awaited 12-issue maxi-series since the already legendary Camelot 3000”). The content of this book was nothing new to readers of the already three-year-old American Flagg series, but it certainly surprised many readers who were unfamiliar with Chaykin’s work or were simply shocked that a company owned character (a licensed one, no less!) be treated in such a way.
Harlan Ellison had a radio show on the Pacifica affiliate in Los Angeles called Hour 25. Three broadcasts were dedicated to some of the changes happening to superhero comic in the 1980’s. The rebirth of Superman, Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen were just some of the books brought up on those shows. On one of his shows he referred to Chaykin’s interpretation of The Shadow mythology as “vile and detestable.” Ellison also asked “at what point do we say, ‘You’re mucking with out myths?’” The issue is still a controversy today as creators consider whether to continue creating somewhat new stories with the established version of characters or start over with a new image of those characters. All these quotes are from The Comics Journal #111 by the way.
I’m inclined to declare the only thing that matters is if the story is good or not. The Shadow by Howard Chaykin is more than just good, it’s a Hell of a ride and still looks better than most other comics out today (Chaykin’s own Challengers of the Unknown being one of the exceptions). DC and Conde Nast have parted ways so don’t expect any reprints of this story coming out soon. Your best bet is to check eBay, the back issue bins or various on-line retailers for the four original issues of the trade paperback. They shouldn’t be too hard to find and it is worth it.
Permanent Link: 8:03 PM |
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Dorkin's Not Taking Any Mess
Evan Dorkin went to Big Apple Con and didn't have that good a time. There were some fun parts but as the man himself says he was "getting screamed at and being threatened by a rabid comic book slob."
Seems the slob in question responded to Dorkin's reporting and was none too happy about it. Dorkin goes over the slob's rebuttal in a way that proves that Evan Dorkin is The Man. Dorkin even says that "this is the closest thing to an Eltingville strip I've got to share with you folks."
Laugh at the mania and then weep for the comics industry. There are worse ways to spend a Thursday.
EDIT: Hey look at that, Fanboy Rampage scooped me. That serves me right for spending the whole afternoon at school and then updating my blog before check anybody else's. Oh well, I've got anther post for tonight, and unless Graeme or anybody else has read Howard Chaykin's The Shadow lately I should be ok.
Permanent Link: 4:28 PM |
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Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Cool Comic Reference
On tonight's Reno 911 Jones and Garcia get called "Power Man and Iron Fist" by some fireworks guy. I thought it was funny, especially since the Latino Garcia didn't look much like a resident of K'un-L'un. Unless of course the guy was referring to Garcia as Power Man and Jones as Iron First. Then that guys got real problems, besides setting himself on fire.
"I want to take Comptrol of Nevada."
Permanent Link: 10:46 PM |
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Clark Bar
I don't have much time to write any long post, so I'll just say my peace about the Smallville season opener. Keep in mind I only really watch the season openers and closers of this show as those are the only episodes where anything happens.
The thing I liked here was the Lois character and her interactions with Clark. Erica Durance (who I've only known before as "the chick who got topless at the beach in House of the Dead") played a great Lois. She was head-strong and confident, but that only seemed to be the tip of the personality iceberg. A good addition to the cast, at least I think so.
Seeing Clark fly was cool, as was the scene where he gets hit with some Black Kryptonite. The whole idea of Clark’s heritage really fighting against his current environment is great for story ideas, although it seems it will probably be a while until we see that brought up again. Chances are the “is Chloe still alive” and other ground-level plots will be the main focus of the show. Again, there’s a reason why I only watch this show’s season openers and closers.
Lex and his dad’s scene together was well done, I like the conflict between those two which is now only greater after Lex’s dad tried to, well, kill him. Margot Kidder’s small role was neat, the idea of another world’s Clark and Lois being former lovers. The Lana stuff might be interesting, although that boyfriend of hers seems like a dunce. If anything at least she has a cool tattoo to show all her friends back home. And I’ll be honest; during the whole show I was wondering how was hotter, Erica or Kristin Kreuk. I don’t have a definitive answer yet, obviously this is a serious question that needs plenty of mulling over.
Also as you can see atop, the subtitle of this blog has changed. I came up with the idea on my own and then Mike told me to go with it, and there’s no way I’m going to argue with that man. The statement is my basic feeling about this whole stupid industry. No, I love it, I do. Well, sorta…
Permanent Link: 8:56 PM |
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Tuesday, September 21, 2004
I'm Going Insane.
I think I'm going crazy. You should all know by now the big hub-bub about John Byrne's remarks in a thread that about Jessica Alba as Sue Storm.
Things have gotten so bad that when I was flipping through the TV channels, as I tend to do at this hour, I expected CNN to cover the controversy live on air. It was only for half a second, and when I realized what I was thinking I knew I had spent too much time on the internet. Damn, I'm a mess.
Not as big a mess as Byrne, though. Jesus Christ, that guy's a maniac.
Permanent Link: 8:59 PM |
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Great Expectations
How important are expectations when it comes to evaluating comics and other works of art? I’ve found that lots of criticism use phrases like “it lived up to my expectations,” “what did you expect reading a book like this,” “it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting” and other like those. I wouldn’t say that’s an invalid way to criticize or analyze something, but could it lead to unfair criticism?
To me, it can come off as bringing the reviewer too much into the review of the work (and if any sentence looks silly starting with “to me” it’s that one). But perhaps it’s useless for a critic to try to distance him/herself from the review in the first place. I know I was taught early on to not use “I” when writing commentary in essays. The idea being that it would alienate readers or some such, I’m not sure and I don’t consider it a good rule.
If an audience is expecting a laugh-out-loud comedy but instead get something that employs a dryer wit, is it fair for the audience to declare that movie/comic/whatever “unsatisfactory” or even, as they probably will, “bad?” How much should criticism be about what is being criticized and how much should be about the critic?
Remember, there is no right answer here so you are all wrong.
Permanent Link: 5:52 PM |
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Monday, September 20, 2004
Another Lucas Post
After the alterations George Lucas put in to the Star Wars DVDs, does that mean we can expect changes in other Lucasfilm movies? Does that mean the Howard the Duck DVD would feature absolutely no footage from the Howard the Duck film? I hope not.
Actually, I’ve been hoping there’s a Steve Gerber commentary track on the Howard DVD, but there’s little or no chance of that happening.
Permanent Link: 5:54 PM |
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Lou Reed, Kim Gordon, Greg Ginn...and Peter Bagge
Found via The Comics Journal message board comics get their due in a Canadian sex column (and I didn't even Canadians had sex...just kidding!).
Chris will be glad to know that his workplace gets a plug (poor choice of words, maybe) and the comics recommended are pretty good and all come from the Eros line of comics. What gets me though is the columnist declaring Peter Bagge an "indie-rock legend." That's right, playing drums in Eric Reynolds' band for a few months is a sure way to become a legend!
Permanent Link: 11:53 AM |
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Sunday, September 19, 2004
Favorite moments in comics
Well, the nice thing about memes is that it’s a lot easier than actually having to think of content from scratch. This has been picked up from Will Pfeifer’s blog as well as a TCJ board discussion, Dave Fiore’s post and John at Commonplacebook. Pfeifer’s and Fiore’s lists should be of note in this case because there is some overlap between their lists and mine.
This isn’t done best to least, but I will single out one part as my all-time favorite. That would have to be the whole flashback scene in Jimmy Corrigan with Jimmy’s grandfather and the events in his life gearing up to the Chicago Word’s Fair. This is going to sound stupid, but it was so painful and yet so truthful (yes, I really wrote that) that I knew I was reading something very special.
Monsieur Mallah and The Brain declare their love for each other in Doom Patrol #34.
During the Galactus/Silver Surfer arc in Fantastic Four #48-50 when Johnny Storm comes back from space and declares “we’re ants…we’re just like ants…” or something like that (I don’t have the book in front of me).
Enid revealing how she lost her virginity in Ghost World.
The Saint of Killers emerges from the mushroom cloud of an atom bomb in Preacher only to mutter “not enough gun.”
In Howard the Duck #10 Howard is having his breakdown and hallucinates seeing Spider-Man and Spidey says “you know me-your friendly neighborhood piano?”
Gull hallucinates himself into the 20th Century in From Hell (I’m a sucker for hallucinations aren’t I?).
Second Alan Moore part, when Ozymandias says “I’m not a Republic Serial villain. Do you think I’d explain my masterstroke if there remained the slightest chance of you affecting its outcome? I did it thirty-five minutes ago.”
Maggie’s inner voice when she sits next to Speedy in Death of Speedy. “I think I better get the Hell outta here before I rape you.”
From In the Valley of the Polar Bears (also collected in the Death of Speedy trade), Maggie’s eyes moving when here aunt is on TV screaming all her pro-wrestling stuff.
The “phone booth blowjob” in Hate during the storyline when Buddy was managing a grunge band.
Mr. Crows exclamation of “hop la” in Sock Monkey.
Ivan Brunetti’s conversation with Jesus in Schizo #2 gets so bad that one word balloon pretty much takes up an entire comic page. It’s a glimpse into what goes on in my head everyday.
When Dr. Strange meets Eternity in Strange Tales #138. Thanks to Dave Fiore for reminding me of that one.
That’s all I can think of right now. Weird, there should be Howard Chaykin, Walt Simonson, Evan Dorkin, Frank Miller and others on the list. I’m sure if you asked me a different day I’d give you a totally different list.
Permanent Link: 11:00 AM |
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Saturday, September 18, 2004
Star Wars Post
So I'm watching, for whatever reason, VH1's When Star Wars Ruled the World. Now, my dislike of all that is Star Wars is second only to this man's but I watched this anyway because by big plan for Saturday, purchasing and eating 711's Jalapeno & Sour Cream Go-Go Taquitos, was already finished. It was watching this show that I realize something.
I do have some respect for George Lucas. I respect him because he in the three Star Wars films he proves something very important. Lucas proves that British people serve the world best when they are dressed in ridiculous costumes and cannot speak or, if they have to speak, have their voices overdubbed by African-American men. I know C-3PO is a deviation from this, but that guy sucks.
I don't think these British guys who were in Star Wars have to go to all these conventions, though. That just seems humiliating.
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Friday, September 17, 2004
Prove to Your Children You Hate Them
I've plum run out of things to say on comics, so I'll just post the most disturbing thing I've seen this week. And yes, I know I've already made a Bill O'Reilly barb this week. This was too good to pass up, though.
Horrific.
Permanent Link: 7:09 PM |
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Thursday, September 16, 2004
Hulk Smash Broadway!
A new blog added, Yet Another Comics Blog. Quite good that one. Now, on with the show.
Looking through the great book Stan Lee: And the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book by Tom Spurgeon and Jordan Raphael (now in paperback!) I was quite amused by the plans Lee had for some of his Marvel co-creations. One of them was a musical for Thor patterned after Godspell entitled Ragnarok. From the book:
”Lee tailored his Marvel visions from a previous era to the tenor of the times, even if it meant taking his characters in strange directions. This was how he described Thor in one outline: "If Arnold Schwarznegger [sic] had Robert Redford's face and Richard Burton's voice! Thor is surely the handsomest, most heroic, most powerful, most dutiful son any doting super-God ever had. The poor guy doesn't lie, doesn't cheat, doesn't do drugs, and fights his fool head off for truth, justice, and the Asgardian way of life. One thing though -- he's great in the hay." In the comic books, Thor's sexual prowess had never really come up.
Now I love that above passage because in it is so much of the Stan Lee I love. Still, I felt that perhaps Thor was not the best Marvel character to be turned into a musical. No, I knew there was a better star from The House of Ideas to bring to the stage. That’s when I came up with it; they should make a rock opera about The Incredible Hulk!
Ladies and gentleman I present to you Feelin’ Green: A Musical Trip into the Mind of a Monster. The characters are Bruce Banner, Betty Ross, Gen. Thaddeus E. “Thunderbolt” Ross, Rick Jones, The Hulk (played by a different and larger actor than the one playing Banner) and probably a bunch other smaller parts. I’ll sketch some of it out for you. Keep in mind I haven’t read that Hulk origin that Stan and Jack did in a while so if some parts are a bit iffy, just chalk it up to bad memory on my part.
We can start with the opener “New Age Dawning.” We see a laboratory crowded with scientists. They’re working real hard because, as they plainly tell us through song and dance, the Atomic Age has just started. In the middle of the song Dr. Bruce Banner appears. He has his only little solo part in the number to wonder where all this so-called “progress” is taking us. When the song ends Gen. “Thunderbolt” Ross comes booming in. He wants to test out this new Gamma Bomb and he wants it tested now. Some scientists, including Banner, express that they need more time in preparing the bomb but Ross doesn’t care, he wants to see what the big boy can do now. What Thunderbolt wants Thunderbolt gets and soon enough the G-Bomb is on its way.
While the scientists are setting up the test, the attraction of Betty and Bruce as well as Gen. Ross’ disapproval of it should be established. Betty and Bruce have their ballad “Secret Love of the Ages” which should tug at the heart-strings of everyone in the house. Gen. Ross can take the bridge explaining, as he overhears his daughter and Banner, how much he hates to see his one offspring gain independence. The song and scene close with the G-bomb test just about to start.
The scene changes to the Nevada desert just outside the lab. Here we are introduced to Rick Jones. Rick and his group of no-goodniks are daring each other to step out onto the land marked “Dangerous: Do Not Enter.” Rick steps up to the challenge. When his pals try to talk him out of it Rick breaks into his song “I Ain’t Saying Ain’t” an ode to never backing down. When the song is done Rick tells his friends goodbye and steps out on to the forbidden stretch of desert.
The testing of the Gamma Bomb is about to begin, but soon Banner sees a young kid out on the field. He tries to call the test off but it’s too late. Banner, being the hero he is, runs out and throws Jones to safety. Jones is ok, but Banner gets bombarded by gamma energy. The stage should go manic with all types of lighting and sound effects here. Soon the lights go dark only to light up again. This time, though Banner is gone and what appears in his place is something new, something weird, something fierce, something…Hulk!
The rest of the players run off stage looking quite scared. Hulk goes into a short bit of his theme (one that will re-appear many times during the show) “Feelin Green’” which will make good use of rhyming the words “green” and “mean.” The choreography here will include Hulk destroy what little property there is on the stage. When the song is over and everything on the stage gets a bit of ol’ Jade Jaws’ thrashing we fade to black.
From there on out Gen. Ross’ chase of the Hulk starts. As like the comics, Hulk’s only companion is the boy whose life Banner saved, Rick Jones. Banner and Betty try to make their love work while Gen. Ross and Hulk get in the way. Some songs could be Ross and his troops’ ensemble number “Get That Hulk,” Betty’s “Could My Love be a Gamma Infested Monster” and the closing song “It’s a Big, Green World After All.” 60’s Pop Art-era Marvel angst should be employed liberally.
Just a few ideas for something that I think could be fun. Personally, I’d prefer something more “Tommy” than Andrew Lloyd Weber, but that’s just my tastes.
Permanent Link: 7:55 PM |
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Wednesday, September 15, 2004
If Only This Would Happen to Bill O'Reilly
First I've added some new blogs to my list. BeaucoupKevin seems to like the angry Ian takes on DC post that's so popular. Keep in mind, Kevin and everybody else, I'm more tired and cranky on this site than angry. Although, hey, I can always angry it up a bit to please the crowd.
The other blog added is Kirby Comics, a blog deciated to one of my favorite cartoonists ever. Now, if we can only get a Gene Colan blog or Walt Simonson blog.
I really, don't have muc to say about comics today (I only bought one new book today, Human Taget #13, although I did also buy Jeffery Brown's Unlikely) so I'm just going to post my favorite Superman cover ever. As you can see I lifted it from Milehighcomics.com becuase I don't have any money for a scanner. I'm hosting it through photobucket though, I don't hotlink.
Artwork by Brian Bolland.
Permanent Link: 8:42 PM |
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Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Marvel Does the Solicits Game
First, a few links. Dave Fiore does an excellent job talkin’ Ditko, one of my favorite comic book artists of all time. He also posts a panel that proves to me that Steve Ditko is such a treasure. Going through Essential Dr. Strange I can see why the 60’s counter-culture, a group who was looking for new and fantastic “trips,” were intrigued by these books. While Jack Kirby, who I also love, is known for being the master of imagination and invention I would say Ditko is in the same league even though he doesn’t have as many well-known characters to his name. I can see why his obsession with Rand might turn off some. While I don’t agree with most of what Rand preached, I can certainly enjoy looking at the works Ditko created in the midst of his obsession.
Dave mentions Matt Rossi, who is going through The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, currently on the Golden Age stuff (I linked to the latest one but it should be easy enough to work backwards). There’s a part of me that really likes those stories because Bill Finger and Gardner Fox are probably the best writers of the Golden Age (Finger’s Wildcat story collected in The Greatest Golden Age Stories Ever Told was particularly impressive). Still, Bob Kane’s artwork is kind of a turn off for me. The costume is great, but apparently Finger had to redesign the whole thing for Kane so it would look cool. It’s a shame that every damn thing that has Batman’s face on it features Kane’s name but Finger is known only to a small group of comic book aficionados.
And now, let’s see what Marvel brings us for December.
Ultimate Stuff
I liked what parts of Millar and Hitch’s Ultimates I read and might buy that hardcover one day. But that’s just it, if there’s a book to be read in trades it’s one that takes two minutes to read while taking five months to get on the stands. This second volume might be better in terms of scheduling…but it might not.
In fact, any Ultimate book I have interest in reading I can wait for the trade. Brian Vaughn and Warren Ellis are good writers, but if I can save money. After all, if these trades are a forgone conclusion what’s the pointing of buying the monthlies? There’s no rush to read something like Ultimate X-Men.
X-Shits
That was stolen from Jamie Hernandez, I should let you know.
Nope. Not for me. Liked it when I was a kid, but to just be that much of a consumerist pawn I can’t imagine it. It seems the enjoyment in the X-Men franchise seems to come from reading the news about it on Newsarama than actually going through the books.
Marvel Heroes
I like the Captain America character because he’s a superhero that demands the creators not avoid politics. It might not be prominent, but it always is there. A character like that in Ed Brubaker’s hands sounds good to me.
In the case of Iron Man we have a corporate raider, Secretary of Defense, alcoholic and handicapped superhero. I can’t wait to see what Warren Ellis is going to do with Stark.
What If?
Now this just seems like a waste. More comics from Bendis? I could never get into that guy’s work. Very few of the What If? stories were any good, although the Frank Miller Elektra one and the Tony Isabella/Gil Kane one about Gwen Stacy stand out as quality work. It seems like putting out more What If? books seems like a joke.
Then look, Ed Brubaker is writing one. Crap, now I’ll have to buy one.
Or maybe two. Wha…Huh? (ask for it by name!) looks like it will be good. Garth Ennis, Mark Millar, Brian Vaughn and Peter David having fun in the Marvel world could be good. And then I see that Stan Lee is writing one story and I know I’m buying this book.
I love Stan’s work. Reading those old Marvel books he comes off as if a commercial copy writer decided to hang out with a bunch of Beat writers and then have a go at writing his own stories. The work is unmistakable, it really feels like the rhythm and styles of the times bled into his prose. If he wrote cheap, pulpy paperbacks he would be discovered in garage sales around America and be proclaimed by hipsters everywhere. No matter how times I read them, the proclamations of The Thing, Spidey, Dr. Strange, Thor and others just sound right when “The Man” was putting words in those fellas’ mouths.
Really, after that what can I say? I don’t really want to write about revivals of Tomb of Dracula (of Gene Colan ain’t drawin’ it I ain’t buyin’ it!) or collected editions of Maximum Carnage. I’m a DC head and honestly very few Marvel books outside of the work done in the 60’s and 70’s interest me. It really doesn’t shy away from being this corporate behemoth that pumps out books simply because a handful of people will always buy anything with Spider-Man or Wolverine on it. DC is like that too, but at least DC attempts (and usually fails) at creating a variety of books. By variety of course Lord forbid they put out more than a few books that don’t share the same aesthetic values of mainstream superhero comics.
Well, I can feel this post drifting away so I’ll just end it here. Remember people, keep loving each other.
Permanent Link: 8:11 PM |
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Monday, September 13, 2004
DC Solicits
WARNING: I had to deal with the DMV and actual real world work (the kind that is meant to pay me) before writing this, so I might sound angrier than my usual jovial self. Don’t worry, there’s a happy ending.
If there’s any game us comic bloggers love playing, it’s going through the DC solicitations as soon as they come out. It feels like if we don’t at least mention it, the comic blog police will come and punish us. And boy howdy (that’s your R. Crumb reference for the day) do I not want to know what a comic blog jail look like! So, here we go:
Batman & Superman
For such a cool character, Batman has some shitty comics to his name. Apart from the fact that I’ll get that Loeb/Sale Catwoman book in trade format, I can’t imagine spending a dime on any of that shit. Why? ‘Cause it’s shit, that’s why!
Nah, I do want that Darwyn Cooke Catwoman book, but it can wait. And I guess if they keep putting out Gotham Central trades I’ll buy them. I suck. But everything else sucks. I’d rather get my eyes poked out by Judd Winick’s cock than read a Batman comic by him.
I like the Jim Lee/Brian Azzarello Superman. I tried all the Supes comics when they all changed creative teams. None were bad, but I felt the Lee/Azzarello one was the best. Here’s a question: how has your life improved by reading those past two sentences?
DC Universe
I’ll buy that Adam Strange mini-series because I like the creative team, but I don’t know shit about any cosmic DC characters. The Omega Men? I’ve never heard of such crap before these solicitations. The cover makes them look like little demon guys. I guess that’s cool, even if they’re demons in space. That doesn’t sound cool.
I’d rather be attacked by a bloodhound and have my family crying on the quality local news shows we have here in LA than actually read Bloodhound. Or maybe it’s good, I don’t know.
Read Fallen Angel people. If not, you will prove to the world you have no soul and will never truly find love. If that’s the impression you want to give to the world fine, be my guest.
Is Hard Time getting rid of that limited color scheme? It looks like it. No doubt that was the only cause of the book’s low sales.
Hey, JLA Classified has those mechanical JLA members from Hourman. I only have issues 1-6 of that series, though, so I don’t know what happened to them. That was a good book, though. Good and cancelled, that is the legacy of DC.
I’ve never read one page of the fucking Legion of Super-Heroes before, but this new one has Mark Waid, Barry Kitson and extra pages for the same price as some 32 page books. That’s enough for me to buy a book about a bunch of characters that all suck (or maybe they don’t, I don’t care). Also, the book looks like it will be easy for new readers like me to jump on to. That’s good; it’s about time they made a book for people who had better things to do than read decades of Legion of Fucking Super-Hero books. Like bang our heads into walls marked “contains spikes” for instance.
Hey, Richard Corben gets a Solo book. I’ll buy that. Did you read that Punisher book he did with Garth Ennis? That’s the best thing Marvel published in decades, the more that I think about it. Some will say Grant Morrison’s New X-Men or some other Nu-Marvel thing is better, but those books didn’t have the Punisher shooting the Hell out of a bunch of rich white guys (surely the bane of my existence and probably yours) and therefore were not as good.
Johnny DC
Because kids want nothing more than to read books about characters created when they’re parents were stains in their grandpa’s under-garments. Nobody gives a fuck.
Beyond the Universe
Look, the origin of Tad Ghostal is finally revealed. Space Ghost without him interviewing someone who was famous in the 80’s is a waste of my precious, precious time.
Wildstorm/ABC
Everything here looks pretty good, except the overkill with the Danger Girl stuff. Still Astro City, Ed Brubaker and Dustin Nguyen on Authority, a Joe Casey book, Ex Machina; it’s like everything I like in comics. I’m not angry now. Really, I’m not.
Vertigo
I don’t like everything here, but I like a lot of stuff here. The usual though, nothing special. Cameron Stewart is doing an issue of Human Target. That kick ass.
DC Direct
See, if I was still angry I could go off on how someone would go and buy an Alex Ross collector’s plate. That’s still a horrible thing to do, but I don’t care.
I don’t know, man. But all the anger I’ve been feeling has been vanquished by going through these DC solicitations. Perhaps it’s a good calming tool, like one they should give classes on.
Goodbye, and remember that we are all beautiful in our own way.
Permanent Link: 7:41 PM |
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Saturday, September 11, 2004
More Spiegelman Coverage
C-SPAN's In Depth program went to Strand Bookstore on Sept. 5th. There they interviewed, amongst others, Art Spiegelman about his new book In the Shadow of No Towers. The interview with Spiegelman starts 59:55 into the video.
Also, check out Jog's great review of the book.
Permanent Link: 4:18 PM |
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Friday, September 10, 2004
We're Gonna Turn This Mother Out
From this transcript of the Tavis Smiley show, Reginald Hudlin, co-writer of Birth of a Nation, comes this news:
"'The Boondocks' as a television series. It'll be coming out in 2005 on the Cartoon Network. There will be a new graphic novel that'll be coming out next year that'll be based on the music and concepts of George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic--and there's a film project I'm developing with Tom Joyner that's gonna be incredible, incredible."
I put the real important item in bold type. Comics, prepared to get funked up. I'm just wondering why one of the great visual live bands ever (complete with characters like Starchild and The Nose) is only coming to comics now? Also, does this mean twenty years down the line, Dr. Dre is going to come out with a graphic novel that swipes from this one?
And hey, here's an earlier post on the matter.
Permanent Link: 7:30 PM |
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Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Collect Them All!
Ladies and gentleman, I have a prediction. I have to tell you though, it is a scary one.
I was walking around Sam Goody the other day. Now keep in mind this is Sam Goody and this one was located in a mall in an upper crust suburb outside of Los Angeles. "Normal" people go here to pick up DVD sets of Friends or Gilmore Girls. It was in this Sam Goody that I spotted somethings that seemed too obscure to be sold at such an establishment.
Dear readers, I came across action figures for such beloved characters as the Muppet Marvin Suggs, Ultimate Thor and the Hush version of Poison Ivy. Now, this is what penetrates the mainstream. A group of teens right out of a hard day of high school can hang out at the mall and pick up a toy that says "I'm not just any Poision Ivy, I'm Poison Ivy designed by Jim Lee. You all know who Jim Lee is, don't you kids?"
Go to some of the action figures sold at comic book stores and we can see even more obscurity on display. It's a George Perez-drawn crossover book come to life. DC Direct alone gives such as memorable characters as Ravager, Phantom Lady, Tomar Re, Red Tornado and Mordru. If you’re wondering why more stores don’t stock manga or books from Drawn and Quartlery here’s your answer. They gotta make room for every single Kingdom Come action figure. Not a one should be missed.
Now, many of you reading this might be familiar with all the characters I mentioned. That’s because if you’re the kind to read comic blogs and probably have one of your own you’re the kind that knows more than a healthy amount of these funnybooks. And that’s just my point. My prediction is: Comic Blogosphere Action Figures.
It will happen. Oh yes, it will happen. Dave Fiore’s accessories could be Captain America #332 and a copy of Emmerson’s Self-Reliance and Other Essays. Franklin Harris could have on a fedora with a slip of paper that says “press” on it, although I doubt that’s what he wears in real life. And who doesn’t want the full ACAPCBOVCCAOE set?
Sounds scary? Sounds possible.
Permanent Link: 8:19 PM |
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Question Time
Thank you Kevin Melrose
I was already going to buy this book, but if there was any doubt in my mind about it there isn't now.
I've never read anything of Tommy Lee Edwards other than the Invisibles issue starring Boy. I am familiar with John Workman's lettering work. The man proved on his collaborations with Walt Simonson on Thor and Orion to be one of the most dynamic letters in comics. Along with Todd Klein and Ken Bruzenak he is one of my favorite letters. I know it might sound really geeky to have favorite letterers, but I don't care. Damn good work is damn good work.
And look at Edwards and Workman doing what they do on that page (the Pulse has larger images of this page and others). It's be-yoo-tee-full!! A Luthor that makes you think he's 50-feet-tell and a Question prowling the streets? That's a damn fine set-up for a comic book.
Rick Veitch wrote one of my favorite superhero comics ever, The One, so I will be expecting good work here. I hope he doesn't disappoint me, I have a feeling he won't.
I feel too excited about this series to give this post a proper ending.
Permanent Link: 8:05 PM |
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Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Coming Attractions
So Mike writes about how the next Superman movie, if there is one, might seem a little superfluous as it will probably not break new ground with the character.
This got me to thinking, why is it that most superhero movies seem to be just average, below-average and sometimes above-average stories about the particular superhero it depicts? They can be nice and all, but most of the time I find the story is a by-the-numbers “year one” type story that have the use of snazzy special effects to make up the fact that their selling audiences the same story. Of course, if Hollywood wasn’t good at selling audiences the same story over and over again my native land of California would not be as large and powerful an economy it is. Still, I’d like to see a superhero film that doesn’t start with the damned origin story, but initiates itself with its titan already in the swing of things. Maybe a love story in it that doesn’t seem like it’s borrowed from an After School Special. A film where, to bring up one of Mike’s favorite lines, big explosions don’t solve everything and the ending is a bit more than an excuse to leave open the possibility of a sequel. I might sound too dismissive in my tone, but when compared to the comics in whom these superheroes are born, improvements are to be made.
I wonder if we will see a superhero film that’s as good as some of the great superhero comics. A movie as good as Miracleman, Frank Miller’s Daredevil and Batman work or Astro City. Superheroics abound in all, but the craft put into those books as well as the themes and characters they present make the reader care about the stories a lot more than your average Marvel or DC book put out to keep certain copyrights theirs. Maybe it’s asking too much of a general audience to enjoy and, more importantly, pay good money to see films like those books. They’re not used to superheroes being deconstructed, reconstructed and philosophized every which way but loose. The idea of a superhero tale being anything more than a cool way to kill two-hours seems to be stretching it, at least that’s what many in the general populace believes (and some in the comic book industry itself).
I feel that perhaps it’s impossible, or at least a Hell of a lot harder, to come up with superhero stories that involving while working in film. After all, it’s a medium that isn’t as effective at drawing in audiences as comics. With comics it’s a lot easier to fall into the world created for you, or at least that’s what I’ve found.
So then, is it possible to have a superhero film that is as good as the best film has to offer? Many of these films are “summer events” first and films second (or third, or fifteenth) but we’ve seen spectacular works of art arise from conditions that aren’t designed to stimulate the creative mind. Many films of decades past had to deal with the Hayes Code and a real strict studio system and yet are seen as great works today. Of course, perhaps the corporate powers behind today’s biggest films, with their psychotic quest to widen the profit margin, are better squelchers of artists’ work than the Catholic Church, whose influence helped create the Code, could ever hope to be. That brings us back to the idea of why should the superhero film be more than a fun ride, albeit a fun ride that sells you Taco Bell and Pepsi.
It would be wonderful to find a superhero film that, instead of reminding us why we were into superheroes as kids, reminds why some of us are into superheroes as adults. But could you imagine seeing a giant billboard for that driving down Vine St.?
Permanent Link: 11:33 PM |
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Monday, September 06, 2004
Tell Me When
I know it's Monday and I try to update my blog every weekday...but it's Labor Day. Give me just the slightest reason to be lazy and I'll be so lazy you'll think me an actual sloth.
But I do have this to share with you, a question. When does a mini-series become a maxi-series?
We are all in agreement that a six-issue limited series such as Man of Steel is a mini-series, right? And yet, a twelve-issue limited series like Squadron Supreme is a maxi-series, at least it is deemed as so by some. So what is the maximum amount of issues a limited series can have and still be considered a mini-series? Eight? Nine? Ten? Certainly not eleven, that's just one away from twelve, and if any limited series deserve the maxi- title it is one that goes all the way to twelve.
Just a useless question for all (or none) to ponder.
Permanent Link: 4:13 PM |
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Friday, September 03, 2004
On Being a New Reader
It seems tough these days for any creators out there who want to produce anything even slightly original in the world of corporate comics. It seems that if a book doesn’t feature a character that’s been around since Stan Lee didn’t require a toupee the majority of comic book readers will just leave it on the shelves. I try to be a different kind of comic book reader, one who is more excited by what’s new as opposed to what’s familiar. Lest I make myself sound like some hip and edgy “cool” comic book reader I assure you that being a devotee to books featuring new characters and ideas leads to owning long boxes full of low-selling and often times cancelled series. Storylines that pique an interest as are snapped off in the middle or worse, retooled into something resembling more of a WWE bout.
Still, I’m one to pick up new series which means many times I do what some readers are afraid to do: start reading a series in the middle of its run. I’ve seen comic book readers wonder if a certain series is accessible to new readers when that series has only reached issue #4. Perhaps in these days of “writing” for the trade, they have sound reason to worry. Well, on Sept. 1, 2004 I swallowed any fear I had about trying out a book cold, even thought it has already released several issues. Here is my story.
Fallen Angel #14
Hearing the praise for this book as well as Joanna’s oft-linked contest (off which this post was originally going to be an entry for. I decided that someone else should win the loot rather than a dork like me) made me want to see what all the hub-bub was about. So I decided to have a go.
Before reading the book I went over what I knew about it. That turned out to be only one thing really. I knew that Peter David wrote it. This was probably the main reason I wasn’t buying the book in the first place. I haven’t read much of David’s work but what I have read didn’t impress me. The only thing that sticks out is the Tales to Astonish one-shot that came out in 1994. I remember thinking as kid that it just wasn’t that interesting. Ever since then David joined the ranks of Chuck Dixon and Scott Lobdell as writers I knew I would definitely not like now if I didn’t like them as a stupid kid. I am a forgiving soul, though, so I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying Fallen Angel.
I liked that Philip Bond did the cover; his Vertigo stuff always impressed me. I am not familiar with the work of interior artist David Lopez but I was soon enough just impressed with it as I was of Mr. Bond’s work.
The book’s plot consist of various inhabitants of a city called Bete Noire, which I assume is meant to be a fictional New Orleans, hanging out at a bar owned by this German fellow Dolf. The crowd is a bit on the seedy side with many of them thriving (some better than others) in the world of crime. It also seems everyone wants something out of Lee, the Fallen Angel of the book’s title. She is one of the few people in the book, along with Dolf, that seem to have a sense of right and wrong. At the end of this story we learn a bit of a bombshell about Lee.
There isn’t some tightly-wound plot or adrenaline-pumping action sequences in this issue of Fallen Angel. This book is really all about mood, characterization and dialogue. In all three of those categories, I felt, it scored well. Characters of which I had never read before became compelling to me. Nothing is spelled outright for me or any other reader; we have to trust that any questions we have will soon and satisfyingly be answered by the creative team. After reading through Fallen Angel #14 I will put that trust into David and Lopez and the rest of those who work on this book.
Perhaps, though, that is why these books fail to make their mark on the majority of consumers of corporate comics. Many will complain about not knowing the entire back story on these characters and even worse, they don’t know what’s going to happen next. I was going to write “many readers don’t like stories that aren’t completely spelled out for them” but I might as well have written “you are reading a blog.”
I can only say to any of those who are scared of jumping head first into a series already on issue #6, #27 or #14 is that, hey, it’s only three bucks. If an idiot like me can get into books like Sleeper, Y the Last Man and Fallen Angel in the middle of their stories there’s hope for us all.
Permanent Link: 9:40 PM |
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Thursday, September 02, 2004
Blog News
Mike Sterling has notified me that he is aware his site is down and does plan to have it back up soon. Anyone who feels they are missing their daily dose of Sterling goodness, don't worry. He will be back.
I will also say far well to John Jakala's Grotesque Anatomy. Always one of my favorite blogs, now it is time to say goodbye. We'll miss you John, you were one of the best.
Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Ed Cunard!
Permanent Link: 8:31 PM |
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Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Avengers Disassociate!
Man is Diana Rigg sexy. Oh wait, we're talking about Marvel comics. Because that's so much more important than sexy girls...
Inspired by the brand spankin' New Avengers coming out, I've pondered who I would like to see make up Earth's Mightiest Heroes. I like all the nutty stuff in the Marvel Universe, but can't say I've read much Avengers. Still, perhaps the group needs an outsider's perspective to boogie down. I now present to you, my ideal Avenger's line-up:
CAPTAIN AMERICA
He's gotta be the leader of The Avengers. He's just gotta.
ZOMBIE
Simon Garth is corporate head-honcho turned undead creature. He's like Tony Stark in that way, except considerably less alive. I've never read that Tales of the Zombie book he was in, but I chose him because looking at the covers it is exactly the book I would have loved if I was 14-years-old in 1973 (instead I had to wait ten years later to actually be born).
BLACK CAT
My frst comic book crush. Don't laugh...we've all had one!
GALACTUS
Every good Avengers line-up needs a villain-tuned-hero. Might as well go big, folks.
FRANKLIN RICHARDS
To give the book a youthful kick. Some villain could start laughing that The Avengers sent a kid to combat his evil deeds and then...uh...Captain America's shield could cut the guy's head off. Or something, I don't know.
THE QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE SONG "BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY"
Think about it, has a song ever been a superhero? Let's be ground breaking here. Let's be fucking ground breaking.
PROFESSOR X
All Avengers line-up have at least one mutant, right? Right? Well, this guy's pretty powerful and it's about time he starts taking orders from someone else instead of bossing people around like he does. Mr. Big Shot...hmph, I say! Hmph!
MORRISEY
I'm sure they can fit him in there somewhere (fit like a "Hand in Glove?" No, puns are stupid). He'll take down Arnim Zola while at the same time he's recommending a good vegetarian restaurant near Culver City. That's pretty kick ass, if ask me.
And there you go. Ian Brill's Avengers. I know I'd read it, wouldn't you?
Permanent Link: 7:43 PM |
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This is Just Too Good
Batman likes cake
From the article:
"A 6-foot-tall, 275-pound bearded man crashed a children's birthday party in Oak Forest, identified himself as "vengeance," then helped himself to a piece of cake, police said.
"When the owner of the home asked the man who he was, the intruder replied, "I am vengeance. I am the knight. I am Batman." Then the man went into the kitchen, cut a piece of birthday cake, took it into the living room and ate it."
Any way you slice it (oh!) that kid is going to remember this birthday party.
Permanent Link: 12:37 PM |
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