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Monday, February 28, 2005
Disappearing comics.
I was reminded by this because of the last post. I have to ask, what ever happened to this book:
From Marvel's solicitations for January 2005
COMBAT ZONE: TRUE TALES OF GIs IN IRAQ #1 & 2
Written by Karl Zinsmeister, penciled by Dan Jurgens, cover by Esad Ribic.
Combat comics are taken to a whole new level! Three months in the lives of the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq are chronicled in this groundbreaking series by long-time embedded journalist Karl Zinsmeister ("Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq") and penciler Dan Jurgens. In chapter one, "Paratroopers Over The Border," American paratroopers in northern Kuwait must contend with choking sandstorms, high-adrenaline training, and the hair-trigger tension that dominates the tense run-up to war in Iraq. War arrives in deadly fashion on their doorstep -- in the shape of ballistic missiles. To survive, they must rely on the skills of men whom they've never met, but whose fates are inexorably linked to their own. In chapter two, "Hair Trigger in the Desert," spend a tense night with Cavalry troopers assigned to guard a secret command post just outside an Iraqi city they have been ordered to liberate.
32 pages, $2.99.
The third issue was meant to be out two weeks ago but I don't think it did. The book doesn't appear in any more solicitations. Rich Johnston revealed that Zinmeister was the editor-in-chief for the magazine of the right-wing think tank American Enterprise Institute. Mike found this thread on a conservative webpage where a comic book reader tries to get people to pre-order it (I'm betting that didn't work out with a bunch of non-comic book readers).
But, just like Crossgen's American Power, nothing came out (thanks to Bjorn for reminding me of that). I guess all you need is a few sentences of copy in Previews to get people talking. After all, these are the things that really matter people. They really, really do.
Permanent Link: 7:18 AM |
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Sunday, February 27, 2005
Comics of the Future
The internet is used more and more to hype books through creators making themselves known and fan reactions to controversy. Identity Crisis was reviled by many but you can't deny that the on-line reaction is what helped sales (and DC is hoping that sells the spin-off books as well). If something makes a big splash on-line, human curiosity will drive people to pick up a title they would not have otherwise been purchased. There were many people who followed IC and Avengers Dissembled purely through the reactions found on blogs, news sites and message boards.
The question then is, why doesn't a smart publishers save some money by coming out with a comic that is all on-line reaction?
The book will be "plotted" and "drawn" by John Byrne, with "scripting" by Mark Millar. Before it's "release" there will be vague interviews done for Newsarama and The Pulse hinting at big changes to beloved characters and "a whole new way at looking at superhero justice...for a more complex world." Rich Johnston will have spoilers for the book concerning which female superhero dies and comes back as a cyborg floozy. All this leads up to the first issue of the book. That first issue, by the way, will not exist.
See, there's no point in spending money on paper or staples when you can just raise the consciences of the creators, characters and companies with internet fan reaction. A press release will be sent to the above mentioned news outlets crowing about how the first issue of Force Works Dismembered (that’s the name of it) has sold out as there are no more available copies (never mind that there were never any to begin with). The forums for John Byrne and Mark Millar will praise their namesakes for being brave and innovative by changing the entire way we look at superheroes being retconned into manic-depressive werewolves. All the while other message boards will be on hand to declare absolute and dedicated ire to what is being done to beloved characters like Spider-Woman II, who had the sad fate of being sexually taunted by none other than her own clone. Grame MacMillan will be on hand to catalog it all but will soon have to deal the comments section of his own blog being taken over by people who started making fun of such discussions only to get into their very own heated and serious discussion about the book, only with more name-calling. Blogs of all kind will have snarky retorts, photoshop remixes and snarky photoshop remixes coming out of their ears. Then the second issue will be “released,” complete with news that Millar has been replaced by Chuck Austen who has plans to use his Worldwatch characters in the book. Then things really get out of hand.
The “all reaction, no book” method of creating comics will turn out to be so profitable (there is no book to buy but people still place orders for second and third reprints, not to mention the limited edition deluxe collections which has behind the scenes info about what particular movies were watched to be ripped-off) that Marvel and DC use it a lot over the next few years for big event books like Global Guardians Discombobulated and Badoon Sisterhood…No More!. The on-line world of comics will feature more heated rhetoric, creators acting immaturely and people everywhere looking at short-term events while turning there backs to long-term problems. Basically, what we have today without any ink getting on your fingers.
Permanent Link: 9:41 AM |
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Friday, February 25, 2005
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggarth!
As you can guess it's been small posts today. Sometimes I don't have the energy in me to do anything more.
Someone who does have energy in him is Neilalien. The man's got five years of comic blogging under his belt. The idea of a comic blog going on for five years is nuts, and I love it. It gives hope to the rest of us!
Permanent Link: 8:36 PM |
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After about five minutes of this movie, you're gonna wish you had ten beers.
With the Oscars coming up I have just one question:
Is Dan Clowes the only cartoonist to be nominated for an Oscar (for co-writing the screenplay for Ghost World with Terry Zwigoff) or are there others?
Permanent Link: 6:20 PM |
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Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Will the Trashman show up?
Egon reports that Last Gasp is promising at fifteenth issue of Zap Comix (unfortunately no permalinks at Egon, look for the headline "ZAP #15 FORTHCOMING").
As much as I love the alternative comix of today, there's a part of me that will always dig the underground books that in many ways preceded them. My favorite issues of Zap are #0 and #1, the all-Crumb issues but I also enjoy the contributions of Spain Rodriguez, Victor Moscoso, Gilbert Shelton, the late Rick Griffin and others. Moscoso and Griffin's psychedelic art in particularly could always knock me out. This latest issue is meant to have a jam strip with Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Shelton, Rodriguez, Moscoso and Paul Mavride. That sounds...interesting. I do dig the jam strips by Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb, but this I gotta see.
Permanent Link: 9:06 PM |
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Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Now they've gone and done it...
Kevin writes up a pretty good essay on his dissatisfaction with DC's superhero line right now. In it he links to an action figure line based around Identity Crisis. While Kevin notices there is no Sue Diby action figure, there is a Dr. Light one. That's right folks, you can read a story where a villain has no use other than to be a rapist and get brainwashed by overeager superheroes and then buy the toy tie-in. You can buy a toy rapist. And people will.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are living in the endtimes. I would suggest that if this is the type thing going on we should be living in the endtimes. The very idea of this is so wrong and I fear that perhaps nobody at DC Direct ever brought up any kind of objection. It's just another way to make money, and there's a good chance it will. It also makes me very depressed.
Permanent Link: 3:19 PM |
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The Comics Journal's Saddest Day
February 23, 2005 will be a tragic and infamous day in the history of comics, at least in the history of comics journalism (if anyone would subject themselves to chronicling such a dire profession). That is the day The Comics Journal #266 comes out and it is sure to be the worst issue the periodical will ever release.
Is it the fact that a magazine that has interviewed and covered artists like Art Spiegelman, R. Crumb and Alex Ross now has a feature interview with Brian Michael Bendis, the creator behind such books as Ultimate Spider-Man, Secret Wars and Hellspawn? No, although that certainly doesn't help them any. The reason why this is a sad day for TCJ becomes horrifically clear glancing at the writers featured in their 2004: Year in Review. It is the first time one of the most pathetic, most annoying and least intellectual pundits in comics writes for the once esteemed magazine. Under the category of Autobiographies we see the beast's moniker:
Ian Brill
The fact that that man's name is listed next to Eddie Campbell is enough to make one question how close the Apocalypse is. Upon further investigation we see he has a second piece of "criticism" in the magazines. I hear he has more writings for the magazine coming.
How far the mighty have fallen.
The Comics Journal, you are no longer a friend a mine. I will no longer pick up your magazine in my semi-monthly trips to the comic book store. I will reduce my 156 hours a week spent on your message board to 143 hours. Perhaps you can pick yourselves up from this, but I doubt it. Ian Brill is just that noxious as a writer and as an individual.
Sincerely,
Buzz Cuddles.
Permanent Link: 9:42 AM |
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Monday, February 21, 2005
Chaykin in the news
Looking over CBR's report on the "Beyond the DC Universe panel I noticed there are some Howard Chaykin tidbits. Me being a big fan and proponent of Chaykin's work I was quite pleased to see some of what was revealed here. There's going to be a sequel to Bite Club, City of Tomorrow is described as "Untouchables meets Westworld," he might bring back American Flagg with Dynamic Forces and most importantly (I think) is the promise of a sequel to Black Kiss which is my all-time favorite Chaykin book.
The Chaykin wit was not missing either. There's his regret over the lack of romance books:
"Romance fiction is the only genre that hasn't had a breakout book. I've been trying to decode romance fiction for then years, and I want to write a really good romance novel. Why not put graphic novels and chick lit together?"
There's also his description of Promethea ("archetypal British art fag comic book") and his memories of having Quitter artist Dean Haspiel as his assistant ("He used to be my assistant. He used to take his shirt off a lot"). Used to? Whatever.
Before I go I would also like to point to John at Commonplacebooks's look at Promethea #32 (I'm sure he's thrilled to be coupled with Chaykin's take on the book). In my course of reading the series I have not read that issue yet so I'm looking at a lot of people's takes on that book. Jog's write-up (scroll down to the 2/18/05 post as I couldn't get the permalink to work) as well as Abhay's have also be informative. I am interested in John's because he doesn't seem to be much for it and my suspicions is that I won't be as well. I'm an atheist and don't know how much patience I'll have for what seems like a lecture on magick (I could take Grant Morrison's Invisibles because, as Abhay points out, it wasn't didactic like Abhay claims Moore is. I did, on the other hand, feel a bit repelled by Robert Anton Wilson’s stuff). That being said I'm enjoying the book now (up to issue #8) so we'll see how it turns out.
Permanent Link: 7:55 PM |
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French peasant blood!
The Great Curve links to the trailer for A Scanner Darkly at the Yahoo! Movies page.
This is one of my favorite books, and my favorite book by Dick so I'm interested to see how the adaptation goes. There's an unfortunate streak in Dick adaptations where the filmmakers seem eager to use all the sci-fi concepts that Dick created but do not want anything to do with the themes Dick goes over. One of Dick's favorites, the question of what is reality, is passed by and the idea of states bent on destroying privacy seem to be nothing more than a jumping off point for the special effects crew. Minority Report did a bit more with the government stuff but I felt it was a bit too much on the nose (granted you can make the case that Dick himself was never subtle about anything in the first place). Total Recall made for a good film because there was a nice sense of the grotesque to it but it didn't have more than that going for it. Blade Runner might have come closest to achieving what Dick does best, but I must admit it has been a long time since I've seen that film and can’t remember much other than it looked great. I haven't seen Paycheck or Screamers but with the former I'll assume I'm not missing much.
The film A Scanner Darkly does look like a visual treat. I didn't really warm up to Richard Linklater's Waking Life but I think that had to do with my disdain, at the time, of college students' philosophical musings that already surrounded me. I felt the animation was a neat trick and if I saw the film again today I might have a different opinion of the film as a whole. The animation in A Scanner Darkly looks a lot more appealing, like lost artwork from Radiohead's OK Computer album or the covers for The Filth. I must say that Keanu Reeves doesn't have a screen presence I find attractive and I have long since given up hoping that his, let's say, "relaxed" method of acting will be used to any good effect. The other cast members like Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson might fare better. In fact the idea to cast those three as drug abusers with lives that have come to a complete halt seems so audacious, considering their lives off-camera, that I might want to see the film just for the tabloid aspect.
That's the thing, though. Dick even spells out in his author's note at the end that this is a tragic of tale of people who have chosen chemical pleasure over all else. It's a William S. Burroughs type of story (another one of my favorites) jammed into the suburbs of Los Angeles. In fact, I would like to see a filmmaker like Linklater adapt this film with all of the science fiction stuff gone and just present it as the documentation of a masochistic lifestyle that it is.
One point of trivia is that one of my favorite screenwriters, Charlie Kauffman, wrote an unproduced screenplay for the book. I must admit I haven't read it all because I hate reading screenplays (they’re not even half of a film, therefore not even half of a completed product) but it seems to be a pretty straight adaptation of the book.
Of course if the film’s bad it might hurt the reputation, and sales, of the book. But people in this country don’t read anyway so fuck worrying about that.
Permanent Link: 4:47 PM |
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Sunday, February 20, 2005
The Gonzo Journalist is Gone
One of the finest modern writers has left us and I know I'm not the only one who will be saddened. Thompson prose was, to me, an absolute revelation. Reading Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 was one of those experiences in life where you can feel a new door opening up. Without reading that book and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I am sure you would not be reading this blog today and my life would feel like it had no direction.
The style of writing Thompson employed felt like a prison breakout compared to what I was being taught in California public high school. It energized me and is one of the pieces of work that made me want to be a writer. It was something I wanted to do but it was Thompson (along with the departed Lester Bangs) who proved to me that it could be done without buckling to anyone else's idea of what "proper" prose is. It was the same feeling I got as a musician when I heard bands like the Rancid and Minor Threat for the first time.
I also chose this graphic because this is a blog about drawn images and Thompson's frequent collaborator Ralph Steadman is one of my favorite illustrators. Like most people I discovered his manic works of splatter through Thompson's books and I cannot imagine one without the other. It is tragedy that now they will never work together.
Permanent Link: 8:52 PM |
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Saturday, February 19, 2005
Otaku and DC
U.S. kids love Japan!
This really isn't news and you can find stories like this from years past (I remember a report pretty much like this appeared on NPR, but I don't know where to find it). It's just that I am interested in how the world of Japanese pop culture is something that many people my age and younger have grown up, and how fruitful that has been for companies like Tokyopop. I think that's one of the reason's manga's so big. It's another facet of a culture that has fascinated so many for years. The fact that all of this is from another country is enticing enough.
One of the people attending the anime-con is quoted in the article and she talks about how omnipresence it all feels:
The number of US fans of Japanese pop culture is growing "in part because it's a media mix," Allison said. "It's not just manga and anime. It's also trading cards and Pokemon and Gameboy (electronic) games and video games."
Those publishing superheroes would kill to have this kind of thing going for them. Unfortunately for them it's not something you can engineer. The people behind the success of the NES in the 80's weren't thinking "this is really going to payoff for those CLAMP girls in a decade or so." Evan Dorkin talks about it in his blog's comments where he remarks upon "the slow but steady media saturation and impact on our society and our youth in the manner that Japanese pop culture has had in the past few decades." The fact is I remember kids in my middle school (this would be the mid-90's) getting excited about seeing Akira, not rediscovering the Richard Donner Superman film. The fact that there are so many superhero films out now (and a games like The Punisher don’t hurt) can create a certain allure, but nothing like what the people starting up anime clubs on college campuses across the country have.
That being said I still dig American superhero comics. The only things that interested me about this report from the DC panel at Wondercon was this awesome Frank Quietly drawing from All-Star Superman and the fact that Legion of Super-Heroes, easily the best superhero book DC is currently publishing, is increasing sales. I also hope that the talk of Fallen Angel going to a different publisher ends up being true. I liked the series but unfortunately had to drop it pretty much as soon as I picked it up. The idea of Peter David & Co. going somewhere else, perhaps away from an established superhero universe, will hopefully be a great relaunch for a great book. Finally I must add that Silent Dragon by Andy Diggle and the art team of Lenil Francis Yu and Gerry Alanguilan sounds pretty good to me. Diggle's a writer I like whose books, The Losers and Adam Strange, I had to drop for the same financial reasons I dropped Fallen Angel. Yu and Alanguilan really impressed me with their work on Superman: Birthright so I would put them in the same category as Diggle as talents to watch.
EDIT: After reading The Pulse's report from the Vertigo panel I must say that Howard Chaykin rules and I love him more than I did before. Why? For no reason he praises Damage Control, which is the last thing you expect to be mentioned at a Vertigo panel (it's at the very end). He says it "was hated by many at Marvel, but loved by Stan Lee." He then sums it all up by saying "[w]e need more funny books." He's right.
I'm no good at ending these posts so I'll just say to you folks goodnight, and stay wonderful.
Permanent Link: 8:20 PM |
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Friday, February 18, 2005
Wotta revoltin' delevopment!
God help me, but the Maximum Fantastic Four book offered in Marvel's solicitations for May 2005 might be the most tempting thing I've ever seen in one of these frigging solicits. The idea of dissecting Fantastic Four #1 panel by panel might seem a bit much for some but when it's Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, and Mark Evanier is the one doing the dissecting, I really can't say no. When I see the price of $49.99 I can say "geez!" and wonder if I can pick the book up at some on-line store for a discount.
Honestly, I can not think of another superhero series that deserves this treatment, a hardcover coffee-table book with in-depth essays, than the Kirby/Lee Fantastic Four. Never again will the superhero genre see such heights of imagination, craft and sheer joyfulness. If I had my druthers I would rather the book feature issues #48-50, the Galactus saga that can basically be seen as "superheroes fight God," which I feel was the high point of the series. Still, I love the first issue of the book and it does make sense that it would be the one to get the spotlight. Hell, Tom Peyer and Mark Waid proved today that there's still a reason to look at this masterpiece.
Also of note in that list of Marvel to come, new Dave Cockrum art in Giant Size X-Men #3, a trade paperback devoted to Kang the Conqueror stories and the twin delights of Essential Defenders and Essential Thor Vol. 2. That last book features the first appearance of one of my favorite Kirby creations, Ego the Living Planet. My friends and I collected those Marvel Universe trading cards when we were kids and when I first saw the card for Ego I swear my mind did a somersault. It's planet with a face on it! That picture above, by the way, is from the Marvel Directory.
You didn't hear it here first, but Kirby is King.
Permanent Link: 3:50 PM |
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Thursday, February 17, 2005
2005: A Space Odyssey
Recently Johnny B. took a look at Planetes, a manga title that has crossed over with a lot of people who don’t usually read manga. I’ve read just a little of the works Japanese comics has to offer and most of those were “cross-over” hits as well like Junji Ito and Osamu Tezuka. I do have more manga to read, though, like Tokyo Tribes (new volume came out this week) and No. 5 (I loved Black and White by Taiyo Matsumoto). For right now let’s talk about how I loved this book by Makoto Yukimura.
The story of Planetes is a solid enough sci-fi premise, a group of “garbage men” picking up space debris, that allows Yukimura to accomplish what great sci-fi is all about. He takes a fantastic situation to tell stories that are so human that we can all find something to relate to. After the sense of “awe” concerning humanity’s migration into the star wears off we still have believable characters that go through things we earth-bound folk know all too well. The third story of volume one is about team member Fee’s desire to have a nice smoke in the health-conscience world of space stations (the threat of terrorism is just another hassle). Her quest for relief, damn the consequences she knows all too well, is really no different than any I see in smoke-free California. Yukimura can touch on anger, sadness, fearfulness and joyfulness all so well with Fee and her crewmates Hakimaki and Yuri. He doesn’t miss the small things in life, even while his characters live and work in the vastness of outer space.
What’s even better is that he’s a fantastic artist as well. The machinery of the future is given a look in this book that is has so much clearly defined detail in it they might as well be concept drawings done on behalf of NASA. The characters who live in this world are certainly “manga-looking” but definitely more on the realistic side and do not jar with their surroundings at all. It reminds me more of my favorite Western artists who do superhero books. Like Cameron Stewart or Darwyn Cooke, Yukimura doesn’t need a lot of line work to make his people seem real, just a few pen strokes and the human mind creates the rest. That being said there is a lot of nice shading and line placement when it is called for, such as scene of high emotional intensity.
I can see why this is a title that works for those new to manga or not. These are stories that are warm and let’s anybody in to read them. When they choose to, they are rewarded with fantastic insight and craftsmanship. This is just one volume of five (volume four is split across two books) and I’m just one more person who has been seduced by this book enough to get my hands on all its sequels.
Permanent Link: 5:57 PM |
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Wednesday, February 16, 2005
You don't see me flying to the red
Now, we here on the comics blogosphere appear to be big fans of Superman comics of a bygone era. But looking at one particular cover today I got the feeling that one of the premiere film and music directors of our time could also be a fan.
Tell me if this reminds you of Michel Gondry's video for The Polyphonic Spree's song "Light and Day/Reach for the Sun" (reworked from clips of the Gondy directed film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).
If he is a fan then I want Gondry to direct the next Superman film. Really, I think he and Terry Gilliam are the only two living directors who can recreate the imaginative world of the Weisinger Superman books.
Permanent Link: 4:10 PM |
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Monday, February 14, 2005
Look! I can count to big numbers!
Because I love Fred Hembeck, ADD and when Mike tells me to do something I do it here is my Valentines to comics (in no particular order):
1. Fanboy Rampage!!
2. Dirk Deppey being a great blogger and then a great Managing Editor of The Comics Journal
3. Whatever Dan Clowes has done, is doing and will do
4. The fact that Gil Kane just got better and better as the years went by
5. The Hernandez Bros.
6. Stan Lee’s whole style of writing and presenting a comic during the 60’s
7. Aztek
8. Whenever Evan Dorkin speaks his mind about anything ever
9. Dave Fiore
10. Ralph’s Comic Corner
11. That whenever Alan Moore does an interview there’s something like 500 brilliant statements made
12. Howard Chaykin
13. Walt Simonson
14. Dean Haspiel
15. Curt Swan’s way of drawing Superman comics in the 60’s
16. Curt Swan’s way of drawing Superman comics in the 70’s
17. Joe Casey
18. Jack Kirby in the 40’s
19. Jack Kirby in the 50’s
20. Jack Kirby in the 60’s
21. Jack Kirby in the 70’s
22. Phoebe Gloeckner’s fumetti stuff (and her drawings as well)
23. Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn are into comics
24. Sleeper
25. Judgment Day: Aftermath where Alan Moore and Gil Kane recreate Rob Liefeld’s Universe
26. The fact that Liefeld ain’t going away, folks
27. Dick Sprang and Sheldon Moldoff’s world for Batman and Robin (love that Batman grin!)
28. The rawness of Golden Age comics where the lack of craft would not stop the ideas from pouring out
29. James Kochalka’ American Elf books
30. Johanna Draper Carlson
31. Being a member of the ACAPCWOVCCOE with people all smarter than me
32. Harvey Kurtzman and Wallace Woods’ “Superduperman,” it’s my favorite superhero comic ever.
33. Alex Toth being a master of the medium
34. Grant Morrison’s first few and very last Doom Patrol stories
35. The full-on nerd rage of Lee and Ditko’s Spider-Man
36. The Mister Miracle, Big Barda and Oberon characters
37. Lee and Kirby’s Fantastic Four, the greatest superhero comic book series ever.
38. Pretty much everyone on the internet agreeing that Identity Crisis sucked worse than Paris Hilton.
39. Hip-hop and manga crossing over
40. Oversized Marvel hardcovers
41. Carl Barks
42. Robert Crumb being the other master of the medium
43. When a creator I don’t except to share my liberal views shares my liberal views.
44. Boondocks
45. Black & White
46. The three issues of Fantastic Four Walt Simonson and Art Adams did
47. Gary Groth being the greatest comic pundit…ever!
48. Derek Kirk Kim
49. Scott McCloud
50. Finding a great new artist like Jock or Tommy Lee Edwards
51. The mini-comics section at Meltdown Comics
52. The team of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson
53. The feeling you get when you first cast your eyes upon the work of a brilliant artist (happened to me with Dave Mazzuchelli, Bernie Krigstein and Walt Simonson)
54. Ivan Brunetti’s self-examination in the first two issues of Schizo
55. Gary Panter’s scratchy line
56. Paul Pope
57. The Ultimates
58. Bruce Timm’s influence on superhero artwork
59. The clumsy, well-intentioned Green Lantern/Green Arrow run by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams
60. Talking to creators on-line
61. Whenever a little boy reading comics says to himself “Marvel rules, DC sucks.”
62. Epic Illustrated
63. Rick Veitch’s The One
64. Chris Ware does everything beautifully
65. DC superheroes reflecting the optimism of the Kennedy 60’s
66. Marvel superheroes reflecting the world after Kennedy’s death
67. The sternness of Steve Ditko’s The Question
68. The world John Romita Sr. created for Spider-Man in the 60’s/70’s
69. The way Wallace Wood drew women
70. Mark Waid’s work on The Flash
71. The first few JLA storylines Grant Morrison did
72. Stuck Rubber Baby
73. Those covers DC books would have under Julie Schwartz’s eye
74. Bizarro!
75. Dave Gibbons
76. Jeffery Brown’s art style
77. Osamu Tezuka
78. Kim Deitch’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams
79. Lynda Barry
80. Eddie Campbell’s Alec comics
81. Tales of Asgard
82. Gerber and Colan’s Howard the Duck
83. Wolfman and Perez’s New Teen Titans
84. Optic Nerve
85. Maakies and the fact that it’s probably more autobiographical than we know.
86. Michael Kupperman being fucking hilarious
87. Everything Johnnny Ryan packs into his filthy little comics
88. Steve Englehart’s Captain America
89. And his Batman run with Marshall Rogers
90. Tomb of Dracula
91. Dave Cooper
92. Planetary
93. Planetes
94. Joe Kubert war comics
95. Manhunter by Goodwin and Simonson
96. James Sturm
97. Roger Landgridge
98. Seeing Drew Friedman’s art everywhere
99. Steve Rude
100. The fact that anyone can draw anything.
Permanent Link: 1:26 PM |
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Thursday, February 10, 2005
David's Fur
I know posting frequncy has shrunk because of school, work and moving. For this I apologize. Things will speed up, hopefully by next week.
I don't want to dissapoint you fine people so here's a .PDF of a naked David Cross. He did it for PETA, who seem to get more celebrites to take off their clothes than Robert Evans.
Warning: The picture might not be work safe if your work does not allow nudity or Jewish comedians.
Permanent Link: 6:31 PM |
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Wednesday, February 09, 2005
The Power of the Schwartz
In the 1950's, Julie Schwartz revived Golden Age heroes like Flash, Green Lantern and Atom by taking the names, some of the powers (or powers from other heroes) and nothing else. He made these versions of old heroes sleek and modern. Flash’s costume, with its fins that went well with his powers of super-speed, reflected the design of the cars coming out at the time. Green Lantern was a post-Chuck Yeager superhero ready for a world where the president was promising putting men on the moon by the end of the decade. Old ideas stripped of everything that made them old and turned into modern and exciting properties. So what if DC (or Marvel or any company that owns older superheroes) decided to do that now?
Take the Atom (for example) and present him for a world of reality shows, terrorism worries and over-medication. Don't just use those as story-devices (although that's certainly not out of the question) look at the entire tone the world has taken and match that in the book. Make a character mean something in these times. Divorce him from as much of the past as you can (something Marvel's Ultimate line seems unable to do). Not only starting from scratch but also making sure that the books don't go in the same directions they did in the past (there would be no Ray Palmer this time). Don’t be afraid of manga or the digest form but instead absorb them as influences as well, both in the content of the book and in how the book is sold. In the end, though, follow Schwartz’s credo of “be original.” Don’t follow any trends happening in the theaters, comic stores or book stores. Try to synthesis what is going on in the world to make a whole new character with whole new stories to be told about it.
Reinventing these characters is, in a way, having it both ways. Schwartz and the DC talents like John Broome and Carmine Infantino could have created whole new characters from scratch, but the name recognition and the excitment of an all-out overhaul helped the books out a lot. Certainly if DC or Marvel were to take the names Green Lantern or Fantastic Four and do a "Schwartz" many a fanboy would scoff but the curiousty factor would be enough for the book to make some sort of splash.
Granted I have no idea if any of this would work. I just thought it sounded good.
Permanent Link: 7:08 PM |
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Tuesday, February 08, 2005
This is what happens when creativity dies
I've been working hard at both school and the writing that pays me (not much) so I don't have the time to think of and then write up any real content today. That's where memes comes in handy. Your posts are already half-written, you just need to fill in the blanks! Since I love music and feel I don't talk about it enough on this blog let's do the music meme that has been making the rounds.
1. Total amount of music files on your computer:
7.78 GB. I actually got rid of some stuff because I needed to free up a lot of space on my hard drive.
2. The last CD you bought was:
I got The Roots of the Sex Pistols CD that came with the latest Mojo issue. As for music that does not came attched to reading material I think the last time I was able to buy a CD and did was when I ordered The Fiery Furnaces' first CD and the Beatles' Revolver off of Amazon. That was sometime in 2003.
3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
"The Concept" by Teenage Fanclub. Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-Six Seconds: A Short Cut to Teenage Fanclub has been in my car CD player lately.
4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.
1. "TV Eye" by Iggy & The Stooges
2. "Strawberry Fields Forever" by The Beatles
3. "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" by the Buzzcocks
4. "When You Sleep" by My Bloody Valentine
5. "Search & Destroy" by Iggy & The Stooges
5. Who are you going to pass this stick to? (3 persons) and why?
John Lennon, Darby Crash and Jimi Hendrix. I want to see how powerful the Internet really is.
Permanent Link: 2:57 PM |
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Friday, February 04, 2005
Legion of New Readers
With every revamp a publisher makes of an old property they hope to expand readership beyond die-hard fans. DC has employed Mark Waid and Barry Kitson to take over Legion of Super-Heroes in hopes that it will reach greater heights of popularity than it has seen in the past. I can tell you it already has one new reader.
I have never read a LSH story besides their first appearance in Adventure Comics. The fact that I have enjoyed Waid and Kitson’s previous effort, Empire as well as seeing reviews from Johanna and Lyle made me figure that I could do worse with three bucks then try the latest issue. I was right.
What really impressed me were the possibilities to be found in this world of the 31st Century. This particular issue had an interesting look at what problems a world with a population of telepathic people would face. The characterization that Waid and Kitson employ for Dream Girl, the member of Legion who is of these people, as well as the characterization of the rest of the team made the book for me. The opposition between Brainiac 5 and Dream Girl was definitely well played.
This book also has a very cool theme about this team of young people not just fighting crime but rebelling against the restrictive “utopia” the previous generations have created. This creates a superhero storyline that means a lot more than just costumed characters keeping the status quo but instead the very idea that they are “super-heroes” is a rebellious action against the society they live in. It’s a theme that intersects nicely with the Legion’s dealings with elders of Naltor, Dream Girl’s home planet. In fact, the way that Waid and Kitson intertwined the theme of youthful rebellion, sci-fi ideas, superheroic action and very smart dialogue was what made this an excellent read. Kitson’s art may seem a bit stoic (Dream Girl’s dream sequence felt more like a 70’s rock poster than something from a comic book) but remains perfectly competent superhero artwork.
There’s a lot of ways this book can go and many of them could turn out well. I believe Waid and Kitson have it in them to keep this book interesting for a while. I know I’m on board to find out.
Permanent Link: 5:31 PM |
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Thursday, February 03, 2005
Marvel's dis of the week
The O.C. writer Allan Heinberg is writing Young Avengers for Marvel, as you may already know. So when O.C. characters Seth, Summer and Zach find a company to sell their comic book, what publisher is it? Marvel, by way of their west coast office? Nope, they go for Wildstorm. I guess they thought Scott Dunbier was more photogenic.
Next episode: road trip to San Diego!
Seriously though, how do you think this lesbian plot line is going to pan out?
Permanent Link: 8:57 PM |
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Chaykin Talkin'
Things have been getting a bit busy on my part so my posting frequncy might be effected more than a new school semester has already effected it.
I do have, as promised, quotes from that wild Howard Chaykin interview from Amazing Heroes #132. Just call me the "Graeme MacMillan of 1988."
He speaks out on what J.M. DeMatteis and Co. did with American Flagg after he left:
"[T]hey really didn't do very much-except take the character and turn him into a dickless wimp."
He's no fan of Brett Easton Ellis:
"I mentioned to you last week that I read Less Than Zero, which I found one of the silliest piece of shit that I've ever read, because it's an archetypal 19-year-old's worldview, and no one is more cynical than an unworldy 19-year-old."
His reaction to DC bringing back Doc Savage after the success of The Shadow:
"And what do they do? Adam and Andy [Kubert] come in [Beaver Cleaver voice] "Hey, dad, come in and give us a hand with this!"'
There's his opinion on some books DC had out at the time:
"Angel Love looked like greeting cards from Hell, and 'Mazing Man looked like storyboards for a TV show I would never watch."
And here's a great quote about what Chaykin thinks of John Byrne (keep in mind this was the Byne of 1988):
I just wish all interviews could be this bad-ass.
Permanent Link: 7:57 PM |
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Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Chaykin v. Morrison pt. 2
You might remember this post where I bring up an old Howard Chaykin interview. In it he bashes Arkham Asylum but not Morrison by name (he forgot it).
Yet in an Amazing Heroes interview from 1990 we find Morrison saying this:
These two just can't get along can they? Of course, the Amazing Heroes interview Howard Chaykin did with Kim Thompson in 1988 was even more outspoken and angry. You don't want to know what he said about 'Mazing Man!
Permanent Link: 7:30 PM |
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Profundities Forthcoming (with apologies to Alexander Danner)
In one of the “deleted scenes” sound bites for the Stewart Lee/Alan Moore radio interview (sound bites may not be there past Thurday) Moore says he’s not proud of his Batman book The Killing Joke. He puts forth that there’s a lot of drama going on in the book and a lot of nasty stuff going on. The stakes are high and yet in the end the book is only about Batman and Joker’s neuroses. “There’s no important human information being imparted” says Moore in The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore. Moore seems to have a problem with this but I’m afraid that many of the authors creating books that take a dark look at superheroes do not.
Now, I believe that human truths can be departed through genre works and that includes superheroes. I believe it is possible creators can express something profound through an issue of Fantastic Four, as Kirby and Lee sometimes did (“This Man, This Monster” comes to mind, although all of this was still firmly of the traditional superhero motif). It’s just that I feel, especially today, superhero books are being stretched beyond their limits so the people behind them can feel they are saying something more than “Flash fights Gorilla Grodd.” As you can imagine I’m no fan of Dan Didio’s overarching plans for the DC Universe and like Johanna I think its ridiculous when Didio goes on about how living in New York after 9/11 leads to a shift in tone for the DCU. Now, I’m willing to admit that I might be wrong here because we have not had a chance to read these books but I bet that a comic that draws reader in with “who’s the person Batman carrying” on the cover will not help any of us understand ourselves or our world during the War on Terrorism.
It’s good to see that there are some superhero books that still desire to provide simple superheroic thrills for its audience. I have been told by someone involved with the Geoff Johns/Carlos Pacheco Green Lantern that it will be a superhero book open to fans or newcomers and will be bright, iconic and fun. I hope they are right because we certainly more books like that.
In fact we have a lot of comics that are bright and fun. Many of them are genre and don’t feel they need to stretch themselves to be profound (although some are). They are also the most successful arm of comics today. I’m talking about manga and I think I can see why they’re more popular with readers, especially young ones, than the DC and Marvel books shelved next to them at Borders and Barnes & Nobles. In the 1980’s people were straining themselves to announce “comics aren’t for kids anymore” and how they can provide a mature reading experience just as valid as prose books can. We know this true, although the proof of it can be better found in Persepolis than Avengers Disassembled. Now both manga and the “new mainstream” are alerting readers, old and new, that comic books coming out now can be fun, accessible genre material as good as most movies or TV. It’s too bad Marvel is either ignoring this information or trying to catch up rather clumsily. DC has a great bunch of books that fit these criteria in their Vertigo line and it’s good to see some books from that line make it into digest form or at least readily available trades. I just wish they would find nothing wrong with making fun books the main part of their superhero line. If they want to create works that have something important to say allow creators to be free to create those works how they want to and allow them to own it. You can’t have it both ways, at least not for long.
Permanent Link: 4:55 PM |
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Wakanda's Finest
Enough with the anger folks. Let's enjoy out short time on this planet reading books like Black Panther by Jack Kirby Vol. 1. It's coming to comic stores tomorrow and I'm excited. I've been enjoying a lot of Kirby books from the 1970's lately (love that OMAC) but I've never read this stuff before. Not to worry, I have a rule when it comes to Kirby: even at his worst he's still great.
Permanent Link: 1:59 PM |
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This is the face Dan Didio makes when he fucks you in the ass*
Shawn Hoke gets it. His thoughts on the sloppy mess DC is turning itself into with one mini-series after another that promise to change the DCU forever (read: until they need another big event mini-series) made me smile. I was pondering the fact that it's cool that Grant Morrison's "Seven Soldiers" promises an expansive story line but all the books are self-contained issues. If you read the whole series (as I plan to do) you get a complete story line but if you just pick up Shining Knight #3 you'll get a complete story as well. Too bad DC feels books like that and the upcoming "All-Star" line need their own special section while the the main superhero line, including books they give a push to in the mainstream press like Identity Crisis, is filled with books written in an obscure language only a few hundred thousand fans who were raised on this stuff will understand.
This kind of ties into what I'm seeing in the comments sections of Dave Fiore's course blog. Here we have a forum of young people who are unfamiliar with comics talking about comics (Kingdom Come and Watchmen so far). Seems like they are more inclined to read the well-known superhero names in a more run-of-the-mill superhero story than they are to read a book that has a darker take on superheroes (of course, Watchmen is so much more than that. Identity Crisis, on the other hand, is not). Too bad that DC, Marvel as well, just want to feed the appetites of a shrinking community of fans who buy in to all this "universe spanning" schlock. Although I suspect we'll see many of those folks wise up to the fact that DC is just manipulating their knowledge and devotion to DC lore for easy money.
DC: There's a lot stopping us now.
*On second thought, maybe that title's too extreme. Just because I'm angry at how DC is doing doesn't mean I should be quoting Mark Millar's Eminem character.
Permanent Link: 10:42 AM |
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