The comments, reviews and rantings are for entertainment only. If you are offended then someone else is getting entertained. Welcome to the internet. Have at it. This is where I sound off on what I read in comics this week, and occasionally ramble about other things.
BRAINS! Its Sunday, October 9, 2011, I seem to be lacking them, and this is The Side. Been a busy week. Worked six day. Got the dojo back on track now that the Karate demo is over. Drew and inked a bunch of stuff. Found time to get my journalist on. I'm feeling a bit out of steam.
Fortunately, I don't run on steam. I run of caffeine, and possibly grease.
ONWARD!
COMIX!!
Only had one book waiting for me this week, but luckily for me it was THE WALKING DEAD #89. Last issue we left off with Nicholas, Spencer, and Olivia conspiring to remove Rick from leadership of the community. Nicholas it seems is off his nut because he doesn't just want Rick out of the leadership position, he wants Rick dead. Meanwhile, Rick is out with a scouting party checking out the surrounding area. So just when it looked like things were on a path to stability and safety, we find the most pressing problem isn't the dead. One thing has always set this book apart from other zombie comics in that those books were pretty much formulaic in that that they introduce the cast and then bump them off as the story progresses. Its about the zombies and how they get you. THE WALKING DEAD has always been about the people trying to survive in this world. As with the time the survivors were staying in the prison tension among the people boils over. What's actually pretty scary is how Rick handles things once everything's out in the open. We've been seeing Rick in his leadership position trying to do right by people and struggling with everything that's happened to his son. We get a glimpse here of the hard ass Rick Grimes who is the last person you want to mess with. The question is, will this quell the uprising, or just prove Nicholas's point?
The results for the BOOM! Studios Comic Book Straw poll were released. Sort of. For those who haven't heard about this, people voted by placing a pre-order of the comic for the person they chose. For the comic to actually be printed the pre-orders had to actually pass the 1500 mark and the top four actually did that with the others not making it, so they won't be printed.
Here's the results.
1. Barack Obama 2. Sarah Palin 3. Ron Paul 4. Michele Bachmann 5. Mitt Romney 6. Herman Cain 7. Newt Gingrich 8. Jon Huntsman 9. Rick Santorum 10. Rick Perry
I say the results were only sort of released, because they BOOM! hasn't released the actual numbers. I predicted Obama would win, and I was right. It was too early in the election process to do this. The Republicans Party has not chosen its candidate. So Obama may have only gotten 25 - 30% of the pre-orders and still won because the rest of the orders were split among nine other people.
I was surprise a bit that Sarah Palin came out on top of the Republican field, especially since she's not running. Still, she's popular, and there's an off chance some guys wanted that book hoping for a page of two from her pageant days. I'm not surprised that Rick Perry is at the bottom since this poll was announced before he entered the race. People may have made their decisions before he entered and got that big push a few weeks ago.
Ron Paul coming out on top of the Republican field for candidates actually running did surprise me a little, but shouldn't have. He's remained a consistent favorite for a lot of people. Bachmann doing well didn't surprise me either due to timing. She was doing very well at the time this was announced, but has since seriously declined. There's also the possible hotness factor that may have given Palin a bump. Keep in mind, I'm not saying they're in the positions they're in because of their looks. I'm saying some people will want a commemorative comic book of them because of it.
MUSIC!!
Its been a Zombie type of weekend. Lord knows, I've been shambling around the house like one.
Alrighty, its time for this guy to go brew him up a pot of coffee and take it easy a bit. The batteries need a recharge. See y'all Wednesday.
All right, you lot! Its Friday, December 10, 2010, this post ended up a lot longer than planned, and this is The Side.
I really had jack squat for today. I was going to review a bunch of comics, and put up a music video and that's about it. Then sure enough I got hit with a ton of stuff to write about and some news to share. Fortunately, I had time to type it all.
COMIX!!
Let's get the ball rolling with BATGIRL #16. Bryan Q. Miller has really hit his stride with this book. I'm loving Dustin Nguyen on pencils. This book is a ton of fun. Our Steph has been framed for murder and has a pretty hefty amount of the GCPD hunting her. Plenty of action to be had here as the "Grass Before the Scythe" two-parter concludes. This book is one of my "TV sit-com" books. It has fun characters that I like and I look forward to it every month, but it doesn't require me to ponder every last detail of everything. Its light, and you've got to have some light, fun book to read. Otherwise, the grim and gritty overtakes your soul. Nobody wants that.
Moving onto another fun book TINY TITANS/LITTLE ARCHIE AND HIS PALS #3 in which the long standing funny book tradition is up held. If characters from two different companies ever appear in the same book there must be a competition to see which is superior. In this case its Cyborg versus Jughead in burger eating contest! What I'm really digging is that they keep bringing in more characters from the Archie side to play with. last month it was Josie and the Pussycats. This month it's Sabrina the Grade-school Witch! Great stuff from Art Baltazar and Franco. This book is consistently a treat.
The fun doesn't end there! KNIGHT AND SQUIRE #3 was on the stands so Paul Cornell could let us know that England is a very weird place. This go-a-round Britain's Dynamic Duo are up against the clone of King Richard III, who is eeeeeeevil. Obviously there's a battle and the turning point comes with online social media? Its a hoot and half to go along with a bit of knuckle dusting and it seems there's a bit of romance in the works was both Cyril and Beryl seem to have prospective love interests. It adds just the right amount of 'cute' to the weirdness. Although I still need a translation for a good portion of the slang.
Thus ends the light fun as we move onto RED ROBIN #18. I'm giving this book a try because I like Fabian Nicieza. He writes good Tim Drake. He also writes good stories that don't easily break down into black and white/good and evil bits. Done wrong, stories like this end up with the hero being less than heroic, the action seeming forced, and the readers left a bit unsatisfied. Nicieza puts Tim firmly in a bad spot in which he has to take on a friend and ally who he's not to sure about anymore in Red Star. This issue puts up a ton of questions as to who is really the good guy here, and Tim is stuck in the middle trying to make heads or tails of things. Fortunately, this is one of the top detectives in the DCU we're talking about being a written by a very competent journeyman. This is part one of what looks like the beginning of a very good story, so I'm giving it my "read of the week" stamp.
Meanwhile, out in space, R.E.B.E.L.S. #23 wraps up a story about two rookie Green Lanterns getting caught up in Vril Dox's propaganda push and this brings in John Stewart. As GL's go, I like him. You always know where you stand with him. He's got some great scene's with Adam Strange in this issue. Its a very weird issue in that our "heroes" are very nearly the villains of the story. We know Dox is a world class jerk and manipulator, but there's always been a positive spin on his schemes and ploys. People have benefited from them. This time around it was just to push his own agenda, which is completely in character for him, but it was odd reading "his" title and not being in his corner. That said, Bedard handles Green Lanterns very well, so if you're a GL fan and not reading this title, its a good story to introduce you to the book, and hopefully you'll stick around because this book is consistently awesome.
Wrapping up my reads this week is 41 #1 from my buddy Bob Frantz AKA Bobby Fresh and Pablo Peppino AKA ... um... "Peppy"? OK, Peppino doesn't have an AKA yet, but with work like this he'll probably get one soon. The art is pretty sharp, and will no doubt improve as the series continues. This is Frantz's freshman effort as a comic author, and for a freshman effort, this is one hell of an ambitious project. World building with an ensemble cast is a giant pain in the ass. So much can go wrong and turn things into a confusing mess. Frantz side steps a lot of this by giving the reader just enough information about the world of 41 for them to hit the page running and meet the cast. The cast in question are a group of mercenaries in a post-apocalypse world that do what needs doing. We follow team leader Tex Hernandez and his men as they take on a job and meet some nasty resistance along the way. Lots of action, and a fair amount of humor as well. It certainly has the best "F-bomb" I've seen in a while. Knowing Bob is what got me to pick up the book. It being good is what is going to keep me around for issue two.
BUH-BYE... sorta..
Got some breaking news for ya.
December 9th, 2010 – Los Angeles, CA – It is with a heavy heart but also with great warmth and fondness that BOOM! Studios bids adieu to one of its own: effective immediately, Mark Waid is stepping down from the responsibility of Chief Creative Officer at BOOM! Studios. Waid will continue his run on IRREDEEMABLE and INCORRUPTIBLE and his brand new break-out hit collaboration with Stan Lee, THE TRAVELER.
"Mark was key in BOOM!'s transition from a promising upstart to top tier publisher," Ross Richie, the Chief Executive Officer of BOOM! Studios remarked. "Now that we've reached this stage, Mark's made it clear to me that he's ready to take on new challenges. And we wish him the best!"
"I learned a lot in my time at BOOM! about the ever-evolving job of publishing comics in the 21st century, and it’s been an invaluable experience," Waid said. "But now that BOOM! is in a strong place with its best foothold ever in the market, it’s time for me to refocus my energies on writing and on creating. And maybe take one of these ‘vacation’ things that people are always talking about.”
At Comic-Con International in 2007, BOOM! Studios shocked the industry with the appointment of Mark Waid as Editor-in-Chief of BOOM! Studios. After three years as Editor-in-Chief, and writer of some of the bestselling BOOM! Studios titles like IRREDEEMABLE, INCORRUPTIBLE and most recently THE TRAVELER, Waid was promoted to Chief Creative Officer in the summer of 2010. Today, after a little over three years at the company, Waid leaves BOOM! Studios firmly entrenched as one of the top comic book companies in North America.
"Working day-to-day with a creator of Mark's caliber is an experience I'll never forget," said recently-minted Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. "Thankfully, with IRREDEEMABLE, INCORRUPTIBLE, and THE TRAVELER going strong on the stands, I still get the pleasure of working day-in-and-day-out with Mark. He's one of the greats and I wish him the best in the next chapter of his influential career."
"Mark's such a phenomenal talent, but also a phenomenally good sport." Chip Mosher, Marketing Director added. "I'd like to publicly apologize that the tagline 'Mark Waid is Evil' will follow him the rest of his days! While Mark's presence on the BOOM! team will be missed, I look forward to reading what is next on all the BOOM! books he will continue to concentrate on."
While Mark Waid exits the executive team at BOOM! Studios, Waid will continue writing all three of his current BOOM! Studios titles. This December sees the release of IRREDEEMABLE #20 and INCORRUPTIBLE #13, in what continues to be one of the most successful launches of a new series in the past five years in the Direct Market. The success of the single issues for both series have been surpassed only by the massive trade paperback sales, with December also seeing blockbuster pre-orders for IRREDEEMABLE VOL. 5 and INCORRUPTIBLE VOL. 3 TPBs, that will be hitting store shelves later this month. Waid's collaboration with Stan Lee, THE TRAVELER #2, also tearing up the sales charts, hits store shelves later this month.
As much as I joke about Mark Waid, let me be clear: I love the guy. I'm a huge fan of his, and wish him nothing but the best. BOOM! will be in perfectly capable hands and I'm looking forward to seeing what's next for Waid.
TALKING WITH PEOPLE: part 1
Was chatting with the guy behind the counter while getting my tire fixed. He was telling me about his daughter who is a Sargent in the armed force (I forgot to ask which branch), and while trying to instruct her troops that she was training and of course there was one guy who wasn't listening and talking when he shouldn't be. She told the guy repeatedly to stop talking and pay attention. That didn't phase him, but her yelling at him "HEY! SHUT THE @#$% UP!" did.
"When I'm talking, you keep your trap shut and listen to what I have to say! You think you know more than me? You see these ribbons? I got these for being in combat in Iraq! You ain't got squat on your uniform! You're nothing but a @#$%ing slick!"
And at this point, the guy was on the verge of crying. "Y-you can't talk to me like that! I'll tell the First Sargent!"
"FINE! Let's go talk to the First Sargent! On the way, we can stop by the parking lot so I can beat your ass!"
So off they go to the First Sargent who listens to the guy's story and then approaches the woman. "Sargent, did you really threaten to 'beat his ass'."
"Yes sir."
"Why?"
"I'm trying to save his life by teaching him things that'll hopefully keep him from getting killed should he ever see action. He doesn't want to listen so I'll make him listen."
"Keep doing what you're doing, Sargent. Just next time, when you threaten someone, don't do it in front of other people."
Freakin' awesome.
CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE: part 2
"So, how's it goin'?"
"Not bad. How's things up top?"
*Thump*
"OK, as long as the wind isn't blowin'. When the sun's on you its actually kinda comfortable. I actually broke a sweat up there."
*Thump*
"I can't believe how Mikey hangs over the edge to get that metal in like he does."
"Well, its a pretty tall building, so if he falls off I have time to wave at him on his way down."
*Thump*
"Very nice of you."
"Thanks. But really, its not so bad. It could be a lot worse."
"You mean like being stuck in a port-o-shitter with two guys leaning on the door so you can't get out?"
*Thump*
"Exactly."
MUSIC!!
I had Plant on here and then Page. Time for the combo.
Alright, continue on with your Foxtrot and I'll see y'all Sunday.
Cripes, but I would prefer crepes. It's Sunday, December 5, 2010, I'm hungry, and this is The Side. See, I typically put this thing together in the time between updates and put the finishing touches on things the morning I put it up. Most of the work is done between six and seven in the morning. In fact I can't remember the last time I slept past six in the morning in my own house. Yesterday I got nothing done, because I was busy reading. So that meant I was going bang out the entire thing this morning in one sitting because a self imposed deadline is still a deadline.
So if I was smart I would brew a pot of coffee and have some Pop-Tarts and then set to work. But I'm not smart. I got up, made sure the house was secure, came online, read today's SINFEST, checked e-mail to see that I got a nice response from Vito Delsante over at Comic Kings, and then set to work. No food. No coffee. Not yet.
Writing is best done hungry and surly.
COMIX!!
Snagged an early look at STAN LEE'S STARBORN #1 from BOOM! Studios by Chris Roberson and Khary Randolf. The comic revolves around an office worker, Benjamin Martin, who is an aspiring science fiction novelist. He seems like a nice enough fellow. We know this because this issue gives us his life in full detail. Its tough for books like this to start off and let you get to know these new characters and still have something interesting going on. There's plenty of interesting stuff here, but the only problem is that its all pretty predictable. We get so much detail as to the science fiction story Benjamin creates that I knew that it had to be real. Once I knew that, all the pieces quickly fell into place. So there were no real surprises for me.
Having said that, this book does succeed in doing a lot of really good world building and layering that in seamlessly with character introduction. That's two very tough things to do, much less do them both in the same issue. So, I wasn't terribly surprised by things, but I'm willing to trade that in because there's enough stuff going on here that it warrants further attention.
In all this comic wasn't really blowing my doors off. Still, there's a ton of potential for this book, and I think now that we've got a awkward parts over with we could be in for a great ride.
BOOK... without pictures.
Try not to look horribly shocked that I read something that wasn't a comic. I can see you through my computer. That said, put some pants on. Freak. Just finished up reading Greg Rucka's THE LAST RUN. This novel marks the long awaited return of his award winning and best selling QUEEN AND COUNTRY series. It series debuted as a comic from Oni press and spawned a slew of comics and a few novels. The comics have been collected into four awesome definitive editions which are just awesome.
The only problem with reviewing this book is that I can't do it objectively. I can't even imagine coming into this as a new reader. Tara Chase and I are well acquainted by now. I live to see what Paul Crocker will do next. I can taste how horrible the coffee is in the Pit. I can smell Ron's cigarettes in the Ops Room at Vauxhall Cross. I have a big crush on Kate Cooke, and would completely read an entire 12 issue series all about her even if the only thing she did in it is go shopping. That is the extent of awesome that is Kate Cooke. So this book was me visiting very familiar territory, but everything is not exactly as I left it. Some people had been promoted. There's been a few other changes, but most importantly the feel of the book is the same.
This is spy-fi the way it should be: smart and surprising. These are people who leap right off the page as if Rucka was writing a biography of their amazingly insane lives. The attention to detail is remarkable, and as always Rucka doesn't beat us over the head with it. This book moves. Once it gets going it demands to be read.
Our dear Tara Chase is nearing the end of her stint as head of the SIS's Special Section. She's got a daughter now. She been doing this job for so long and done so much that the majority of the other intelligence organizations around the world either know who she is or must be limited to goat counting. So the "last run" in the title is hers. One last job before she resigns and moves on to a different position. Of course it isn't a milk run. This mission will take her straight into the heart of Iran to extradite a target too good to pass up no matter how much everything around this whole mission stinks on ice.
This book is an absolute page turner. The action is sparse, but the tension is high. The little scenes such as Paul debating over lunch who he wished to murder with his little plastic fork are classic. I now have a completely different view of the city of Tehran. Rucka writes that city as if he'd been living there for years.
Rucka only has one problem. Every time I finish a chapter of his book I am left with a burning need to keep reading to see what happens next. Sure enough he did the exact same thing with this book. Rucka has left me with my brain humming demanding more QUEEN AND COUNTRY. Last I heard the comic was supposed to return. I am, as you read this, actively resisting the urge to drive into Rucka's Twitter account and beg for details as to when it could possibly come out. I'm hoping soonish.
MUSIC!!
Bounced back to the 80s last time around, might as well hang out in the past a bit longer.
Alright, I'm going to go have some coffee now. See y'all Wednesday.
Here it comes. Its Wednesday, October 27, 2010, and this is The Side. Only a few days remaining until Halloween and I spotted a new story about age limits placed on Trick-or-treating. What's weird is I thought that this was the norm. I thought everywhere had an age limit of 12 for trick-or-treating. Sure I hit up a few places in high school, but those were people I knew and there was a smile and wink to it. It was my way of wishing them a Happy Halloween. I was busy riding my skateboard through the neighborhood and spraying the kids and their parents with silly string as they were out and about. No problems and all in good fun. The kids would scream. A few of the parents would too. Most of the dads would laugh. But still, that amount of effort on my part required a little sugar boost, so if I needed to stop in for a treat, it was a great reason to say "hi" to some folks and ask how their holiday is going.
I do have a bit of a problem with high schoolers trick-or-treating, especially if i don't know them. They don't put much effort into their costumes. They don't say "tick or treat". I have a hard rule. You want candy from me on Halloween, you better say "trick or treat". It's just sad when I see some goofy kid holding out a bag and looking at me expectantly through a cheap rubber mask. "And what do we say?" I'll ask him (its always a him). "Um... please?"
Damned kids have no since of tradition. What are we teaching out children when they can't even beg of candy properly on candy beggin' night?
SPOOKY COMIX!!
DRACULA: THE COMPANY OF MONSTERS #3 is in stores today. This comic is really taking its time with its pacing, but there's still all these things going on that keep me in the story. We have a new element with a vampire hunting family investigating the killing of the research team from the last issue. This immediately made me think of VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST and the monster hunting group in it. There's not a ton of resemblance between the two groups, but it just had a similar feel to me. Its a good thing that they did get introduced in this issue because they deliver the only action in it.
That is not to say in any way that this was a boring issue. Evan is under a ton of pressure from his uncle to get Dracula to do his bidding and use his powers to aid in a hostile take over. At least that's what Evan is told. He's getting grief from his friends and co-workers about not keeping them the loop about the project he's working on. And let's not forget the vampire in the basement.
Dracula is written very interestingly here. He's highly intelligent, and spends his time locked up but studying the word around him through media. This isn't Dracula like we know Dracula. We expect the devious monster. However we are shown Prince Vlad, who calmly discusses business, politics, and his life. He seems very honorable here, especially in his treatment of Evan, whom he treats with the utmost respect. At the same time, he'll ask to be let out of his confinement and that voice in the back of our heads starts whispering, 'the second he gets loose everyone is going to die'.
This is an old school horror story like I love them. A person messes with something he really should, like Victor Frankenstein or Henry Jekyll. And like them he unleashes something he can't control. Certainly Conrad seems to have the upper hand now. But literary statute tells us that that's only temporary.
SPOOKY BITING!!
I do enjoy a good monster, and certainly there are plenty to choose from. Growing up I did enjoy the classics, vampires and werewolves. Nowadays, zombies are all the rage and I like zombies alright but not so much as monsters themselves but for the situation in which they're often used. There's been a few stories with "vampire apocalypses" but I haven't seen one with a "werewolf apocalypse". OK, the werewolf one I understand. Things would only go straight to hell one night out of the month. The vampire apocalypse stories I've read were pretty lame as well. Zombies still are the reigning champs of apocalypse creatures. I think a lot of it has to with their relentless unreasonable nature. They're more of force that needs to get beaten back, and in most movies and stories can't ever really be beaten. There's always more zombies and they're always still coming for you.
One thing all three of the creatures I've mentioned have in common is biting. Getting bitten is the way one typically becomes a vampire, werewolf, or zombie. And here's where it starts to get weird. If a zombie bites you, its horrible. Usually there's a character who tries to hide it from the others hoping he doesn't turn into a zombie, but he almost always does and turns on everybody at an inopportune moment. Werewolf bites are always treated the same. Some animal attacked someone. They thought it was a big dog or something. Next full moon, the zaniness ensues. Vampire bites are the sexy among the crowd that wears black way too much. The predatory act gets sexual twist to it, because it doesn't matter that these guys are just zombies with slightly higher IQs, they have much better skin and brood a lot.
Here's the break down:
Zombie bite - Having an affair with that really heinous person from the office. You try to hide it the best you can, because once people find out you're as good as dead to them.
Werewolf bite - You were at that party. You had too much to drink. Things got a little fuzzy as the night went on. You woke up the next morning wondering what happened. Then its, "Wait I did what? With who?"
Vampire bite - It was a sensuous and seductive night of passion which you know you shouldn't have had. Unless you're a guy, in which case, some pasty faced bastard put the swerve on your girl.
Its a nasty and drooly state of affairs. Its pretty much accepted in society that biting people is just not done. That's unless its behind closed doors and with two, or more, consenting adults. So there's a little bit of a taboo, intimate element involved. With the zombies and werewolves we don't see them as human so the act becomes something purely predatory. But, make the monster look a bit more like an attractive person, then its all sexy fun time, please drink my blood.
It such a horrible bias.
People only seem to like the pretty monsters.
But remember people: if you love vampires then you're a necrophiliac.
SPOOKY MUSIC!!
Because most songs about vampires and zombies suck:
Alrighty, that's it for today. Join us next time for comic reviews and the tale of my final year of trick-or-treating.
Head's up, True Believers! It's Sunday, October 17, 2010, I need to get a birthday card for my mother the would-be cyborg, and this is The Side. *Cue the theme song here.*
One of these days I going to stop shamelessly ripping off Toby Turner's openings. I'm really going to have to get a theme song too. But even if i had one I wouldn't stick it on here, because I hate it when I click on a sight and suddenly it starts playing music I never asked it to. And I love music. If I didn't love music I wouldn't include different songs on here even post.
Ah well. Here's some stuff. Have at it.
EARLY REVIEW: SOLDIER ZERO!!!
The first of Stan Lee's projects with BOOM! Studios hits this week. SOLDIER ZERO is about an astronomy professor in a wheel chair who gets an alien war suit bonded to him in an accident. Its written by Paul Cornell with Javier Pina on the art chores. There's been a lot of fuss made over good ol' Uncle Stan's colaboration with BOOM! He's still a very creative fellow and he's created some interesting properties to be handled by some very talented writers and artists. Sounds totally like win. So I was practically giddy diving into issue one. Cornell has knocked my socks off with his run on ACTION COMICS. He gave me a bit of treat with KNIGHT AND SQUIRE which debuted last week. I went in expecting to have a trifecta of a love fest.
I really want to say I loved this book. I really do. But I can't.
Our hero, Stuart Trautmann, is a very nice guy. He works at a university where he's well liked and respected. His brother is a bit over protective of him, but is genuinely an alright fellow. The girl he likes, Lily, is cute and their relationship is genuinely believable. Even the way he gets bonded to the alien suit is really cool and as far as superhero origins go, its a pretty damn good one. The art by Pina is great. He's got a nice clean style that I like. It looks fabulous, and there's a lot of good stuff in there.
With all that good stuff though is seems like one nearly every page in which something isn't falling out of the sky we are hit over the head with how terrible, and awkward it is being in a wheelchair. We meet Stuart wanting to go into a store owned by someone he seems to know and who seems to know him, but he can because the store doesn't allow people in wheelchairs. OK, I get that Cornell wants to establish the adversity Stuart faces being in a wheelchair, and its admirable that he wants to show the everyday plight of someone with a disability. However, its 2010 and its 2010 or thereabouts in this story. I haven't seen a store anywhere, or any building for that matter in this day and age that is not wheelchair accessible. So I didn't get off on the right foot with this book to begin with.
There's little things in there that work like when Stuart says he should get a t-shirt made that says "You can say 'run'." However everyone treating him like he's helpless chaffs of nerves of Stuart and myself. Can he really be surrounded by that many clueless people who can't get past him being in a wheelchair? He doesn't harp on it. He doesn't ask for help because he's still capable of a lot of things. He's a good guy, and still pretty tough, so what's the deal. Every other time we see someone in a wheelchair in media, be it comics or television or movies, we are given the message of look past the chair and at the person. This is the exact opposite, which gives me a taste of Stuart's frustration, but at the same time it comes across too heavy-handed to point where I want to throw my hands up and say "OK, I get it, being in a wheelchair sucks."
There's some other things that I'm trying to work through, like how does a guy with the potential and ability to become a professor of physics get put in the front lines in Afghanistan by the Marine Corps? I have to assume that's what he signed on for since the military has a lot better use for talented hard science guys. It also provided an opening for a knock about how terrible war is and its never worth it. Not a shining moment in the book especially when its a direct reference to current real events. Yes, war is a terrible thing, and certainly we should honor our fallen who fight to protect and preserve our freedoms. I can even understand why Stuart would want to go to rallies and speak out against the war because if I ended up in a wheelchair I'd be pretty damned pissed off about the circumstances that landed me in it. Still, as someone who firmly supports our troops and our mission I found the scene off-putting.
My many gripes aside, its not a horrible book. Its pretty solid, and I'm interested to see what happens to Stuart now that he's bonded to an alien warsuit that seems to have a mind of its own. The action was sparse in this issue, but that's how it is with a lot of origin issues, so no trouble. I want to see what Stuart can do with the suit, and I want to see more of him and Lily. So issue 1 didn't really thrill me, but there was enough good stuff there to make me want to see what happens in issue 2.
THINK PINK!!
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness/Prevention month. What this means to people who don't care is that they'll see pink stuff with slogans like "Save the Ta-Tas". Breast Cancer isn't typically my cause, as I tend to do more for pediatric cancer in terms of fund raising and donating. My most notorious act to raise money was getting my head shaved couple of years ago, which raised about $300. Worked out alright, because money went to a good cause, I look great bald, and it helped raise awareness. Downside was my head later got sunburned, and that sucked.
I've just found out about salon in Kansas doing their part for the cause this October. For $10 they'll put a pink streak in your hair and all the money goes to charity. This is a small, privately owned salon in a modest town. At last check a few days ago they had raised nearly $800. They unfortunately don't have a website, but you can find them at:
The New York Hair Affair 433 New York Ave. Holton, KS 66436 (785) 305-1973
What do we learn from this? First, that even in tough economic times people still have giving hearts. Second, pink hair is worth more than my lack of hair.
MUSIC!!
The Danger Days are coming and they're sounding completely awesome.
That's a wrap for today. Starting Wednesday I'm starting a two week long Halloweenfest. Expect some spooky fun. See y'all then.
BAH! Its Wednesday, September 22, 2010 and I'm in a foul mood. Perhaps its due to my computer not working properly for some unknown reason. But these things are to be expected. It could be I had to work under a house yesterday and the dead rats that were my only company were poor conversationalists. But work is work. Or it could be that my head is still a bit achy from my daughter's first attempt to take me out by slamming my head in the refrigerator.
Yeah, that's probably it.
I figured I'd have a few more years before my children tried to kill me by any means other than frustrating me to death. Apparently I should have known better than to try to cross a three year old who really wants some juice.
COMIX!!
Got an early look at DRACULA: THE COMPANY OF MONSTERS #2 and this book knows how to take its sweet time. This is not the type of pacing I expect in a comic book. By now we should be up to our eyeballs in a serious body count with guts and gore all over the place. Nope. Honestly the creepiest part was Evan coming to the horrible realization that there's no way out for him. Conrad has him completely at his mercy with this veiled threat of something horrible. Every time Conrad appears I get this feeling that something really bad is going to happen.
And bad stuff does indeed happen. In issue 1 we found Dracula's. This issue we see him return in quite the messy manner. Evan is trying his best to maintain his decency despite being demanded to do indecent things. Again we have the type of pacing I expect in a classic horror film. Dracula's return is a nasty affair, but it a spike in the action as the rest of the issue we continue building up slowly to something horrible. And that something horrible may indeed be on the way as the team in Europe that found Dracula's remains makes another find, and something definitely finds them.
I think the most striking thing here is the color and tone of this book. For the most part, it's not dark. Its bright and colorful and the very matter of fact in the storytelling. Usually with a horror comic its heavy on the ink. There's lots of shadows with very stylized art. Whenever I think horror comics, I think of Gene Colin's art on the old TOMB OF DRACULA comic Marvel did back in the 70s. This is a heavy departure from that and works well with the story. At face value, everything seems fine and dandy. However, as we venture into the wine cellar with Evan, we see that something terrible is taking place and its only a matter of time before its unleashed.
POP POLITICS!!
I knew this year was going to be absolutely ridiculous in the political arena, but I never thought I'd see this. That's right. The Democrats have given up trying to justify themselves. They know that they are about as popular as gout. They know nothing they've done to help the economy has helped. They know they have spent a ridiculous amount of money to the point that it'll be forever before we make a dent in the deficit. They've just thrown up their hands and said, "Yes, we are a bunch of assholes. No, we aren't going to change. But, the Republicans are still worse than us."
And our good old Pop Star-in-Chief is still banging away with his car in the ditch analogy despite that more and more people are realizing that its crap. If the Republicans did indeed drive the car that is America into a ditch, its the Democrats that dug the ditch and currently look like they're trying to bury the car.
This is insanity at the point I never thought I'd see. Sure, some folks say that both parties suck and one side is no better than the other. Still it was nice that the parties at least tried to give us the illusion that our country wasn't being run by a ginormous herd of schmucks. Its like they've just given up. They know that we, the filthy unwashed masses, are on to them putting their agendas ahead of what we want, and now that the genie is out of the bottle they don't know how to deal with it.
Trying to instigate class warfare by saying they're going after "the rich" with their tax hikes ain't cutting it. People right now just want to work and know they can keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Those rich folks that're getting targeted are one's that can create jobs. So that's backfiring hard.
THIS ISN'T WHAT VOTING IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT, DAMMIT! This is supposed to be sending in our best and brightest to represent us. Its not supposed to be about having to settle for the person we think is going to screw us over the least.
They can't admit that they are wrong in what they are doing and have done. Trying to show off their achievements isn't working out because more and more people don't like what they've done. So its down to blatant finger-pointing and trash talking the other side.
I was wrong.
This isn't a Political Sumo Tournament.
This is straight WWE, Jack!
Under two months to go before the election and I've got a fiver that says someone tries to hit Christine O'Donnell with a folding chair before its all over.
EXTREME MAKEOVER: CASH EDITION
One more thing about the economy and then I'll shut up until someone else does or says something else completely stupid. A graphic designer claims that the best way to stimulate the economy is to redesign our currency. I'm not sure if he's joking. I really hope that he's joking. Still, I looked at some of the designs and most of them are pretty lame. Besides which, we just had a redesign on our currency. Please note the when this happened that the economy didn't receive any kind of boost from it.
There is a definite shift in how we spend, and I'm not talking about amounts, I'm talking about methods. There's less cash in motion and a lot more debit and credit cards. This of course makes me think about BATMAN BEYOND because (all together now) its really all about Batman. On the TV show they referred to currency as 'credits'. One episode had a girl on it searching frantically for a card with credits still on it to keep her car from getting towed. It makes me wonder whether or not we're heading in a direction in which society runs solely on credit and what you earn goes to pay into that credit.
For now though cash is still king. As I told radio superstar and comic writer Bobby Fresh as he waited to the phone line to be freed up so he could purchase his comics at Kings, "You can be as famous as it gets, but money talks."
JOB INTERVIEW
Cruising through the internet I found an job listing.
"WANTED: Individual for freelance security position. Hand-to-hand combat training a plus."
So I contacted the party who placed the ad and they got back to me pretty promptly, which was nice. After a bit of online back and forth I got lined up with a phone interview. It was with a very well spoken Englishman who referred to himself as Mister Smith. I thought it should be Smyth as he was English and pondered whether or not he had baggage.
He informed me that company I'm being considered for is subsidized by a Fortune 500 company. I was surprised I was already being considered, but they said they had their computer specialist already do a bit of digging on me. He also told me my record was a bit spotty, but they had seen and hired much worse.
He asked about my previous security experience. I told them about working the door at South Beach Grill. I also told them about managing to work in downtown Suffolk and not dying. That last bit impressed them as they said experience in dealing with hostile urban areas would be very beneficial to the position.
He asked about my martial arts training. He then told me my 25 years of experience in Karate would be a good start.
He of course made sure to ask if I had a valid driver's license, which I do. I informed him that I did also have my own vehicle, and he told me that was all well and good, but vehicles would be provided for the job.
He then inquired if I had much acting experience. I told him I played a weed in my 6th grade school play. No lines, but I did my own stunts. I could hear a bit of disappointment over the phone, but he told me that the company could work with that.
It was all very nice and pleasant and I think I made a good impression. He told me that he'd be in touch once the board had made a decision as to my application. He did have one question that may or may not be a deal breaker: "Would you be willing to move to Gotham?"
MUSIC!!
And now the video which is destined to be requested repeated by my children, which I will let them watch despite their attempts to kill me.
That's the ball game for today. If there's no post on Friday then the computer finally went tango uniform, I'm stuck under a house with dead rats, and the twin three year olds got the better of me in hopes of the insurance money being spent on a new Nintendo DS.
That's right! It's Friday, September 17, 2010 and there's a whole lot of comic stuff going on up in here to get your weekend going. ONWARD!
COMIX!!
This week we kicked things into gear with BIRDS OF PREY #5. In the aftermath of the last storyline Black Canary accompanies White Canary to Bangkok saying she's quitting the team. Once recovered from being stabbed by the Penguin, Lady Blackhawk goes with Huntress after her to try to get to the bottom of thing. The result? Big street fight!
There's a lot of things in flux in the Bat-Universe that Birds of Prey orbits through like a fun little moon, and it seems that this book is caught a little in between that and the "Brightest Day" shenanigans. In fact the book has the little "Brightest Day" header at the top, which I suppose has to do with hawk coming back from the dead. There's a little scene with him and his late brother which I suppose ties into that story, but i don't really know because i have slightly less interest in "Brightest day" as I do in having my eyebrows waxed. At the same time we have Oracle moving her base of operations out of the Batcave and into Kord Towers. I suppose this is good because we wouldn't want Doctor Hurt blowing Dick's brain's out upstairs while Babs is in the basement doing her thing. It would just seem insensitive.
Gail Simone keep showing that it was ridiculous to ever have this book not be around. We also have artwork by Alvin Lee and Adriana Melo this time around which is a pretty big artistic departure from the previous issues, but not an unwelcome one. Still I go through each issue of the series wishing it was Nicola Scott drawing it. Oh well.
ZATANNA #5 also hit the stands this week. Paul Dini loves this character and its a bit overdue that she gets her own series. The book itself is pretty subtle. Yes you hav fire demons and a Lord of hell gunning for our hero, but the action isn't completely over the top. The real strength to this book is how likable Dini writes Zee. She's clever and fun which makes me want to see what she's up to and how she gets out of the situations she's in. He opponents are sneaky buggers, so its a case of Zee having to fend off threats from often unexpected directions. But what is magic without misdirection?
Last up is TINY TITANS #32 in which the lunch lady's kid starts school. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, except the lunch lady is Darkseid. We also discover that Li'l Barda helmets are all the rage in elementary school fashion. Parents keep this in mind, because halloween is coming and you wouldn't want your kid to be the only one on their block without a Li'l Barda helmet.
HaRdCoRe KIDDIE COMIX TOP 10!!
Recently I received a press release from the great folks of at BOOM! Studios, who send me such things because they love me. Amid the releases I found this gem:
MUPPET SHERLOCK HOLMES #1 – The bloody conclusion is at hand! Cole's past finally comes to light, but will it put the only family he has left into danger? On the brink of the end of the Civil War, there's just one last standoff between Cole and freedom. The final issue of the critically acclaimed series from the writer of the best-selling 28 DAYS LATER
This, of course, is the beginning of a new trend. BOOM has some of the best comics for kids around. They also produce incredible books for more mature readers. It only makes sense to combine the two. So what should you expect? Glad you asked!
10: In SHIRT TAILS the cute animals with their message creating shirts we all know and love are the last hope of an apocalyptic future as they carry messages from the resistance fighters against the robot uprising.
9: In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, All Star leads the surviving SNORKS against oil companies in daring eco-terrorist raids.
8: With nearly 100 guys vying for her affection, Smurfette is used to a lot of attention, but will Stalky Smurf go too far?
7: BOOM adapts A CLOCKWORK ORANGE starring THE WUZZLES.
6: Its Scrooge McDuck versus the IRS. Be there.
5: Its adventure and danger in the world of cutting edge science as THE LITTLES battle a nanotechology menace.
4: The MUPPETS take the stage at CBGB.
3: Is their whole world a lie? To help save their powers and magical land THE CARE BEARS have have to enter therapy after the cataclysmic disaster of Share bear declaring he needs a little "me time". Can things be set right or will the youth of the world become a bunch of selfish little bastards.
2: MICKEY MOUSE takes on the Elder Gods with a little help from his friends is DISNEY'S CTHULU TALES!
1: After Al Gore steals the limelight from his own environmental protection efforts, Captain Planet turns his back on his cause forcing the Planeteers to try to stop him before he trashes the world. That's right. CAPTAIN PLANET is IRRESPONSIBLE!
MUSIC!!
Been rocking out to The Offspring's AMERICANA and this is my favorite tune on there. Combine that with the fact I've been playing a lot of FINAL FANTASY lately and...
That's the shooting match of today. Enjoy the weekend, and see y'all Sunday!
By cracky, its Wednesday, August 25, 2010 and today is special, because today its not all about Batman. That's right, today the Laundry Crisis takes a rest. My harebrained theories on possible connections between Darkseid and The Black Glove are cooling gently.
Today is a day without Batman.
Because today... its really all about Spider-man.
PBS MAKES YOU THINK!!
There was a time that when you were a kid and you get out of bed at an insane hour of the morning you could turn on regular television and be entertained, even on the weekdays. VOLTRON was on at six in the morning and, by Buddha, I'd be up to watch it. And VOLTRON wasn't alone. I truly think I'm the only person who remembers THE BIONIC SIX because I was the only nutter up at that time of the morning watching television. And there was HEATHCLIFF, M.A.S.K., and BEVERLY HILLS TEENS... not that I would watch BEVERLY HILLS TEENS, but I had the option! We didn't have cable, but there was stuff to watch on TV even as a kid in the mornings on the weekdays.
But things are different now. Now almost everyone has cable, or satellite TV or whatever. Everyone but me. And the weekday cartoons have died off. I think one channel shows one cartoon and the rest of the morning its infomercials. The other stations all have their morning news shows. So what do you do if you want to watch cartoons in the morning and don't have cable, especially if you have little kids in the house? You turn to PBS. Because you have to. And because I have to, I have thought about it way too much. And because I have a blog I can now inflict these thoughts upon you.
* I am fascinated by the Man in the Yellow Hat on CURIOUS GEORGE. He works in museum, has a nice condo and a house in the country, and is a published author. He's been on expeditions to the antarctic. He was chosen to go into space on a mission. This guy must have a resumé as long as my arm, and I'm still not entirely sure what he does for a living.
* While I'm thinking about CURIOUS GEORGE, I know he's a cute little monkey, but I live in constant dread of the day he grows up, tries to achieve his male dominance of the house hold and goes off on the man in the yellow hat like the opening scene of 28 DAYS LATER.
* I wonder how much it costs to go to the private school that SID THE SCIENCE KID attends. They're fully stocked with a ton of educational stuff, have an great facility, and only four students.
* I have finally adjusted to the fact that dinosaurs and brightly colored on DINOSAUR TRAIN and that they ride on a train that goes through tunnels that can take them through time. The fact that they all talk was pretty much a given. However the undersea train station just killed me. I still can't figure out how the hell they built it.
* I often think that the residents of SESAME STREET live in constant fear of the monsters that reside there. I think they put up with all the counting and such to keep them pacified for the sake of the children. What with seemingly all power creatures about that can change you into things and control the weather its smart to stay on their good side. I just know that the day the garbage truck finally shows up, Oscar will start the uprising.
* I don't know if POCOYO is very educational, but the fact that its narrated by Stephen Fry makes me feel smarter.
* I find myself worrying horribly about Cliff Hanger on BETWEEN THE LIONS. That poor bastard has been stuck there for a while. I do admire his tenacity hanging on for so long instead of just giving up and plummeting to his demise. That and his grip strength. I admire that too.
* I enjoy THE ELECTRIC COMPANY much more than I probably should. The only reason i watched it as a kid was because Spider-man was on it. The new show is a lot of fun but there is a distinct lack of Spidey.
I just read an article about people hooked on Cable. At first I just wanted to dismiss them as pathetic losers, but really it seems like we're all getting 'pushed' into getting some pay TV service or another. Big thing like switching over air broadcasts to lame digital signals from the superior analog signal, to small things like a lack of decent cartoons to watch. It just feels like the fix is in sometimes.
I wonder what Clifford the Big Red Dog would do.
A BRIEF WORD FROM UNCLE STAN
COMIX!!
Got an early peek at DRACULA: THE COMPANY OF MONSTERS #1 from BOOM Studios and I freaking loved it. Maybe it hit me at just the right time having watched a good chunk of BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA on TV last Saturday during their Keanu Reeves marathon. Maybe it was just my basic geek nature. This first issue sets up so much great stuff that I'm salivating for issue 2. Wirters Kurt Busiek and Daryl Gregory split this story nicely between exposition on Prince Vlad the Impaler in the 15th century and a modern day corporate drone on an assignmnet that he doesn't understand.
Scott Godlewski handles the art chores nicely on here. He manages to not only nail down the modern day setting but also the 15th century history lesson. Not a bad range at all.
This has a pitch perfect horror movie set up. Normal guy just keeps getting in deeper and deeper in the a weirdness that he wants no part of. It didn't end like I expected, but that just got me more eager to see the next issue. Honestly, I was expecting this book to be about Dracula somehow now in the 21st century and running a company. They wisely twist this into a corporation looking to make Dracula their latest corporate asset.
They're looking to wake the devil. Expect all hell to break loose when they do.
MUSIC!!
Because today, its all about Spider-man.
That's all for now. Please enjoy the remainder of the WTF portion of your week. See you Friday. Behave yourselves. And if you can't, put it on YouTube.
By everything good and sweet in Odin's beard its Friday, July 23, 2010 and today begins Operation: Cleansweep. The Nozz Compound has been divided into eight zones and every day I'm not out sweating my ass off fixing a beach house in Sandbridge I will be cleaning one of those zones. Today's target: the office. But first..
STAN LEE GOES BOOM!!
Big announcement coming out of Comic-Con is Stan Lee lending his creative skills to BOOM Studios, and he's being backed by some serious talent. Here's the line-up:
SOLDIER ZERO, written by DOCTOR WHO and ACTION COMICS scribe Paul Cornell with art by SUPERMAN artist Javier Pina, tells the story of a wheelchair-bound astronomy teacher who finds himself in a freak accident that bonds him with an alien weapon of war.
THE TRAVELER, written by Eisner Award-nominee and BOOM! Studios Chief Creative Officer Mark Waid with art by AMAZING SPIDER-MAN artist Chad Hardin, features a mysterious new superhero with time-traveling powers battling the Split-Second Men, super-powered assassins from the future.
STARBORN, written by iZOMBIE's Chris Roberson with art by THE X-MEN's Khary Randolph, tells the story of a regular guy who discovers he's the heir to an intergalactic empire, putting him the center of a war between five alien races.
I'm highly intrigued. This is the sort of sci-fi goodness I've really been digging lately, and now that SUPERMAN has gone from awesome space adventures to talking down streets I think these are just what I need to scratch that itch. Also, if you want a copy of SOLDIER ZERO signed by Stan Lee make sure to request one at your local comic shop. There will be some shipped. Lee has created some of the most beloved characters in comics, and these concepts look like he still got a sweet creative touch.
COMIX!!!
Hey speaking of comics, let's look at BIRDS OF PREY #3 which i realize may be old news to many of you, but I didn't get a copy until this week. Now, last time I discussed BIRDS OF PREY it was in one of the "Battleground" segments due to Scans Daily moderators being completely ridiculous in their treatment of BOP scribe Gail Simone over the killing of two characters one of them being gay in the middle of gay pride month. Ms. Simone urged them to wait until the storyline had concluded before jumping to conclusions and making snap judgments. Of course they didn't listen gave Simone and "official warning" for hate speech or somesuch and she saw the writing on the wall and left.
And now one month later we see that she was right and the moderators in question were indeed morons. Although now I suppose they'll have to find something else to attack which will likely be the line "Penguin party in my pants" which I would like to see on a t-shirt.
Paul Levitz has made me a convert as his LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES is being a really good time. The flashback issues on ADVENTURE COMICS are dull as hell, but his book is juts a lot of fun. Yes, it is crappy that 3boot Legion got shafted for this. Yes, the treatment of Jim Shooter was ridiculously stupid and awful. Yes, those costumes really need to be changed. However, Paul Levitz is writing some really fun book.
Onward to TIME MASTERS: VANISHING POINT, which I have to say I love the title. This book is a story inside a bigger story wrapped up in a tortilla. For more on the tortilla I will refer you all to the chart that's is being made over in England right now once its finished. As we know from THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE, Superman, Green lantern, Booster Gold, and Rip Hunter are traveling through time trying to find Wayne before he makes it back to the present and destroys everything somehow. So, Dan Jurgens is doing a limited series detailing that there's some chicanery afoot during their search. It doesn't seem to have anything huge therein that readers need to follow the main Bat-storyline, but its a fun little book.
WHO SAYS KIDS AIN'T CLEVER?
Value can indeed be a relative thing. One man's trash is another man's treasure and all that. Something is worth what another person is willing to pay for it, or trade for it. Steve ortiz put that to the test when he went on Criagslist to see what he could get for an old cell phone. With some patience and a lot of time online, this kid ended up with a Porsche. This process took about two years and he traded quite a few things along the way. It fact the Porsche was actually a set down in monetary value from the thing he traded for it which was a Ford Bronco. So why did he trade it?
How many kids drive to high school in a Porsche?
So really its about what is important to you at that point in time. When I was a kid I had Star Wars figures. Played with them. Loved them. After a while I didn't play with them as much. But the guy up the street took a shine to them. So I traded a few of them for some of his comic books that he didn't want. There was some pretty sweet stuff too. So I was amped, the guy down the street was happy. Everyone was happy, except my parents who said that kid took advantage of me and made us trade everything back. So I got my Star Wars figures back which went into a box never to be played with again because I just didn't care about them anymore.
Ortiz has some of him family members saying he's a swindler. Pretty much the same mindset as my parents way back when. Its not about the monetary value attached to the items. Its about two people having something the other wants and them both coming to an arrangement both are happy with. Call it swapping, call it bartering, call it whatever but its as old as the hills and it still works.
GREATEST PUG EVER!!!
Even money says our good friend Richard over at Teatime Brutality would trade his Doctor Who box sets for that dog. Well, maybe a couple of them.
MUSIC!!
Continuing this week of my favorite songs, here's one I wish that all songs were as awesome as.
That's it for Friday. I'm going to begin the cleaning process. In the sage words of Lando: "Here goes nothing."
Hey Nonee Nonee, it's Wednesday, July 21, 2010 and in a startling change of pace I'm actually wearing pants as I post this. In another change of pace, I've discontinued the "Pop Quiz" section as one one person has actually answered any of the questions since I started doing them. See? Even an e-troglodyte can e-evolve.
Today's Side is a bit light on news and heavy on my opining and rambling. I'd have gone through more effort to hunt down more news, but I'm working hard to curb the crime spree of a three-year-old who despite knowing you have to pay for things in stores thought it was a good idea to haul ass out of an FYE in the mall with a SUPER FRIENDS DVD before paying.
OK, that may not technically be a "spree" but that's how these things start!
HOWDY MISTER ROGERS
That's some art that's mostly likely going to be the look Captain America sports in the upcoming movie. They look to be going with WWII era heavily and that's fine by me. Should be fun.
BAT-THEORIES
With Bruce Wayne returning there's a lot going on in the Batman comics. For those new to here and that have not been following Batman, Bruce Wayne was trapped in the past after battling Darkseid. Now something has him bouncing through time and we're told that if he gets back to the present very bad things will happen. Here's some of what we know:
* Bruce Wayne traveling through time seems to be allowing him to reclaim different aspects of himself and his memory seems to be starting to come back.
* Wayne is also creating a situation that will allow for himself to become Batman.
* Bruce Wayne was at the end of time.
* The Black Glove is shown to be Bruce Wayne's father Thomas in an origin that isn't possible.
* The Black Glove cursed Bruce and it seemed to come true as his very next case led him straight to Darkseid.
* The events that led to the story in BATMAN #666 featuring Dick Grayson's death and Damien Wayne becoming Batman seem to be coming true.
But there's still a lot we don't know and the pertinent questions seem to be:
* What is the true identity of The Black Glove?
* Is there a connection between The Black Glove and Darkseid?
* What is within Bruce Wayne that is so dangerous?
* What is the Joker's hand in this?
So, what are the possibilities? Well there's a lot, but I've got a few thoughts:
* This could be Darkseid centric. After the war we did not see in FINAL CRISIS the New Gods and the Gods of Apokalypse got bounced backwards in time. The methods of the Black Glove and Darkseid resemble each other in that they want to twist and corrupt that which is good. The Black Glove could be one of Darkseid's agents and the alternate origin could be what he hopes to replace the history we know with. What Bruce could be carrying inside him is an "imprint" of Darkseid which is growing and hoping to be reborn when the time is right.
* This could be Devil centric. Going with the notion that the Black Glove is an incarnation of the Devil and let's assume that he's factored in Darkseid with his curse on Batman's cape and cowl. Perhaps he's trying to manipulate events so that Bruce's time traveling somehow allows a situation in which the impossible origin become possible. Its like time and reality are a slinky bouncing down the stairs. the same events keep circling around each other, but each time just a little more removed from the original loop.
This is of course the conjecture of one nutter that really should get more sleep.
BY THE NUMBERS
Currently I have 41 follower on this blog. That's about 30-some more than expected. This also does not take into account the ones that follow that are not shown, so the actual number may indeed be 42. The number of blogs I currently follow is in the single digits. Over on Google Buzz I have just over 150 followers and i follow just over 50. Twitter is another story. My account there is less than a week old. I follow a dozen folks and am followed by two.
My online time is limited so there's only so much content I can view and mentally process. That's why the number of things I follow is very limited. Looking at some accounts I see that there are people that follow hundreds, sometimes thousands of people, and they have a few hundred followers themselves. This is the I'll follow you if you'll follow me and really this is pointless for anyone who wants to see content. Its fine if all you want to do is sell sell sell. But consider this if you want people to read and appreciate your content: if they follow hundred of thousands of people, there's not way that they are going to pay any attention to your work. It'll be lost in the shuffle.
Between the blog, Twitter and Buzz two of the three bast higher numbers in followers versus following. It just may be possible that I'm doing something right. Don't faint.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Being that I love comics in a way that may be considered unhealthy, I also love it when people who make good comics get their due. So when Mark Waid was shown the door over at DC I was not happy because he makes great comics. I honestly think some powers that be over there saw him as a bit of a threat because Waid could do his job better and the fans knew it. But that's history and Mister Waid has moved on over to Boom. Boom at the time had been struggling a bit. They had good stuff, but it wasn't quite hitting with readers.
Enter Mark Waid: Editor-in-chief. *Cue dramatic music.*
Now just a couple years later the company has won numerous awards and is doing quite well not only with their existing titles, but they have also bought a great line of kids comics to the forefront, which is something that's been sorely lacking. So now he's gotten a promotion to Chief Creative Officer. He'll be expanding the growth of the company in new and exciting ways. So if you haven't checked out what they're up to already, do so and thank me later.
Stepping into his previous position is Matt Gagnon. This was a no-brainer. Gagnon has an eye for talent and isn't afraid to get hands on to make sure the books get out on time. Congratulations to him as well.
CREATING BY DERIVATIVE
Reading a ton of comics does not make one qualified to write one. Certainly it helps in terms of understanding how the pacing works and how the pages break down. The problem is if all you read is one genre, in the case of comic books its most likely superhero, then you'll wind up regurgitating what you've taken in. Chris and I were talking about it last night. The best writers know to draw upon life experience or the life experience of others for their work. They know to look at classic literature to see what in these works have made them stand the test of time.
Same with art. The majority of manga is crap because the artists are under such a tight schedule to produce work that copying is encouraged. That's one of the main reasons for the generally homogeneous look of most manga art. The plots and pretty close to cookie cutter as well. Sure there's a few stand outs, but its very few and good luck finding them.
In creating you most be original and until you find your own voice and style look to others that are stand outs and originals to see what is working for them. This does not mean copying their work. It means examining the ideas and concepts that they are exploring and try to find something in there that resonates with you. But you have to be careful. Just because you think something is brilliant does not mean everyone else thinks so. If you're going to do a piece heavily inspired by Lady Gaga, you need to make sure your audience actually gives a damn about Lady Gaga. It doesn't matter how popular the media thinks she is.
Finding an original voice inside yourself is not easy and you may not have it in you, but its worth looking for.
MUSIC!!
This week I'm listing three of my all time favorite songs. Enjoy.
And that's a wrap for today. I leave with with an asignment. Its Hump Day. Go hump something. Just keep it legal. See ya Friday.
Only had one book waiting for me this week, but luckily for me it was THE WALKING DEAD #89. Last issue we left off with Nicholas, Spencer, and Olivia conspiring to remove Rick from leadership of the community. Nicholas it seems is off his nut because he doesn't just want Rick out of the leadership position, he wants Rick dead. Meanwhile, Rick is out with a scouting party checking out the surrounding area. So just when it looked like things were on a path to stability and safety, we find the most pressing problem isn't the dead. One thing has always set this book apart from other zombie comics in that those books were pretty much formulaic in that that they introduce the cast and then bump them off as the story progresses. Its about the zombies and how they get you. THE WALKING DEAD has always been about the people trying to survive in this world. As with the time the survivors were staying in the prison tension among the people boils over. What's actually pretty scary is how Rick handles things once everything's out in the open. We've been seeing Rick in his leadership position trying to do right by people and struggling with everything that's happened to his son. We get a glimpse here of the hard ass Rick Grimes who is the last person you want to mess with. The question is, will this quell the uprising, or just prove Nicholas's point? 
