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.
Hey now. Its Friday, June 3, 2011, I got lucky last night, and this is The Side. By lucky I mean I was in a convenience store last night. I was down to my last buck before payday, and since there's not much you can do with a buck nowadays, I bought a scratch off lottery ticket. I won ten dollars!
Figured I'd push my luck and used that money to get more scratch off tickets. After going through most of them I had won a dollar, so I'd at least be back where I started. Sure enough the last ticket won me twenty dollars. For a brief instant I considered getting more lottery tickets, but there's a point where you've got to quit when you're ahead.
COMIX!!
HELLBOY: THE FURY #1 begins the wrap up to the huge arc that's been going on for a while now. Big Red has gotten King Arthur's sword, been offered to be a king, and has a nasty queen witch to battle. There's a lot of elements going all the way back to the beginning of the series. There's mentions of Rasputin. Alice Monaghan, the baby from "The Corpse", is all grown up. There's a lot going on, and we jump in right with Hellboy going to confront Nimue. In the meantime its looking like King Arthur's true heir is rising up. There's a big battle going on, and looking like a bigger one is on the way. This one is tough to jump onboard on if you haven't been following what's been going on. Fortunately, Mignola and Fegredo give us a two page recap just to refresh our memories. They're going for "epic" and doing a pretty fine job of it.
With the DC reboot still just a little ways off, I'm finishing out the stories for a bit of closure for myself.
SECRET SIX #34 has the team back from Hell, but there's still the matter of Scandal Savage's girlfriend, Liana, having been kidnapped by lunatic whose torturing her and planning on killing her. Things don't go well for the dirtbag responsible. We also see Bane go out on a date. In a stunning change of pace none of the team tries to kill anyone else on the team. This is probably as close as this book gets to being upbeat. Yes, its always fun in its own unique and twisted way, but there was a slightly different tone here. We can get behind the team's motivation to save Liana and put down the guy who was torturing here. We can enjoy Bane being out on a date with the nice little stripper who really likes him in as close to a romantic comedy as this series can get. Gail Simone hits all the right points here, and fleshes them all out beautifully. Although, I'm still unconvinced about King Shark being a Shark.
MUSIC!!
The actual video is pretty cool until it turns into a "hurray for liberals" bit. Ah well. I could get it embedded in here anyways. As such. Enjoy some penguins.
That's it for me today. Got a Karate tournament tomorrow and I'm hoping for some big trophies. We'll see what happens and I'll tell y'all about it Sunday.
Hang on, I'm comin'. Its Sunday, May 15, 2011, I'm limpin' like a pimp with polio, and this is The Side. Blogger was down for most of Thursday and Friday, so I'm making up for that today. As for the limp, I'm pretty sure I aggravated an old injury. I came off a roof years ago and broke my heel. Taking the down time necessary to let it heal right wasn't an option, so I kept going on with things, and typically its fine. However, work this week involved jumping over some railing repeatedly, and eventually I landed wrong.
Guess its time to put my feet up and talk some comics.
FALL OF THE AMAZON
Well, I said the Wonder Woman TV show was looking and sounding pretty bad, and it seems that upon seeing the pilot episode NBC agreed with me. I've followed this story and read a bunch of articles about it and I've looked at comments attached to the articles. No one had much of anything nice to say about it.
Look, the girl was pretty, and she might be a pretty good actress, but she looked either freaked out or constipated whenever she was photographed doing any stunts. The costume was redesigned three times based off the latest Jim lee design which no one really cares for. It doesn't look like Wonder Woman, plain and simple. Word is the script was atrocious. I heard there was a seen with Wonder Woman crying over her ice cream with Etta Candy over the stress of being Wonder Woman and running a business, which wouldn't surprise me one bit since David Kelley was behind this.
This thing didn't have a prayer.
Fans keep bitching and moaning about the lack of a live action Wonder Woman project. I still say be happy with the awesome animated feature from a few years ago. But, if you want to do this right you put Greg Rucka, Gail Simone, and Eric Kripke in a room together, and you let them have it out. Rucka and Simone understand what is great about the character of Wonder Woman and Kripke knows how to make epic TV and still ground it. You let them get the ball rolling. You then find an actress who is athletic, and preferably with a strong background in dance. Dancers perform incredible physical feats while making it look graceful and easy. Wonder Woman is as tough as they come, but she's incredibly graceful. This is important, just as much as having the acting chops to pull off a character who is elegant and caring and very compelling.
This can be done right.
COMIX!!
This week FLASHPOINT #1 came out in which DC let's us all know that Barry Allen is the greatest hero ever and without him the DC Universe would be doomed, but not in a way that made sense like "Chain Lightning". The effects of this story will be felt through out comics everywhere. In fact, Marvel's "Fear Itself" storyline concludes with Barry Allen telling everyone that 'everything will be alright' and then resurrecting Johnny Storm with the power of his awesomeness.
Let's light this candle with BATMAN INCORPORATED #6 in which we discover quite a few things, but foremost is Chris Burnham is one hell of an artist. Love his work here, right down to him drawing Bruce Wayne's eyebrows to suggest little bat wings. These previous issues have been a lot of build up. We've got an idea of what's going on. If you haven't been following but were thinking about maybe trying to jump on this train, this is the issue to do it. I've talked a lot about how Bruce Wayne is structuring this thing and here it all is laid out pretty for us. We also get a good taste of how this organization is going to operate. There's a couple of new members including a mysterious new Wingman who will be Bruce's ace-in-the-hole in the upcoming fight with Leviathan (Its Barry Allen, because Barry Allen is the awesome-est hero ever). This new foe has been creeping me out. He weaponizes children and its revealed that the youngest one is 18 months old. That pushes all the buttons I need to make me want Bruce Wayne to take this guy out. This book is flat out cool.
Moving it on over to R.E.B.E.L.S. #28. This is the book's final issue. They've had a great run. This was definitely a sleeper book which I don't think had a huge following, but everyone who got onboard really dug it. Word is this book got axed to make room for all the FLASHPOINT stuff, because Barry Allen is so awesome that there's just not enough room for all of the existing DC titles and the amount of awesomeness Barry Allen possesses. We get the conclusion of the battle with Starro. There wasn't a ton of loose ends to get wrapped up, so this book is nice and tight. Thank you Tony Bedard, Claude St. Rubin, and the rest of the creative team for a really fun ride.
In RED ROBIN #23, Time is up against assassins who are in competition to kill important people and he's got to stop them before they get to Barry Allen thus depriving the world of his awesomeness. Tim's running a nasty risk trying to get the inside track to take this group on, and its one that Commissioner Gordon and Batman don't quite approve of. Marcus To is back on pencils, and thank goodness for that. The story is pretty good. Tim's walking a fine line, and I'm hoping to see this pay off.
Things are getting thick in BATGIRL #21 as the Reapers send their latest agent, Harmony, on missiony types things which our gal Steph has to stop, which she does with a "huzzah", thus validating me for bringing back "huzzah". She also has to deal with her stalker, The Grey Ghost, who turns from annoying to creepy to jerk. I've enjoyed the dynamic in this book with Steph and Wendy, but its looking like that's coming to an end as Wendy is leaving to go to Nanda Parbat to try heal herself and start a church devoted to the Awesomeness of Barry Allen. This book continues to be consistently entertaining.
BIRDS OF PREY #12 has Jesus Saiz joining Gail Simone in this new storyline, and I'm one happy little nerd. I totally dig Saiz. I loved his stuff on the old CHECKMATE series and hes true to form here. The Birds latest case connects with one of The Questions, so we get a Question/Huntress team-up which is always a blast. We have the Birds working an infiltration, which makes it so fitting that Saiz is onboard with a superhero/espionage angle. I'm going to be honest, this felt like a Greg Rucka book. This is what I think it would be like if Rucka took a turn writing BoP. I mean this as a complete compliment to Gail Simone, as Rucka is in my eyes one of the top espionage story writers working today. I loved this. I loved this so much that I can't even slip a Barry Allen awesomeness line in here.
In HELLBOY: BEING HUMAN, HB and Roger the Homunculus head to South Carolina to investigate a weird grave robbing that takes a nasty twist. Its a nasty case with some bad voodoo involved. Roger is forced into action which he's not very comfortable with. He's not the violent sort. Fortunately, Barry Allen shows up to tell him that everything is alright. This is a fun little one-shot. If you haven't gotten a good, creepy Hellboy fix in a while, then this should be just what you need.
This has been the word of Barry Allen for the people of Barry Allen. Praise be to Barry. Allen.
NOZZ'S FAVORITE SUPERHERO MOVIES: TOP 10!!
Mike Federali wanted to know, so here we go. These are my favorites, and not based of critical reviews or how much money they made. These are also strictly live action movies, because if I start factoring in animated movies this list changes entirely.
10: The Phantom The first hero to wear tights, and purple ones at that! Billy Zane hit the weights like a champ because he refused to wear a padded costume. Same writer as INDIANA JONES AND LAST CRUSADE. Its a family friendly adventure and a great popcorn flick.
9: The Crow This movie pretty much hit cult status upon release. This was going to be Brandon Lee's star maker, but ended up his swan song. Great film with an awesome soundtrack.
8: Spider-man Tobey Maguire and Willam Defoe really brought their a games. While I'm not a big fan of Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane I'm willing to look past that for the many great scenes in this film.
7: Sin City They filmed a comic and did it well. Brilliant cast. Robert Rodriguez brought Frank miller's comic to the big screen in a way no one was really ready for. This was the big comeback for Mickey Rourke and he played Marv to the hilt.
6: Ironman 2 Speaking of Rourke, notice how the first Ironman flick ain't here? Its because Mickey Rourke drove this film like a champ. Robert Downey Jr. did his thing, but the rest of the cast were just as stellar.
5: Hellboy If you want to talk about great casting, Ron Perlman as Hellboy is spot on. This movie is a blast. Del Toro brought us right into the Hellboy world and mythos without a cop out or apology.
4: Batman Begins This is the best Batman film to date. Christian Bale is a great Bruce Wayne. And just when things got too heavy you have Michael Caine with every bit of charm you'd expect from Alfred Pennyworth. That's exactly what was missing from THE DARK KNIGHT: charm.
3: 300 No prisoners! No Mercy! This movie kicks ass on a primal level. They expanded on the comic quite a bit, but it was done so very well. This movie is one to watch when you need to get fired up to do what you've got to do.
2: Spider-man 2 Alfred Molina was remarkable here. Tobey Maguire again played an excellent Peter Parker. The train fight was remarkable. We really felt horrible for poor old Spidey making cheering him on as he saves the day that much more satisfying.
1: Thor That's right, I'm going there. Like I said when I reviewed it, this movie was a blast. Just a whole lot of fun. Good action. Funny as hell in parts. And it had a very solid plot and story. Top notch work and wasn't afraid to pull us straight into a fantasy world which it showed off gloriously.
MUSIC!!
Been a bit stressed this week. Missing Friday's post due to technical problems didn't help. Still, when you feel down, and Barry Allen is busy saving the world, there's only one thing to do.
That's my load for today. No numbers jump after the Pocoyopocalypse, but I'm keeping an eye on it. I'll see y'all Wednesday. My Barry Allen bless you and keep you.
Worlds collide! Its Friday, May 6, 2011, everything is connected, except for my TV to cable, and this is The Side. Every so often you have something that crosses pop culture boundaries. Other time time you have those boundaries obliterated what everything just monkey piles onto something. For a long time manga and western comics have had a firm divide that has been crossed tentatively by creators with mixed reviews from readers and often raves from weeaboos.
But now we have an brave author standing proudly to destroy this divide. Gail Simone has married East and West into one comic!
COMIX!!
It is Secret Six week this week, meaning that the only comic out on the shelves in the known universe is SECRET SIX #33 ,and a bunch of other stuff that I don't read. So, the Secret Six are still where we left them last time: in Hell. I mean really Hell, I'm not making fun of Topeka, Kansas this time. Yep, Hell. And many of the residents seems to look like something from the SILENT HILL video games. Maybe with the splash of RESIDENT EVIL in there somewhere. Bane was kinda looking like the Tyrant from RE in his "Hell Costume". That's right, surviving the first level of Hell unlocks new outfits for your characters. Usually you have to beat Hell and then replay Hell for that option, but Gail Simone is a living, breathing cheat code. The team is in Hell because Ragdoll got the "Get out of Hell free" card and then kinda died. I'm not kidding about that part, there really is a card involved. We get to see some of the team's previous members who had a bad case of getting killed. Catman has a family reunion. There's big fights and such. The team each experiences a taste of personal torment. So, as you can surmise, its a kid's comic that you'll be able to find in between BETTY AND VERONICA and TINY TITANS. It is a good issue. Not loving the art, but Gail Simone's writing keeps me on board month after month, especially with good old King Shark.
THINGS TO KNOW!
If you haven't been reading SECRET SIX, and shame on you if you haven't, there's a few things you need to know about their newest team member.
* You have to have your Prince Guppy hold a King's Rock and trade it to get it to evolve into a King Shark.
* If you breed your King Shark even the egg knows Bite.
* As a water/fighting type it is strong again fire, bug, normal, and rock types but surprisingly resistant to psychic types to due low IQ.
* King Shark's version of Hydro Pump is rated "M" for Mature.
* If you don't have all of your trainer badges and attempt to use King Shark in your party it will chew your arm off.
* You can't find King Shark in any of the Pokémon games, but it can certainly find you.
* Giving King Shark Protein items will raise its stats, but not its happiness level as King Shark prefers its protein to be still twitching when it eats it.
* If you try to teach King Shark a move from a TM or a HM you'll likely receive a FU.
* If you are trying to catch them all, but feel like skipping King Shark, no one will really blame you.
MUSIC!!
Sometimes you have a song playing in the back of your mind and you're barely aware of your life's soundtrack being played. Then you're sitting at the end of the day and you get get the volume turned up on your personal cosmic stereo.
That's it for today. If you're on Twitter, please comment at #kingsharkisapokemon with all your King Shark love. Gail Simone will totally approve. Totally.
Hello, Sinners! Its Friday, April 8, 2011, my soul is black, but that's from the spray paint, and this is The Side. Not as much stuff I'd like today as i was without internet for a good portion of yesterday. Of course it comes back on the instant we called tech support. The internet is a wily thing.
But its back now and has informed me that George Lucas's daughter has an MMA fight this weekend. This is the first that I'd heard that she did mixed martial arts, but when your daddy creates and then craps all over one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises of all time I figure you've got to learn to fight and quick.
The creation of Jar Jar Binks alone must have lead plenty of knuckles being thrown.
COMIX!!!
SECRET SIX #32 takes us straight to Hell where we find Ragdoll leading an infernal army. Its the Secret Six versus the Secret Six-Sixty-Six, although with that many demons it would be kinda hard to keep them a secret. Ragdoll has indeed been made a prince in Hell after its revealed that he has no soul, which I find hard to believe because I understand he plays the blues better than any other bandy villain. The rest of the team have gone after him to pull him out only to discover that he doesn't want to leave. Scandal is after the "get Out of Hell Free' card from an earlier story arc so she can rescue her deceased lover, Knockout. It wouldn't be SECRET SIX without members turning on each other and bloody battles ensuing. Deftly written by Gail Simone this story is one that just as you've think you've got everything in place on your mental chessboard you realize not all the pieces are there yet. Well worth the read.
THE LEGEND OF WILL POWER #1 is the latest offering from Primal Paper, and is created by Vince White. The story involves time travel, mad science experiments going wrong, and the highest achievement of man (as according to Al Bundy) high school football. The story has a very Marvel Silver Age feel to it. Its the kind of concept I would expect to come from Stan Lee with the young athlete whose father just happens to be a brilliant scientist and inventor. It does have an interesting twist in that young Will doesn't receive superpowers instead the world around him is weakened. Everything has become less dense, which of course sends my science brain into a tizzy figuring effects concerning gravity and the like. I'm sure this'll all be delved into later. The writing is good with enough interesting twists here and there to make me want to keep reading. White cracks open enough doors that I want to peek in and see what's really going on. His stylized art gives the story plenty of character. All and all, this was a very enjoyable first issue.
MUSIC!!!
Do the arm chop! DO IT!!!
That's the whole ball of infernal wax for today. I'm going to go watch a bunch of SUPERNATERAL episodes, just to calm my nerves. See y'all Sunday.
It is the Tango of DEATH! Its Friday, March 11, 2011, I still can't dance, and this is The Side. I've been talking a bit about the Wisconsin protesters. The bill they were protesting limiting the collective bargaining rights of public sector unions got passed despite a lot of idiocy. There was a major brouhaha and a lot of morons were pissed. Michael Moore called for students to do a walk out, which of course would mean even less work for the teachers would actually cared enough about their jobs and students to keep doing their jobs.
So what will this all mean?
These teachers and other union workers will continue getting the same pay they were getting before. They'll still have their pensions. They'll still have their benefits. That is if they still have jobs, because I know I wouldn't if I fucked off for a couple weeks. But they are still union workers, so they probably can't be fired.
They all yelled as they protested "This is what Democracy looks like!" Once they stormed the capitol building in Madison. Makes me glad we're a Representative Republic. Anyone care to imagine what the news coverage would be like if it were the Tea Party pulling this nonsense?
Ah well, on to happier things.
FILLION IS BETTER THAN SHEEN: THE TOP 10!!!
Sure, Charlie Sheen is winning, but there's someone who is winning even more and without even trying. That is of course the greatest living dude and one ruggedly handsome sum'bitch: Nathan Fillion! Why is he winning more than the tiger blood fueled stud of studs? Glad ya asked!
10: My kids' top three favorite superheroes? Ironman, Batman, and Captain Hammer.
8: When the police approach Nathan Fillion its either to get his autograph, or ask him to help fight crime.
7: While Charlie Sheen is praying for the possibility of a MAJOR LEAGUE sequel, everyone else is praying for a SERENITY sequel.
6: Charlie Sheen may have a million more Twitter followers than Nathan Fillion, but none of Nathan Fillion's followers are just there waiting for him to self destruct.
5: Charlie Sheen's co-star: Jon Cryer. Nathan Fillion's co-star: Stana Katic. No contest. Sorry Jon.
4: When a girl fantasizes about Nathan Fillion when in bed with her fella that's perfectly acceptable. When a girl fantasizes about Charlie Sheen while in bed with her fella he may catch something he can't wash off.
3: The last time anyone called Charlie Sheen "Captain" he had to pay her for it, and he probably didn't remember the next morning.
2: Charlie Sheen may have Adonis DNA, but Adonis has Nathan Fillion DNA.
And the top reason why Nathan Fillion is more winning than Charlie Sheen...
1: CBS just signed Nathan Fillion to star in their new show "2 3/4 Dudes". The three quarters is Nathan Fillion's penis.
COMICS!!
If you didn't think I was going to start off with BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 this week, you're obviously new here, so welcome aboard. Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette take the action to Argentina this time for a team-up with El Gaucho. Bruce is hoping to get his old friend to join his worldwide organization, and teams up with him on a case. What really knocks my socks off is that in the last storyline we had a distinctive Japanese feel to things as Batman and Catwoman went to Japan. This time around we have the same creative team giving us a story with all the fiery heat I would expect in a "Scorpion Tango". We see a lot of parallels between Batman and El Gaucho and get just a glimpse of El Gaucho's life, and its enough to make me want to see a series about him. The highlight was Bruce's tango with Tristessa. Gorgeously drawn. I'm digging this grown up Bruce Wayne. He's not the preptime bad ass of fanboydom. This guy is a freakin' stud.
The batiness doesn't stop there. BATMAN AND ROBIN #21 continue Dick and Damian's case with a weird religious themed murderer. The White Knight is revealed and this new addition to the Batman rogues gallery is just creepy. He's methodical in picking his targets as well as in how he leaves his victims. This is a great storyline, which I expected of Tomasi. He's got the character chemistry down and has given us a case that we can sink our teeth into. Top notch stuff.
Was that all the Bat-stuff this week? Not a chance! BATGIRL #19 pits Steph against new foe, Slipstream. This story is actually a follow up to the events of the "Death of Oracle" storyline and ties in nicely to the Batman Incorporated brand. There's a bit of a new status quo emerging, with Steph getting online backup more from Proxy. Firewall also gets a major upgrade. This is a solid little story with Steph not only trying to track down and take down the new high speed thief, but also dealing with her fanboy Clance, AKA the new Grey Ghost. I really don't like Clancy, but that's on me as the old "Grey Ghost" episode of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES is one of my favorite episodes. Its nice to see the Grey Ghost in the DCU, but I'm a little ticked he's such a goof. Still, its another great issue from this really fun series.
Oh hey, about that whole "Death of Oracle" thingie, BIRDS OF PREY #10 wraps up that storyline. Gail Simone knocks it straight out of the park. I just wish that the series would get a solid artist. Since the departure of the overly exploitative Ed Benes, the art has been serviceable, but not terribly exciting. Fortunately Simone keeps our attention with some of the best writing in comics. This issue sets up the new status quo that I mentioned in Batgirl with the Birds taking on the Calculator and his hired thugs after the seeming death of Barbara Gordon. This story is a nice little reminder that these ladies aren't to be trifled with, ever. Black Canary and Huntress are utter forces of nature.
Rounding out my reads this week is ZATANNA #10 which isn't a bat-book, but is written by Paul Dini, so it still sorta counts right? This book is a bit of a sleeper. The Missus loves this title. We've seen Zatanna for years playing off the Justice League and aiding other heroes when magic cases pop up. This series gives us a better idea of Zee's heritage and the baggage that comes with it. This issue is very creepy in often a very subtle way. Is the man transformed into a puppet by Zatara really innocent? Zee takes him to her family's ancestrial home to find the answers. Its a big mistake, but one that is gorgeously illustrated by Chiff Chiang.
MUSIC!!
What was hilarious was this song hit right after "Learn to Fly" and bunch of people thought the Foo Fighters were just a nice little pop band. Suckers.
That's it for today. Sunday may be a tad light as there's two little girls who are turning four and there's a Tinkerbell themed party that I shall be smack in the middle of. Pray for me.
Tick Tock. Its Friday, March 4 2011, spell check doesn't recognize the word "tock", and this is The Side. This week is rushed. Time is working against me. Its already Friday and the entire week has been a blur. It seems like I'm always on the move, either going to work, or from work to Karate, or rushing home so the Missus can make it to a meeting or class, or trying to figure out how I'm going to fit errands into this.
All that rushing and staying busy has mead the week fly by and I'm heading into another weekend. That's good right? Not really. I'm not terribly comfortable with time seeming to pass so rapidly. It makes me feel like I'm going to blink and end up old. I type the dates of these blog posts and wonder how march got here so quickly. OH CRAP, only a couple weeks away from the Petersburg Open! Will I be ready?
It all goes by so fast. All the more reason to try to fit in something you enjoy.
COMIX!!
Only had one book waiting for me this week, fortunately it was Secret Six #31. This kicks off a storyline in which a lot of things are looking to come to a head. This team has gone through a few members. In the VILLAINS UNITED series that introduced them they lost the Fiddler and a Parademon that that had broken ranks from the Apokalypse crowd and come to earth. Later during the stupidity that was COUNTDOWN the Infinity man was going around killing New Gods, and Secret Six member Knockout was one of the victims. The COUNTDOWN event was supposed to tie into Morrison's FINAL CRISIS, but did so horribly. Morrison had his idea and the lead in tried to give detail to something we really didn't need details to. There was a war of the new Gods, and many of them perished and were reborn in people of Earth. That's all we needed to know, but unfortunately we Knockout getting killed away from this war where characters are being reborn in others, so it seems she is in Hell.
Guess who has a Get Out of Hell Free card.
That card was the main point of the first storyline of the current series. Scandal Savage had, unknown to the others, and when she has a dream that seems to be message from her deceased love, Knockout, she wants to use the card to free her. Unfortunately another member wants to use it to bring back his lost friend. Team members fight amongst themselves (they typically do), but this time one of them kills another. And they have the card. So the rest of the team is going to Hell. Well, they were all probably going there anyways, but they're taking the express route. Also Scandal's current girlfriend is kidnapped from the strip club she works at.
Now, there's a lot going on here, but I'm looking for a wrinkle. Gail Simone is a brilliant writer, and has spun great stuff out the crap that has been handed her. The new Gods were reborn in humans their spirits landing in them and eventually taking them over, and a part of me had wondered what if Knockout had been reborn in Liana and she just hasn't taken her over. What if this dream message is all a trap with nothing to do with Knockout? I like Liana. She's a fun little side character, and it would be a fun twist to play with in this story. But we'll have to wait and see for now.
MUSIC!!
For the record, I've got nobody where I want anybody, so this song choice is kinda ironic.
OK, time is up for today. I know it was a short one, but I had a lack of comics and time was working against me. Happens to everyone sometimes. Here's hoping to slow things down this weekend and hope y'all can do the same. See y'all Sunday.
Where's the coffee? Its Friday, February 4, 2011, I am freaking exhausted, and this is The Side. The exhaustion in question comes from a lack of decent sleep. Its not that I've been staying up to all hours of the night. I do still get up at six every morning. The thing that has me so exhausted is really weirdo nightmares.
So I'm at this big old house which seems really out of place because its in the middle of the suburbs. There's markings on the floor and salt on the window sills, and I know that there's a demon that's going to come and get me at midnight. OK, so obviously I'm in a SUPERNATURAL setting, which is weird because I haven't seen the show in weeks. But do I have Sam and Dean Winchester to back me up? Of course not. I have J.D. and Turk from SCRUBS. Not the most reliable help when you're being hunted by a demon.
And for some reason Felicia Day showed up, and was being hunted by the same demon. Now, I've got no problems with Felicia Day showing up anywhere, much less my dreams. Still, if she's gonna show up, why does it have to be a life threatening event that doesn't involve shoulder rubs? Stoopid dream.
So after some panic and running around trying to figure out how not to be killed by a demon we actually spot the thing and it turns out to be The Demon. That's right, Etrigan was just waiting to roast my sorry ass. And as more running about and panicking ensued, midnight struck and i was trying desparately to figure out how not to get roasted, but really it wasn't midnight, it was six in the morning and the alarm went off.
That's not the way you want to start your day. I have to wonder what those dumbass hippy dream interpreters would glean from that one. Probably that I watch too much TV and read too many comic books.
Nah. That couldn't be it.
COMIX!!
Getting the ball rolling we've got SECRET SIX #30. Fresh off a crossover with ACTION COMICS we've got a crossover with DOOM PATROL. Them there Secret Six. They do get around. The WTFery of this issue was enough to keep me reading. A slack ass kid gets an inheritance from his grandfather and decides to reform a Ratpack style super villain team. And he gets his buddies to go along with it because there's girls involved. We also learn that getting your leg bitten off is sometimes not that big a deal. Sure its annoying, but if the eventually grow back then there's really not much need to panic. Speaking of education, we learn this month about strippers. Strippers are like 90s fanboys in that they think Bane is awesome. And Bane is pretty awesome, but not on the drooling level expressed by 90s fanboys and strippers. And finally this issue has inspired me get some smut mags, get a hold of my buddy (now known as Lord Thunderclap the Magnificent), and then go to the pier to see if I can catch anything while fishing with smut mags.
Oh yeah, and there was this thing with a volcano.
Let's move it on over to HELLBOY: THE SLEEPING AND THE DEAD #2. This wraps up a nasty little yarn in which Hellboy takes on vampires. Scott Hampton handles the artwork, and its really stellar stuff. Too often we see these portrayals of vampires as these sympathetic (and often sparkly) characters. Its nice that Mignola is reminding us here that they're really a bunch of nasty undead bastards. With all the action going on we see some really creepy stuff. Vampires preying on little girls. Spirits out for gruesome revenge. This book is a lot of fun, and that's good, because there's some messed up stuff going on in here. Great read.
I set up camp in Mignola land this week and rounding out my reads was SIR EDWARD GREY: WITCHFINDER #1. This is a well paced opener to the series. Sir Edward finds himself on the job in the Old West. On the surface this story seems like just a tale of an Englishman in a lawless western town. It was more like a JONAH HEX story. But there's these little details letting us now that there's a lot more to that nasty little town than it seems. A lot of it is explained late in the issue. This is the first time I've really taken a good look at the character. I'm definitely on board for this series.
MUSIC!!
Damnedest thing. I heard this tune on the radio for the first time in ages, then i come to find out last night that they've officially broken up.
That's the whole shebang for today. UFC night it tomorrow, followed by Super Bowl Sunday. There goes my diet.
Gooooooz fra ba! Its Friday, January 14, 2011, I'm decompressing, and this is The Side. You might be saying, "But Uncy Nozz, what about that horrible old bastard we all know who is currently pissed off at the world?" He's still here, but in a better mood. The general public has come to grips with the fact that last weeks shooting was the horrible act of one disturbed guy despite attempts to make it look like the fault of conservatives. It makes me feel better about people and the internet. The spin didn't work because of what this nutter had put online, and people who knew this guy backed it. Often the truth loses to the spin, but not this time.
There's been other things making me feel better too.
MY TOWN IS AWESOME
A little girl's microphone cut out while she was singing the National Anthem at a local hockey game. Potentially very embarrassing for her. Fortunately, we know our anthem well in this town.
COMIX!!
This has been a confusing week for many. The DC Covers look great, but they are making it a bit tricky to get books pulled. Still, I think i got about everything.
Let's lead off with BATGIRL #17. This book has really hit its stride and is a lot of fun to read. Sheph teams up with Damien, the kids we all hate and love to hate, to stop some kidnappers. There's a long history of Batgirls and Robins teaming up, but this is certainly a new dynamic. They can barely tolerate each other, but they work so well together. This is a great little stand alone issue, so if you're someone who digs current Batman stuffs, but haven't given this title a shot, grab it and say Damien made you do it. You can thank the pair of us later.
Sticking in the Bat-zone for now, we've got BATMAN AND ROBIN #19 and while this is a really solid story from Paul Cornell it has gotten a lot less fun with each issue. A lot is made of the impact Bruce Wayne has made in the lives of those around him and that impact is considered questionable. There's a nice twist on the character of Absence as she proves to be a lot more interesting than your typical Gotham nutter. What I don't like is how behind the eightball Dick and Damien seem to be the entirety of the story. It seems like they've spent the majority of this story being held hostage. Similarly Cornell's KNIGHT AND SQUIRE #4 was also a lot less fun than previously. That Shrike kid really rubbed me the wrong way to the point that I couldn't enjoy this comic and all the stuff going on with Cyril dealing with his armor and his past for the fact that I really hate that kid. Why he didn't get his ass kicked after his outburst is beyond me.
RED ROBIN #19 is a bit weird. For a while we've known about something called the "Unternet". Morrison introduced the idea in FINAL CRISIS as an evil internet that super villains use. Tim Drake has been looking to bust it up, but we finally see what the Unternet actually is and it seems to be DC's new online game if the villains all won. Their consciousnesses all plug into it and it somehow makes you more evil. Not what I was expecting, and pretty weird but despite it being an off kilter concept Fabian Nicieza navigates us through it pretty painlessly. Its not a bad concept, and I can see it getting used in interesting ways later in this and other series.
BIRDS OF PREY #8 continues the "Death of Oracle" storyline, but surprisingly we haven't found her back at the dawn of time yet. Ah well. The Calculator is looking to do away with oracle once and for all... again. We have a big fight in strip club. Batman is there, but doesn't steal the book, which is nice. This story seems to be setting the stage for the role oracle and the Birds will be playing with the Batman Incorporated storyline. That's not me saying that you have to pick up this book to keep up with what's going on with the bat-titles. Franky, you should be picking up this book because Gail Simone kicks ass on it.
Speaking of Gail Simone, SECRET SIX #29 wraps up the crossover from ACTION COMICS in which everybody dies horribly in an explosion. Or at least Ragdoll hopes everybody dies horribly in an explosion. Glad to see that Robo-Lois can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. That sounds dirtier than it actually is considering Lex's relationship with Robo-Lois. It seemed at the beginning of this book that the Six were taking a bit of a backseat in their own book as the Lex Luthor/Vandal Savage feud continued, but by the end of it our favorite dysfunctional villains are back at center stage as we learn more about Scandal's relationship with her father.
R.E.B.E.L.S. #24 is a build up issue. We get a bit of quality time with Adam Strange at home with his family. Vril Dox has a date with Blackfire. Captain Comet is ticked that Starfire is using him for sex because he's really likes her. But before you write this issue off as skippable Starro the Conqueror is back and looking to regain his previous power. Tall order when your first target is Lobo. I've said repeatedly that this title is rock solid and really should be getting more reader-love. This issue is a solid jump on point, so if you haven't checked it out yet and dig space heroes doing space hero-y things check it.
Wrapping things up with WONDER GIRL #1 FROM J.T. Krul and Adriana Melo. I've been a fan of the character since her days in YOUNG JUSTICE. Krul is looking to give the TEEN TITANS book a boost and this issue put a nice spotlight and Cassie as well as features new hero Solstice. They're up against Lady Zand who I haven't seen in a book for quite a while, but really doesn't like Wonder Girl. They do have a history going all the way back to YOUNG JUSTICE so its nice to see the nod to that great title. It also sets Lady Zand up as Wonder Girl villain which she's been lacking a bit in the rogues department so that's cool. I wasn't terribly sure about how the relatioship between Cassie and her mother was depicted, but we haven't seen much of her mother in quite a while and with everything Cassie has been going through its almost seemed like her mother as a forgotten character. Fortunately, she's back and her reaction to the life that her daughter has chosen for herself comes across believably. So, high marks from me on this book.
MUSIC!!
Some bands suck live. Fortunately Jimmy Eat World isn't one of them.
On to the weekend where fun and adventure are waiting. No really. It is. See y'all Sunday.
It's Friday, December 3, 2010, I'm climbing the corporate ladder, and this is The Side.
For months I've been working diligently at this here new job with the combat training, fast driving, bomb diffusion, alligator wrestling, and chemistry classes. And it seems the big boss has taken a notice, even if he's off to Japan with his ladyfriend recruiting new assets.
I get a nifty letter in my inbox, personally signed by Mister Wayne, saying how happy he's been with the work I've been doing and progress I'm making. It also names me Batman Inc.'s first employee of the month. I'm obviously honored that Mister Wayne would take note of my work, and he's obviously looked past me impersonating him at Chik-fil-A.
This is a great step up from my previous job. Determining "employee of the month" had an entirely didn't criteria there. You probably don't want to know about that.
COMIX!!
Let's kick this off with SECRET SIX #28. Gail Simone wraps up her "Secret Six versus Secret Six and Jungle Land" storyline with massive carnage and a giant snake thingie. I've enjoyed this storyline a bit because its brought some characters to the table that needed some attention. The roster expanded a bit which may be a tad awkward, but I'm confident Simone can make it work. My favorite part was at the end. Gail Simone had a great run on the comic THE ALL NEW ATOM which I loved, but have somewhat mentally blocked out because of how horribly the title and character got treated after Simone left the book. It was pretty deplorable. But two prominent characters from the series, Gianta and Dwarf Star, have popped up in the expanded Six roster. At first I just figured that this was a good excuse for Simone to use the characters. Then came the ending of this issue. I think Ms. Simone had a bit of steam that needed venting, and that bit made this book my read of the read.
ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #13 hit this week penned by Paul Cornell. It was just two days ago that it was a big ol Cornell love fest up in here. Obviously I was looking forward to this issue. Unfortunately, I felt a little let down. The issue delved a lot into the history of Lex Luthor. Seems that history had a lot to do with Darkseid and Ra's Al Ghul. I get that Cornell is painting a portrait of Luthor as exciting and interesting long before Superman came on the scene, but I wasn't really digging this twist on his history. I loved the idea of Luthor showing up in metropolis with hardly any money, but determined to stay in nice places that he was confident he would be able to afford given a day. Then things twist a bit and the Darkseid stuff gets brought in, and as much as I dig Darkseid as a villain, the whole thing felt off somehow. Not a bad comic, but I didn't really dig it.
Finally we have BATWOMAN #0. I like this character. I love what Greg Rucka did with her in his run with the character in DETECTIVE COMICS. However, Rucka isn't on this book and his absence is sorely felt. Artistically the book is interesting splitting the art between J.H. Williams III and Amy Reeder. I prefer Reeder's art personally. Lovely stuff. The writing is alright but I have a serious gripe with it that's entirely personal. The story revolves around Batman investigating Batwoman to access her fighting skills in one story segment and verifying her secret identity with another. My gripe is entirely martial arts related. During the fight accessment Bruce notes "But she's only using three different fighting styles." I hate that crap. "Only" using three? Three is a lot actually. Claiming a character has mastered tons of different martial arts is just silly. It takes a lot of time to properly train in different martial arts, so three is actually a good number to versed in, just ask any competitive mixed martial artist. Then the more ridiculous bit that came later. "The move she uses doesn't exist in any fighting styles I've studied. It's something she invented herself." I'm sure if I was a lot more ignorant of hand-to-hand combat that would sound cool, but this just has me thinking "Wow, I figure Batman would have at least heard of Capoiera." Note to everyone, there are no knew moves or techniques. Every way a person can hurt another person hand-to-hand has been done, most likely in multiple styles from various places around the globe. So for me, the book looks very pretty, but the writing was kinda lame duck. I'll probably grab the first proper issue of the book just to give it a fair shake, but I'm not terribly optimistic about it.
First off, these two college students could make it work, and yet me and my buddies were making these things when we were barely in high school.
Second is the group of their friends who have rallied around them and have condemned the neighbor who called the police. One claims the neighbor ruined these guys' lives, but the neighbor didn't force them to attempt to make bombs now did she? What I love is the dopes who have insinuated that since that area is known as a "party area" that the lady shouldn't have moves there. OK. I know its been a while since I went to college, but in these "party "areas" stuff usually didn't blow up, and guys weren't making bombs. There's also the college is where you're supposed to learn about stuff excuse. Pretty sure I learned not to try to blow stuff up in residential areas long before I got to college. Then there's the "they were only using household chemicals" bit. You can do a lot with household chemicals. I'm not going into details, because I'm not going to be giving you people any ideas. I'm on to you.
Next up is the excuses from the suspects. First was that it was for a class project. Please tell me what teacher had an assignment that could in any way be construed as "you are to attempt to blow shit up in your back yard", because I'm totally signing up for his class. Next was that it was for a video project. That's so weak, and made even weaker in that the police found no video equipment in the apartment. Tsk. If you're going to blow shit up, you're going to want to have your story for the police ready and airtight ahead of time. Just sayin'.
And finally, I know I said I made these things successfully in high school. However, I didn't do it in a residential area. We were out in the woods far away from anybody and anything, so the only lunatics at risk were us. I certainly didn't do it in a city that hosts the largest military base and top strategic target on the east coast, and I certainly did not do it during a war against terrorists who like using improvised explosive devices. 9-11 brought an end to my bomb making days.
So these goofs are facing federal charges and possibly jail time due to world class stupidity. I am looking forward to the addition in the student handbook saying that students are not to attempt to make bombs. You'd think it would be common sense, but that seems to running in short supply.
MYTHBUSTERS?
Nothing sucks more than a militant atheist. Right on cue with Christmas coming up we get this crap. We're constantly told how we're supposed to be tolerant of other cultures and religions. That's cool, and we should be. However these atheists, who supposedly value reason, seem to think that this doesn't apply to them. So they take to attention whoring this time of year with crap like this. I suppose their propped up airs of superiority just can't stand that someone has something to believe in and celebrate, so they just have to try to tear it down to make themselves feel better. Funny thing is, typically when they go on bashing religion, usually Christianity because you can get away with it, one of their biggest gripes is how intolerant religious people are. You can actually smell the hypocrisy.
CULTURE CLUB!!
Mark Waid caught a bit of heat for a speech he gave at the Harvey Awards a while back. The gist of it was that what comic makers add to culture is more important than copyrights. So basically its contributing to art and culture versus making money. Now this upset some people because really times are tough and there a lot of guys and gals out there who work hard and want to be justly compensated for their work. There's a valid point to both sides and there really does need to be a balance found in this somewhere.
Vito Delsante seems to have found it. In the month of December you can use any character that Delsante has created in your work for free as long as you do it properly and give him the credit for creating the character. All the details on this are in the link. This is a brilliant move. First off it allows fresh talent to have a stab at his works to bring new and interesting things to the table. Also, it gets Delsante's own works out there even more thus making them more recognizable and that will benefit him later.
Brilliant idea. Wish I thought of it. Kudos, Mister Delsante.
MUSIC!!
Winter is coming fast, and this song is just awesome.
That's the shooting match. See y'all Sunday. Don't get any on ya.
Its Friday, October 6, 2010, my hair is a mess, and this is the Side.
First off, 24 Hour Comic Day was last weekend. That's when creators produce 24 pages of comic in as many hours. Our good friend, loyal supporter, and all-around awesome gal Kat Hogan participated. Her project can be seen here. Go there. Enjoy. Don't worry, I'll wait.
Done?
OK, let's go.
IT'S HEADED RIGHT FOR US!!!
George Lucus announced last week that he has no more ideas in his head at all but still wants your monies. Translation: he's releasing the STAR WARS movies in theaters in 3D. This of course is great news for the dozen or so people who think 3D is awesome and this announcement makes their lives complete. The rest of the population rolled our eyes and asked "Really?"
Because its not like George hasn't messed with the franchise enough. Sure he created it, and the orginal films are awesome. Then he turned around and released the movies and updated some of the special effects. Alright, we're OK with that as long as everyone is clear that Han shot first. After that off course came the prequels, which really weren't that good at all, but we still watched them because we're a bunch of lemming nerds. We dealt with it though because "Phantom Menace" had Darth Maul, and "Send in the Clones" had Yoda kicking ass, and "Revenge of the Sith" had... had...
OK, "Revenge of the Sith" completely sucked.
But soon you'll be able to see it suck in 3D!
They're planning on rolling out "Phantom Menace" in 2012 as the Mayans predicted.
Probably by that time everyone will be completely fed up with 3D and just sit home and watch their pirated DVDs of the original trilogy. Y'know, I'm against stealing content, I really am, BUT I've watched the movies, I've watched the releases, my parents bought me a ton of the toys when i was a kid. I even got the Boba Fett action figure in the mail before "Empire Strikes Back" came out and nobody knew who this guy was or what he did, but HOT DAMN did he look cool! And I'm definitely anti-entitlement, however, for all the hard earned money that I and my parents have spent on STAR WARS I should be able to watch the version I want on the format I want.
So, I want a DVD without Hayden freaking Christianson photoshopped into the final scene of "Jedi".
That's not too much to ask.
So Mister Lucus, with all due respect, F'N QUIT IT!!! Quit screwing with the movies I love. Do something new or just enjoy retirement.
BATTLEGROUND: TEH INTARWUB!!
Cyber-bullying seems to be on the rise. This is when someone picks on someone else online. This is made much easier by social networking sites, but its absolutely not their faults. They do what they can to crack down on these sorts of things. Parents are very worried, but don't seem to be worried enough to keep their kids offline.
NEWSFLASH: There's more to the internet than Facebook.
There are a lot of websites that are very well moderated geared towards young people. And you create your own user name so unless you tell people who you really are, then they won't know. When you put yourself out there online, whether you are a child or an adult, you put a target on yourself. That target is not only for criminals and weirdos, but for anyone who doesn't like you. So if you're going to go online, you either need to know how to keep your online privacy secure, or grow a really thick skin.
And then there's the claim of this won't stop what people say behind your back. Look, this is nothing new. Waaaaaaaay, back when I was in school before such inventions as the internet existed people would still say things behind other peoples back. I'm pretty damn sure Thomas Edison created the telephone just so he could talk shit about people behind their backs, because tapping out how stupid someone is in morse code is a pain in the ass. And certainly people talked about me behind my back. I was a skinny kid with braces who read a ton comic books and made great grades. No one lifted a finger against me and no one could say anything that I hadn't heard a million times before. Being able to throw a spiral, hit a softball a country mile, and people not being sure whether or not I was a black belt in Karate didn't hurt either.
Bottom line: there are people on and offline who suck and will target anyone if they think they can get away with it to make themselves fell better. You can't hide from them forever and you mommy won't always be around to deal with them. Learn to deal. Either ignore it, report it, or get ready to get your hands dirty.
COMIC SPECULATION!!
I really don't spend a lot of time on Twitter but when i do things just jump out at me. Like this from Gail Simone for example:
Even people who haven't been reading BOP are gonna want to pick up the DEATH OF ORACLE storyline. Just saying.
Now this may cause some people to worry quite a bit as oracle is a very beloved character, however I can tell you not to worry as my sources have ferreted out the truth. I say this because my sources are actual ferrets.
Oracle will not actually be dying because Oracle can never die. Instead Barbara Gordon will be sent back in time to sit in an ancient clock tower for a while. In the meantime the "Battle for the Comp" mini-series written and illustrated by Ed Benes will be launch to determine who will be the new Oracle. The new oracle will be Wendy Harris and working along side her as the new Proxy will be the daughter Barbara Gordon never knew she had, but it'll make for an interesting dynamic since the younger Gordon was raised Mark Zuckerburg and is evil, sorta.
A mysterious force will begin bouncing Barbara through history where she'll found Microsoft, invent the telegraph, as well as develop the Dewey Decimal System.
This is going to be great!
MOVIE SPECULATION!!
They've decided on a director for the upcoming Superman movie: Zack Snyder. Nolan and Goyer are still producing and writing the project. I'm still not sure about this project. On Nolan's end, I loved BATMAN BEGINS but hated THE DARK KNIGHT. With Snyder I loved 300 and that's the only movie of his I have to go on. I did not see WATCHMEN because I did not particularly enjoy the comic and had no urge to go see the a movie based on a comic that I didn't enjoy. Still I've seen some clips of it.
I don't know how well Snyder's stylized approach will work with the property, but I've got a bit of confidence that he'll do something pleasing. Its Nolan I'm worried about. Nothing this guy has made gives me a feeling that he'd be a good fit helming the Superman project. All of his movies that I've seen are visually appealing, but are pretty dark affairs. That's not the sensibility I'm comfortable with when looking at a character like Superman. Of course he could really surprise me and make a great and inspiring piece.
So, we've got another time will tell situation. I'm really hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!
A company is getting closer to making a commercial jetpack. This is good because the one I've been building from the kit I order from the back of that old AVENGERS comic isn't looking to promising. Really this thing isn't a "jetpack" so much as an "enginepack", however "jetpack" sounds much much cooler.
Of course you'll probably need a license for the thing and have to file flight plans to use it, oh, and there's of course the fact that most of use will never be able to afford it. Kinda takes the shiny off a little bit.
I'll probably never be in a position to be able to afford on of those things. Still, if I'm sitting around being old and crotchety, waving my cane at the neighborhood kids and telling them to stay the hell off my lawn, and I look up to randomly see someone someone streaking across the sky with their jetpack...
Bah. I'll probably be all bitter and pissed off that I didn't have one too.
Odds are this won't get too far with the public. There's probably be some outcry that its not environmentally friendly because *GASP* is runs on gasoline. Freaking hippies expect us the fly using fairy dust, and that's not going to happen because the same hippies will get torqued off because we'd be exploiting the fairies' natural resources.
MUSIC!!
I'm feeling like some punk this week. And not that crap that they try to pass off as punk nowadays on the radio.
Wow, that was a lot of stuff. Alrighty, I'll see y'all on Friday. I'm going to go build a fence now.
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."
Good morning class, it is Wednesday, June 30, 2010 and in the S M T W T F S daily abbreviations you will notice that we are entering yet again the WTF portion of the week.
BATTLEGROUND: SCANS DAILY
BIRDS OF PREY #2 came out a little while back and I didn't pick it up. The shop was out so i didn't see it and I'm a little on the fence about the book. I love Gail Simone's writing. I absolutely adore it. However, I really don't like Ed Benes artwork. However, Linda tipped me off as to the big controversy around the issue. Two of the supporting cast died. Well, there's a big problem here, because one of them was gay and in grief for the murder of the man he loved and swore to protect, took his own life. This sparked much outrage on one site especially since the issue came out in the middle of Gay Pride Month.
Wait, it gets better.
Madam Simone was a member of that site. Note my use of the word 'was'. So when people started getting pissed off, she responded saying how she understood that people were upset at the deaths of two liked characters. However, she didn't like people trying to pin her with the reputation of killing off gay characters. Now, many people on there continued to be very civil to her. They didn't like what happened to the characters, but bad things happen to characters. Being gay or any other type of minority in comic book does not automatically give that character a magically fabulous force field that prevent bad stuff from happening to them. But of course some people on the site were claiming that the deaths played into a bunch of different tropes. 'Tropes' is a word that people use to make themselves seem smarter than they actually are. Most of them don't know what it really means, so I want you all to know it means 'ferret'.
The kicker is that Simone got a warning from the site administrators about the content and her discussing it. And she left the site. I don't blame her. This is flat out stupid. I have the book. I've read it. That part of the story was not about hating gay people. I've seen Gail Simone's twitter. She seems to really like gays. Especially gay men. In pirate costumes. Kissing. So, the site administrators with the righteous indignation spurred by social justice gave her an official warning, thus proving that they suck, because we can't have Gail Simone killing off gay characters in the middle of Gay Pride Month even though she created those characters to begin with. She obviously created them years and years ago in an insidious plot to make people like them and once liked, she would wait until Gay Pride Month to kill them horribly and really stick it to those pesky gays.
Yeah. Scans Daily. You fail. You had one of the best writers in comics on your boards chatting with your members, and she left because of your moderators. Ponder that for a while.
YOU CAN'T HIDE IN THE INTERNET
The Saga of Manny Fresh continued over the weekend as yet another Twitter account joined the e-battle royal. "Manny sucks sucks" was pretty much the anti-anti-Manny. We all wondered where the insanity would end, but end it did because Manny Fresh's detractor made some mistakes. The first of which was a text message that appeared on Manny's personal phone.
It was on like a Filipino Donkey Kong.
This was a step too far, and the quarry had grossly underestimated Manny Fresh. The internet may provide people with some anonymity, but that can't stop Manny Fresh. The noose was tightening and Manny had a lead on his e-nemesis when Manny Fresh Sucks made a tragic mistake on twitter by posting this:
KELLYS ON KEMPSVILLE HAS NO AC. ITS HOTTER THAN @VAMANNYFRESH 's BUKKAKE SCENE IN HIS PORNO DEBUT. 9:45 PM Jun 27th via Twitter for iPhone
Whoops. Not too long after, Manny had a tweet of his own confirming that the AC was indeed broken. Yeah, bad move letting the internet know where you are and good old Twitter let Manny know that his target had an iPhone. So, when Manny spotted a guy with an iPhone looking around the bar rather frantically he had his prey. Of course the guy said he was just kidding with all his trash talk, and the tone of his Twitter account has changed quite a bit.
Two lessons to learn: talking trash online isn't worth squat, and the internet cannot protect you from Manny Fresh.
So that's the end of that drama but there could be more in store as Optimous Prime is being held hostage next to some ammunition and a stripper's used panties. There's to be a clandestine exchange for a particular Peter Criss mask atop the Dominion Towers parking garage.
Look, anyone who thinks the President is actually personally providing any content to that Facebook page is fooling themselves. And frankly, with all the security problems Facebook has I'm amazed he has any presence there at all. I know social media was a big factor in him getting to the White House, but now he's got an actual job to do, and he spends too much time whoring out to the media anyhow.
Although if Lady Gaga beats Obama in this she's going on my dead pool list. No way will Obama let there be a bigger pop star than him. Remember what happened to the King of Pop? Just sayin'.
THE JERK IN THE MIRROR
And speaking of Michael Jackson, I wonder if Chris Brown's crying fit on stage during the Michael Jackson tribute was due to the wave of irony crashing down upon him that he was singing in tribute to a man who grew up in an abusive household. Actually it was a very fitting tribute in that after his death everybody seems to have forgotten that Michael Jackson, while a great artist, was a creepy bastard who quite likely enjoyed the company of children in ways no one should, and after the tribute and crying fit everyone seems to have forgotten that Brown beat the hell out of his girlfriend. Seems he's popular again.
Folks seem to be suffering from memory loss.
MUSIC!!
And speaking of dirtbags:
When this video came out the kids were like "OH MY GOD!! Those people from AMERICAN PIE are in a video!!". We now say the same words, but for an entirely different reason.
POP QUIZ!!
1: Do you read Gail Simone's comics, and if so, what are you reading?
2: Is there anyone on the internet that you ever hunted down and confronted? If not, who would you want to?
3: Who is your favorite teenage dirtbag?
Alright troops, that is it until Friday. Leave comments, discuss, make fun, etc. Big thanks to Linda for turning me onto the Gail Simone story, and big thanks to the Mike and Bob Show for putting some links up to the blog. See you Friday.
HELLBOY: THE FURY #1 begins the wrap up to the huge arc that's been going on for a while now. Big Red has gotten King Arthur's sword, been offered to be a king, and has a nasty queen witch to battle. There's a lot of elements going all the way back to the beginning of the series. There's mentions of Rasputin. Alice Monaghan, the baby from "The Corpse", is all grown up. There's a lot going on, and we jump in right with Hellboy going to confront Nimue. In the meantime its looking like King Arthur's true heir is rising up. There's a big battle going on, and looking like a bigger one is on the way. This one is tough to jump onboard on if you haven't been following what's been going on. Fortunately, Mignola and Fegredo give us a two page recap just to refresh our memories. They're going for "epic" and doing a pretty fine job of it.
