Archive for the 'Comics' Category

I’ve added to my blogroll on the left a list of comics I read in my feed reader

* Indexed
* My Life in a Cube
* Penny Arcade
* Questionable Content
* This Modern World
* Unshelved
* Wondermark
* XKCD

Any recommendations for other comics with available feeds I might enjoy reading? I’m particularly interested in those comics that don’t appear in newspapers, though I realize This Modern World does.

Lincoln may or may not have written the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope.

I’ve written poems on pieces of scratch paper - anything I can get my hands on when the muse strikes.

Shane Johnson, who draws the cartoon My Life in a Cube similarly uses whatever is lying around. And this tends to reflect the theme of his cartoon (post it notes, lined paper, envelopes). You can also occasionally spot liquid paper applied artistically.

Hopefully he gets work done - whatever his work may be.

69 years ago today, in Detective Comics #27, a hero was introduced to the world.

Happy Birthday, Batman!

To honor his birthday, you should make an effort to endanger the life of a young child today. Either that, or take the law into your own hands and capture a criminal for the police. Your choice.

This morning’s SpeedBump comic. (Link will expire in 30 days.)

hmmm…what could this be about?
What popular website values verifiability over accuracy?
Could it be…..Satan?

Click on the below thumbnail and you can read a bio for Victor Hugo which appeared in the Classics Illustrated comic edition of his novel, The Man Who Laughs. There is a significant biographical error made within the text. See if you can spot it.

There’s some controversy over a recent cover to a hardcover collection of a series of Marvel Comics called Marvel Zombies. Basically people upset that Marvel took the artwork of Mary Jane Watson (Spidey’s girlfriend) from the cover of a series of Spider-man comics aimed at kids, and turned her into a somewhat alluring zombie. (Original and adapted artwork linked to above)

The original series of comics were a hit, so no one is upset over that. And MJ was turned into a zombie within the storyline, I suspect (haven’t read it) so they aren’t upset about that. They just seem upset that Marvel adapted earlier artwork. There is also some complaints about how this makes zombies ‘alluring’.

And I recalled a poem I once wrote about Marilyn Monroe fresh from her grave. And in case there were some readers who never heard that poem, or haven’t even read that poem, I thought I would make it clear that that poem will be performed Saturday night at the Regional Arts Commission on Delmar in the Poetry Showcase that begins at 8 pm.

Not appropriate for kids. This applies to the Marvel Zombies comics. This applies to the Poetry Showcase on Delmar Saturday Night. And this applies to my poem.

Sideshow Collectibles has a new toy figure of Mary Jane from the Spider-man comics. It’s an impressive pose. MJ bent over a washtub, washing Spidey’s costume, showing a little thong.

I guess the good news is that only 900 were made, and they’re all sold out. Bad news: I didn’t get one.

Honestly…I may have fantasies about MJ, but if I do, they don’t involve washtubs.

Tip of the hat to the culturegeek, and DevilDoll.

Related news: here are a few pages from a recent spider-man comic showing a possible alternate universe Mary Jane who appears to be interested in actually helping Spidey out with the crimefighting. Sure…you can talk about how she’s dressed, but at least she’s doing something other than laundry.

If the film I saw Friday night had been based on this script, it might have been better:

(click to enlarge):

OK…Spider-Man III was not *that* bad. I actually enjoyed it a bit. A fellow movie-goer complained that all the male characters cried at some point in the film. I’m OK with that. It was a highly emotional film, though.

I do feel villains should be permitted to be villains, though. They can be evil. They don’t need to be misunderstood, or abused, or whathaveyou. So I was a little upset that with the Valjean-ifying of Sandman.

I think I may be the only one in the universe who will make the comparison between the Sandman character in Spider-Man III and Jean Valjean from Les Miserables. But Valjean steals a loaf of bread to feed his sister and his sister’s family. (We never learn of their fate after Valjean’s imprisonment) Sandman, apparently, steals money to help his dying daughter. (And performs a more serious crime in the process.)

[Sandman in the comics always had an ailing mother he protected from learning his identity, making his morality slightly complex, but his crimes were committed out of self-interest, not out of concern for others. According to some bios online, he did ’switch sides’ briefly, but there was some suggestion it was a ruse, and he always returned to his evil ways.]

Of course, I also realize that Sandman is being made a more likeable character in the real comics currently. By one of my favorite comic book authors, no less. Peter David. (Who not so coincidentally has written the novelization for all three Spider-Man movies.)

(The comic above appeared in a 2002 issue of the Portland Mercury)

From Dork Tower

Should I mention that Spider-Man is currently wearing black because Aunt May was shot in an issue of Amazing Spider-Man a couple weeks ago? (Complete summary of Amazing Spider-Man #538) Should we assume that since the press didn’t mention this, Aunt May will live? Or perhaps Marvel just didn’t bother telling them about it.

I’ve been told, as the above comic suggests, that she’s died before. And so has Captain America.

As a sidenote: …what would the general reaction be, do you think, if on the day Harry Potter Book 7 is released, newspapers across the country had the headline: “Harry Potter Dies.” Or even “Harry Potter Lives”

Yesterday newspapers across the country reported the death of a superhero.

This death occurred in the issue with the title: Superhero #25 (Where of course Superhero is replaced by the name of said Superhero) It’s very easy to figure out the title of this comic. Just do a news search on Marvel Death Captain America.

(I apologize if I spoiled it for you, but since every newspaper in the country beat me to it by over 24 hours, you are really out of it.) Don’t run to your nearest comic bookstore. They’re sold out.

Another issue hit the stands yesterday with the rather strange title: Old Event: New Event.

Let me explain. Marvel and DC Comics both like publishing huge Events which cover huge numbers of issues so the comic book fan will have to buy a lot of comics to get the whole story. (That is unless they know what DCP is.)

For example, right now, DC Comics is on issue 42 or 43 of a title called 52. One issue a week. For 52 weeks. (They really need more creativity with their titles) Guess what they plan on doing next? They have a new title coming out — in about 10 weeks — called Countdown. It’s also going to be 52 weekly issues. And they’re counting down to something. Who knows what that will be, but I bet you’ll need to buy alot of comics to find out.

Marvel is ending now an event they called “Civil War” and beginning one called “The Initiative”. In Civil War all the superheros were fighting. The war ended with the apparent surrender of the individual who has been declared dead by every newspaper in the country.

But wait! Those newspapers may be more valuable in the future than those comics! In this issue of Civil War: The Initiative Superheroine A tells Superheroine B (it really doesn’t matter, does it?) that the news of Captain America’s death is greatly exaggerated.

Surprise!

If Superheroine A knows what she’s talking about, and isn’t lying, those who got their purchases up on Ebay quickly are going to be happy. Those stuck paying $200 for these issues will be angry. Neither one is me.

I did win another $3 in Powerball on Wednesday though.
You may have noticed the Powerball number was 36.
When that happens, you know if I played, I won at least $3.

Captain America
By: Jimmy Buffett — 1970

Can you tell me where I might find my friend and companion
Now he looks a little different from anything you’ve seen
He likes to beat the bass drum for justice and salvation
He’s got the brains of Einstein and the brawn of Mister Clean

He’s a lightnin’ flash who’ll make the dash from one coast to the other
To stop a crime or lend a dime or help his aging mother
Captain America we love you, Captain America you’re grand
Oh Spiro Agnew eat your heart out Captain America’s our man

Now he wears a mask his clothes are weird and some folks call him hokie
But he is hip he just can’t dig the Okie from Muskogie

Captain will help anyone a friend or a stranger
Now number one without a gun he’s bypassed the Lone Ranger
He’s a do do good who loves apple pie and kisses little babies
He’ll guard you against everything from atom bombs to rabies

Captain America we love you, Captain America you’re grand
Oh Spiro Agnew eat your heart out Captain America’s our man

Can you tell me where I might find my friend and companion
He looks a little different from anything you’ve seen
He likes to beat the bass drum for justice and salvation
He’s got the brains of Einstein and the bod of Mister Clean

He’s a lightnin’ flash who’ll make the dash from one coast to the other
To stop a crime or lend a dime or help his aging mother
Captain America we love you, Captain America you’re grand
Oh Spiro Agnew eat your heart out Captain America’s our man
Captain America’s our man

Oy vey

I was a Superfriends-junkie, and I have an outdated profile on the referenced website. Maybe I should re-activate it.

Fan of Stephen King?
Fan of the Dark Tower series?
Did you know that there’s a comic book series being released by Marvel based on The Dark Tower?

Issue #1 is hitting comic bookstore shelves on Wednesday, February 7th, though Marvel is allowing stores to open at 12:01 am. And about 150 stores are doing it.

In Missouri three stores are:

Comic Relief
1325 N 2nd Street
St. Charles, MO 63301
www.comicbookrelief.com

Comic Relief
15425 Manchester Rd.
Ste. 8
Ballwin, MO 63011

Dragon’s Lair Comics
1400 W. Battlefield
#100
Springfield, MO 65807

King was smart, and instead of writing the comics himself, when he has no experience writing comics, which is a different medium than novels entirely, he let Marvel select one of their top writers — Peter David.

I’m not going to be there. I will likely pick up a copy of the first issue at least. I used to read a lot of King’s novels. Haven’t for several years, though. I’ve read several Peter David novels, and comics, and have enjoyed them immensely. But none of the stores are close, and this is a weeknight. I’ll be getting my copy from All American on Chippewa.

Here’s a USA Today article on people who refuse technology.

The most interesting paragraphs are interesting to me not because of what they say, but because of what they don’t say.

Alan Moore, 53, a writer in Northampton, England, has no e-mail, no Web access, no cellphone. His PC is a “glorified typewriter.”

He knows all about blogs and Google and MySpace; an imposter even put up a MySpace page in his name. He understands the convenience of cellphones and knows that people can have hundreds of channels on their TVs rather than his few broadcast ones.

Despite this, “I don’t think I’m missing out.”

Instead of Googling every question, he refers to books. Instead of toting a cellphone on a walk, he just walks. “Not being able to be phoned when I’m out: that is blissful,” he says.

“We live in a culture where we are completely swamped with information. It’s like some invisible fluid. I try to control the flow of information through my life.”

Alan Moore is identified simply as a “writer, 53, Northampton England.” No mention that his fan-base is comprised of comic book and science fiction geeks, which I think would add to the story. Yes, I am assuming this is the Alan Moore who wrote V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. There could be more than one 53-year old writer named Alan Moore living in Northampton, England, with a faked MySpace page. I doubt it.

For those who enjoy comics…and for those who like collecting things that may go up in value. There is a comic on the shelves today of comic stores that may not be in stores tomorrow. Spider-man: Reign #1. In the comic Peter Parker is old, sitting on the edge of the bed, naked, with something dangling you don’t normally see in comics. Cartoonish, and not exactly prurient, but still, the issues are likely to be recalled. (It should be noted the book is rated T+, which is meant for teenagers and older.)

Cow And Boy from 11/1:

Milton Caniff was a well-known cartoonist.  His cartoons of Terry and the Pirates, and later, Steve Canyon, were extremely popular newspaper strips in their day.  I remember seeing the Steve Canyon strip as a child, even though I didn’t read it.  I was more interested in Stan Lee’s Spider-Man.  Caniff passed away in 1988.
Today, however, Caniff’s name is most often seen in connection with a WWII pamphlet he put together for the US Army entitled: How to Spot a Jap. 

Excerpt:

To quote Shakespeare, “the good is oft interred with the bones.”

But not completely interred.  I mentioned this in passing back in March, but there is another pamphlet Caniff put together that isn’t as well-known.  Reading it today, one cringes slightly due to some poliical incorrectness, but overall the message is still praiseworthy.  He put it together for Goodwill Industries.  The Will to Win.
Excerpt:

There are a handful of Goodwills around the country that still use the image of Good Willy in their promotions, but very few of them.  Most likely their annual campaign has been going on for decades, and they don’t have the ‘will’ to update the imagery.  Still, Caniff deserves to be praised for this work, and perhaps it counterbalances the propaganda he created for the government.

On July 4, 2005, I posted a poem of mine, Loyal. Along with a few quotes by the likes of Rudyard Kipling, Victor Hugo, and Thomas Jefferson.

On July 4, 2002, I posted the lyrics to My Country Tis of Thee.

I think that just about covers it. Though I feel I should add something, so I will post a few pictures from the latest issue of the comic book Fantastic Four. In the Marvel Universe the big issue of the moment is a superhero registration law. It’s been done before, but it’s being done again. Some heroes are supporting it, some aren’t.

Ben Grimm (The Thing) also tries to quell some rioters on his hometown Yancey Street, and tells them that even though he too is against the registration law, he isn’t one to fight the government. There are lots of laws he doesn’t like.  This is the response he gets:

As I wrote back in May

Alan Moore has recently published a graphic novel exploring Wendy, Dorothy and Alice’s sexuality.  I wondered how the Ormond Street Hospital for Children, which owns the rights to Peter Pan through 2007, would respond.

Now we know. 

The hospital, which was bequeathed the rights to the “Peter Pan” books by Barrie, said: “In order to be published or distributed in these territories, Alan Moore’s title would need our permission or license. From press coverage, we understand it deals with sensitive subject matter which does not initially seem appropriate to be associated with the hospital and with J.M. Barrie’s legacy to us.”

Stephen Cox, the hospital’s spokesman, said in a telephone interview Friday that it has not taken legal action against Moore and is was waiting to see whether the author will contact the institution to discuss its objections.

Moore’s alleged response is fascinating:

In a recent interview with the BBC, Moore said “The Lost Girls” was inspired by “Peter Pan,” but that he doesn’t intend to seek permission from the hospital to use the Wendy character.

“I don’t really see that you can ban anything in this day and age. It wasn’t our intention to try to provoke a ban,” Moore was quoted as saying.

It seems to me that Moore is giving carte blanche for anyone to use his characters in their own work.  Cool.

What boy hasn’t had fantasies about Dorothy, Wendy, and Alice?

Maybe I shouldn’t ask that question. Maybe myself and Alan Moore are the only ones. In which case, his new graphic novel won’t sell too many copies. But Alan Moore, the creative genius behind V for Vendetta and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , has created a graphic novel entitled Lost Girls. It’s for adults only. He’s openly referring to it as pornography. It concerns Dorothy, Wendy and Alice. (Do I need to tell you what books they come from?) There are some samples of the artwork in that last link. Excuse me for a moment while I go look at them again…

I’m curious if the hospital in Britain which owns the rights to Wendy through the end of 2007 are going to make any noises…

Wizard Entertainment recently listed the Top 100 graphic novels of all time.

#1: Maus, A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman

It naturally wasn’t what the typical fan-boy or fan-girl was probably expecting.  But it is, I believe, the only graphic novel currently classified in many bookstores in the literature section.  I think it’s appropriately classified.  There might be a handful of others that belong.

When you talk about comic books as an art form, the first, last and best example is Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. Maus, an intensely personal account of surviving a World War II Nazi concentration camp, transcends comics. Ask any artist or cartoonist in this field, and they’ll tell you that this Pulitzer-Prize-winning graphic novel represents what all comic books aspire to be.

Graphic novels, and by extension comic books, can be literature.  Spiegelman proved it.  I’d argue Bryan Talbot’s Tale of One Bad Rat comes close.  (The latter doesn’t make Wizard’s Top 100, though)
Wizard does make a small error in their description of Maus:

But Spiegelman the cartoonist takes a unique look at the struggle between the Nazis and the Jews by transforming the players into animals: cats (Nazis), mice (Jews), pigs (Jews working for the Nazis) and frogs (Frenchmen).

Pigs in the book represent the Polish.   As a sidenote, when Americans appear, they get represented as dogs.

I dropped some alcohol off in the hospitality room a few hours ago, helped set up the art-show panels, and then headed home, as I still wasn’t packed for the weekend. I have been to many conventions, and have helped staff four or five, but I suspect this will be one of my more memorable. Hopefully I’m not jinxing it with this post.

I went to my first convention back in 1991. It was a pure Star Trek convention, and Michael Dorn (Worf) was the guest. For several years I was the traditional Trekkie, and I would stand in line for autographs, listen to the guest speeches, buy blooper tapes in the dealer’s room, etc. But I got bored with the autographs. They’re nice to have, but I have no intention of making money on Ebay or anything, so what’s the point, really? Proof that I saw the actors? I know I did. I have some cool autographed wall hangings, but I have enough. Really.

This weekend Peter David is the guest of honor. I have counted 92 comic books, 13 paperbacks, and 3 hardbacks I could have him sign. 108 autographs might be a few too many to ask him to sign. But it is 18*6, and picking is going to be so difficult. And as I said, I don’t really care about the autographs that much. I just want to keep him busy for a couple minutes so I have a chance to talk to him, and you know, I don’t need my books to do that.

Because at some point this weekend I am one of only a few staff members who will be accompanying PAD (he refers to himself by his initials a lot) on a trip around St. Louis. Where and when exactly I’m not going to say. But the trip should take about four hours. If I don’t get the chance to say everything I want to say in those four hours, there’s something wrong with me. Of course, I have to try not to come off as a total geek. And that could be difficult. Especially if I began with, “when we get back to the hotel, would you mind signing 108 books of yours for me?”

update I’ve narrowed it down to 20: 15 cbs, 2 ppbs, 3 hcs.

There’s a term for anything, and one term that applies to me is Formalist.

 A formalist, as applied to writing, is someone who feels poetic and/or narrative forms are not restrictive in a bad sense.  We feel that placing a form’s restrictions on our writing actually helps the creative process. 

One proponent of Formalism is comicbook artist Matt Madden.  He’s written a book entitled, 99 Ways to Tell A Story. He takes a very simple story, and tells it in comic-format, 99 different ways.

Some of these ways can be seen on his site: Exercises in Style.

Interestingly, and perhaps coincidentally, one of the best fiction writing textbooks I ever received in a writing workshop was entitled, Revising Fiction.  It was written by David Madden.  I have no idea if they are related.

Yesterday’s Unshelved

Good Willy  “The Will to Win” (an advertising comic from the 1950s, created by Milton Caniff, who also drew the comic strip, Steve Canyon.  Some of the language is slightly dated.)

I went to the Belleville Flea Market this past weekend.  I purchased 10 fleas. (rimshot)

The flea market is only one weekend each month, and it’s huge.  I was doing pretty well.  I was about to leave and I had purchased the following:

3 1970s Starlogs with great nostalgia items on Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and Close Encounters. $1 @

3 Ray Bradbury Chronicles Graphic Novels $2 @ (each with 4-5 short stories illustrated, including The Tonybee Convector, one of my favorites)

Raver #1 (written by Walter Koenig) and a 3-part Dr. Strange story at $0.25 @ (the latter purchased mainly so I would spend an even $1, but it was a complete story.)

1 1970s Broadway Playbill from the Majestic Theater - Fiddler on the Roof, with Bette Midler as Tzeitel.

In short, I spent $11 on a handful of great nostalgia and comic book items. 

But as I was leaving I passed a table with some Grateful Dead bears.  I purchased Haight and Ashbury (couldn’t purchase one without the other), and so my total expenditures within a matter of seconds nearly doubled.  But they look cute with Uncle John, Jack-a-Roe, and Shakedown which I had purchased somewhere else a few months ago.

“Dana Reeve, heroic widow of fallen ‘Superman’ star, dies.” (or so reads the AP headline on many newssites.) Which of course reminds me of the uproar in the fan community back in October of 2004 when John Byrne, comic book author, dared to say that Christopher Reeve wasn’t heroic. I agreed with him, partially. (please read before you attack)

And my original post, on my old blog, is the #1 google hit for: John Byrne heroic (and several variations on that theme)

My thoughts regarding Dana are identical. Enduring lung cancer isn’t heroic, in itself. But her involvement with the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation qualifies. And she should certainly be remembered for her devotion to her husband. And my heart goes out to their 13 year old son who has lost both of his parents.

So far it seems Byrne’s not repeating his mistake.

It’s also being said that Lung Cancer may get some more attention with respect to research funds, which is good. It surprises me that it is underfunded, but I guess I can understand the belief that it is a self-inflicted disease. However, Dana Reeve is not the first non-smoker to die from it.

As I’ve mentioned before, a few years back I got hooked on the 1980s New Universe
from Marvel.  I’ve found the back issues of most of the titles from the short-lived series.
It appears for the 20th anniversary, it’s coming back.  Warren Ellis is doing a series called newuniversal and there are a handful of one-shots out this month with the title Untold Tales of the New Universe.  (A separate issue for DP7, Psi-Force, Starbrand, Nightmask and Justice)  Peter David is listed as the author of the Justice one-shot, so I am happy it is being released prior to ShowMeCon in April.  Another book to add to my stack to get signed.

A few of the reviewsites around the net make the obvious comparison to J.Michael Straczynski’s Supreme Power.  I wonder how many people made the comparison when JMS wrote his series.

A common reaction to a child reading comics is that comics rot your brains. They’re not real books, as they’re just pictures, with a handful of words in word balloons.

Let’s examine a recent series of comics from an educational perspective. There was a recent major crossover in the Marvel Universe entitled, Spider-Man: The Other. It covered 12 issues, or approximately 280 pages. 4 of the 12 were marked All Ages, and the other 8 Teens + (Brief summary: Spider-Man was killed, came back to life, and has gained some cool new powers.)

I catalogued all the scientific references, cultural references, and vocabulary words I could find, looking at it from the perspective of a young teenager. It’s been a few years since I was that age so I may have misjudged.

Scientific References

Cellular degeneration
Blue dye canisters
Human genome
Code blue
Stabilizing patients
Arterial tear
Upper vena cava
Intracranial bleeding
Duodenal ulcer
Colonoscopy
Types of spiders: Cannibal, Pirate, Katipa, Redback, Recluse, Orbweaver
Spiders carry young on their backs
Microprocessor
Chronal displacement

Cultural References

“To everything there is a season. A time to live. A time to die”
Anansi, the spider god
Indiana Jones
Gregor Samsa turning into a cockroach
Leonardo Da Vinci
Vitruvian man
Eddie Haskell
Survivor’s guilt
Sing out Louise
Troma movie
Man of La Mancha / Don Quixote / Aldonza
Tom Cruise / Color of Money
Steinbrenner / Yankees
Ivana Trump
“Queer eye for the dictatorial guy”
Back to the Future
Coup Contra Coup
“Lucy, I’m home!”
Magic Eight Ball
Presidential pardon
Groucho Marx not wanting to belong to any club who would have him as a member
Steven Seagal ponytail
“Though I walk through the valley of death…”
Igor/Frankenstein
Martha Stewart
Helen Keller
The Fly

Vocabulary

Mercurial
Tai Chi
Matzoh
HMO
Cathartic
Anomalous
How many of you can say you know all of the above without looking them up? If a child’s been properly trained to look stuff up if they come across something they don’t understand, look at everything they’d have learned from just those 12 comic books.

[I attempted to epost this last night, and now, about 12 hours later, it’s still not posted, so I will try again.]

I found two old comics on Saturday. Classics Illustrated #9 (Les Miserables) and #18 (Hunchback of Notre Dame).

Neither were editions published in the 1940s, but instead the 1960s, making them slightly more affordable than they would have been otherwise. Searching the web I have found that both issues had several printings with at least 3 separate covers for each. If I can find some of the other covers without breaking my bank, I might consider it. Two other Victor Hugo novels were adapted, both of which are rarer: #56-Toilers of the Sea and #71 - The Man Who Laughs. I saw a copy this weekend of the latter from the 1940s for $25, but I passed it up.

Classics Illustrated was an interesting concept. The plot and characters of the classic novels were so chopped up and condensed to fit into the comic that those who have already read the novel cringe at what’s left out, and it’s hard to believe someone who hasn’t read the novels will be inspired to. So as something “literary” they fail completely. I’ve heard some suggest they were an early form of Cliff Notes.

I was depressed to discover Gavroche was left on the cutting room floor for Les Miserables, but I can understand his role in the novel wasn’t major. Predictably, the ending of Hunchback of Notre Dame was changed.

Your results:
You are The Flash

The Flash 90% Spider-Man 80% Hulk 70% Superman 65% Wonder Woman 65% Green Lantern 65% Supergirl 60% Robin 60% Catwoman 60% Iron Man 45% Batman 30%

Fast, athletic and flirtatious.

Click here to take the “Which Superhero are you?” quiz…

At the end of July, Spoilt was created. It provides summaries of several comic book titles, as they are released, issue by issue. Primarily those in the Marvel and DC superhero universes. The reasons for doing this are on the site. Johanna Draper Carlson of Cognitive Dissonance was in a leadership role. I learned about it on her blog, and I submitted my first summary in early September.On Sept 16th - Johanna passed the mantle to Chris Tamarri at Crisis/Boring Change. About a week or so ago, Chris decided he was going to have to take an indefinite leave of absence, and asked for a volunteer.

As you may have predicted this was leading to, I volunteered. Now, the sad truth is, I don’t really read very many comics. There are a handful that I currently read. Most written by Peter David. And while there are several ‘contributors’ who are listed on the website, most of them have for various and sundry reasons stopped submitting. So, unless more volunteers can be recruited, there are going to be titles left uncovered.

In the past Chris actually went out and bought uncovered titles he felt were important to be covered, but I’ve decided to take the philosophy that this only discourages future volunteers.

I prefer:

“Wait..why didn’t you cover X this week?”
“No one submitted a summary of X.”
“Oh. Perhaps I could have.”

Instead of:

“I see they covered X this week, they don’t need me then.”

Which means, of course, that if you are reading this, read Marvel or DC comics, and feel capable of and are interested in writing summaries for this project, any more encouragement from me shouldn’t be needed. You don’t have to be a professional journalist. If you submit a summary, and you have a website/blog of your own, there will be a link to that website/blog if you desire. How cool is that?

Oh…and if you read comics, and are curious what’s going on in the comics that you didn’t buy recently. Head on over to Spoilt, and get your info!

I was in my local dealer’s store yesterday, picking up my latest issues, and I saw Book of Lost Souls on the shelf. Written by J. Michael Straczynski, I figured I’d pick up the first issue and see what it was like. I will be reading some of JMS’s work in December, since I am reading the Spiderman: The Other crossover due to my long-time interest in Peter David’s work. I only recall watching one episode of Babylon Five, but friends did rave about it. And it was nearing Halloween…so a dark book might be fun to read.The book felt very familiar. Dark Fantasy…I thought…what other work of comic dark fantasy have I read lately. The recent gift of a friend came to mind. She lent me the first 28 issues of Gaiman’s Sandman. I enjoyed them, but had only gotten through the first 19…and other things had come up, and though I knew I had to read them so I could return them…I hadn’t yet.

So I returned to the stack, picked up issue #20, and stopped. I looked at the cover of issue 20, and then the cover of Book of Lost Souls and I said to myself A Ha! The same artist. And it is true. Colleen Doran did the art for issue #20 of Sandman, October 1990, and 15 years later, the cover of The Book of Lost Souls. However, there’s a problem. She didn’t do the art for issues #1-19. And I hadn’t read #20 yet. So if I was ‘recalling’ her artwork, I was recalling something I hadn’t experienced yet.

Freaky, hunh? Maybe it was just the Dark Fantasy feel. But whatever it was, I like JMS’s writing. The first issue does set up a frame that is interesting, and I am curious to see what he does with it. So I will be picking up issue #2.

And my friend, and writing colleague will be getting her Sandmans back next I see her.

In the Test Preparation book for the LSAT there’s a comic book question

In a trend that must remind practitioners of the 1950’s, the news media are criticizing the adult orientation of comic books, especially the increase in violence and sexual themes. A New York Times Magazine article questioned the judgement of comic book publishers, noting that “comics have forsaken campy repartee and outlandishly byzantine plots for a steady diet of remorseless violence.” Time went a step further, explicitly linking violence in comic books with a rise in juevenile delinquency. Such visible public criticism does not escape the notice of mainstream producers.

If the information in this passage is correct, which of the following statements is necessarily true?

A)Contemporary criticism of comic books appears to be similar in tone to 1950’s criticism.

B)The New York Times linked violence in comic books with juevenile delinquency.

C)Violence in comic books is a cause of juevenile delinquency.

D)Comic book publishers exhibit poor judgement.’

E)Comic books have outlandish repartee and outlandishly byzantine plots.

—-
Now, what’s the ‘correct’ answer?
I have no clue.

Answers B through E are wrong for what should be obvious reasons.
(B) - Time said that, not the New York Times
(C) - Time suggests the link, but the link isn’t proven
(D) - This opinion is never stated in the paragraph, and would be an opinion even if it were.
(E) - The New York Times actually says they no longer do.

But (A) as it is phrased is incorrect too. Nothing is said whatsoever about the 1950s criticism. So I have nothing to compare the current criticism too, except the word of the author of the paragraph, which I have no reason to trust.

If (A) read “The author of this paragraph feels that contemporary criticism of comic books appears to be similar in tone…” then I’d sign on to that answer immediately.

(link found on Near Mint Heroes)

I just woke up from a nightmare.
Someone poured a bucket of water on me.
My hair turned red, I shrunk several inches, and and….

I guess it could have been worse.
I could have turned into hsing hsing. (or ling ling)

I think I’ve been watching too much anime.
I better go back to bed.

The Golem: Adventures of an Israeli Superhero. A Webcomic. Fresh from the Gaza Strip, superhero team of The Golem, and Lillith, are assigned an even more hazardous duty …. teaching a group of third graders.

(A brief look at past episodes, and I don’t think this is The Lillith, just a woman named Lillith. No demoness properties I can ascertain as of yet.)

The Hebrew word to the right of “Comics” is pronounced “Komiks”. It’s just written in Hebrew letters. That’s what happens when you revive a dead language. You end up using English for new concepts.

I’m not sure its possible to get more hypothetical than Peter David does in his blog today:

Understand, I’m not saying “Fallen Angel” is continuing. I’m not saying that. And if it were, which I’m not saying it is, I’m not saying that there would be a different artist, because it’s a moot question since I’m not saying it’s continuing in the first place.

But if it were continuing, which I’m not saying it is, and I were in the market for a new artist, which I’m not saying I am, who would you want to see drawing it?

At least Hulk is a big enough title, I suspect several extra copies were ordered.

I think I will try telling my dealer just to put anything with David’s name on it on hold for me. Then I can just sit back and relax. That way, when the new projects he just hinted at appear on the stands, they’ll be waiting for me.

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