The Future

So. Figure I might as well continue this thing. I mean, I know that the professor of the GN class was the only one who read it and the class is over, but you know what? I don't go back to school for a few months and I don't know how the radio show will be working when that comes. With that said, I want to keep talking about comics here. The basic idea here is just that I share whatever thoughts I have with the interblag, so why not keep going? At least I talk about something specific; I'm not chronicling my boring-ass life like so many others that blog, and at least I'm not political on this thing.
So. Figure I'll try to keep this up with once-a-week content at least, and I'll be keeping it pretty on-topic for comics (been thinking that the radio show might branch out to non-comics animation). Also, I've had some practice with blogging at another site, so I'll be doing more fancy crap like pictures and videos like recent posts. If there is such a thing as a reader for this thing, I'd like to thank you for your patience. It's only going to get better from here.

Movie Trailer Madness: The Incredible Hulk

Is it bad that I can tell more or less the entire story from this trailer? Banner on the run, hating the Hulk inside him, society hating Hulk even more, Blonsky becomes the Abomination, people see how much worse Hulk could be, then Hulk saves them, and enjoys some popularity, and Banner accepts that the Hulk can be a force for good, and runs off at the end to continue to try to control it. They even got the license for the piano music from the T.V. show.
This isn't a criticism, though. The plotting of a Hulk story isn't where the depth comes from; it's the psychology and build-up, while the story mostly ends with Hulk hitting things and Banner running away. Also, they're obviously pulling some cool moments from all over Hulk continuity, like the Banner-into-Hulk air drop from The Ultimates. So I'm looking forward to it (it comes out the day before my birthday, and I always loved the Hulk), but I don't expect to be surprised.

Movie Trailer Madness: The Spirit

Frank Miller's Will Eisner's The Spirit. Damn it movie, what do you want from me? Yes I enjoyed Sin City, but that's because that's a faithful adaptation. No I don't want The Spirit to be Sin City 2, I can wait for that. Yes I like the casting you've got. No, I don't want them to all either be "badasses" or "whores" (Frank, you really need to work on this one). Yes I like the fact that The Spirit is having a resurgence, but a big part of that is Darwyn Cooke's version, which is true to Eisner's original vision. Oh, and it has colors. No, really. You can do that in a crime-based movie.
Now, I understand that Sin City was a gold mine, and 2 is in development hell due to actor disputes and schedule problems, but that's no excuse to take something that is an artistic work in its own right and make it into a "holdover" for something else by betraying the heart of the work. Now, I'll admit that this is a fairly abstract trailer, and the finished product might be something completely different. But I wouldn't put money on it. Not when I saw that all black "movie version" Spirit figure at NYCC.
Regardless, here's the trailer. Make your own decision.

The Best Part

So. Con again. Want to know the best part? I got to meet two writers who are among my all-time favorites; personal heroes of mine for the last few years and probably a good few more. Hell, I even liked them on a social level. I'll tell the stories in chronological order.
I met Darwyn Cooke on Saturday, early afternoon. I had tried in the morning, but the line to meet and get a signature was constantly changing direction, and I have a fervent distaste for strangers touching me, so I left, dejected. When I returned, he was coming back from a lunch break, and I made sure that the newly-forming line was going my way. I jumped through hoops for the right to meet the author/artist of New Frontier, damn it, and I was going to tell him how much I enjoyed his work. When I got to him, some random person (who hadn't been in any line) jumped in ahead of me and began accosting Mr. Cooke about something some other artist had said about commissions. When I (and by the look on his face, Mr. Cooke) had had enough, I politely elbowed the man out of my way, and got one of the things I had literally gone to New York to get.
Meeting Grant Morrison was less annoying, but took longer. I'd attended his Spotlight panel, and waited in various lines for almost two hours, but I got to him. The guy who helped change my perception of comics. He can write a story that explores Hell from the perspective of a Golden Age character gone wrong, or he can do Batman in a self-reflective style that uses things that had been retconned out. He made a joke about Britney Spears. I got a picture of him with me and my girlfriend. And his signature is across my copy of Kid Eternity's cover. And for that, all of the hassles were worth it. Everything else at con was just a bonus.

Adrian Veidt: World's Greatest Hero?

Alright, so on Monday I may not have been clear. I definitely got a chance to speak my part, but I think I expressed the thought poorly. Simply enough, I actually think Adrian Veidt is actually the most consciously heroic person in the story. I think he's a great guy who uses his massive intellect to solve what was the greatest problem his world's ever seen. However, his logic was somewhat flawed. He assumed that the only way to achieve his goal was the one he used, based on the (true) premise that no one else who was willing to solve the problem was smart enough to do the job.
What he never considered was that intelligence might not be the only criteria for saving the world. As much as it pains me to say it, but sometimes the smartest one is not the best one. On the other hand, he also kind of assumed that the problem needed outside help to be solved. Our Cold War worked out fine, if you recall. Of course there were differences in society, but the end result could have very easily been worked out in less sudden methods; I'm sure someone like Veidt would have had some political leverage.
Of course, none of this is related to my original point. The simple fact is that Veidt had no ulterior motives for doing what he did; he simply thought it was the only way to save the world. He makes no money from this venture, in fact he loses quite a bit of his own. The way he's planned it, no one will even know he's done it; he'll be remembered as "Ozymandias, that one guy who was an okay hero and a decent businessman."
That fact right there is why I'm calling B.S. on the people who compare Veidt to Light from Death Note. If Light's plans succeed he'll be worshiped as Lord and Savior; Veidt wants to be recalled as a guy you wish you were friends with. Yes, they both had God complexes, but Viedt's was more like a surgeon, and Light's was like a fascist dictator.
I guess all I'm saying is that you can't call Veidt a villain. He did only what he thought was necessary to accomplish his goal (saving humanity from an actual threat, remember?), and all the loss of life was tragic to him. He feels more like the Classical tragic hero; did what needed to be done, but his flaws now condemn him to a life of sadness and pain.

A Few Words on Secret Invasion

I feel that now would be a good time to explain the name of this blog, seeing as I've altered it again just now. Specifically, I jokingly say that my writings are not connected to the various hot comics "events" because I have come to the conclusion that I find them abhorrent. While the potential to make positive changes and draw in readers is there, these events have recently become a crutch used to excuse a lack of original thought. What's worse is that these things may be used to undo details or plot elements that a writer dislikes, regardless of the readers' opinions, and often end up only complicating continuity.

*This Section Contains Spoilers From an Internal Leak*

To use Secret Invasion as an example, there are indications that several super-powered individuals (hero and villain) have been replaced with Skrulls. What's more, those people have in fact been Skrulls since some point in the 70's. For these characters, this means undoing every single bit of growth they've had, since before that point, characters didn't evolve over time.
Luke Cage has become, over the last few years, a father, husband, and leader. He's gone from being quite literally a Blaxploitation character with low-key powers to a potential leading man for Marvel; powerful enough to warrant a place on the main stage and developed properly as a man who could lead the Avengers (which he has been). Nope! Not anymore, because Brian Michael Bendis really likes the old version! Ergo, we get stuck with a guy with no depth, and we're expected to swallow the fact that Iron Fist, Luke's best friend nearly since their debuts, had not noticed, and that the impostor had decided not acting like the guy he'd replaced would be the perfect cover (especially with the getting married part). It's just dumb, and it injures all the stories that feature Luke.
Short version: events like this all end up being one kid in the playpen messing with everyone's toys, and I for one wish that we could just have some time without all this nonsense. At least, I'd like it if Bendis would stop taking all the toys and making a huge messy pile.

Webcomic Highlight: Gunnerkrigg Court

Here's a quickie for you: Gunnerkrigg Court is a comic that is fantastic. It's got a sort of Harry Potter vibe, with a young kid growing up at a fantastic boarding school, but there are few spots where the comparison becomes unfair. Mostly, it's unfair to Harry Potter, because Gunnerkrigg blows HP away.
It's about Antimony Carver, who goes to live at the school/community Gunnerkrigg Court, which is a haven for super-science, yet surrounded by a magical forest (with some noteworthy supernatural elements in the Court as well). Also, they employ a dragonslayer as their gym teacher, and have a class for kids with psychic powers.
Now for some of the cool stuff; there's an epic story arc, but Antimony (and the reader) doesn't know what it is yet, so we only get glimpses of it. For the most part it's a sweet story about the kids that go to school in the Court.
Also, the art is quite nice and dreamy, giving this already surreal comic an even more ethereal aesthetic. It took me only two sittings to finish it, so you won't lose much time if you hate it. Which is highly unlikely.

Funny Animal Comics 3: We3

I don't know how or why I've found myself reading so many comics that star talking animals recently, but collectively they've reinforced my feelings that there are no set boundaries when it comes how a writer wants to tell a story. Then again, when the writer is Grant Morrison, you might as well forget there were any boundaries in the first place; after all, he met Animal Man once.
With We3, Morrison is working once again with Frank Quitely (are they best friends or something?), who brings his usual unsettling, expressive, and slightly over-detailed style to this story of animal exploitation. Morrison, a vegetarian since the late 80's and strong believer in animal rights, successfully brings the callousness of military-industrial thinking to the foreground. By which I mean he made me cry. And want to see my dog.

We3's basic premise is this: the military has decided to use modified animals to replace conventional human soldiers and assassins, and the We3 team are the prototypes for this system. Weapon 1 (Bandit) is a dog, built to carry the heavy weapons and chosen to lead the team because of his intelligence and loyalty to both their masters and his teammates. Weapon 2 (Tinker) is a cat, stealthy and antisocial, but aware of who her allies are. Weapon 3 (Pirate) is a rabbit made into a demolition specialist with blinding speed.
The short version is, the senator who was backing the product gets creeped out after seeing what's been done to these animals, and orders them killed. The one good person working in the lab (the woman who cared for them and handled their education) lets them out. Then massively depressing moments, high-speed gory action, and a moderately happy ending follow.

Morrison is a master of the game, and We3 stands out even among his work. The stilted, unpronounceable speech patterns the team speak in convey more emotion than meaning, and yet the WE3 team is as characterized as any character that only got three issues. Things like 2's attempts to hide her feelings and 1's sense of responsibility (as he berates himself for everything that goes wrong) give an additional layer of tragedy to the work.
I'm not usually a fan of Quitely's style, since he tends to make the people the reader is supposed to like look creepy. However, this carries over to the animals only so far as to properly convey their suffering, while all humans should look nasty in this book.
I don't know how to close this. I could write a term paper on this comic, and it's only three issues. Read it. Buy some tissues while you're out.

Funny Animal Comics 1: Fox Bunny Funny

Yikes. Fox Bunny Funny is literally a fifteen minute read, but since I spent that fifteen minutes, I've probably gone through about two hours just thinking about this one comic, what it means, and what it might not mean.
For starters, I have to explain the worldbuilding that Andy Hartzell put into the writing of FBF. What you have at first are two towns of the pseudo-1950's America variety, one populated by Foxes, whose culture is centered on the killing of Bunnies, and the town of Bunnies, which we readers see less of, but which seems more religious and fearful of their neighbors. No other animals seem to exist. Certain touches exist to reinforce the idea of a society based on the mannerisms of animals, for example, the Foxes use guns that have metal teeth attached to a wire, to fire and reel in their prey.
Also, there are no words. Not just that there's no dialogue, but the written languages for the Foxes is a series of pawprints, and the Bunny writings are all leaves and plants. There is no replacement for language, the characters all just pantomime their way through life. Because of that, the reading goes quickly, helped along by the simplicity of Hartzell's drawings which require little to no effort to understand.
Then there's the meaning behind the story, and that's where the house of cards gets shuffled (for the record, I'm kind of pleased with that turn of phrase). With the main character's hidden desire to become a Bunny, but forced to live as a Bunny-killing Fox, there's an attempt at a metaphor for GLBT lifestyle, but it never really catches on. With the relationship between the Foxes and Bunnies, there's an obvious race metaphor, but that falls apart at the end, much like my feelings about the book.
The main character finds himself in a city of the hedonistic 1980's sort populated by a combination of Foxes and Bunnies, who exchange fashion styles, have relationships, and consume one another's flesh. That's right; we have Bunnies that eat Bunny, Foxes that eat Fox, everyone eating carrots, some eating everything, and nobody seems to mind. The main character is then given plastic surgery to become a Bunny just as he always wanted, and the image of his bruised, slightly misshapen body as he weeps with joy is the closing image. Let's just say I had a hard time sleeping last night after seeing that bit.

So? Read it, once I return it to the library. Don't buy it until you've gone through it once. Maybe you'll get something I didn't, and you'll think I'm an idiot for not liking it. Maybe you'll find it as horrifying as I did, and one or two quick reads will be enough. Then again, you might not feel anything, in which case I envy the extra time you'll have after the read.

Webcomic Highlight: Darken

Geek culture is not one culture, per se, but rather an affiliation of subcultures. As with any subculture, the internet has become a haven for these groups to show their appreciation, and many do so in the form of webcomics. While I feel a post on webcomics in general may be forthcoming, but with this highlight, I felt the comment about culture was apt as Darken is essentially based in Dungeons and Dragons.
Written and drawn by Kate Ashwin, Darken is in interesting study in anti-heroism and anti-villainy, as the entire main cast is more concerned with their scheming than they are about morality and loyalty. To call it character driven would downplay the well-placed (and paced) action, but the interactions between the characters and their ultimate goals are what drive the reader.
The art is smooth and expressive, with some slight Japanese influence, and the coloring, when used, contributes to the mood and energy of the scene. Very rarely is it possible to confuse characters, though there are clearly some "basic" faces at use.
You don't have to know D&D, but it certainly speeds things up for new readers. Regardless, Darken uses a mixture of action, humor, strong characters, and good plotting to make a very worthwhile read.

Keeping Things Straight (Last in a Triple Post!)

I hate repeating myself. If it's not a good story, and one I really like telling, then I only want to have to go through it once. Also, if I don't repeat, then it gives people more incentive to keep listening to what I say. Ergo, this semester has been rough.
I'm a comics guy, so I talk comics with my friends. I do a comics-based radio show, so I have to fill about 2 hours each week. I have class discussions, the discussion board, and this blog. And I hate repeating myself (unless I'm proving a point).
With my friends, I don't want to bore them. In class, I think it wastes time to go over the same points again and again. With my show, I feel it would be cheating to crib ideas or materials from class, so I have to keep racking my brain to think of things I can work with.

So please, forgive me if I fall behind in a conversation every so often. I may be having deja vu.

American Born Chinese: Some Quick Thoughts

Anybody ever watch the show The Boondocks (yes, based on the newspaper comic) and get uncomfortable at how often they use a certain racial epithet? You know the one; the one I can't even bring myself to type. ABC was kind of like that for me sometimes, with cousin Chin-Kee. I found myself reading those parts kind of fast, and taking my time with the Monkey King more than any other part.
Use of caricature helped with the magical realist atmosphere of the story; I don't know if I'd have been able to deal with Chin-Kee's head popping off to reveal the Monkey King in another style. Also, the Hair of Power would not have looked right.
Did anyone else have the sensation that both Jin and Wei-Chen are essentially lost? Haven't the four years of debauchery spoiled Wei-Chen's chances of becoming an emissary since the test was a full life of goodness? And didn't Jin "forfeit his soul" to become Danny? Not to mention the problems with his grades due to the moving around...
Also, did the infliction of Chin-Kee on Jin (as Danny) seem harsh to anyone else? Sure, he needed to be taught a lesson, but there's evidence that everything he says about Chin-Kee ruining his life are true...

There's more, but like I said; quick thoughts.

Comic Corollaries: Action Figures

Okay, so maybe you don't have to like action figures if you're a comic fan, but why wouldn't you? For my money, there's something indescribably cool about having a physical representation of the characters you like. Then again, I'm not the sort to spent more than $20 on a toy, and frankly the $20 ones have to really appeal to me.
Also, for the record, they are toys to me, not collectibles, and I open them as soon as I get back to my house. I can't really fathom hunting around for just the one you wanted then leaving it on a shelf, unopened, unappreciated. For example, earlier today I finally found a 25th Anniversary G.I.Joe Destro; something I've wanted for nigh on four months now. He makes a nice addition to my desktop. It's great to be a toy fan for the sake of their aesthetic purpose, but more importantly, it lets me keep a collection of the characters I really enjoy.

The X-Men in other media...

Considering how insanely popular the X-Men have become within my lifetime, it's a no-brainer that they'd show up outside their comfort zone of comics. However, I will warn you, reader. I may myself stray from the intent of this post, and be prepared for a long one.

Before movies, cartoons and video games, comes the merchandise. I myself ate X-Men fruit snacks, chewed X-Men gum, wore X-Men clothes, and owned several dozen X-Men action figures, so I may be said to be something of an expert. Wolverine has appeared in all of them, in something that will quickly become a habit. Speaking specifically, since the Marvel Secret Wars toyline in 1984, no less than 73 figures of Wolverine have been produced. In fact, while Wolverine found a place in the Secret Wars line, it wasn't until 1993 that any other X-Man was made into a figure. Nonetheless, once the dam broke in '93, it would be hard to ever again look into a toy isle and not see some sort of X-Men (read: Wolverine) representation.

The video games were, as comic book games often are, mostly mediocre. With a few bright spots in the mid-90's beat-'em-up genre and the fantastic X-Men Legends, they have essentially forgettable. The one unifying thread? The characters of Cyclops, Storm and (of course) Wolverine, who've appeared in every one to my recollection, with Iceman, Gambit, and Colossus being the most often used otherwise. A nice range of ethnicities, I suppose, though I'd like to see Banshee implemented somehow.

The cartoons many of us have seen. The first was the unfortunate attempt at a girl's show, Pryde of the X-Men, whose quality was so low that the people who green-lit Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (also featuring X-men) killed it after one episode. The early-90's one, smack dab in the middle of the X-Boom, played loose and fast with the canon, but stuck to the heart of the characters (while giving Wolverine plenty of robots to cut in half). Most recently was X-Men: Evolution, which served as a sort of animated Ultimate X-Men, while thankfully avoiding the Jean Grey/Wolverine subplot by making Jean (and most of the team) about fifteen. However, we can only imagine how the upcoming Wolverine and the X-Men will fare, considering that he's been given top billing over the entire franchise.

Lastly, the movies. Dear gott im himmel, the movies. I'll say this; they're fun little action romps. But to put it one way, I actually laughed when I heard that a Wolverine movie in the franchise was planned, because last time I'd checked, I'd already seen three Wolverine movies. You see, when someone writes Cyclops as being a dull jerk, they're being lazy. When someone writes Jean Grey as psychic powers with romantic tension and red hair, they're being lazy. When someone has to incapacitate Professor X before every single fight, they're. Being. Lazy. however, when that person then decides to write Wolverine as being a level-headed natural leader of men with no problem making emotional connections to people, they're just being idiots. By the end of Wolverine 3: The Last Stand, he was acting more like Cyclops that Cyclops had been (before they killed him off-screen five minutes in, which apparently bothered no one).

Wow, that was not the post I had planned. I was going to do an even handed review of each category and make recommendations based on my favorites, but that Canadian bastard is just so grating in his popularity that I can't avoid the prick.

The X-Men *musings*

The X-Men are, by far, my favorite team. I don't have much of a Marvel/DC bias, but one thing I'll always want to know is what's happening in X-Men, even when I lose track of everything else. Maybe it's the broad metaphor they present; whatever you are, if you feel oppressed, the Mutants of X-Men can be that too. Maybe it's the huge, rotating cast of characters with the constant potential for new ones, everyone with their unique powers and personalities. More than likely, it's the way all of these come together, often with top-notch writers pulling the strings.

They may not have the automatic mythology of one of the DC greats or the constant personal struggle of Spider-Man, but the X-Men have a feel to their stories that is specific to their world, one of scientific philosophy, soap opera dramatics, and as much action as any other premise.

Which is why it's so frustrating to see people get it wrong. Coming first to mind would be the movies; which I enjoy on the base level of a moviegoer, but loathe to my core as somebody who actually (god forbid) likes Cyclops. On this week's Blackboard forum, you'll see I'm no major Wolverine fan, but I'll admit he has his place in the menagerie. For me, reading the highlights of the Clairmont run are essentially history lessons, as he made the X-Teams into what they are today, allowing Whedon (and soon Ellis) to create such superhero masterpieces.

This post is kind of aimless, but it sets the tone for this week-and-a-half. I'm going to talk about the X-Men a lot over the next few days.

My Perspective

Here's the thing. I'm a life-long reader of comics, and that includes the scholcky cape-and-tights stuff. Hell, I still like all that stuff, though my standards for writing are much higher than they used to be. Ergo, I think of comics as the media that allowed my beloved superheroes to exist, and everything that goes above and beyond is icing on the cake.
The combination of visual and textual media is an experience that I don't think can be found anywhere else, and though conventions exist, they're subverted as often as anything, so nearly any story can be told. Because of that, I often find that I prefer the absurd and fantastic when venturing away from superheroic tales, but ultimately I'll listen to whatever story the writer has to tell.