1.
Mark Evanier posted a link to an excellent, if disturbing,
Mountain Dew commercial that features
Mad Magazine mainstay "Spy Vs. Spy." Bonus: a pitch for a
Spy Vs. Spy movie.
2. Somehow I managed to miss
Big Larry as much as calling me out for a "cover blurb" for
Scurvy Dogs (under June 1st). Now, I loves me the
Scurvy Dogs...that was one of the very first links I put on this weblog of mine...and it's one of the few titles that we keep every in-print issue on the new comics wall at the store (along with
Demo,
Girl Genius,
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, and
Lenore). Well, unfortunately, the best I've come up with is "It's really, really good...but maybe if there were fewer pirates in it, and maybe if it wasn't as funny, and if there were a talking dog somehow involved, it would be even better. Oh, and more car chases" -- but I'm afraid he'd use it, and everyone who saw it on the cover would think I'd experienced some kind of debilitating head injury as a child.
3. For God's sake,
don't let Nana die! Help out Jason Yungbluth by buying
some of his funnybooks and T-shirts so he can put out another issue of America's Funniest Comic Book Starring A Clown And A Talking Cat,
Deep Fried!
Thursday, June 17, 2004
New comics day!
Seaguy #2 - the genius continues! Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart bring us a comic that feels like it's every comic you've ever read, squeezed into a three-issue mini-series. I love this comic.
Plastic Man #7 - Scott Morse fills in with Plastic Man helping Woozy out on a date. It's a beautifully illustrated comic (not that the previous issues by Kyle Baker weren't), and lots of fun as well. I've said it before...all the people who are skipping this series because they apparently wanted a
serious Plastic Man comic are really missing out.
Captain Marvel #24 - remarkably depressing...well done, and a logical resolution to this storyline...but depressing. Here's hoping the next, last issue of the series ends on an up note!
Justice League: Another Nail #2 - this is one crowded funnybook, but Alan Davis draws everything so well you really don't mind.
Also (and this could be a *possible spoiler* since I'm discussing story specifics) the new issue of
Batman: Gotham Knights seems to establish once and for all that
some of the details of the Joker's origin as seen in Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's
The Killing Joke are canon. However, given that the flashback sequence in this issue is as apparently related by the Joker -- who, in
The Killing Joke, states that he remembers his origin differently each time -- the story could still be suspect. A couple interesting notes: 1) the sequence of events in the B:GK Joker origin appears to be slightly different from the one in KJ; 2) The Joker's real first name is finally revealed in comics for the first time* (and should come as no surprise), even if it was in flashback and possibly suspect; and 3) The Joker seems remarkably sane as opposed to most of his appearances...which makes this story strangely affecting and the Joker that much more menacing.
And, as I was poking through our previews for next week's comics...the forthcoming issue of
Excalibur has crushed all belief I had in the basic goodness of the universe. You'll see what I mean.
*...though part of his first name was revealed in Legends of the Dark Knight #50, a few years ago. This is part of my brain that could be used for useful information.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
...so to celebrate, lemme reach again into the long-neglected
AiT/Planetlar Box o'Love, and pull out
The Couriers 02: Dirtbike Manifesto by Brian Wood and Rob G. Not much to say, really...it's another one of Wood's tautly-told fun and not terribly deep action movies with humor and gunplay, as the two couriers in question (Moustafa and Special) find themselves tracking down gunrunners in "redneck country" -- a bit outside the city-life to which Moustafa and Special are accustomed. Again, the dialogue is sparse, telling you exactly what you need to know, and the art is deceptively simple...at first glance, it looks rushed and crude, but as the story continues, you begin to appreciate its expressiveness. Some of the fast-action "blur" effects (as when Moustafa rolls out of the way of gunfire, near the beginning of the book) don't work quite so well, but these sequences are few and far between. So, it's another fun book from Ait/Planetlar, and worth a look. Also, if you haven't read the first
Couriers book, don't worry...I hadn't either, and had no problem getting into the story. What little backstory you need (mostly, just setting up what Moustafa and Special do for a living) is given to you right away.
In other news:
Pal Dorian doesn't have access to a computer for the moment, but updates to his site should resume shortly.
The Return of Johnny DC! Well, he's exchanged his professor's cap for a cape, but that's a great darn logo.
Everyone's already discussed the new DC solicitations, but I just wanted to note how glad I am to see the
Superman: True Brit book by Kim "Howard" Johnson, John Cleese, and John Byrne...I know it'll be more Johnson than Cleese, but having
any involvement from Cleese on a Superman book has got to be worth waiting for. Plus, in regards to the new
Adam Strange series...
that's a great redesign for Adam's helmet.
Hello, everyone from
The Randi Rhodes Show Forum! Don't "skip past most everything" -- read the rest of my site! I won't bite, I promise!
And, to wrap up my 300th post...I bring you
Detective Comics #300:
1.
Chaosmonkey posts a re-dialogued piece of Avengers art that makes me laugh for very immature reasons. Thor's line, in particular.
2.
Les Super-Heros DC en France. Check out the
live-action-TV-version-of-the-Tick-esque costume on the Flash
here.
3. Well, there's that topic of discussion going around (as seen
here,
here,
here,
here, and
here) where you're supposed to pick your "dream teams" for various comic books. I started on my list (Jerry Siegel and Curt Swan on
Superman, Matt Baker on
Lois Lane, Jack Kirby on
Man-Thing (you
know that would be cool), Mike Parobeck on
Batman, Lou Fine on
Fantastic Four) when I realized all the creators on my list have passed away. How depressing. However, they're not any less likely than some of the teams that
have been suggested.
Living creators, this time: Dan Clowes and Fred Hembeck switching off on
Jimmy Olsen, Grant Morrison on
Rogue and Gambit (just to cause aneurysms in X-fans), George Perez on
JLA (I know he's done it before, but no one does a group book like him), Garth Ennis and Todd McFarlane on
Jonah Hex (just because I think McFarlane's art is well-suited for a western-style comic...go with me on this...and as long as he's paired with a real writer, it wouldn't be too bad), Harvey Pekar on
Spider-Man (all those people who thought Spidey was unique because of his "real-life" problems before...they ain't seen nothing yet), Brian Bolland on
Batman...well, that's enough.
EDIT: Just thought of another one...now, I'm not casting aspersions on the character's current curator Kyle Baker (pretty much as close to an actual "dream-team" style creator-character match-up as you're gonna get), but what would a
John Stanley Plastic Man comic have been like? The mind boggles, reels, then boggles again.
Oh, and
Kaz on
Herbie the Fat Fury, just to be perverse.
EDIT AGAIN: Congratulations to
pal Andy and his wife for having successfully spawned
a beautiful baby boy.
