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§ July 20th, 2004 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Special early-bird edition!
1. I think it may have been implied on a comic book message board that perhaps I’m complaining about the death of You-Know-Who in Identity Crisis. Nope, not me…I’m willing to accept it as part of this storyline. And besides, if anyone is really bothered by it…just wait a couple years, and I’m sure there’ll be some revamped continuity and that character will be back, fit as a fiddle.
I’ll save my gnashing of teeth and wailing in despair for when real people die, thank you.
1a. Just noticed pal Dorian weighing in with his reasoned review. He and I have been talking about this at work, and I’m glad all the ideas Dor has been bouncing around popped up in this review (particularly the rebuttal against the “kids are going to read this” argument).
2. Ain’t It Cool News reports that the Jack Black Green Lantern movie is a “go” — okay, it’s AICN and not a legitimate news source, so until you see independent confirmation somewhere, it’s still just a rumor. However, that’s not stopping calm and reasoned discussion.
2a. I don’t know where pal Corey dug up this picture, but I’m glad he did.
3. How to stir up the pot: “Andy’s behavior in Eightball #23 is indicative of the inherent fascististic tendencies of superheroes and superhero comics. Discuss.”
3a. I’m only kidding. Don’t even start with me.
§ July 19th, 2004 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on "This is an evil day! Such things we do not understand!"
Terrifying Tales #13 (June 1953) – cover by L.B. Cole
You know the story is off to a good start when the spelling of the title above the splash panel doesn’t agree with the spelling of the title in the caption box:
The remainder of the story uses the second spelling, so that’s what I’ll use here.
So anyway, the evil witch doctor (above, on the right, holding the knife), on the behalf of a tribe of enemies of Rulah the Jungle Girl, has found a way to use the blood of maidens to create big puffy white “plazma” monsters. The maiden’s blood is poured into a heated cauldron, and out pops the plazma monster in question:
“WAH!” indeed, my friend, as the witch doctor commands the tribemen to throw another helpless maiden to the creature to demonstrate its destructive ability:
This is probably some kind of fetish for somebody.
Meanwhile, at a nearby village, Rulah (our heroine) is teaching her gang of somewhat less capable jungle girls how to wash their hair:
Suddenly, Rulah’s pet black panther Saber arrives on the scene with a bloody wreath in his mouth. “This must have belonged to one of our missing maidens,” Rulah exclaims, thus implying that teaching hygiene to the jungle girls takes precendence over looking for multiple missing persons. Rulah states that the bloody wreath might be a clue to the missing girls’ whereabouts, and not, oh, say, evidence that Saber’s been eating them since the
bloody wreath was in his
mouth.
But then there’s no reason to go searching, as an army of plazma monsters attacks the serene jungle village of girls in fur bikinis*! Thankfully Rulah quickly determines that fire destroys the creatures, and chases them outta Dodge:
That evening, Rulah poses seductively as she ponders the day’s events in council:
Unknown to Rulah, one of the council members is a dirty rotten traitor, and sneaks off to tell Tagori (presumably of the enemy tribe) of Rulah’s plan:
(But note this character’s changed role later in the story.)
Once informed, Tagori relays to the witch doctor that Rulah has discovered the plazma beasts’ weakness against fire. The witch doctor then decides she will attack Rulah before Rulah gets a chance to attack her.
In the meantime, Rulah is searching through the forest when she happens upon a tiger. The tiger strikes, as Rulah shouts “this is your last leap, evil one!” (Why the tiger is evil simply for following its natural behavior out in the wild is unexplained.)
Rulah delivers the remarkably awkward killing blow:
Spotting the witch doctor, who is carrying a flaming torch and using it to prod a plazma beast forward through the jungle, Rulah leaps into a nearby tree. Rulah then swings by on a conveniently-placed vine and grabs the torch out of the witch doctor’s hand. The plazma creature then turns on the witch doctor and devours her:
After its meal, the creature lumbers back to its village of origin, as Rulah follows.
At this point, the writer of the story becomes confused, as the traitorous tribesman that snuck off to inform Tagori earlier is suddenly identified as Tagori himself (same red trunks, same large looped earrings)…Rulah even spots him and thinks to herself “Tagori! Why that traitor!”
The enemy tribemen spot Rulah and capture her, but as they’re about to toss her to the plazma monsters, Saber charges to the rescue, torch in mouth!
Yes, all of a sudden, the plazma creatures are loose, presumably freed by Rulah’s army of good tribemen who then set the village aflame to destroy everything within – monsters, men, women, children, grandparents, what have you.
However, the traitorous tribesman who is now Tagori tries to make his escape, but he meets an ignoble fate:
And now that Rulah has succeeded in killing everyone who has opposed her, she leaves us with this thought-provoking moral:
Yeah, so take
that, parents!
* I can’t wait to see the kind of Google searches this post is going to attract.
§ July 18th, 2004 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Behind the Eigh…oh, too easy, never mind.
I bought Dan Clowes’ Lloyd Llewellyn series off the stands when it was originally released. I’ve been buying Eightball since the first issue. I have been recommending Eightball to our customers since the beginning, and have helped to create a nice large audience for it locally. (When we had trouble getting the first issue back in stock way back when, I happened to be at a convention where another dealer had a pile of #1s for sale at about a buck each. I bought them all, brought them back to the store, and sold every single one.) I keep all the Clowes book collections in stock, and display them prominently.
When the new issue came in, we put the display poster right in the front window, next to the door, directly beneath the “OPEN/CLOSED” sign.
Our stock of Eightball #23 is currently racked on our “NEW ARRIVALS” graphic novel bookshelf. We continue to recommend it to our customers. In fact, we have mostly sold through our order, and I’ll probably have to reorder this week.
The reason I’m stating all this? I’d been feeling a little lax in my comics weblogging duties in that I haven’t made with the Eightball #23 review yet. The comic is excellent, is thought-provoking, is very much worth discussing, but I don’t have an angle on any kind of review. I have a series of random observations at best. (I realize that’s never stopped me before, but I think Eightball #23 deserves a real review more than, say, Spider-Man 2.)
But I look at all the points I made above and I realize — you know, I’ve already done my part for the Dan Clowes entertainment juggernaut. I carry it in the store. I hand-sell it to people. I have a large clientele that has come to trust my judgement when I recommend comics and books to them, and the work of Dan Clowes is always very highly recommended.
So I’m posting guilt-free. If I suddenly have a revelation and decide that, yes indeedy, I do have something to say about Eightball #23, I’ll post my review, but meanwhile there are plenty of other excellent overviews on other weblogs. (Sean Collins’ review is the one that’s stuck with me the most…a very interesting take.)
In the meantime…buy a copy for yourself if you haven’t already. It’s very good. You can trust me.
You’ve got a friend in old Mike.
§ July 18th, 2004 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on I apologize in advance. Mostly.
1. Something puzzling pal Dorian and me – people who are confused by Grant Morrison’s story in DC Comics Presents Mystery in Space. Why? Because it has more than one simultaneous narrative thread? Seemed pretty straightforward to us. This is right up there with complaints about not understanding Morrison’s “Rock of Ages” story from JLA.
2. Coming issues of Identity Crisis: #3 – we flash back to when You Know Who was beaten up by the Monster Society of Evil. #4 – We remember when You Know Who was audited by the IRS. #6 – You Know Who’s body is dug up and kicked around a bit by Abnegazar, Ghast & Rath. #7 – You Know Who’s body is eaten by Arkkis Chummuck.
3. Added to the weblogroll: Weezer and Geezer, run (with his pop) by Josh Cottingham, a former coworker of mine. Clearly, he’s been up to no good since leaving the funnybook-sellin’ field, since apparently he was on the reality TV show Amazing Race 4. Neat! And all this time I thought all he did was wait in lines for Star Wars movies.
§ July 17th, 2004 § Filed under hulk Comments Off on Out of Context Theatre Presents – What Hulk Can’t Fight
Defenders #30 (Dec 1975) – cover by John Romita & Mike Esposito
§ July 16th, 2004 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on
Okay, I’m feeling better now.
1. So just so you don’t think I was defending the forthcoming Catwoman movie with my post from the other day, let me clarify: I don’t think the Catwoman movie will be any good, but it will be for the same reasons most movies aren’t any good, and not just because it isn’t “faithful” to the Catwoman “character.”
1a. And I completely stand by my thoughts on a Jack Black Green Lantern movie. I also want to see John Goodman take over the role of James Bond (but played straight, not as a comedy). I’m perverse that way.
2. I’ve read Eightball #23 – and yes, it’s quite good. It’s similar in style to the previous issue, in that it’s essentially one story comprised of a multitude of strips, and it’s compelling reading. Look here, here, and here for better reviews than I can manage.
3. I don’t know if you’re still reading Gasoline Alley after the brief flurry of excitement regarding the death of a long-time cast member, but things are not going too well for Walt and his somewhat inadequate “caretaker” – start here and work your way forward. It’s distressing how poorly ol’ Walt is treated. (And today’s installment has a marijuana joke. Wha huh?)
4. Re: the Byrne forum on Identity Crisis – told ya so. I like this thread, too. (Spoilers ahoy, by the way.)
5. So Big Larry passed along this piece of art from Joe Casey and Ian Richardson’s forthcoming AiT/Planetlar title Warhead:
Read more about it (and other coming projects) at
Comicon Pulse. And hie thee hither to other comic weblogs for more preview art pieces.
§ July 15th, 2004 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on
I sat down to do a little posting on this here weblog, then came to the realization that I’m not at all well. So, go read about Batman-with-Gun over at Milo’s place, instead. It’s mighty funny.
§ July 14th, 2004 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on
New comics day, yet again: we finally got our copies of Eightball after everyone else in the country got theirs…I didn’t know how big the darn thing was! It’s downright sizable. Haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but a quick flip-through tells me it’s gonna be a treat.
Also arrived this week is Scurvy Dogs #5, which again it seems like everyone else on the planet already got their copies before they ever showed up at the store. At least, several webloggers have been talkin’ about their copies, and now I can read it for myself. Good stuff…I love the silvery-ink cover.
Identity Crisis #2 – if you didn’t like what happened to You-Know-Who in the first issue, you’re definitely not going to like what happens in the second issue. (For additional entertainment: visit the John Byrne Message Forum in the next day or two and look for a message thread devoted to this comic. I can hear the outrage already.)
DC Comics Presents: Mystery in Space – while the lead story (by Elliot S! Maggin and J.H. Williams III) was entertaining (and will please fans of the aforementioned You-Know-Who), the second story by Grant Morrison and Jerry Ordway really is something else. It’s a tribute to Julius Schwartz, to Adam Strange, and to the particular moment in time surrounding the beginning of the Silver Age of comics. Very touching.
In other news:
- Smallville fans: we have achieved Lois Lane.
- Today at the store I was talking with coworker Kid Chris about the remote possibility of a Green Lantern movie starring Jack Black…and you know what? I want to see it. Yes, everyone on comic book message boards and weblogs will complain, but this represents only the tiniest fraction of a potential audience for this film. Compare to the forthcoming Catwoman film, which, pal Dorian has convinced me in our discussions on the subject, will probably do reasonably well at the box office even though comic fans loathe what they’ve seen of it. If this film were actually being marketed to comic fans, maybe the studio would care what the fans thought.
So, a superhero comedy film? No one is currently filling that niche, maybe aside from the coming Pixar film The Incredibles. It’s not as if a superhero comedy film will change anyone’s opinions on comics…we’ve had several successful “serious” superhero movies in recent years, and that didn’t really do anything for the public perception of funnybooks, so it’s unlikely a funny Green Lantern will do any harm. Besides, most non-comics fans really don’t know or care who Green Lantern is anyway…I don’t know how many times I’ve had someone in the store who wasn’t familiar with comics look at Green Lantern and ask me, “where’s Kato?”
Anyway, Kid Chris suggested Ben Stiller as Sinestro. Now tell me you don’t want to see this film.
§ July 14th, 2004 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Buster Makes The Team! (1959)
Outside:
Inside:
§ July 13th, 2004 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on
So, like several other comics webloggers, I received a couple mini-comics from the kind and good Steve Lieber: Me and Edith Head and Family Reunion. Me and Edith Head I had actually carried at the store, as one of our distributors (Cold Cut) had it available, and I’m always looking to expand our mini-comics section. (Used to do the mini-comic thing myself, but that’s another story.)
Anyway, Me and Edith Head by Lieber and Sara Ryan is about high school student Katrina’s discovery of self-confidence, juxtaposed with her dealing with her parents’ crumbling marriage at home. It’s a demonstration of storytelling economy – a lot of ground is covered in only 15 pages, and you’re given just enough background details to get the important points across. You don’t need to know why the parents are getting divorced…they just are. You don’t need page after page of Katrina’s fellow students giving her grief over being “unpopular” or “unattractive” or whatever…four panels total cover that whole arc. It doesn’t seem like it’s as short as it is…the comic is packed with information, yet it feels like a light read. It’s an absolute steal at its cover price of $2. I’ll need to order more for the store!
The second comic, Family Reunion by Lieber and Sean Stewart, introduces the lead character and situations from Stewart’s prose novel Perfect Circle, in which William “Dead” Kennedy (wearing a Dead Kennedy’s t-shirt, natch) has the ability to see ghosts…a talent tolerated, but not generally discussed, by his family. This story focuses around a family reunion at a park, where Great-Aunt Ginny Mae laments the long-ago death of her soldier son…and, as William discovers, that son is present at the reunion as well. It’s a quiet story, with a heartbreaking surprise about the son’s death, and since it now has me wanting to read the novel, the mini-comic was clearly very successful in its purpose. Both this comic and Me and Edith Head have a heavy focus on character’s emotions, and Lieber’s art is very much up to the task, rendering a while variety of human forms while making all the expressions recognizable.
If you’re interested in getting either of these fine minis into your own paws, give Steve Lieber’s official website a visit and send the guy a couple bucks.
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