Just so no one’s too offended…I didn’t post that cover yesterday as some kind of blanket mockery of furries. As pal Dorian and I have discussed amongst ourselves in the past — of all the fandom “cliques” that exist and that we’ve dealt with over the years, furries are probably the group that tends to be the most problem-free for us. Nearly all the ones we’ve encountered have been polite and well-spoken, and just happened to like anthropomorphics. Hey, that’s cool with us.
I only posted that cover because it’s downright fantastic. As Will puts it, “when you’ve got the words ‘lesbian’ and ‘unicorn’ on your cover, aren’t the words ‘extra’ and ‘special’ just redundant?”
Well, that’s a surprise! Just on a whim, I e-mailed Fred Hembeck with my guess as to the “ringer” in his second “100 Reasons Why I Love Comics”…and I got it right (under Feb. 12)! Obnoxio Vs. The X-Men was just one of those oddball funnybooks Marvel published in the early ’80s, and my memory was that it was pretty much reviled in the fan press of the time. I didn’t remember Fred being the lone voice in the wilderness, singing the book’s praises…plus even if you did like the comic (like, yes, I did), would it really belong on your top 100 list? Just seemed wrong…and it turned out I was right. Way cool.
By the way, I also liked X-Men and The Micronauts, even though 1) I wasn’t reading X-Men, and 2) I wasn’t reading Micronauts, though I liked the toys. I just enjoy weird takes on established characters, I guess.
One thing I was thinking about as I was watching the new episode of Justice League Unlimited — as much as I love Jack Kirby’s Fourth World stuff, actually seeing it in animated form makes me realize just how damn weird it is. I mean, Vermin Vundebar? The heck? Jack, honestly, what was up with that? I liked Arte Johnson as the voice of Vermin (especially with a certain in-joke (also noted by TV Tome) that made me do a double-take even before I knew Johnson was on the show), and Ed Asner reprising his role as Granny Goodness…well, that’s still darn strange.
A couple years ago, I bought a record off of the eBay that I never got a chance to listen to, as it arrived in my mailbox at about the same time I was moving into our new house. I put it aside for when I had time for it…and then, of course, I forgot about it. However, as I was digging through my record collection the other day for another album (Rhino Records’ L.A. In, which pal Nat makes an oblique reference to), I found that long-lost record. It’s The 1975 San Diego Comic-Con, a recording of interviews with various show guests. Here’s the track listing:
SIDE ONE:
1. Opening comment: Ray Bradbury
2. Introduction: Alan Light
3. Ray Bradbury
4. Stan Lee
5. Jack Kirby/Jim Steranko
SIDE TWO:
1. Special interview: Jerry Siegel
2. Chuck Norris
3. June Foray/Daws Butler
4. Robert Bloch
5. Will Eisner/Stan Lee
6. Close: Alan Light
Intriguing, no? I’ll give it a spin when I have time later in the next couple of weeks (hopefully), and file a full report right here. Watch this space!
But first, this commercial message….
Speaking of the eBay, he said segue-ingly, feel free to pop in on our shop’s auction listings! New items added every week: comics, books, toys, and, right now, for some reason, jazz CDs. Don’t ask. Anyway, my promise to you: any items purchased from our auctions (or indeed, just straight from the shop…send me your want lists!) will be lovingly processed, packaged, and hand-addressed by yours truly. Bid early, bid often!
And we’re back. Just so I don’t feel like a completely shameless huckster, let me also point you in the direction of Jolly Johanna’s list of sale and trade items. Lots of fine stuff there, and she has a want list of goodies you can offer her in trade.
