§ December 13th, 2006§ Filed under UncategorizedComments Off on "NO!"
The debate rages on: Betty or Veronica? Betty has the lead, ever so slightly, as of this writing, so get in there and make your voice heard!
Er…not that there’s going to be a prize or big payoff or anything. It’s all just for laffs, kids, because sometimes in this cruel world, that’s all you get.
Anyway, I do want to touch upon a couple things in recent funnybook news, which I don’t do enough of (primarily because Tom and Dirk have got it pretty much sewn up), but that I feel slightly obligated to mention.
First, I know this is old news, but both my friend Cully and my own father will want to know this, and they’re not going to see this anywhere else: “HBO to do ‘Preacher’ series.” I wonder what the look was on the HBO executives’ faces when they heard “…And get this…God’s the bad guy!”
And then there’s the brouhaha regarding some full-frontal Spidey in Spider-Man: Reign #1, in which an “art error” resulted in Peter Parker’s naughty bits making it into the final printed product. Thus, Marvel is accepting returns from retailers on this first issue…which is a tad annoying, but only because we agonized over our orders for this comic, only to have it end up being returnable anyway. And it’s just as well, because it ain’t sellin’ like we thought it might…plus, considering what happened the last time a comic with some nakedtivity got into the wrong hands, nekkid Spidey is the last thing we need. Though, with no Spider-movie in the theatres, it’s not like kids are clamoring for Spider-Man right now anyway.
By the way, this press release from Marvel announces a “sell-out” on the first issue (really? I got plenty…let me know if you want one before I strip the covers and mail ’em back to the distributor) and a second printing:
“Marvel is rushing back to press with a new interior art variant cover [sic] by Andrews guaranteed to only increase the conversation swirling around this book.
I put a [sic] in there because I think “new interior art variant cover” is two different things being conflated. It’s “new interior art” (i.e. Peter will have some undies on, or a nice, big shadow across his Little Spidey) and a variant cover, because you can’t have a reprint without a variant cover. The press release doesn’t mention the…trouble regarding the first issue, which is the only real reason there’s any “swirling conversation” about it.
Another brouhaha is over Alex Ross’ statement about the DC character Obsidian in a Wizard interview:
“Obsidian being put into the JSA is a lot like—and I’m speaking for Geoff here, which he may not agree with – but it’s him grabbing a character that’s just going to get molested further in other writer’s hands. So he’s grabbing him and putting him in the group so he at least can be shepherding this character that belongs in this association. Maybe he’ll make sure that no other writers get any ‘fun, creative’ ideas with him.
Given that the only other writer to do anything with Obsidian recently was Marc Andreyko, in Manhunter, where the character was in a gay relationship…well, you can see how that sounds. Oy. Pal Dorian and Ray have additional commentary on the matter. (EDIT: Via pal Dorian, Ross tries to clarify his statement.)
Dor also discusses Chuck Dixon writing a gay lead character in the just-announced Grifter/Midnighter series, which is a tad odd given (as Loren points out) Dixon’s feelings on homosexuality in comics. Johanna has some thoughts on the topic (as well as some debate in her comments section). I’m going to guess that, all things considered, Midnighter’s homosexuality is going to be alluded to only briefly, if at all, in this series, which will probably be six issues of guns and fistfights and no time for love (though Dorian’s prediction for the series, a favoring of Grifter’s crime-fighting methods versus Midnighter’s, is a possibility as well). We’ll see.
BEAUTY IN THE WORLD: Public Enemy putting on a parking lot concert at a comic shop signing, promoting the first issue of their new comic book. Fantastic.
MORE BEAUTY IN THE WORLD: Announced by DC: a new Bat Lash series by John Severin and Bat Lash’s co-creator Sergio Aragones. This better sell well, or I’m going to drive around the country kicking the butts of comic fans who didn’t buy it.
§ December 12th, 2006§ Filed under UncategorizedComments Off on So it’s come to this.
So inspired by the comments section from yesterday’s post, I’m just going to throw it down, right here. It’s the age-old debate, one that comic fans have been arguing over for decades, and perhaps it’s a bit cliché (“a bit?”), but let’s settle it, here and now.
The debate topic in question:
Betty or Veronica?
Yes, I know thereareothergals in Riverdale. Yes, I know even hosting this debate probably makes me at worst a sexist jerk, at best just lazy. But don’t blame the messenger, friends…this particular discussion was around long before I was born.
So I’m opening up the comments section for a healthy, reasoned symposium on this vital subject. Let’s get it all out in the open, baby…tell me what you think. Keep it friendly, keep it clean, keep it…um, well, as non-sad as you can manage, I suppose. (Too late, I know.)
§ December 11th, 2006§ Filed under UncategorizedComments Off on "Is this really happening or is it just another Archie story?"
So, in Everything’s Archie #29 (Oct. 1973), we find Archie in a situation that’s quite unusual for him: a position of responsibility and power:
Yes, it’s high school student Archie, managing a vast corporate empire devoted to licensing merchandise based on himself and his friends, which…well, frankly, this kind of mixing of levels of reality just makes my thinker hurt, particularly when Archie gets his comics publisher John Goldwater on the horn. For about a page, Mr. Goldwater relates to Archie plans and details about their publishing concern, such as the number of titles they have (“We have 33 different comic books, Archie!”) and their readership (“We have about fifty million readers!”).
Here, Mr. Goldwater tells Archie about their penetration into foreign markets:
Archie gives Mr. Goldwater the brush-off, however, as soon as the TV people call up:
After that call (which works in mentions of the Filmation cartoons, the Hanna-Barbera Josie & the Pussycats show, and the supposedly forthcoming That Wilkin Boy, Lil’ Jinx, and Madhouse Glads), Archie moves into bragging to Betty and Veronica about their other product lines. Of course, he brings up the Archies recording group, mentioning the hit you know about (“Sugar Sugar”) and the one you probably don’t (“Jingle Jangle”).
He then shows off a not terribly impressive display of knick-knacks and gewgaws:
…as well as a slide projector, wristwatches, and such.
A “nighttime T.V. show with music” is in the offing as well:
…and you know Archie means business, what with that “T.V. SCRIPT” he’s holding.
The next item on the Archie menu, as it were, is introduced with what will probably be the most horrifying image of Jughead you’re going to see all day today:
What’s making Jughead’s mouth water, you may be wondering, assuming the nausea caused by that image has passed? Well, it’s this:
Just out of curiosity…are there any Archie’s Restaurants still around? Googling turns up plenty of “Archie’s Restaurants,” but whether they’re just coincidentally named as such, or their comic book origins are long forgotten, I’m not sure.
Anyhoo, back to the story, as Archie introduces his readers to the idea of obsessive collecting (assuming, of course, that comics didn’t already put this idea into their heads):
Well, as it turns out, this was all a dream, which you should have probably figured out from the moment you first saw Archie acting somewhat competently:
The story lingers for a few more pages, as Archie continues to wax poetically about the joy of merchandising, while pleading poverty to Veronica in regards to their date. The story closes with Veronica getting in a good one:
“Why don’t you just go back to sleep and take me out in your dreams?”
Ouch! Well, that cheap bastard Archie probably had it coming. Anyway, just so the readers don’t get the wrong idea about all that great merchandising and restaurants and TV shows being just the fevered imaginings of one Mr. Andrews, the story features this final panel:
Yes, the story wraps up asking the readers to write in if they’d like to see more commercials for Archie merchandise disguised as stories in future issues. Well played, Archie Comics…well played, indeed.
§ December 10th, 2006§ Filed under UncategorizedComments Off on Figures, me, and the Hulk.
Chris Karath posts another batch of photos of his action figures, comparing different sculpts of the same characters, group shots of related characters, the assembled Marvel “build-a-figures,” and so on.
This one amuses me the most, featuring Green Lantern arch-nemesis Sinestro with a squad of Qwardian pantsless warriors:
The photos are much larger on Karath’s site, but I need a much larger version of that pic for computer wallpaper purposes.
It must be my week for being mentioned in podcasts, as Chris Sims mentioned me in his, and now my site’s been referenced in the podcast for the Star Trek fansite Look at His Butt. Yes, “Look at His Butt.” No, not my butt, God help you, but Kirk’s manly space-captain butt. Anyway, they briefly discuss the Starpool kinetic passengers they saw on my site (about six minutes or so into the show).
More about me: should I be worried that Gordon actually has a “mike sterling” tag for his posts?
Acquired at the shop: a copy of Incredible Hulk #6 from 1962, brought in by someone who found it at the parents’ home, just tucked away in storage. The amazing thing about this comic was its condition: a pretty solid Good to Very Good. It looks better than that sounds, as it still has nice cover gloss and mostly sharp edges, but with a couple small (maybe 1/4 inch) tears on the front cover.
Even so, “Good to Very Good” doesn’t sound like an amazing grade, I know, so let me give it some context. Pretty much every copy of the original six-issue Hulk run that we’ve ever had in the store has been in appalling condition. I mean, if it wasn’t for the fact that this was one of the scarcer Marvel titles from the period, we probably wouldn’t even have bothered buying them. Brittle paper, nearly no spine, covers plastered completely with tape, heavy tanning, insect damage, used as coasters…for some reason, these Hulk comics took much more abuse than any other Marvel books from that time.
And thus, getting a copy of Hulk #6 like this one, which didn’t feel like it was going to crumble like a really crumbly thing, is something like a miracle.
…
Okay, like a really, really minor and unimportant miracle, but still….
§ December 10th, 2006§ Filed under UncategorizedComments Off on
From Fury of Firestorm #4 (Sept. ’82), Red Tornado disguises himself as Burt Reynolds (under the hopefully non-actionable pseudonym of “Curt Holland”) as part of a ruse to defeat Killer Frost:
No, really, it is Red Tornado:
And after the super-shenanigans are done with, Reddy has time to make with his Steve Martin impression:
…in front of former New York mayor Ed Koch, no less.
In other news:
Is there a more magical phrase in the English language than “a special tribute to Mike Sterling?” I submit to you, sir and/or ma’am, that there is not, and that very phrase appears in Chris Sims’ latest Invincible Super-Blog podcast. He discusses the infamous Swamp Thing supplement from the DC Heroes role playing game in honor of my recent anniversary (and comes to just about the same conclusion I did when I discussed the game way back when). Thanks, Chris, you velvet-piped troubadour, you.
Enough about me, here’s more about me: I now have a Comicspace account, because I need to be on another internet networking/blogging/whatever site, apparently. Well, honestly, I think I may find more use for this than I ever did for my Myspace account, which, um, I’m still not sure what to do with yet. And don’t get me started on my poor, neglected Vox site. Oy.
So I was poking through the latest edition of the Comics Buyer’s Guide Comic Book Checklist & Price Guide, and I noticed an amusing feature: every other page has a strip of photos of five comic covers, each with a very brief description beneath.
Some have trivia (for Street Poet Ray: “Marvel’s worst-selling comic book ever”), some have funny yet accurate descriptions (Sub-Mariner: “Angry Atlantean has control issues,” and Fatale: “Over-endowed heroine absorbs energy”), criticism (Ghost Rider 2099: “Depressing character in depressing future” and Hee Haw: “Doom, Despair, Agony, Oh Me…”), attempted gags (Wheel of Worlds: “Reversed title sounds like car show”), brief history lessons (Harbinger: “Valiant series got very hot, then very cold”), and possibly my favorite one of the bunch, for the Howard the Duck movie adaptation: “Movie ruined all that was good in the world.” Oh, now, it wasn’t as bad as all that, was it?
Okay, one more: Super-Villain Team-Up: “Doom, Red Skull kept trying to make friends.”
Alas, some titles I wanted to see described in this fashion were skipped over by the guide’s writers, forcing me to make up my own for All-Star Batman (“Genius comic, unappreciated in its own time”), Skateman (“AHHH! MY EYES!”), Purgatori (“Masturbation tool for lesbian devil fetishists”), Hawk & The Dove 2nd series (“Believe it or not, Liefeld’s art was okay, once”), J’emm Son of Saturn (“Definitely not the Martian Manhunter”), Double Impact (“This comic starred two pairs of breasts”)…you know, like that.
And I know you jokers have some of your own, so go ahead, throw ’em in the comments section.
“This is an attempt to catalog everything Batman has ever pulled from his suit or belt. His utility belt is a wide, goldish yellow belt with a dozen pockets separated by hollow cylindrical studs, which also contain equipment. Most of his equipment is hidden here. His codpiece contains equipment, as well as his boots, cape, cowl, and gauntlets. It is held firmly that only the dark blue on his costume contains things, never the gray. Sources are Games (Role-Playing and Computer), Movies, Books, Websites (Official only), Television (the 60’s series and modern cartoons), Comics, Scripts, and Newspapers. I only follow the Bruce Wayne Batman, or those that sat in for him. Near the end are gadgets that should have been Batman’s, and last a comprehensive description of his ensemble, what it does, and where he keeps it.”
“…Only the dark blue on his costume contains things, never the gray.” Uh, okay.
YES! Weekly has a 10 Best Comic Book Movies list, where they misspell Spider-Man and accidentally include The Crow. Including Alien Vs. Predator on the list was a nice touch, though, acknowledging the comic book origins of that particular teaming. Calling it one of the “best” is kinda pushing it…it was fun, but really, really stupid, which is okay for what it was.
“For every genuinely nail-biting tale there’s one that seems like a third-rate ‘Twilight Zone’ episode. A bear hunter IS TURNED INTO A RUG! A furrier from the future visits a planet WHERE THE ANIMALS WEAR PELTS MADE OUT OF PEOPLE! An effeminate man marries solely for business reasons because HE’S A ROBOT! (Actually, that last one’s kinda good.)”
I don’t know…the hokiness of some the stories is part of the charm, I always thought. Plus, the comics poke fun at themselves, usually via one of the “horror hosts.” It was like, “yeah, we know this story was kinda goofy, but wasn’t it sorta fun anyway?” It let readers in on the, well, “gag” I guess, inviting them to take the stories about as seriously as they deserved…an aspect of EC Comics that their many imitators of the time didn’t understand.
§ December 7th, 2006§ Filed under UncategorizedComments Off on Not closed, questions, and an oddity.
What I don’t need to hear two minutes after we open our doors for New Comics Day:
“Huh, these shelves sure are bare. They must be going out of business!”
This said, loudly, to other customers. This said while we were breaking down the new comic order, with piles of new comics all over the place (since the shipment arrived late), and while I’m getting comics counted and thrown onto the racks. This said at least twice.
In fairness, once I explained to the customer what was going on, all was suddenly clear, but still, c’mon, I didn’t need to hear that.
“Sure we’ve all heard the horror stories of comic book retailing, but what would be your ‘aww shucks’ story to warm our hearts and weep manly tears?”
Since I first read this question, I put my thinker to the test and tried to dig up some event that could qualify as “heartwarming,” and I think perhaps the one that qualifies the most involves pal Sean, from his days of employment at the shop. It was during one of our infamous Midnight Madness sales, see, when Sean met a particular customer of ours, a young woman named Yvonne (another friend of mine), and thus began a relationship that resulted in their eventual marriage.
So, in an odd sort of way, by hiring Sean, by being friends with Yvonne, I’m responsible for their marital union. There’s your heartwarming story, buster.
“Has there been a big event book or series that didn’t disappoint and did change the status quo of the characters?”
I’ve touched upon this before, primarily on the lasting impact of crossover events, and I still think the only one with anything close to permanent impact is DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths. Twenty years on, we’re still dealing with events from that series.
As for not disappointing…well, I’ve enjoyed many a crossover with “big changes” that were undone right away, so the permanence of said changes isn’t really a factor. (Someday I’ll get around to writing my defense of the original Secret Wars series.) But, again, I’ll say Crisis on Infinite Earths…not perfect, by any means, but beautifully drawn by George Perez, with pretty much every DC character you can think of, in what should probably have been the final word in way overblown event comics of its type.
“Incredible Hulk versus Swamp Thing, besides the readers, who’d win?
If it’s in the Incredible Hulk’s book, the Hulk would win.
If it’s in Swamp Thing’s book, Swamp Thing would win.
If it’s in a one-shot crossover book co-published by Marvel and DC, they’ll fight to a draw, then team-up to fight a greater evil (say, the dreaded Leader and Arcane team, combining science and sorcery to…take over the world!).
“What’s your single issue favorite back issue in your collection?”
I’ve probably answered this before, and I’m sure every time I answer this question, I give a different answer. My usual answer is, not a Swamp Thing comic, believe it or not, but Justice League of America #200, featuring a boatload of classic DC artists and new JLAers fighting the original JLA team. It’s a lot of fun, and a must for fans of superhero art. (Detective Comics #500 is a close second.)
An oddity from that Secret Crisis post…in the comments section, posted on April 24th, was this comment predicting events in then-future issues of Civil War a week or so before the first issue of the series was even released. The heck? I vaguely recall ignoring the comment as crazy talk at the time, but, dang if he (or she) doesn’t pin the Spider-Man thing, and the Clone Thor thing…and I don’t know if the rest of it has happened yet or not, but still, what’s up with that?
I was only reminded of it because someone left a recent comment in that thread that reads:
“Either ‘The Painted Doll’ [the commenter’s handle] works at Marvel and chose this fairly unknown blog to reaveal Big Secrets or he is a prophet!”
“Fairly unknown blog.” Hmph. Anyway, it is pretty weird.
§ December 6th, 2006§ Filed under UncategorizedComments Off on "The coffee and cigarettes are for the cartoonist."
The Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Gene Deitch were always among my favorites…just a little off-model from the other Tom ‘n’ Jerry cartoons, scored a little differently, and slightly creepy. Even as a child, before I was generally aware of such things, I could tell that these cartoons were different from those cartoons. And this one, “The Tom & Jerry Cartoon Kit,” is just plain weird:
Another good sample of Deitch’s work is “Sorry Safari,” which features some beautifully-designed backgrounds, not to mention a great design for an elephant.
But my all-time favorite Tom and Jerry is this non-Deitch one:
I know it’s bit of a cliché to say this, but I have a hard time imagining “Heavenly Puss” being made today. The morbidity of the cartoon is surprising; the sackful of drowned kittens we meet in the afterlife is still quite affecting.
Oh dear heavens, I’ve been doing this on a daily basis for three years now?
Okay, after doing two previous anniversaryposts, and running off at the mouth each of those times, I don’t know if I have that much new to add…well, I’ll probably run off at the mouth again anyway, since I can’t seem to help myself. So, if I repeat myself, I apologize.
There had been times, over the last year, when my enthusiasm for comics weblogging wavered a tad, as I noted once or twice, but you folks, your comments and your e-mails and your generally positive reaction to my ongoing nonsense provide continuing inspiration. As I’ve said before, I never expected to have an audience beyond a few friends, so the fact that I have the audience that I have now quite simply amazes me. Despite my occasional low moments, I do still enjoy doing this site, and I still enjoy interacting with you folks. I don’t plan on going away any time soon, barring health issues, accidents, meteor strikes, the Man keeping me down, or what have you.
So, let me thank all of you for your continued readership, which is, as always, much appreciated. Thanks to my fellow funnybook webloggers, for making the online comics world an interesting one. Thanks to my store’s employees, current and former, and the occasional customer, for not minding too much when I talk about them on the site. (Typical conversation at the store: “Oh, that thing I did is gonna go on your website, isn’t it?” “Ayuh.”)
And, of course, my thanks to the other members of the Associated Comics And Pop Culture Webloggers of Ventura County, CA And Outlying Environs: pals Ian, Tom, J.P., Kid Chris, Corey, Sean, and Nathan (some of whom don’t post nearly enough, Sean)…but most of all, big thanks to best pal Dorian, without whom I don’t know that I’d enjoy doing the weblogging thing as much as I do. So thanks, Dor, you big lug.
Let’s shift the self-indulgence lever all the way up to “FULL BLAST,” if I may, as I present some posts of note from the last twelve months that you may have missed, may want to revisit, or that I’m misguidedly proud of:
As I was putting together those links, I went ahead and scoured the entire archives to finally assemble an index of my character linkdumps. Eventually they’ll get into the sidebar, but, what the heck, here they are for your amusement and/or edification. Note: some linkrot may have set in on some of the noted sites:
