Mikester

Your 2018 Predictions, Part One: Saga of a Star World.

filed under Categories predictions 3 Comments

Hello, Chloe, whaddaya knowie? Well, it’s time once again for the hottest segment in comics blogging, Snack Situation that bit where I look at your predictions from the previous year and see how close some of you got. There’s a lot of them, so everyone hang in there as I get through them all over the next, oh, seven or eight months or so. And don’t forget, if you want to get in on the 2019 predictions fun, here’s where you go to do so!

Okay…knuckles: cracked, deep breath: taken, loins: girded — so let’s get down to business!

Adam Farrar sees far with

“The still unnamed DC streaming service will not only include their tv shows/movies but also old comics as DC’s answer to Marvel Unlimited.”

Indeed the now-named DC Universe does! It’s not a huge selection, and sometimes they rotate things in and out…no idea what Marvel’s selection is like, but there seems to be plenty to read on DC’s service. But there’s weird stuff like only having one issue of DC Comics Presents, which kind of disappointed me. And I keep hoping they’ll add the old Metal Men comics. I’ve been having fun reading the early Silver Age Green Lantern!

“Neil Gaiman & Mark Buckingham’s Miracleman comics start coming out again. (I’ll keep predicting this and some year it’s bound to come true… right?)”

Keep on predictin’, Adam…maybe someday!

“Legion season 2 will reveal that the character that captured David at the end of the first season is Nanny (the egg-shaped one, not Magneto’s robot). Six months later the character will return to comics in an attempt to capitalize on the show.”

I watched, like, part of the premiere episode way back when, but that’s about it. So, I had to do some deep, deep research (i.e. Googling) to discover, alas, no Nanny egg in the series, which would have had me catching up right quick. The Legion character does appear to have returned to the X-books however, so you get part credit!

• • •

Rich Handley apes my style with

“A fourth Watchmen miniseries will be announced, this time involving the actual Charlton characters on which they were based.”

Sadly, no such animal was announced, though maybe once DC starts Rorschach Team-Up after the conclusion of Doomsday Clock, maybe they can appear there.

“A Swamp Thing movie will be announced, and John Constantine will be in it.”

No movie, but a TV show for DC’s streaming service…and I don’t know if Constantine will be in it, but Blue Devil surely will!

“Scarlett Johansson will finally admit her love for me, and my wife will be fully in favor of the pairing”

I ain’t touchin’ this one.

• • •

Signal Watch chimes in with

“Marvel (Comics) will try a lot of things, but not quite get their act together in 2018. Maybe solicits for early 2019 will show promise.”

Well…I mean, this is a matter of opinion, I guess. A step forward for every step back, as it were. A lot of nice work and some good books, and then some questionable decisions (too many $5.99 and $7.99 comics for my taste).

“Someone, somewhere, in writing about comics will write legitimate criticism about the actual content in a comic in a reasoned, rational manner, and not at all about the industry and their personal grinding axe. Ha ha ha. Just kidding.”

Why start now? …Okay, okay, I know there’s some good comics criticism out there, some even not by me, so it’s out there if you look, amongst the listicles and the comic news about movies that have nothing to do with comics.

“Red shorts at 1000”

Detective #1000 hasn’t come out yet, so I have no idea if Batman will get red trunks or not.

• • •

Jeff R. rites

“A character from the Watchmen universe gets an ongoing title spinning out of Doomsday Clock.”

Not just yet, but I’m betting this will happen too. (Dare I type “Rorschach Team-Up” again?)

“Agents of SHIELD cancelled, replaced with a network TV Miles Morales:Spider-Man show.”

Surprisingly, not cancelled! And we got Miles in a movie, so I guess that’ll do. Bet there’s a cartoon show eventually, though.

“Something will go horribly wrong with the Vertigo 25th Anniversary hardcover, requiring pulped books and digital version airbrushing if not outright cancellation.”

When I read this a year ago, I was thinking “What could go wrong? They accidentally print the ‘Swamp Thing meets Jesus’ story?” Well, something went wrong, because it’s currently marked “CANCELLED” in its listing in the Diamond retailer site, with no resolicitation in the system. …A surprisingly good call!

• • •
Jerry Smith rigs the following

“Marvel will veer slightly away from political controversy in their comics under the new EIC, but sales will not drastically improve. They will not return to legacy characters.”

Hmm…the thing with Marvel is, despite what some too-online folks try to argue, Marvel tends to have at least a thin veneer of politics ingrained into its DNA. I mean, sure, some of it was “hey, the kids are into ‘the protesting,’ let’s put some protesters on our covers,” but there was a lot of heartfelt political expression going on as well, especially in Marvel’s ’70s books.

So…honestly, I don’t think there’s been much of a change so far, except maybe being a little less exploitative of current events. But as far as “controversy” goes…for some people out there, even just having a superhero comic starring a woman is “politically controversial,” so there’s always going to be some dudes out there with a vein throbbing in their forehead mashing at their keyboards.

But yes, some legacy characters have returned. The original Thor’s back, and Tony Stark is kicking around again, but that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

“DC will become more political and offer more controversial storylines. Neither company will appeal to long-term fans.”

Hadn’t really noticed too much of a change, at least with overt political themes. I mean, sure, there’s the inherently political idea of “man with power exerting influence over his inferiors” which, um, maybe you don’t want to really think about when trying to enjoy superhero comics. But mainly, the controversies at DC seem more to arise from things like Doomsday Clock, which is more from “is this trip really necessary?” versus the semi-political content it attempts to contain.

Both companies, however, do still struggle with readership issues, but I’d argue that’s a result the vagaries of their ‘NEW FIRST ISSUE!”/reboots/relaunches ahoy publishing strategies than anything else.

“The Black Panther movie will be awesome.”

You, my friend, are 110% correct.

• • •

Gordon pals around with

“Citing the popularity of its CW-themed shows, DC Entertainment will spin off at least one (ARROW) into its own theatrical release”

DC could do worse than trying this, but it hasn’t happened yet. I expect if this will ever happen, it’ll be after the show in question leaves the air. Arrow is a solid contender for this sort of thing, however!

“Marvel may ‘pull back’ with its movie efforts after INFINITY WAR, citing potential fatigue as well as internal turmoil”

I don’t think so…I feel like there’s still plenty comin’ down the pike. That money ain’t slowing down!

Speaking of the CW, we will see another SWAMP THING series in our lifetime. However, Swamp Thing will have a team of associates who help him fight the Parliament of Trees on a weekly basis.

As noted above, we are getting a Swamp Thing TV show, but on DC’s own streaming service, not the CW. And yes, like I said, Blue Devil will be there helping Swampy fight swamp crime!

• • •

Gareth Wilson menaces me with

“The X-Men comics will explicitly abandon the idea that mutants represent real-world opressed minorities. They’l become just superheroes with a common origin.”

Okay, to be honest, I haven’t read X-Men books in a while (is Beak still on the team?) but I don’t think this happened. I invite corrections…on this, nothing else, I’m right about everything else!

“To control the cast size, the 2018 crossover between the CW DC superhero shows will involve only female characters.”

While that’s a pretty great idea, not this year, alas! I think it’d be a hoot! But it’d probably be called, like, “LADIES NIGHT” and that Kool and the Gang song would play through it the whole ti–wait, hold on, I just made the idea more awesome.

“In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos will cure Bruce Banner, rendering him incapable of transforming into the Hulk.”

Something happened, to be sure, and it may have been caused by his interaction with Thanos, but probably not a “cure” per se. HALF POINT TO GARETHDOR

ª ª ª

Mike Neisen rates me with

“Still no new Showcase Presents volumes, and most importantly, no Showcase Presents Sugar and Spike.”

Don’t tell me you missed all 24 new volumes of Showcase Presents this year? Showcase Presents Scribbly, and Showcase Presents Spanner’s Galaxy, and Showcase Presents Claw the Unconquered, and Showcase Presents Inferior 5, and Showcase Presents Congo Bill and all those? But yeah, you’re right, still no Sugar and Spike.

• • •

Hassan Alamdari chops up the following

“A Shazam ongoing late in the year”

You, friend, are The Correct.

“half of the books spinning out of metal won’t last pass issues 10”

Most of them made it past #10, though a few are going away soon. Just so long as they don’t take away my Terrifics!

“over 5 books that I love will be cancelled too soon.”

If you loved New Super-Man, Gwenpool, Trinity, Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, X-Men Gold and The Simpsons, I have bad news for you.

• • •

Max T has BROKEN APE LAW and gone over the 3-prediction limit! I will address three of them chosen completely at random, honest, no foolin’

“The Fantastic Four will come back to Marvel, but not before the very end of the year.”

They did come back, but it was more middle-ish of the year, kinda. Still, a good prediction!

“Valiant will still put out the best superhero comics not based on characters created to entertain children, but no new people will take notice.”

“The best,” of course, is a matter of opinion…if someone thinks they’re the best, then more power to ’em and we can call it a hit for you! But yeah, they’re not, shall we say, strong sellers, at least for me. They do have a loyal audience, though, and there’s nothing wrong with that!

“One of the long-running CW superhero shows will call it quits. I’m thinking ‘Arrow.’”

None of them are canned yet, I think, but I would suspect one of them isn’t long for this world.

• • •

Okay, that’s enough for now. Tune in next time, same Mike-time, same Mike-channel, for more of your 2018 predictions! And don’t forget to give me your 2019 predictions while there’s still some 2019 left!

Remember when I was the only person on the internet who liked Nancy and Sluggo?

filed under Categories Christmas, nancy, pal dorian, sluggo 6 Comments

So pal Dorian gave me my Christmas gift last weekend…or should I say “gifts,” because he bestowed upon me the Nancy and Sluggo double-whammy.

First was the immortal “Sluggo Is Lit” image, the official print in a handsome frame that I shot at an awkward angle to minimize glare and to (mostly) keep myself from appearing in the reflection:

And second, a pin featuring America’s hardest-working wastrel, Sluggo Smith:


These are great items (inspired by the wonderful new version of the Nancy strip by Olivia James), and if you want to be as cool as I am, you can get your own N&S merch right here.

Anyway, in exchange I gave to Dorian a copy of this Tumbleweeds paperback wrapped in a Burger King bag.


That’s almost as good, right?

I now wish Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben had done their proposed “After Cerebus #300” comic.*

filed under Categories blogging about blogging is a sin, cerebus 2 Comments

So after my Cerebus post, I did poke around briefly on the eBays just getting the lay of the Cerebus-pricing land. Aside from the first handful of issues, plus any “pro-graded” comics stuck in their little plastic slabs, prices were generally pretty reasonable, particularly if you’re like me, and not necessarily looking for near mint copies or anything. Not that buying all these up are a huge priority for me right now or anything what with other expenses I need to worry about (unless I add that as a tier to my Patreon: “150 PATREONS: WILL USE MONEY TO COMPLETE MY CEREBUS COLLECTION”). Plus, my collection at home is still in some disarray after pillaging it for store stock, and I need to get it in some kind of order before I start fillin’ them holes.

But, it’s good to know that getting most of them won’t cost me an arm, a leg, and my remaining eye. I suspected as much, given that back issue demand for the series has dropped over the years since the title ended. Those early issues, though…I mean, it is still a major publication in the history of independent comics, and those initial comics are “key books,” if you’ll pardon my language, and will still command premium prices in the collectors market. Even the counterfeit #1 goes for a pretty penny nowadays, being itself a piece of historical significance.

Oh well, still, it’s something to think about. But speaking of Cerebus and demand thereof, reader Michael had a question in the comments there (seconded by Tom W):

“Mike, would you care to comment some time about how Cerebus does in your store in any of its forms?”

Michael is referring to, aside from the original comics, to the more recent comic collections of the “Cerebus in Hell” webcomic, which (aside from the earlier comics just straight up called Cerebus in Hell) usually feature parody covers like these:


They sold…okay, at first. At the previous place of employment, Cerebus itself was sort of petering out saleswise, at least until there was a slight bump upward with the last few installments. The follow-up items, like Glamourpuss and the Following Cerebus ‘zine started out with relatively good sales, but also eventually dipped until I was pretty sure I was the only person reading them at our store. The same has happened with the webcomic reprints…had some sales, then eventually dropped and dropped until, again, I was the lone holdout. I do have one fellow who occasionally requests an issue because the parody cover amuses him, but that’s about it.

I don’t know why that is…well, okay, at least one person told me that there were just too many coming out, he fell behind, and just decided to quit. I do suspect that there was at least a few readers hoping for actual new “serious” adventures of Cerebus in Hell. and not just Cerebus clipart pasted over Gustave Doré illustrations with gags.

Oh, almost forgot…the original Cerebus doesn’t really sell at all for me. I don’t have a huge stock of the issues, but I rarely have anyone ask for it. I did have a couple of those slabbed copies sell online, as I mentioned last time, but when I do sell Cerebus, it’s usually in the form of the trades.

Nik asks as a follow-up “what do you think of ’em” and “who’s buying these things,” and to answer the last part…um, me. I’m buying them, I admit it. As to what I think of them…I think they’re amusing. The repeated use of those, what, three poses of Cerebus mixed with the Doré art does tickle me, and the jokes can be funny, but it’s totally an acquired taste. Plus, I do like the covers.

I am way behind, though, but that’s only because I’m way behind on nearly all the comics I usually read due to my recent eye problems. Normally I’m a quick reader and would have no problem keeping up on the weekly releases, but of late it takes me a lot longer to absorb the text in any comic I’m perusing. Once things are finally corrected and I can get a proper pair of prescription eyeglasses instead of the reader glasses I’ve been depending upon, I’ll hopefully be able to catch up, assuming the giant to-read stack doesn’t crush me first.

• • •

Speaking of questions, no, don’t worry, i haven’t forgotten about the last time I took some from you kind readers out there. I will continue answering those as time and blog content necessity allows. And, if you haven’t already, don’t forget to give me your 2019 comic industry predictions so I have something to talk about in early 2020, aside from Iron Man 2020 and the Superman of 2020. I plan to start going over your 2018 predictions next week, so unsubscribe in your favorite blog reading programs right now! I should be able to get through those in, um, a couple of weeks, unless there’s another eye surgery that happens in there somewhere, but I’ll do my best!
 
 

* I don’t know if that was just a joking suggestion or not, of if even those guys made it or Sim himself did. But I still keep picturing what that would have been like! I mean, other than amazing.

Progressive Ruin presents…the End of Civilization.

filed under Categories End of Civilization 6 Comments

It’s a new year, which means all new signs of the End of Civilization that is surely coming soon, as foretold in that most mystical of tomes, the Diamond Previews catalog. Get out your copy of the January 2019 edition and follow along:

p. 85 – Hardcore #4:

Four issues in and still no George C. Scott.
 
 
p. 115 – William Gibson’s Alien 3 #5:

COMING SOON: Debbie Gibson’s ALIEN: Electric Xenomorph.
 
 
p. 122 – Hellboy The Art of the Motion Picture HC:


Phew, thank goodness they killed that previous underperforming series of del Toro Hellboy movies in favor of this billion-dollar blockbuster.
 
 
p. 135 – Disney Hamlet, Starring Donald Duck TP:


Oh for this to be animated, to hear Donald give the whole “To be or not to be” soliloquy in that voice, to see him fly into a rage as he’s killin’ folks. But I do hope in the comic that Yorick’s skull is Goofy’s.
 
 
p. 170 – Uncle Scrooge #43:


Boy, Dark Horse is doing Disney books, IDW is doing Disney comics, Fantagraphics has their Disney reprint series…Disney should really think about buying a comic book company.
 
 
p. 190 – The Six Million Dollar Man #1:


Someone at Dynamite looked into the feasibility of doing six miliion variant covers on this, I’m sure.
 
 
p. 304 – Star Wars Obi-Wan & Anakin A Choose Your Destiny Adventure SC:


“Ooh, yeah, maybe this time I’ll choose not to leap down at a guy holding a laser sword. Maybe that’ll work out better.”
 
 
p. 433 – Mister Miracle Escape God World Tour T-Shirt:


Thought this was some sort of pro-atheist slogan shirt at first.
 
 
p. M16 – Legends in 3D Movie Jack Sparrow Half-Scale Resin Bust:


Relive your enjoyment of the one and only Pirates of the Caribbean movie with this handsome piece…hmm? Yes, the only movie, that’s correct.
 
 
p. M124 – Star Wars Authentic Blind Autographed Photo Box:


But won’t the autographs be all crooked and sloppy? Because, you know, they can’t see what they’re…look, I took a month off from these, I’m still a bit rusty.
 
 
DC Previews p. 4 – Detective Comics #1000:


Okay, like Action #1000…does this include the #0 issue and the #1,000,000 issue? Because it’d be, like, #1002, right? I swear, this is the whole “the 21st century starts on January 1st, 2001” thing again.
 
 
DC Previews p. 12 – Second Coming #1:

“Witness the return of Jesus Christ, as He is sent on a most holy mission by God to learn what it takes to be the true messiah of mankind by becoming roommates with the world’s favorite savior: the all-powerful super hero Sun-Man, the Last Son of Krispex! But when Christ returns to Earth, he’s shocked to discover what has become of his gospel-and now, he aims to set the record straight.”

Okay, now can we get that Rick Veitch “Swamp Thing Meets Jesus” story in print already?
 
 
DC Previews p. 15 – American Carnage #5:


Enjoying this counterpoint to Marvel’s Commie pinko Carnage comics.
 
 
DC Previews p. 41 – Mad Magazine #7:


Please please please let this be bound into the magazine like the Mad comic reprints were in the old Mad Specials so that they’re nigh-impossible to remove without wrecking everything. Let a new generation suffer as we did.
 
 
DC Previews p. 77 – Zero Hour 25th Anniversary Omnibus:


Yes, it’s been 25 years of DC not fixing what they broke right after Crisis. I was going to make a joke about “oh I’m so old, this was so long ago, the grave looms before me” but I’m pretty sure I’ve been rebooted at some point, so I’m okay.
 
 
Marvel Previews p. 27 – Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History #1:


Revealed at last, the reason marvel forgot Kirby even existed for most the 1980s.
 
 
Marvel Previews p. 42 – Incredible Hulk #181 Facsimile Edition:


Hopefully half of these will have the Marvel Value Stamp cut out for true authenticity.
 
 
Marvel Previews p. 61 – Old Man Quill #1:


Clearly the counter to this trend of “Old Man [Character]” comics is, like, “Young Man Vulture” or something. (Well, I guess Trouble was basically “Young Woman Aunt May.” Remember Trouble? You really shouldn’t.)
 
 
Marvel Previews p. 98 – Color Your Own Avengers 2:


I don’t know about this rebranding of Marvel’s “Essentials” line.
 
 
Marvel Previews p. 104 – Silver Surfer Parable 30th Anniversary Edition HC:


$40 for an 88-page hardcover? This book better have a cover that lights up with the “power cosmic” at the touch of a button to justify that price.

This isn’t just an elaborate pretense to link to one of my eBay listings.

filed under Categories cerebus, collecting 8 Comments


So a long time ago, at the previous place of employment, we had two copies of Cerebus #1. One was an authentic copy, personally hauled by Dave Sim from his local printer to his home by the boxload, presumably. The other was one of those rotten, no-good, genuine counterfeit copies that some nefarious nogoodnik produced at the time, to take advantage of whatever secondary market was building up around this weird Canadian parody of Conan the Barbarian.

Frankly, I’m surprised this sort of thing didn’t happen more often, particularly on the, shall we say, not-so-slickly produced small press titles that somehow ended up with a surprising mark-up in value. Granted, it didn’t happen a whole lot, and prices qould have to be awfully high to justify the cost of printing counterfeits…I mean, for the cost of printing “fake” copies of anther person’s comic, why not just put the resources into doing your own? Probably make just about as much money, when all is said and done. Anyway, I believe issue #2 of Cerebus was bootlegged as well, supposedly, and weren’t some of the early Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles copied as well? Wouldn’t surprise me.

But, yes, at one time at the shop, as I was saying, we had both the real and the ersatz earth-pig debut issues. Can’t remember their prices now, but they weren’t very cheap, and we ended up selling them both to the same person (one of our regulars, and a huge Cerebus fan). For a time, though, it was pretty neat to have ’em in the shop, just to be appreciated as the physical objects they were. Yes, there were plenty of reprints of the contents, which I had, but there’s just something about having the actual item in your hand, the crudely-printed (oddly enough, the counterfeit slightly less crudely-printed) amateur publication that represented an individual’s imagination and triumph in getting it all down on paper and out into the world.

I’ve read all of Cerebus. The “High Society” sequence and (to a very slightly lesser extent) “Church & State” remain absolute pinnacles of comic book storytelling. Even as the series wore on and became…well, let’s say “less accessible,” the illustrative standards of Sim and partner Gerhard emained remarkably high (well, aside from those issues near the end that were mostly text). Even the handlettering was nearly unmatched by anyone in the business.

I’ve mentioned this on the site before, but some of you reading this may not have been born yet, so I’ll repeat it here. I was first exposed to Cerebus via an article in the old Starlog Press magazine Comics Scene. I thought it sounded pretty cool, but with newsstands being my source for comic books, I didn’t have access to the beginnings of the indie comics boom. That changed in the early ’80s, when I found out about the shop that would eventually become my job, and suddenly I had more indie comics than I knew what to do with.

I still didn’t get into Cerebus at that point, however, because I figured “well, it’s been going on a while, it’s too hard to catch up,” and that’s how it went until a couple of years later, a friend of mine brought a copy of #74 to school and let me read it. Aaaand that was it, I was pretty much hooked. I bought the latest issue next time I went to the store, and over the next few years (including some of my initial months working at the shop, beginning in ’88) I slowly acquired all the previous issues…

…Except for the first 25. At the time, there were the Swords of Cerebus collections, which reprinted all those issues. That was good enough for me, I thought then…the issues starting at #26 were already pricey enough, the earlier ones even more so, making the Swords books a sufficient alternative. Plus, they had short stories exclusive to them, which was a nice bonus.

The reason I bring all this up is that, after seeing a link or something on the Twitters, I got to thinking about those early issues again. I divested myself of a good portion of my collection when I opened my own store, but I kept my Cerebus…I mean, yes, sure, there’s no real back issue market for them anymore, but that wasn’t the main reason. It was because I liked those comics, I put a lot of effort into starting that collection. And even if the latter part of the series felt like a…I’m not quite sure how to put it. A divergence, maybe, from the promise and the storytelling of the first half of the series, but it still remains an achievement, for all its flaws. It’s Dave’s comic, he could do what he wanted with it, and who am I to judge, but I can’t help but feel what I got in the end was not what I was waiting for. That’s what art does, sometimes.

Okay, I really wasn’t trying to delve into the criticism of the series…there’s plenty of that out there, and…yeah, they ain’t wrong. What I was thinking about recently, however…the thing that brought us all here today, was that old standby, the collector’s urge. The need to “fill the gaps,” as it were, to scratch those numbers off the ol’ creased and tattered checklist. Not that I’m been actively seeking the first 25 issues of Cerebus this whole time, but I got to thinking about them again, and about how I loved acquiring each new back issue to add to my run, how each individual issue felt like something special, with those great covers. Like, back to that #1 we had, it was a representation of someone’s dream put directly in my hand. Not a corporate character produced out of some huge, professional publishing house. It was like one of series of letters, from my Canadian pal Dave who wanted to tell me a story.

Realistically, I don’t know if I’m actually going to go through with trying to track these down. I don’t think I’ve had one of the early issues show up at my own shop yet in any collections. Well, there were the pro-graded copies of #8, #10 and #12 that a friend…actually, the very same friend who brought that #74 to school so long ago…had me sell on his behalf. I still have the #8, and there is a very small temptation to just keep it and pay my pal for it. I won’t, as Businessman Mike outvotes Fanboy Mike here, but I’m definitely keeping an eye out for reasonably priced copies now.

“Reasonably priced” is the trick, of course. A quick glance at the eBay reveals all kinds of prices on the earliest issues. Even the counterfeit #1, once listed with no value in the price guide, is selling for well over a grand (in one of those plastic slabs, of course). Quite a bit over whatever we sold ’em for at the old shop, I’m sure.

I do have the run of Cerebus Bi-Weekly, which reprinted all those early issues in their entirety, including editorial matter, letters pages, and ads, but it’s not quite the same. I realize it’s a fetishizing of those originals, when technically I already have everything that’s present inside them. I do really enjoy them, though, and while I may not love what Cerebus eventually became, I still have that strong nostalgic love for what it was, and how I felt as I slowly pieced it all together. Wanting my own copies of those initial almost-a-baker’s-two-dozen issues almost certainly stems from a desire to recapture that feeling, an old fan’s desire for when times were simpler, and the fun of collecting was at its peak.

Skating and shing-a-linging into the new year!

filed under Categories happy new year, teen titans 5 Comments

Okay, this is hardly the most extreme example:


…but there’s nothing quite like Bob Haney’s “hip” and “with-it” dialogue from the 1960s Teen Titans comics, and just how overboard it can get. Wonder Girl constantly called “Wonder Chick,” Aqualad gettin’ hit with “Aqualaddio” (egads), and pretty much every panel is basically this:


I mean, seriously, they tried really hard.

But you know what? For all that wacky dialogue, this era of Teen Titans is still a lot of enjoyable fun, and not just for how the characters speak the lingo. How can you not love a comic that whips out a Nessie ex machina to rescue Aqualad from imprisonment in a Loch Ness tower?


Bless Bob Haney, and bless Nick Cardy for drawing it so beautifully.

Here’s to enjoying more comics in the new year, from older classics like these, to new efforts that some talented folks are writing and drawing even as we speak.
 
 

from Teen Titans #17 (Sept-Oct 1968) by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy

In which I have some minor spoilers for Teen Titans Go! To The Movies but don’t spoil the best joke.

filed under Categories cartoons, challs, swamp thing, teen titans 1 Comment

So in my most recent attempt to make the money I’m spending on Netflix worthwhile, I’ve been getting a handful of discs…yes, actual physical media…from them a little more often than I have of late (for example, I finally watched and returned that copy of The Quick and The Dead I’d had in my possession since July), One of my recent borrowings was of Teen Titans Go! To The Movies. a nice, gentle skewering of the superhero movie trend with plenty of laughs…the biggest being Robin’s final line in the film, which still makes me sensibly chuckle even now. Won’t spoil it here, and while it is revealed in the Wikipedia entry on the film, without its context and delivery it’s not nearly as hilarious.

Some of the film’s humor was clearly “not a joke for you, a guy who’s about to turn 50 years old” but I thought most of it was pretty accessible, and to be fair, the Challengers of the Unknown jokes were totally for me, so take that, kids.

Speaking of being totally for me, there was no small amount of Swamp Thing guest-starring action, and a big thanks to fine human being Kevin Church for GIFing up this sequence on my behalf:


We can only hope this is what he looks like in that upcoming TV series on the DC streaming service.

A couple of more things about Teen Titans Go! To Mike’s Blu-Ray Player:

Not a fan of fart jokes generally, but I gotta say, that was a good one in this film.

And, the “mid-credits” bonus scene featuring the original, not entirely-gag driven version of the animated Teen Titans, setting up a Teen Titans Vs. Teen Titans Go movie that is apparently still A Thing That Is Happening: well, that should be weird. It’s the battle between the fans who hated that first Teen Titans cartoon and the fans that really hate the new Teen Titans Go! cartoon!

Also liked the handful of gags aimed at Marvel’s direction (especially the Big Cameo which I’m very glad was actually voiced by him and not someone doing an impression). Frankly, I was a bit surprised not more was make with the comparison between Deadpool’s real name “Wade” and Slade’s real name (“Slade”)…I can see why they avoided the topic of their identical last names, given certain story events.

Oh, which reminds me, I thought the repeated gag of everyone rolling Slade’s name around in their mouths to appreciate how evil it sounds was a solid one.

Of course, the darkest laugh is one I already sort of knew about, when the Titans are travelling through time to restore superhero origins they had undone for, you know, reasons, in which Robin…facilitates Batman’s origin. Hoo boy. All those people in the late ’80s/early ’90s who mimicked only the grim ‘n’ gritty parts of Dark Knight Returns only wished they were that dark.

So anyway, it’s a good bit of fun, worth a rental if you haven’t seen it already. Or if you have, it’s worth it just to freeze frame on some of the movie posters that pop up in the background here and there. Plus, if you’re a Swamp Thing fan…well, I already showed you why it’s worth your time.

“The future was one thing that could never be broken, because it had not yet had the chance to be anything.” ― Sarah Dessen

filed under Categories predictions 32 Comments

As I predicted on this very website only about two posts ago, today is Gimme Yer Predictions Day, as I ask you, The Folks What Still Read The Comics Blogs, for your comic book industry predictions for this coming year of 2019 (possibly to go down in future history books as “The Burning Times,” but we’ll see).

If you’ve got any predictions, share ’em in the comments for this post, but remember, the rules are, as always:

1. Don’t read the other predictions before entering your own.

2. Don’t criticize other people’s predictions.

3. Don’t predict any real person’s death.

4. Limit of three predictions per person, please! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY, ONLY THREE! My fingers are already tired just from looking at all the predictions I have to cover from last time. And don’t do, like, “here’s Part B of Question #3, which has two subsections” etc., or I’ll get you, and your little dog Toto, too.

After the first of the year, barring any lingering eyeball health issues, I’ll get crackin’ on that aforementioned last batch of predictions for 2018, so consider that your fair warning.

Thanks, pals…every year you folks come through for me on these posts and it’s greatly appreciated! Always remember that all of you are a big part of why this site is still around and still a lot of fun for me to do!
 
 

Web of Mystery #19 (July 1953) – art by Jim McLaughlin

Merry 10th Anniversary of the release of Frank Miller’s The Spirit!

filed under Categories Christmas 3 Comments

Progressive Ruin hopes you have the Spirit of Christmas in your hearts, and I, along with…

…The Spirit:

..and the Octopus:

…and Dr. Ellen Dolan:

…and Arthur the Cat:

…and Sand Saref:

…and Lorelei:

…and Commissioner Dolan:

…and Silken Floss:

…and these guys:

…and Plaster of Paris:

…and ol’ Frank his own self:

…and, of course, this little fella:

…wish you the best this holiday season!

A less-brief update.

filed under Categories blogging about blogging is a sin, obituary 7 Comments

Hi pals! When we last met, I was still in recovery from some minor eyeball surgery and hoping to be back in full swing in time for Christmas. Well, as it turns out, there’s a minor complication requiring me to go back under the knife this coming Thursday. Nothing serious, just, you know, can’t see out of my right eye since blood ain’t clearing out of it. But I was warned beforehand that this was a possibility, so everything should be fine. It just has to be done, so dood it I will.

But thanks to all of you for your well wishes and kind words, and Progressive Ruin Industries will be up and running again in short order, processing that comics-related product that you’ve grown accustomed to over the last decade and a half.

In the meantime, I will have a special Christmas post up tomorrow…in fact, it’s already put together and scheduled to publish, so it’s too late to stop it now. And I’ll have the annual “gimme your comic predictions for next year” post up Wednesday, so warm up your clairvoyant powers for that. And then, most likely, the rest of week I’ll take off, but I plan to be back the following Monday.

On a somewhat related note, I was pretty happy to have a new issue of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen show up last week…I’d been looking forward to reading it, but I was curious as to why the latest installment came prebagged:


When I popped it open to discover the reason, lo and behold, 3D GLASSES:


This is pretty much the face I made:


Ah, well…something to look forward to after the surgery, I guess.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I’ll meet you all back here tomorrow and Wednesday.

• • •

I should note the passing of Brian Snell, the person behind the Slay, Mostrobot comics blog. He clearly loved the comics medium and had many people who appreciated and supported the work he did expressing that appreciation on a daily basis. My condolences to his friends and fans.