My pal Dorian, after looking at the preview copy of next week’s New X-Men #150: “Boy, the hardcore X-Men fans are going to hate this issue.”
Me: “Why, does something fun and interesting happen?”
Dorian: “Yup.”
(post updated 7/2016)
Mikester
It’s covered.
All the other comic weblogs are doing it…so here’s one of my favorite superhero comic book covers:
Okay, so it’s not within the last 10 years…don’t bring me down with your “rules,” old man.
Honestly, though…Doane’s choice [EDIT: link dead] is very nice…it’s hard to argue with Seth, who is a master of layout and design. You can’t go too wrong with Brian Bolland, either.
(post updated 7/2016)
GL comics.
My friend Corey and I were talking about comics today. Specifically, we were talking about Steve Englehart’s run on Green Lantern (and the series it turned into, The Green Lantern Corps) from the late-80…and we were just laughing and laughing. We both really loved these comics…not because they were any good, but because they were just equal parts silly, over-the-top, and outright insane. Englehart brought us a dead Green Lantern kept alive by his ring, a funny-animal GL (Ch’p), Kilowog hanging out with Gorbachev, Arisia aging herself with her ring to pursue a relationship with Hal Jordan, bizarre sexual tension between Hector Hammond and Star Sapphire, of all people…all kinds of craziness was going on in this comic. And there was a real sense of menace (well, B-movie level menace) from the villains, too…old GL nemesis Sinestro seemed more dangerous than ever, and before he became a buffoon (and way before he became some kind of shape changing alien warrior…wha huh?), Guy Gardner was a fairly threatening villain as well.
Anyway, these GLs were a hoot. Just plain ol’ stupid fun comic books. You look at some of the fans in the online message forums, and you’d think there’s no room for a comic that makes you laugh anymore. They’re all so serious, and and so concerned with the characters’ “dignity.” Sigh. I’ll tell you what…Englehart’s GL was a damn sight more entertaining than that whole Jim Lee/Batman/Hush thing.
(post updated 7/2016)
An apology.
I honestly didn’t intend this to turn into yet another comics weblog, but, well, sometimes things just happen. So, to make up for it, here’s a link to a site that, as far as I can tell, has nothing to do with comics whatsoever.
(post updated 7/2016)
"Is it painful to die of chains?"
When I was a kid, my dad came back from a business trip in Puerto Rico with a book he had bought there to give to me. It was called Hear The Sound of My Feet Walking..Drown The Sound of My Voice Talking. It was a collection of Odd Bodkins cartoons by underground cartoonist Dan O’Neill. Why he found that book in Puerto Rico, and why he decided this was the sort of thing to give me, I have no idea (beyond my interest in all things comical, even then). But, I’m glad he did, and Odd Bodkins is still one of my favorite comic strips. Here is the official site.
(post updated 7/2016)
"That’s who I am, and that’s what I am!"
Licensable Bear is a cute comic written by Nat Gertler, with a fun site to go with it.
Particularly amusing is the “Products They Should Have Licensed Me For” page.
(post updated 7/2016)
Oh, for the days when comics weren’t afraid to be goofy.
Everything you ever wanted to know about Superboy, here [EDIT: link dead] and here.
And, in my quest to find an image of Superboy’s semi-nemesis Insect Queen for you to enjoy, I found Insect Queen fan fiction! Oh blessed Internet, what joys you bring me.
For one of the few currently-published goofy* comics, please visit this site. Arrrr! [EDIT: link dead but here’s a review of the Scurvy Dogs series.]
Purposefully goofy, that is.
(post updated 7/2016)
Speaking of comic book message boards….
…almost all of them tend to have a bad signal-to-noise ratio, but it’s this fella who digs out the real gems. He exposes himself to dangerous levels of fandom for our entertainment, and for that we owe him our thanks.
It’s not just comic boards…take a look at any movie review on Mr. Cranky, and the attached message boards are filled with asinine nonsense. Here’s a good example. And don’t even get me started on this site.
(post updated 7/2016)
Granted, it’s Morrison.
Some people really don’t like Grant Morrison’s X-Men. [EDIT: link dead] Some people also have absolutely no sense of humor, apparently.
Too often in the past, reading the X-Men was like reading someone else’s mail…you understand the words, certainly, but darned if you know what’s going on. Morrison stripped the comic down to its basics, and kept the stories moving with snappy dialogue, fast action, and a healthy dose of silliness (and if there’s one thing the hardcore X-fans don’t like, it’s silliness). He even took generic characters like Bishop and the White Queen and made them interesting, for once. Makes one wonder what he could have done with a character like Gambit…but perhaps some challenges are too great.
Of course, my interest in the X-Men will most certainly go away with Morrison’s departure, but that’s okay. Pretty much all the X-Men adventure you’ll ever need to read is contained in the issues he wrote.
(post updated 7/2016)
Open for business.
I’m still fooling around with settings. Don’t mind me.
Meanwhile, take look at this Wizard of Id strip and see if you can figure out what this situation and these characters have to do with The Wizard of Id. I haven’t read the strip in a while…did I miss something?
(post updated 7/2016)