Cool News
AICN COMICS ROUNDTABLE REVIEW! THE @$$HOLES LOOK AT INFINITE CRISIS!
THE MODERATOR: Greetings Faithful Talkbackers! I am the Moderator, the omniscient and sole voice of reason haunting the halls of @$$hole HQ. Sometimes a comic comes along that is too big for just one of the @$$Holes to review. In those cases, we drop formalities, gather around our circular table, load up of Schlitz and pretzels, and talk the comic to death. So without further ado, it’s time for another painfully unfunny, self-indulgent, and meandering @$$HOLE ROUNDTABLE REVIEW!
@$$HOLE ROLL CALL
AMBUSH BUG
DAVE FARABEE
HUMPHREY LEE
PROF. CHALLENGER
SLEAZY G
SUPERHERO
VROOM SOCKO
AMBUSH BUG
DAVE FARABEE
HUMPHREY LEE
PROF. CHALLENGER
SLEAZY G
SUPERHERO
VROOM SOCKO
MODERATOR: Well, you've been hearing about it for months. You've been reading all of the miniseries leading up the event. You've been cruising the message board rumorings and gabbing it up in the talkbacks. INFINITE CRISIS is here. Now that you've read it, what are your initial thoughts?
SUPERHERO: Well, I've got to say that while it didn't necessarily blow me away there were some things that really did hit home for me. I haven't been a fan of the whole "We're pissed at Wonder Woman because she killed someone" thing but the conversation between the big three in this issue lead to some pretty interesting points.
PROFESSOR CHALLENGER: Okay. Here's the deal. I was 18 when CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 hit the stands. What I doubt you newbies out there can really wrap your minds around is that at that time, this grand universe-wide crossover megaseries thing was brand new and it was a monumental sea change for all of us reading super-hero comics all our lives. Sure, Marvel had finished up their SECRET WARS thing, but that was limited to a handful of heroes and their adventure took place offworld with the only real ramifications being Spider-Man wearing a black costume (so the artists didn't have to draw webs anymore) and She-Hulk joining the Fantastic Four.
CRISIS changed EVERYTHING ~ and for the last 20 years we have experienced a changed approach to storytelling and marketing as a result of that mini-series. I know the market out there is clamoring to get their hands on this series (hats off to the DC Marketing Team for their blitzkrieg style advertising on this thing), but the p.o.v. of the average buyer is so jaded and cynical now that nobody really expects anything more than a corporate attempt to raid their wallets.
So here we are. We got a corporate attempt to raid our wallets being produced by a team of a talented writer and artist who are giving it their best effort to try and rise above the marketing driven genesis of this series.
Evaluated on those terms, it is a mixed bag for me. The writing in issue 1 is strong and the art is strong, but at this point there's something still missing for me. The weekend before this comic came out, I went and reread the original CRISIS to get prepped and I've got to say that the original CRISIS #1 still blows away all the competition.
AMBUSH BUG: After a first read, I have to say that I am impressed. Johns has orchestrated all of these corners of the DCU and created one awe-inspiring universe. But aside from that, he's constructed a compelling read with this issue that draws from all of that build-up. This isn't an issue where the heroes stand around and talk the entire time. The heroic trinity meets. They have a dynamic disagreement. Some action relevant to that disagreement occurs. And then there is a resolution to that disagreement resulting in some major ramifications for our heroes. All the while, in the background, the four threats that have been developing in RANN-THANAGAR WAR, VILLAINS UNITED, DAY OF VENGEANCE, RETURN OF DONNA TROY, and OMAC PROJECT all come together. Having followed the entire build-up from IDENTITY CRISIS on, I have to say that this issue did its job in hooking me into this gigantic story.
SUPERHERO: See, the mini-series all just dragged on. After a while they just weren't compelling to me anymore. I just started to feel like...get on with it already! By the time I got to this first issue, I was tired of the different mini-series so this issue just ended up being kind of more of the same for me.
BUG: I agree that the series went on a bit too long. None of the single issues dragged on like your typical Marvel filler, but I think it would have been a better idea to have the series run three to four issues, rather that six. By the end of each of the miniseries, I knew where it was all going.
HUMPHREY LEE: I'll agree I think that some of the minis were just too much fodder and meandering while trying to get some of the "big picture" things in place, like what Wonder Woman did in “Sacrifice,” trying to get Donna goddamn Troy running about and doing her thing and so bloody on. We all know, though, that six issues is the magic number now for sales, so that would never have happened.
VROOM SOCKO: I may be in a unique position here: I've never once read the original CRISIS.
Oh sure, I flipped through it a couple of times, but the whole thing just seemed so ponderous. I know that Supergirl dies, but I couldn't tell you how or why. Likewise, I only read two of the lead-in miniseries to this big event: VILLAINS UNITED and RANN-THANAGAR. So what's the bottom line here? I honestly don't have a single fucking clue what's going on in that book, that's what. Hell, the big reveal at the end means next to nothing to me, simply because I have no earthy idea who half of those people are!
BUG: Well, there was SuperOldie, from an alternate earth where everyone has greying temples. There's Red Afro Lex from Earth Disco. There's SuperSlim from Lo-Carb Earth. And Purple Dress Lass from a land where everyone must wear a purple dress, or as I like to call it, Uncle Phil's place; where as I child, I was not allowed to visit.
VROOM: Wait a second. You're telling me that was Lex Fucking Luthor?!? Uh-uh. No way. What kind of twisted-ass reality has a Lex Luthor that looks like a Ren-Fair version of Napoleon Dynamite? I feel sorry for that world. "Otis, I need you to bring my red Kryptonite to school. Gosh!"
PROF: No. We're telling you that the only son of the Lex Luthor of Earth 3 was rocketed to Earth 1 to become the sole survivor of that planet. He's the Disco Messiah.
SUPERHERO: How come the older Superman and his crew never showed up to save the universe before? What? ZERO HOUR and INVSION weren't cataclysmic enough?
BUG: This is a good point, but maybe the heroes were fit to take on these Crises. It looks as if the true Crisis is actually on the horizon and heroes of the alternate Earths decided to intervene because the heroes just weren't capable of being heroic this time around. So it isn't the size of the Crisis that drew them out, but the capability of the heroes to take care of said Crisis.
PROF: But these characters have been seen before. Or at least Earth 2 Superman has. Unless I was on dope or something, there was a comic something-or-other in the last 7-10 years that had the Earth 2 Superman, Post-Crisis, where we got to see where he went at the end of CRISIS. In that story he was happily flitting around on a copy of Earth. Only problem was that he was actually trapped their by some impenetrable barrier surrounding the atmosphere of the planet. So, maybe he HAS been sitting around watching all this stuff and getting frustrated by the fact that he couldn't break the barrier. But maybe it turns out that Earth 2 Superman is actually a lot like the Hulk and madder Earth 2 Superman gets stronger Earth 2 Superman gets. After watching the current Superman acting like a whiny pansy-ass, Wonder Woman acting like a frigid psychopath, and Batman acting like a 40-year-old virgin experiencing serious blueballs, finally Earth 2 Superman had alls he could stand he could stands no more and had the strength to burst that barrier so he can come kick some post-modern SuperASS. I hope he takes his belt to those kids. They need it.
SLEAZY: Besides, if you don't know who these people were, you only have to wait a month. By the end of the second issue they're supposed to have explained exactly who everybody is and what their deal is. Makes total sense, too--how many comic book cliffhangers end with a reveal on the last page, then explain the sitch in the very next issue? It's totally S.O.P. in comics. They're not gonna leave us flailing around on this one.
PROF: I honestly cannot imagine how this first issue would read to someone who was genuinely unfamiliar with anything DC related but was curious because of the hype. I would expect they would come away slack-jawed, drooling, and with a brain aneurysm. That's my only real writing complaint about INFINITE CRISIS. Hard to penetrate for the DC virgin. Maybe some sort of KY-Jelly would've helped. Or maybe just an inside-the-cover info piece.
DAVE FARABEE: To this entire issue, I offer up a hearty...*shrug* Most of the scenes had competent, even above-average superhero writing, and while I've certainly got some nits to pick, I mostly feel removed from DC's machinations at this point. Cosmic, world-shattering shit featuring "every character ever!" makes my eyes glaze over and I could never even make it through the first CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Blasphemy? Maybe, but while I love the shared universes of Marvel and DC, there comes an oversaturation point for the concept. There comes a point when it's like trying to interpret a spandexed FINNEGAN'S WAKE. Even for a geek like me who's been reading superheroes for 20 years+, that ain't my idea of fun.
PROF: I wouldn't *shrug* it off. Even though it was not a perfect kickoff to a series, it was definitely head and shoulders above most. Honestly, I think this issue had like the reverse problem that HOUSE OF M #1 had. In that first issue, absolutely nothing happened except a bunch of spandexed heads bitching and griping with a big white at the end. In INFINITE CRISIS #1, too much was crammed into it. We got a big verbal fistfight between Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. We got a fight with Mongul. We got the death of the Freedom Fighters. We got epilogues to RANN-THANAGAR WAR, OMAC PROJECT, and DAY OF VENGEANCE. We got cool pinups of the Secret Society of Super-Villains. We got the big reveal of the original Superman and Lois, Alexander Luthor of Earth 3, and Superboy of Earth Prime. No way all of that gets nothing but a *shrug*
DAVE: Sure it does! If there's no emotional connection to the proceedings, the story can have quality trappings throughout and still leave me disinterested. It's not all INFINITE CRISIS' fault, though, not at all. I was predisposed to be disinterested because, well, I've pretty much hated DC's monolithic direction towards despair and ugliness since IDENTITY CRISIS kicked the trend off a year or two back. I'm past being pissed about it, but it doesn't mean I find it remotely appealing.
SLEAZY G: Technically, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS reads more like if FINNEGAN'S WAKE had been written by somebody really hacky. "Clive Cussler's FINNEGAN'S
WAKE" or some shit. I just read it for the first time less than a year ago because I had a lot of time to kill, and it was like pulling my own teeth with rusty pliers. It's dull and overwrought but with no real sense of impact or importance.
SUPERHERO: This is an interesting comment to me because I've always loved the original CRISIS. As a matter of fact I just lent it to a friend of mine who's a big Marvel fan and had never really read DC books and he loved it as well. Maybe my perceptions are muddled by nostalgia
but I just remember it being so mind blowing that all these characters were getting together for the first time in one place and I, for one, bought the whole Anti-Monitor/Monitor stuff hook, line and sinker. Just wondering if maybe your dislike for it comes from being subjected to this kind of thing for years and years and years and being fed up with it already. Giant crossovers I mean. I know I definitely have but I also know that Crisis was the first and, having read
it again when the trade was released, the best. At least in my opinion.
PROF: The impact, and the writing, of CRISIS cannot be fully comprehended and appreciated unless you were right there in the mix when it originally hit. Sure, it can be enjoyed nostalgically now, but you really cannot look at it through the proper perspective of the times in which it was published. CRISIS really was the last of the Silver Age books and the writing bespeaks its Silver Age pedigree. Simple as that.
SLEAZY G: I think it was well-loved by readers at the time because nothing of its scope had ever been attempted, but reading it with fresh eyes and no sense of nostalgia left me thinking little more than "wow, that sucked." I mean, sure, there was the whole thing where I got a better idea where cities were located geographically or found out the made-up cities came from Earth 2, but...my god...the dialogue and narration? Painful.
SUPERHERO: The one thing that really bugged me about the original CRISIS was how they just
sent "Classic Superman and Lois", Superboy, and Alexander Luthor off to some weird peaceful universe. It always just seemed like such a loophole to me as well as a cop out. I just felt that any alternate versions of Superman should have died. It didn't seem like a good ending for those characters to me.
BUG: Well, it looks like it wasn't the ending. Appears Johns has a few more things for these characters to do.
PROF: Johns and Jimenez have a lot weighing on their shoulders with this miniseries. And I think they know it. This is not like HOUSE OF M, for example, which NOBODY out there gave any extra expectation or weight to beyond its simply being, once again, another crossover series to suck $$$ from X-Zombies. For whatever reason, the DC stable of characters, perhaps because they are more archetypal, resonate more passionately with readers' expectations of respect. I think the creators (and maybe even the Editorial staff) realize that how this miniseries resolves is going to either push people away for good or it is going to reenergize their base and also draw in the newer, more savvy teen and older audience as they move boldly into the 21st century. If they do not deliver, DC is going to experience a painful implosion.
SUPERHERO: But that's the thing, Prof. This whole INFINITE CRISIS thing ISN'T reading like something special...it's starting to read like just another big ol' company wide crossover. Just because it ties into the original CRISIS doesn't mean it's particularly great or even good. The mini-series leading up to it have all been a jumbled mess with no REAL resolution at the end of them leaving me with expectations of anything greater. The original CRISIS was one great, big event created by ONE antagonist, the Anti-Monitor.
BUG: But it may still be one protagonist. INFINITE CRISIS pulls all of the threads together from the miniseries leading up to it. There’s some cosmic anti-matter event in space tying to RANN-THANAGAR. Turns out Lex Luthor II is leading the Secret Society from VILLAINS UNITED. Donna Troy is the one tie between the entire Multiverse as revealed in her series. I think some of the miniseries like DAY OF VENGEANCE and OMAC were meant to distract the big guns of the DCU while some directly tied in with the actual upcoming Crisis that has SuperOldie and Co spooked.
SUPERHERO: This thing is starting to read like too many cooks spoiling the broth. I agree that certain elements were compelling but is it coming across as compelling as CRISIS was in its own time...my answer is nope. Not yet anyway...but in the long run it may have ended up doing more harm than good for this long-time reader. God knows Marvel pushed me away a long time ago with all their crazy X-books.
BUG: I became jaded with the crossover thing too. Too many "Atlantis Attacks" and "Evolutionary Wars" and “Invasions" and "Zero Hours." It got to be an annual thing and when it becomes "What big crossover can we do this year?" I tuned out entirely. The thing with the way this "event" was set up is that it was meticulously paced out by a close knit group of writers who are interested in not just making and event and selling books (although I'm sure they're interested in that too), they're focused on making this a universe spanning story with ramifications. One that moves the mythology that is the DCU forward. There's a history at DC. One that is respected. It's a story that has a beginning and may one day have an end. And since I'm reading a lot of DC, I feel a kinship with all of that, moreso than with the continuity-free way Marvel is functioning these days.
HUMPHREY: I think it's a safe thing to say that this thing was pretty tightly planned out, and then they got dollar signs in their eyes and tried pushing the buck a little more.
PROF: The New DC stands for Direct Change only. Money, money, money, money. I'm reminded of Daffy Duck when he burrows into Aladdin's cave and sees all that gold. I think that's what kinda happened around the DC management offices when the sales figures on IDENTITY CRISIS started rolling in.
DAVE: If I were to sum up my problem with the original CRISIS in just a sentence, it'd go, "When your ensemble cast runs in the scores, their actions become so depersonalized as to be weightless, even abstract - more a chess game than a story."
SUPERHERO: I can see your point but I always saw it as more plot driven than character driven. Plus it had some pretty powerful moments as far as I was concerned. The death of Barry Allen and Supergirl being just two of those.
BUG: I remember that the original CRISIS was at once awe-inspiring and confusing when I first read it. Back when it was first released, I just picked it up because it had all of the awesome heroes standing around and all of this destruction. I didn't really care about stuff like good writing. Don't know what I'd think about it today, but that doesn't really matter when looking at this book. To me, that was a comic from a different time and open for reinterpretation. For Johns to sprout this story directly from that one is a pretty ballsy move, but I don't see the criticisms you guys are stating present in INFINITE CRISIS #1. I think the story was powerful. The scope was large, but you could tell that at the heart of this story is the break-up of a trio of heroes and how those heroes aren't acting so heroic anymore.
HUMPHREY: Well, to me it's quite simple. The book reads extremely well. Johns has written some really good character moments, especially for those now recently deceased, there's solid dialogue, and definitely a sense of urgency.
VROOM: In this issue as well as the buildup minis I counted references to MILLENIUM, LEGENDS, INVASION, DAY OF JUDGEMENT, KINGDOM COME... This whole thing feels like a Post-Crisis Greatest Hits album. It's too much, too confusing, and quite frankly it's alienating.
SLEAZY: I dunno, man. I didn't feel alienated at all. I only got a few issues of INVASION, and don't remember anything, so when the aliens with the big red circles on their heads showed up I was like "oh, hey, that's those guys." And that was it--I just moved on. No big deal. It's like if you know the stuff it's a fun little nod, but you don't need it. And when those last four people show up on the final page? I didn't think "I don't know these guys, so this SUCKS!" I thought "Wow, I can't wait to see what that was about next issue".
HUMPHREY: Those of us that have seen these things get to watch it happen all over again, but at the same time we catch continuity events that we have a better appeal for because we understand them better. While new readers get to see stuff like this for the first time, but probably understand maybe half of the stuff that is going down in this book. So I guess everyone wins but it's a pyrrhic victory.
BUG: I have to agree with this. Because this is such a layered and complex story dealing with multiple storylines, unless you've been following the tie ins and know a bit about the original CRISIS, you may find yourself scratching your head a lot. I can empathize with those people, but I also have to say "fuck off" too because I DID read those books and remember the history. So the read was very fulfilling to me as a story on its own and a payback to me for buying DC comics.
DAVE: I don't envy DC trying to find the right balance, but if they erred at all in this first issue, it was in favor of the long-timers. I've been eyeing message boards, and there's definitely a good deal of head-scratching from the newbie contingent. The question becomes: is it an enticement or a chore for them to do the research to feel "in the know"?
BUG: I don't see too much in this issue that may be perceived as redundant to old readers or convoluted to the newbies.
MODERATOR: There's been a whole lotta dying going on at DC lately. How do you guys feel about the casualties that occurred in not only this issue, but in the issues leading up to this series?
HUMPHREY: I'm actually indifferent about them myself. I have to say, if anything, they have done a good job of picking the perfect group of guys to kill off that get just that bit of emotional resonance to make you care a bit, but in the big picture of things, don't really mean a goddamn thing to the overall universe. I dunno who said it, but I do think the old "Every character is someone's favorite" rings true for the most part, and they just seem to be going at it with reckless abandon to make the book that much darker.
BUG: But it's not really reckless abandon. It's not like anyone major has bit the dust...yet. I had a problem with the destruction of the Freedom Fighters. And it has everything to do with "every character being someone's favorite." To me, all characters have the potential to be interesting. And to wipe out the Freedom Fighters so easily kind of irked me. They have been lingering in the background of DC for a while now. In JSA. In BATMAN & SUPERMAN. In some of the event books. It always seemed that Johns had something planned for them sometime in the future. Turns out he was just setting them up to be fodder. I mean, characters like Uncle Sam and Human Bomb are almost as iconic as the big guns and Black Condor was the first hero IDENTITY CRISIS artist Rags Morales ever drew at DC, so you'd think they'd shy away from offing them so easily.
SLEAZY: I wasn't into the original CRISIS when it dropped, but lemme askya this: how beloved were the alternate Earth heroes who bought it in the first issue of that series? Wasn't it a similar situation to this, where they were a bunch of background heroes who had fans but weren't in use that much? I mean, I hate seeing the Freedom Fighters get ripped up too, but aren't there some
strong similarities? I just hope they don't use this thing to clean up all the non-DC characters
from companies like Quality or Charlston or whatever.
DAVE: I'd actually be behind such a move. My magical, happy ideal (think Alex Ross-level zeal here) is a DC Universe with only a few dozen superheroes of note, no history in World War II (let's move on people), a minimum of redundant superpowers, no characters who were added to the DC Universe from other lines, and the JLA as the first crop of heroes to arise in the public
consciousness. In other words, bye-bye Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel, and Plastic Man. Love ya, and since DC owns ya, you can still get individual books set in your own worlds, but I'd like to try to keep things pure. And, yes, I know I'm sounding all Nazi here. But only in service to the characters, mein freunds.
PROF: I'm glad that freaky bastard Dr. Polaris got taken out by the Human Bomb. And speaking of the Human Bomb, I thought the scene where Bizarro pounded him into a pool of jelly was incredibly disturbing. Uncle Sam is dead, but I'm sure he'll turn up. Phantom Lady and Black Condor were pretty pointless deaths as was Hawkwoman's in the RANN-THANAGAR WAR. Her death, particularly, seemed like one of those things dictated by the Editorial Gods -- "it's too confusing to have a Hawkwoman AND a Hawkgirl." And, of course, the death of Shazam! was logical and carried with it great story possibilities dealing with the ramifications.
The main problem with all of this death, at this stage, is that it seemed a bit forced ~ or rushed. If you go back and read CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1, that first team death of the Crime Syndicate works at setting the tone for the whole series that "anything could happen" and gave those criminals an opportunity to go out with some respect. They were killed dispassionately by a wave of anti-matter, but they died trying to save their world. The Freedom Fighters in this issue were killed rather personally and brutally by the Secret Society of Super-Villains ~ and their deaths didn't carry any real heroic weight. Instead, they just came off as underpowered and wasted characters.
But I'm glad Dr. Polaris is gone. I hate that guy.
BUG: Yeah. Polaris was a punk and the scene where the Human Bomb lets loose and keeps on exploding over and over again was probably one of my favorite in the book.
DAVE: You're right, Bug: all characters who're punks must die!
I'm definitely from the school that thinks death comes too quick and easy in superhero books these days. Here's a suggestion: try to find other means of drama in the first place! Saves you from looking like a waffling dipshit when you have to contrive a way to bring characters back. Also prevents the heroic ethos that once defined superhero books from being chipped away with misery, though since this series seemingly wants to redress this issue, I guess it's going to be taking the doom 'n' gloom to all new peaks first. "To create, we must first destroy..."
SUPERHERO: To me they just all came off as "stunt killings". Meaning, the deaths never really seemed organic to any of the stories but incidents that were plopped in there to cheaply try and make the plotlines more dramatic than they really were. It all lives up to that trend in recent years of writers not having enough belief in their actual storyline so they have to off a couple of interesting characters to show how "serious" their story is. All it really does show is
that their story really doesn't live up to its potential.
PROF: Well, here's hoping that at the end of this series, the Freedom Fighters are alive and well and battling the Axis powers on Earth X, because if they're not, I'm not happy about this turn of events.
SLEAZY: On the one hand, I know some deaths will stick so you know this shit is for keeps, and I understand that. On the other hand, I get a strong feeling that just because somebody goes down in this mini doesn't necessarily mean they won't be back by the end of the whole thing. Sure, it might be wishful thinking, but with all this multiverse stuff, ya never know.
SUPERHERO: I could care less because in comics dead is never dead despite what Joe Quesada says. Another writer will bring Ted Kord back in a couple of years anyway so why get upset over it? Although...Phantom Lady shouldn't have died. One of the sexiest characters in comics should have lived I tell you, lived!
BUG: That wasn't the first chickadee to wear the Phantom Girl outfit and it won't be the last. She's not really one of the sexiest characters in comics, but it's definitely one of the sexiest costumes. One things for certain, someone will be wearing that dental floss costume soon enough.
SUPERHERO: Whew! Now my mind can rest at ease!
SLEAZY: I hear Ted Kord's available.
BUG: I don’t care who it is as long as Sleazy doesn't get a hold of the costume.
SUPERHERO: ...aaaaand there goes my lunch.
VROOM: Who cares about all of the death? There's no such thing as a permanent death in superhero books. Supergirl's back. Hal Jordan's back. The Crime Syndicate are back. Hawkeye and the Vision are back. Even if the current editorial structure keeps these new deaths in place, the next one's probably going to have Ted Kord become The Spectre or something. Speaking of which, what do you guys think of the placement of the Bat Signal in the splash page featuring The Spectre; foreshadowing or red herring?
DAVE: Good catch. I missed that, but it's definitely...well, something. In a way, even if it comes to pass, it's still gotta be a red herring because DC simply can't have Bruce Wayne not be Batman - not for any length of time anyway.
PROF: At first, I thought it was foreshadowing that the upcoming fight between Nightwing and Batman was going to end with Batman dead and becoming the Spectre. Now, I think it's a red herring.
SLEAZY: Red herring. They'll never make Bruce Wayne the Spectre. Batman and
Superman can never be anybody but Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent. Ever.
PROF: Ultimately it always returns to status quo.
MODERATOR: The in thing to do these days seems to serve up fresh courses of classic themes. Alex Ross has been doing this for years. Loeb has done it with Superman. And Geoff Johns does it all over the place in all of his books. The original CRISIS was meant to clean up the DCU and make the universe more cohesive. Now that seems to be changing. How do you guys feel about all of that?
BUG: I'm not looking for the return of the multi-verse. It makes everything seem so pointless if virtually anything can happen or be rewritten. I like reading part of a vast tapestry, not reading a bunch of WHAT IF? stories. It kills all relevance and impact of a story when you know that it is just one possibility among scores of others. The first CRISIS did its purpose in cleaning up most of the DCU and making it cohesive. ZERO HOUR did a lot of that too. Now, it seems Johns and Co are unraveling all of it again. With all of these strings of reality unraveling someone's going to get their hands tied up.
SUPERHERO: Well did Crisis ever clean up anything? Did it make it more cohesive? If anything it sort of just got rid of parallel earths which ended up jumbling things up a bit anyway. It may have streamlined certain characters but if you were into any kind of continuity it just ended up being a bit of a mess. I get the feeling that the same thing may happen here.
BUG: Yeah, I fear that characters like Donna Troy, Hawkman, and Power Girl are forever doomed to have convoluted histories. It seems that every few years, some writer comes along and tries to clean up those messes, but in the end, only adds another layer of confusion to the character's already mixed up origin.
DAVE: I like the idea of there being one central DC Universe - in my world, it'd be that "pure" approach mentioned earlier - and then there'd be everything else, most of 'em probably miniseries.
PROF: As to the original goal of CRISIS to make things less complicated and more cohesive. It made things more interconnected, but less complicated? More cohesive? Not at all. Is it any wonder that the dramatic drop off in actual sales numbers of the average superhero comic have spiraled downward for almost the entire last 20 years (with just occasional bumps upward)? What the rabid continuity-obsessed fan (and worse, the rabid continuity-obsessed fan turned pro) wants to see is a DC universe where everything is closely interconnected and everybody knows each other and references each other and no title contradicts the continuity of another title. However, this creates an impractical environment for a new reader who cannot read just one character or title because of the endless confusing interactions between their favorite character and everyone else in the DC universe. DC may hold on to a base of loyalists, but they completely alienate the occasional buyer and the new reader ~ those not willing to shell out their money if they've got to invest such mental exercising just to understand what they're reading. If they reestablish the multiple Earths once more, they open up their universe to many more storytelling possibilities and they don't get bogged down into an endless continuity battle with each and every reboot of an idea by trying to figure out which past stories are "real" and which are "changed" and "how they were changed" and so on and so on...
DAVE: Yeah, I'm pretty much okay with the multiverse concept as long as the multiverses keep to themselves and I don't constantly see multiple Superman teaming up with other Superman. Of course, at that point I'd stop thinking of these different iterations as "multiverses" and start thinking about them simply as different lines with different interpretations. I mean, did anyone at Marvel in the '70s worry about what multiverse housed SPIDEY SUPER STORIES? Is Earth Timm the home of the comics based on DC cartoons? I think it's time to stop worrying about how all this sheeeit connects and just let great creators tell their tales.
HUMPHREY: See, that potential for those kinds of "crossover" events is why I hate the idea of a multiverse. I never saw the appeal of there being three or four different Batman'. If you have a different take on a character or a concept for them, that's what I believe Elseworlds was for, or why they have ALL-STAR now. I don't need to see another Batman running alongside his counterpart two parallel earths down.
VROOM: I don't mind a certain amount of change in my Superhero comics, if for no other reason than it's a malleable genre. Any changes that suck can be changed right back if you've got a smart writer on your hands.
SLEAZY: Today's readers are too sophisticated to just accept that starting next month; everything is completely different for no reason at all. Any changes that come along would have to be organic ones that grew out of a storyline somewhere or we'd eviscerate the whole thing and walk away.
DAVE: Making Batman NOT be a dick doesn't require mindwiping retcons, new peaks of paranoia, and eventually hugs with his superpals...you just start writing him as NOT BEING A DICK. De-assholizing Batman is maybe a somewhat large scale task, but I bet any talented writer could do it in three or four issues and be ready to move on with the "fixed" personality.
SUPERHERO: Maybe Batman's just an asshole and we oughta just accept it. Let's face it, I've thought he was always an ass since DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. To me it always seemed like what people thought was his being "cool" was just him being a warped prick.
DAVE: Nah, man, there's plenty of non-assy approaches to Batman. I mean, the obvious one to bring up would be the whole 1940 thru 1980 stretch of his own damn comics. But we can get more contemporary. First off, Batman's not particularly assholish in the seminal BATMAN: YEAR ONE - just driven. And then there's the animated series of the '90s, respected by nearly all, and
that series took its cues straight from the dark-but-not-assholish '70s stories of Denny O'Neil and Steve Engelhart. Oh, and there was the much-loved BATMAN BEGINS. I had some beefs with the movie, but Batman's persona wasn't one of them. He was driven and aloof, but the man was
actually enjoying what he did - imagine!
SUPERHERO: So why do you think Bats has been portrayed as such an ass in the actual comics? Editorial?
DAVE: I'm honestly somewhat clueless, as there've actually been several big crossovers which ostensibly were supposed to humanize him - NO MAN'S LAND, BRUCE WAYNE: MURDERER, and even WARGAMES. So, yeah, I think the guys hitting the Asshat Reset Button must be from editorial. Or maybe it's just more fun on the writer's side to write Batman that way? If nothing else, it keeps things simple: you always know he'll take the cynical POV, always know he'll cut off Superman with some snide comment, always know he'll push friends away from him.
MODERATOR: Most of you agree that INFINITE CRISIS was a full course meal of a book. What are the scenes you liked most? How 'bout the ones you liked the least?
PROF: My least favorite scene was probably the carryover from RANN-THANAGAR WAR because it was a pointless waste of 2 pages.
BUG: Yeah, but it seemed that every miniseries got its own double splash. Was it necessary? No. But neither were the double splashes of the villains attacking or the OMACs gathering or the Spectre looming over Gotham. I still thought they were cool images though. All splash page worthy.
DAVE: No particular favorite scene, but all the battle scenes were well-handled. And Johns has never shied from the colorful, larger-than-life trappings of the genre, as the inclusion of the Freedom Fighters and the splash page of gaudily-costumed bad guys makes clear - that's something I'll always admire. No black leather costumes for these guys! And no need to justify they over-the-top stuff as long as the characters are treated seriously. I like the approach if not the story its delivering.
Least favorite scene had to be Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman pouting at each other like children at the Watchtower. Even if there's an in-continuity reason for their pettiness, there's just nothing so pathetic as seeing some of the greatest heroes of adventure fiction so hobbled. It's galling that DC's heaping all these self-righteous scenes on their heroes given that DC's wholly responsible editorial directions that undercut 'em in the first place...and more galling still because DC's earning record sales for their own hypocrisy. And if it's all to pave a path to a newer, more heroic universe, my question to fans of DC's last 20 years is this: how do you like being told - in-continuity no less! - that the last twenty years were essentially the heroes fucking up?
BUG: See that's an argument I really disagree with. What's wrong with telling a drawn out story as long as it's a compelling and dynamic one that takes advantage of the comics medium and the superhero genre? Sure right now, Johns and the like are dragging the characters through the mud. Most of them are hanging their heads and moping. They're about as low as they can get. But DC spent an awful long time in getting to this place. Basically it started with the original CRISIS where they cleaned up the alternate realities. Then ZERO HOUR came along which basically rebooted the DCUniverse from the beginning, introducing new and old concepts and allowing access to a whole new generation of readers permitting them to get to know and care about DC's characters. Since then, they've been telling straight out super-hero stories (some serious, some lighthearted, but all fully embracing everything of what is good in the super hero genre). They sucked the reader in. They invested them (or at least me). Now that the investment is there, Johns is dragging the heroes through hell. I know I care because this IS something that is happening in continuity. I'd much rather spend my money on a story that matters. I guess since I've been along for the entire ride, I am enjoying this a lot more than others. That's why I like the DCU over Marvel. I just admire the DCU for trying to tell their own interconnected super hero mythology. That doesn’t seem to be as important over at Marvel.
DAVE: And unsurpisingly, I'm enjoying Marvel's superheroes more just at the moment! So what we have is different definitions of "a story that matters." I like continuity, but I guess I'd call it "light continuity" - where guest-stars are only occasional and big crossovers minimal, where a villain might mention his last tangle with the hero, but the Joker wouldn't have his body count tallied each time, and where a character who's dead in one book stays dead in other books (always a good 'un). That's my ideal, but I look at this mega-continuity stuff, and it's just depressing to me. Because I'm not into DC's general push right now, see, and so I'm basically cut-off from any of their books for the last year. Because they ALL tie in. The taint is EVERYWHERE. Sales figures say it works, so obviously lots of folks are as invested as you...but I ain't one of 'em.
VROOM: I must be hitting BOTH extremes; the big "event" books at both companies are off-putting as hell to me, and have me seriously contemplating dropping superhero books entirely. And I kept buying books in the 90's! The only superhero books that hold any interest to me right now are the stuff that isn't a major "event" that promises to shake the readership to their very core, that'll change their perceptions of the superhero genre forever... I'm just interested in some good stories.
BUG: I think this goes back to the discussion of the cyclical way the tone of comics moves we had in our IDENTITY CRISIS roundtable. There was a time when DC was telling the type of stories that you are describing, Dave. They did that for a while, pulling the readers in and investing them. Now the investment is there, they are putting these characters through hell. Marvel does have more light hearted books these days, but it wasn't long ago that Cap was taking on real world terrorists with heavy handed writing. I'll take a drama embracing the super hero genre over that crap any old day.
DAVE: Oh, I should clarify that it's not Marvel's lighter tone that's attracting me just at the moment (though I do appreciate that too, as in-flux as it can be), but rather the minimized presence of continuity. Worst Marvel's gotten of late was with the SECRET WAR debacle, but that really only affected a few titles.
BUG: Uhh…Dave? I think you're blocking out the ass-stankery of HOUSE OF M.
DAVE: You know what? You're right. I'd legitimately stopped thinking about it so much that it didn't even occur to me. I will say this, though: it didn't derail *every* Marvel title, and a goodly chunk of 'em have plugged on with nary a care.
SUPERHERO: My least favorite bit about the book was most of Wonder Woman's dialogue. I mean, I was on her side when she offed Max Lord to defend the world from a crazy assed Superman but now she's being written, as I said before, like she's the Punisher or something. No
mercy for my enemies? Isn't that the kind of thinking that the Amazons were supposed to quell by coming to man's world????
SLEAZY: To me, Diana's the character who proves that you can maintain your nobility and heroic nature while still recognizing that sometimes a threat powerful enough to put so many lives at risk needs to be ended definitively. If The Joker were her nemesis, there'd be none of this "I can't kill him because it would make me like him" B.S. She'd assess his potential risk factor and calmly take him out, saving hundreds of lives in the process--and she'd still be Wonder Woman when she was done, not a raving lunatic.
SUPERHERO: Wonder Woman was WAY over the top in IC # 1. She's almost NEVER been portrayed as bloodthirsty and in that comic she went WAY over the line. When she killed Max Lord it was because there was no choice. When she went to kill Mongul AFTER he was subdued she became a murderer. Wonder Woman doesn't murder defenseless foes. It's a part of her character and always has been.
DAVE: The game plan really does seem to be to emphasize each of the Big Three's faults - Batman's paranoia, Superman pussiness, and Wonder Woman's warrior-ethos disconnect. So I guess each instance of this exaggeration is bound to piss some folks off. And I guess that's DC's goal.
SUPERHERO: Favorite scene in the book was when Batman tells Superman he hasn't inspired anyone since he was dead. That, to me, was like a kick in the nuts. I'm much more of a Superman fan than a Batman one but that little piece of writing hit the nail on the head for
how I've felt about the Superman books for a long time. Not that I thought the death of Superman story was any good either but at least they tried something different. Superman's been spinning his wheels for years and it's just bugged me to no end. The best part of that bit was that Superman proved Batman right by not just smacking Bruce across the face for being such a prick in the first place.
DAVE: Metacontextual question: isn't that a slap in the face to every creator who's worked on Superman since then?
BUG: Well, maybe they deserve a slap in the face, because Superman has been badly written for way too long now. I know I don't give a shit and a half about the character.
SUPERHERO: Not that many of the Superman stories before his death were all that great either. I suppose it's not right to be pissed at the writers, though. Editorial's to blame too. Not to mention that Superman is such a corporate figurehead anyway that it's incredibly hard for anyone to do
anything with him that might be perceived as too dramatic.
DAVE: I pretty much agree with this. Am reminded, too, of how Jemas and Quesada first shocked fans when they outright fessed up that Marvel comics had sucked in the '90s! I actually prefer the Jemas/Quesada approach, because they just started changing shit without all the set-up DC is doing. Some changes worked, some didn't, but at least there was no build-up malaise.
HUMPHREY: I was finding Rucka's run on ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN to be coming into it's own as a really good Superman story. The whole thing with Ruin, them making Superman coming more into depth with Lois' mortality and what that means to him, and so on and so forth. And now the Crisis is upon us and we've been waiting at least six months just to see where the hell that angle is going because it's been buried under tie-in after tie-in.
MODERATOR: So what about the art? How did Phil Jiminez and Andy Lanning do?
DAVE: Pretty excellent. Jiminez is a terrific draftsman that in some ways I prefer over his inspiration, George Perez. He doesn't quite have Perez's raw power, but his detail-work suits my taste better and his characters are all very distinct. And he does great impacts, from Captain Marvel blasting a car apart when he meteors into it to Mongul batting around the Big Three like rag dolls. Excellent work conveying emotions through facial expressions, too.
'Bout my only complaint is that it got a bit murky in there at times, the combination of Jiminez's dense line work, the high panel count, the goodly number of word balloons, and a gloomy color palette throughout. Had me feeling a little claustrophobic. Mostly, though, the art gets a big thumbs up in spite of content. I love Jiminez's renditions of the Big Three, a perfect balance between detail and an iconic approach.
HUMPHREY: What he said. Jiminez pretty much brought his A game, and given the "homage" they were going for was pretty much an excellent choice.
PROF: I remember Phil Jimenez' first appearance on the scene. For many years, his art was barely distinguishable from George Perez ~ his aping was that good. However, there were always two distinct ways to tell the difference: (1) Jimenez suffered from the same disease all artists who obsessively copy the style of another ~ he put too much "style" into it; that is, the Perez-style detail was noticeably excessive, and (2) his faces were never up to par with Perez ~ noses particularly.
So, here we are now, and Jimenez has finally developed his own style. While it evokes Perez in places, he has really come into his own. In particular, his facial expressions are very good and distinctively his own rather than a lesser copycat of Perez. At the same time, as he presents to the reader his own unique version of these characters, I was struck by how unimposing a presence he makes Superman. The face he gives Superman looks too young, the chin is less pronounced and he looks just...soft. I prefer Superman to be the figure in the room who would draw your attention whether he wore the big red "S" or not.
However, that's all my criticism. Everything else was top notch. Jimenez knows how to flow those panels together. The choice in panel sizes and shapes were chosen to best convey the feeling intended for that scene. The double-pager of the villains is unbelievable. I especially like his version of Zoom. Really, Jimenez has developed into one of the most impressive illustrators out there and I don't think they could've picked a better artist for this project.
As for Andy Lanning, unlike the incredible Marc Campos on RANN-THANAGAR WAR, I did not really notice what Andy brought to the table. Perhaps that's a sign of a good inking job as well in that I was not distracted by inks that struck me as untrue to the Jimenez style.
I would lighten up the coloring a bit though. Outside of that, you can't ask for a better looking super-hero comic book.
VROOM: I’m sorry, I was off on my own alternate Earth there for a minute.
SLEAZY: Was it the alternate Earth where the Prof talks waaaay too long?
VROOM: Yep.
BUG: Yeah, I think we’ve all been there before.
SUPERHERO: I thought the art was fantastic. Obviously they couldn't get George Perez so they went with the next best thing. The thing I did have some problems with was the coloring. A little too muddy and dark for me in places but maybe that's what they were going for. I just thought it kept Jimenez's art from popping as much as it could have.
BUG: I was especially impressed with the splash pages. Perez sort of made his mark in the industry by packing his panels full of detail. Jiminez carries on that tradition numerous times in this issue. From the highly detailed battle in space to the swarming OMACs, all of these images were awe-inspiring. The last stand of the Freedom Fighters was the highlight as far as artistic renderings of a superhero battle royale. As Prof mentioned earlier, Professor Zoom was never scarier and the Human Bomb and Uncle Sam more heroic. This was a gorgeous, gorgeous book.
MODERATOR: Final thoughts on INFINITE CRISIS #1?
SUPERHERO: I gotta say as a whole I did like it. I'm in for the ride if only because I bought all the mini-series and I've invested so much into it at this point that not continuing seems a bit pointless to me. Is it the universe shattering tale I expected? Nope. But I saw that it was heading into slightly disappointing territory as I went through all of the minis, VILLAINS UNITED included. Maybe I'm just getting too old for all the nonsense that goes with it but unless there's something really compelling that happens with this I may be dropping a whole bunch of mainstream books.
They've wiped me out with this one and I'm getting really tired of playing keep track of the overdramatic crossover events.
VROOM: Honestly, at this point I don't give a shit about Infinite Crisis. I just don't care. I'm a DC fan, and a Geoff Johns fan, but I simply can't take any more of this. I'm out.
DAVE: I guess if there's anything that intrigues me about INFINITE CRISIS, it's the metacontext of the thing. The sheer weirdness of DC using continuity as a device to excuse their failures on writing and editorial levels is fascinating. It'd be like a story where Luke Skywalker travelled back in time to tell the Jedi council of the prequels that they're a bunch of bureaucratic nancy boys. In other words: stupid in spite of the truth of the sentiment. Certainly has novelty value, though!
The actual drama as it unfolds for the characters, however, doesn't interest me at all. Everyone's a jerk and the whole thing just feels sort of unreal. Not "good unreal", but "I can't get invested in this story" unreal. I'll be a lot more curious to see how DC reinvents itself at the close of the thing.
PROF: About what I expected. Lesser than I wanted. Better than it should be. Intriguing enough to get me to stick around and see where it goes....unless the anal rapes start. Then I'm outta there.
SLEAZY: I still feel the same way about the whole thing as I did before I read it: I’m definitely interested to see where it’s all going, but worried about some of the pitfalls that obviously come with a project like this.
BUG: Although I’m not too thrilled about the resurgence of the Multiverse or the death of the Freedom Fighters, I have to say that this was a fulfilling read for me. It’s definitely an event book that’s lived up to the hype. If you’ve followed the lead-ins, I’m sure you’ll pick it up and enjoy at least some part of it, but I can see where those not in the know of DC happenings of late would be left out in the cold. Short and sweet, INFINITE CRISIS is a delicious treat for DC fans and may cause some new readers to want to learn more about the DCU.
MODERATOR: Well, I think we’ve talked this one to death. Time for us to shut up and let all of you Faithful Talkbackers gab about INFINITE CRISIS.
-
+ Expand All
-
Owned!
-
It's a rental
-
First. that's right. First! See my firstness! Touch it! Feel it! You are so jealous and you know it! Oh yeah, it feels so good being first I... I...I... huh. Would you look at that. I'm hard. Wow. Well this ain't take care of itself. OK, a little Jergens, and ....Oh yeah... first...first...fiiiiiirrrst....oh yeah ohyeahohyeah ohyeahohyeahohyeahoh oh oh ...ouch, chafing a little there. A little more lotion, and there we go! That's it! Oh yeah fiiiiiiiIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRSSSTTTT!!!! ......whew..... first......whew....yeah.....Boy, I could use a cigarette right now if only my Mom would let me smoke. Stupid Mom. Always telling me what to do. Clean your room, take out the trash! She makes me so mad stupid Mom, always yelling at me, bossing me...and...huh? What do you know? I'm hard again. Well, that's a post for a different website, huh? Comics are cool. Owned!
-
and it's not for sale. (although i do rent it out from time to time).
-
i hate the no super hero films but the xmen movie where cool
this superman movie will suck
all the batmen movie sucked ass
the hulk was horrible. -
Why the hell is he allowed to continue posting? If he isn't stopped, then can I start promoting my stuff too?
-
I enjoyed it. I have a limited understanding of the multiverse, I didn't read ANY of the lead ins (except the early issues of Omac). But I still enjoyed it. But this book will be judged by what comes after. You proved this point when you criticized the original Crisis for not making things more cohesive. It most certaintly did, for about a week, then DC (apparently lacking any kind of editorial presense of mind?) relaunched a bunch of series without knowing what was going on. I enjoyed this issue more than the first 6 issues of House of M, but my fear is that at the end of Infite Crisis, they'll just hit the reset button and fix all things fandom finds annoying (Supermans whinning, Batman being ass). Look, you may be tired of Batman being an ass, you may even HATE the idea, but the explanation put forward in Identity Crisis, and then taken another huge step forward in JLA 119, is a BLOODY BRILLIANT explanation, and after finding out what they did to Catwoman (and in turn did to Bruce) I want to see MORE asshole Batman, LOTS more. It is an amazing backdrop to tell the story of how Batman eventually comes back from all this and stops acting like an ass. And no, you can't do it in 4 issues. It will take a year, it needs to be felt in every Bat-comic, and it needs to be handled by a competant story teller. But it doesn't take a continuity miracle. Maybe I'll be pleasantly suprised and this series won't have any major universe spliting/merging/whatever, but I doubt it. House of M is almost as bad. Marvel is basically signaling defeat by saying they can't handle a post-adolescent version of x-men where mutants are a major minority.
-
I was priviliged to see all this stuff in e-mail form as it was conceived. 11,000,003 e-mails to be exact. Edited out, but available from Maverik Bootlegs, were Ambush Bug's unified field theory debunking super-string and elegant universes, Vroom's recipe for BBQ sauce (the secret ingredient is wood grain alcohol), an account of how the Prof beat Bendis at arm wrestling, and a folksong by Dave F., Superhero and Humphrey. Four out of five @$$holes recommended chewing gum for blowing bubbles. And who knew Sleazy was C. Thomas Howell's stunt double in RED DAWN? The bootleg includes commentary by the main characters...WONDER WOMAN: "In that picture where I'm holding the sword, you two look like you were staring at my ass." BATMAN: "We were." SUPERMAN: "Actually, I was staring through your ass." Plus an interview with the @$$holes that is indentical to the roundtable and a look at past @$$holes such as Comicaholic, Roscoe Kool and Density's Child. All for a measley $99.95!
-
I am loving the whole thing from top to bottom. This stuff has been simmering for years, and now its all coming to fruition. Thank you, DC. You guys have proven that once again, you are the only comics publisher that matters.
-
that puts you lot back to a time when you weren't so pessimistic about books, or filled with such negativity from past comic failures? When critiquing a story line was done by basing the book on its own merits, and not adding your own 20+ years of comic reading history to the mix? I love your guys' reviews, and look forward to the Wednedsay column (although lately it's been wednesday night or thursday morning), but I think it's time your club got some new blood. And I do mean "new"; don't just talk about comic newbies and what they think of these issues, hire one and lets get the story straight from the horses mouth. Find an early-20 something year old who reads comics passionately, and can write like he/she has taken a few college english classes, and sign him/her up. Find someone for whom "pre-crises" and all that baggage means about as much as "rationing" or "8-track". This column needs some different points of view.
-
I posted in last week's reviews that you'd better be planning a round table discussion to dissect Infinite Crisis #1 like you did to House of M #1 and, to no one's surprise, you liked it better. So I've got 3 words for the @ssholes;
DC BALL LICKERS!!!!
(well I guess 4 since dc stands for Detective Comics. So sue me!!) -
TWO WORDS... PSYCHO PIRATE You heard it hear first, kids! Remember Squashua!
-
You're one deluded tool. If anything I agree with Amherst90jl, way too much personal cynicism masquerading as a review. And why is NO ONE picking up on Diana's TOTAL SLAM to Bruce? She busted him hardcore! 'You judge everyone but yourself'. Bats has done MANY morally questionable things over the years. But then I guess I guess it's bit more morally palatable to beat people repeatedly than actually end their threat factor altogther.
-
that they are purposely exaggerating the flaws of the Big 3 (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) in IC #1, as if they keep writing them like this I'll be done with them. Made you just want to slap Superman and Batman for being such nadless wonders about Wonder Woman's killing of Max. Then they have her acting like "well, since I killed once, I guess I can just kill everyone" which was equaly dumb. I wanted to yak at the portrayals.
Being an old time reader like the @ssholes, I of course did the smae thing pretty much in reading this in context of all thats gone before. I'm really getting kind of bored with the (seemingly) annually reccuring multi-title crisis that Marvel and DC keep coming up with. But, since they seem to sell books I don't see any relief coming.
As far as the death of the FF goes, it didn't really bother me that much, other than it coming off like the cheap stunt it was, as death in comics lasts about as long as a Hollywood marriage. -
Oct 20, 2005 1:37:31 PM CDT
Yeah, You Guys Should Get Some Reviewers Who Don't Know Anyt
by buzz maverik
When I look for a review, be it film, music, literature or comics, I want a reviewer unfamiliar with the medium. That's why the only music critic I follow is this guy named Steevo who's first CD was Ashley Simpson's "Simply Ashley". Here's some of Steevo's commentary:"...well, it's better than the Simpson thing..." "I guess he's a better songwriter but Ashley has a better rack..." I don't think Steevo's into comics so you might give him a ring. What I can't figure out is how people can be bashers and ball-lickers at the same time. That's why Steevo reigns supreme. He always says, "I don't really have anything to compare it to..." and "Ashley has knobs, not balls."
-
You should be shot with silver bullets 'til near death. You should be subsequantly revived by doctors with suspended licenses. You should then be shot again. Rinse. Repeat. Dildos.
-
DC Comics will sell just about the same as they do now with big crossover titles stealing away readers from smaller, more pesonal books like Breech, Bloodhound and Human Race. The same super-heroes and supervillains will be recycled because no one wants to create the next Eleckra and then get cut out of the merchandising.
-
I'm a "buy the trades" guy. I'm too old to go to comic stores. I can buy the collected stories and avoid the weirdo
-
I'm seriously considering buying the original Crisis trade (I've got about 5 of the individual issues) and "Infinite Crisis" #1, even though last week I said I wouldn't. I'm such a sucker for this massive cosmic stuff. I even liked "Zero Hour".
-
I dunno...so what? Was the Human Bomb gonna get his own series soon? Phantom Girl's nice to look at, but how, exactly, did Deathstroke stab her when she was all ghostly? Was it really a surprise that they brought back Earth-II Superman, Superboy, and Lois Lane? They're having a crisis by bringing back all the stuff that started the "First" crisis, which was actually the second. (There was one in the Silver Age.) How about this: Instead of saving bad books with marketing, why don't they focus on telling good stories inside the books to start with? That way, you don't need a Crisis/Zero Hour/Milleneum/Armageddon 2001 every three freakin' years--I'll tell you this: DC's out of its mind if it thinks I'm gonna plop down any lucre for their inane "52" thing.
-
You really can be a cranky old bitch sometimes huh?
-
They are corporations people. They EXIST to sell books and honestly, like any other american company they exist to sell as many as they can. Can we just accept that part? Let's argue STORY, and ART without the '$$ angle'. It's there, it is what it is and it ain't gonna change anytim soon.
-
But it seems to me, the best way to make money is to have consistently high-quality books, not just hack-and-slash crisis/death/rebirth cycles that repeat over and over and over. Wolfman & Perez's crisis, dated as it is, fixed the problem of all the earths DC had running around, because they had two versions of everyone--the same problem Marvel's gonna have in about ten years. And that book was in the context of the incredible period between 84-87 when you had Watchmen, Dark Knight, Crisis, Year One, Born Again, Judas Contract, and the best of X-Men. Those were high-quality books--they pushed comics to something new. But don't you have the feeling we've seen this all before? Now some characters will die--maybe even some people who are even more popular than Blue Beetle, The Human Bomb, and Black Condor. And then they'll get their own "Rebirth" issues. You really think they'll kill Dick Grayson for any length of time? Not gonna happen.
-
Diana going to kill Mongul, Batman disrespecing Superman like that and Superman's passivity and inability to understand either Batman or Wonder Woman. It was like he just met them that day. Also, I've never known Bizarro to be so violent. I could see Solomon Grundy dishing out a murder like that, but not Bizarro. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the Psycho Pirate or someone else was affecting the emotions of the everyone.
-
Okay, I've been a huge dc fan my whole life, but what I want to know is, can i read this mini series without all the other crap that led up to it, or should I not obther at all? I haven't been following things too closely these days due to boredom and lack of money. Is it worth it? Anyone else read this story yet?
-
keep your answers to five words or less, I just want a yes or no opinion
-
... since about 3 years ago, I just don't care about comics anymore. Oh, sometimes I'll pick up the occasional TPB, but not often anymore. Last one was Mark Waids Superman origin reboot, which I bought only to see how they managed to F-up Superman's last origin reboot, the near-perfect "Man of Steel" And yes, Waid's disjointed attempt to Smallville-ize Supes DID suck!) Even the Vertigo stuff is just so much wanking anymore. The ONLY way I would'a bought any of this Infinite Identity Rann Thanagar Omac Crisis crap is if they'da gone completely whack and had Paul Pope draw the thing.
-
Ha ha ha ha! What the hell do you think I'm selling? Really. Based on that post, what could I be selling?
BTW to actually be on topic, there hasn't been a good Batman comic since "The Killing Joke". Everybody else is just reheating "The Dark Knight Returns" including Frank Miller himself. DK2 sucked. -
Great art, Great writing, lotsa death & destruction. Annd a bitta rebirth as a payoff at the end. Yeah, I know that's 17 words but 5 words doesn't do IC justice. All you need to know that happened elsewhere is this: Batman was mindwiped for a 10 minute period and his panties are in a total bunch over it. He also just so happened to creat the ultimate spy satellite possibly because of suspecting the mindwipe. Wonder Woman killed Max Lord to save the world from a mind-controlled rampaging Superman. Superman's testosterone is down to near pre-op tranny levels. Oh yeah and the original crisis never actually ended. That's it....the rest will play out in the 7 issues of IC. Now you know.....(*_^)
-
..is positively happy compared to alot of the same old fanboy bitching in here..
-
Wow, you're right. Sure, we didn't call it a "review" but rather a "roundtable" intended to discuss several different topics tied to this issue. Still, I now see where we went wrong, and man, I feel terrible about the whole thing. Thanks for your "objectional" metareview, guy. Way to show us a thing or two.
-
WORD.
-
I think the @ssholes did a great job on this review (yes, I see a review here!), it definitely helped me decide whether I wanted to pick this up..."the original crisis never ended" --> well, that's no big surprise to me; the main reason I disliked the original is because it kept having false ends/restarts.
-
I think the @ssholes did a great job on this review (yes, I see a review here!), it definitely helped me decide whether I wanted to pick this up..."the original crisis never ended" --> well, that's no big surprise to me; the main reason I disliked the original is because it kept having false ends/restarts.
-
Sorry about that.
-
There. Five words. Good enough?
-
Good points on all ends, keen comments, though I think that Alexander Luthor looks more like Rimmer from Red Dwarf in that pic. Cheers, smegheads.
-
The way this first issue was written, it seems like the whole IC miniseries is going to be a series of broad strokes and we'll have to pick and choose the tie-in titles we want to follow particular storylines? It seems like it'll adhere pretty similarly to COIE's style, in that..
-
The thing I'm wondering is how they'll coordinate the titles and characters to coincide with their respective roles in Crisis and their relationship with other titles... that was an awful sentence. Guess what I'm asking is how will other titles feed into Crisis (e.g. so how does Nightwing's monthly tie into all this stuff continuity-wise) and will there be crossovers between titles addressing the ramifactions of Infinite Crisis during Infinite Crisis... Man, that was another bad sentence. Whatevah, I need more candy and tea.
-
Yeah I think you might have something there, Lady K. In fact I didn't read OMAC or Rann/Thanagar yet the major points of both came across in IC. (or maybe I've just read so many talkbacks complaining about them that I already knew it beforehand--it's the chcicken/egg thing all over again.)
-
Please submit all complaints in writing, using the approved format. If you don't use the approved format, your complaints will be returned to you by the next business day.
-
has my vote. Finally, some resolution to the Big Three acting like basket cases.
-
*sniff* Dude that was...just awesome. You pretty much just described my original Crisis experience in a nutshell. I Love you man. (NOTE: THIS POST WAS COMPLETELY SINCERE-SO SUCK IT HATERS!)
-
...who hasnt read any of the minis or the previosu crisis. i know very little about the whole thing other than what ive read on this borad or one or 2 comics from the minis loaned to me by a friend. but i loved ic 1 and im hoping ill get answers throughout.can someone post a spoiler heavy summary of all that has come before for me and others like me please?
-
I mean, I spend like $90 a month on comics, so if I want to bitch, fine! I imagine nearly all the "whiners" are also the most loyal customers. If all of us "old timers" just stopped buying these books, a lot of comic industry folks would be looking for work. So if I want to complain about the ridiculously overwrought reaction to WW axing Max, I will. I am sure DC would rather I read it and bitch than just not buy it. Anyway, I loved this roundtable. It was very cogent and interesting. Even the one reviewer I generally can't stand had some good insights. My biggest fear about this event is that this will be an entertaining story with a terrible conclusion (similar to Identity Crisis). To quote a great comment from another tb'er: "If they do not deliver, DC is going to experience a painful implosion." And while I seldom agree with Psynapse, I found WW's "judging everyone but yourself" comment to Batman very pleasing.
-
so psycho pirate is responsable for HOM?
-
You and your sideways thought totally rule. :)
-
Or, I even wonder how many titles for how long will actually tie into the Crisis, especially with the one year jump coming halfway through? (and can many actually do so because it's supposed to be the DCU's Worst DAY Ever. Only so many issues you can put into a day's worth of story time..) Good point on Nightwing, I've been wondering the same. And Hawkman's just caught up to the start of Rann-Thanagar, for instance..
-
Infinite Crisis #1 is a worthy sequel to COIE. While I read it, I felt like I was a kid again, reading COIE for the first time. This might be the first time since the heyday of the JLI that I'll be buying more DC stuff than Marvel stuff.
-
Captain Marvel ain't a goner. He did get roughed up pretty by the magic hating Spectre and took a not-so-graceful nosedive into a Gotham cop car, but he'll more than likely be around next month. As for the Wizard Shazam, yeah, dood got stompwn3d, but that hasn't stopped him from coming back before. Uncle Sam probably isn't gone for good either. He's the living embodiment of the American spirit and his death was, more than anything IMO, symbolic of the breaking of DC's trinity. This could also be a comment on the death of tradional heroism particular after the pervasive effects of bad ass anti-hero nihilism of the 80s and the 90s. I suspect we'll see Uncle Sam reborn before the end of this new Crisis and probably a new band of Freedom Fighters some time next year.
-
Oct 20, 2005 5:13:50 PM CDT
Didn't something major also happen in the Marvel Universe la
by mr. anderson
And isn't HOUSE OF M infinitely (see what I did there?) more accessible to casual fans than INFINITE CRISIS? But I always forget that the people who "review" comics on this site make up their minds on entire storylines after the first issue, so they probably didn't even read HoM #7. Their loss.
-
I'm sucked in. I love it. I htink the roundtable made a lot of good points. For me, this is almost as great as reading the original crisis - and that's a major problem for many people. You have to be really be into comics if you're going to enjoy this title. Tons of side stories and interweaving a continuity that was at once forgotten and retconned? That's trouble for a lot of folks. But I love it.
-
We've covered just about every issue of HOUSE OF M. Exercise your god-given right to use the AICN Search. Type in @$$hole and you'll see that House of M has been covered numeorus times, by different reviewers. Sure a lot of #1 issues are reviewed here, but we also do follow ups. Hell, we even got requests last time to not cover the HOM stuff every tiem an issue comes out. You can't please everyone, especially when you're dealing with the internet when it's hard to please anyone. Expect the usual amount of reviews from this week's and last week's pulls in our next column.
-
OMAC Project: Batman
-
Rann/ Thanagar War: Rann is somewhow moved into the Polaris system destabilizing Thanagar
-
much appreciated! and now i have some reading to do...
-
Day of Vengeance: The Spectre, lacking a human host and a moral compass is seduced by Eclipso (now hosted by Jean Loring ex-wife of the Atom and accidental murderer of Sue Dibny in Identity Crisis) into going on a mission to destroy all magic in the universe. The Spectre neutralizes the big guns which causes some also-rans (Nightmaster, Enchantress, Nightshade, Blue Devil, Ragman & Detective Chimp) to band together to form the Shadowpact to take the Spectre & Eclipso down. They succeed in almost succeeding. The Spectre recovers and goes after Shazam inside the rock of eternity and kills him. The rock is destroyed over Gotham City and millions of artifacts and magic-charged rocks land all over the earth loosing much wild magic and bad stuff all over the DCU. Eclipso is put into perpetual orbit around the sun neutralizing her.The Shadowpact stays together as the badness has nowhere near ended
-
I wouldn't be surprised if DC does kill off Captain Marvel/Shazam/Big Red Cheese just to be rid of the "what-the-fuck-are-people-supposed-to-call-this-guy" confusion. It saddens me to say it, but I wouldn't put it past 'em. Unrelated topic: There IS a new Jim Corrigan wandering around Gotham City. New Spectre or Red Herring?
-
ok that brings me up on current events. what about what happened during the first crisis and how does it tie into all this?(i know,i know my thirst for knowledge is unquenchable)
-
Some people on message boards are speculating that it's a Jim Corrigan from an alternate Earth who's a corrupt rather than model cop -- kinda like the evil Johnny Thunder from one of the silver age JLA/JSA crossover stories. Still don't know if it's a red herring or legit, but if evil an Jim Corrigan becomes The Spectre, even more shit will be hitting the already soiled fan. On a sidenote, anyone know if The Phantom Stranger is going to play a role in this?
-
Villains United: Lex Luthor, Black Adam, Dr. Psycho, The Calculator, Deathstroke, and Talia Al Ghul form
-
Whoa...kinky. And sure, gotta have the 'Stranger. He's got a Rob Zombie song named after him, fer the luvvagod. Isn't the Shadowpact supposed to get their own series? I'm sure he'll be their, like, Dungeon Master.
-
That's what we're going to find out by reading Infinite Crisis. :)
-
If they don't use Rob Zombie himself as their spiritual guide. That would actually be cooler. Thanks for the info, Astro.
-
but didn't the person who wrote the review for HOUSE OF M #1 decide after that single issue to not read another one, or any of the tie-ins? Actually, I agree with them on the tie-ins, only one of those was any good. I forget who that reviewer was, but that's what I was talking about when I said sometimes this site jumps the gun. You wouldn't leave a theater if a movie starts slow and builds toward something more interesting, so why not give comics the same chance? I realize my analogy may be a bit off, since movie theaters don't make you pay more admission every 30 minutes, but I still think a comic writer (especially one as good as Bendis) deserves the same shot as a screenwriter. And HOUSE OF M was dominating the conversation at the comic shop yesterday, with nary a mention of DC's "No Noobs" series...
-
The return of Donna Troy: Donna was reincarnated upon her latest death (something of a trend for Ms. Troy) and drafted by the Titans of Myth. The Titans are seeking a way to escape the mainline DCU as something VERY bad is coming. The Outsiders and The Teen titans have whacky adventures on the alien planet the Myth Titans are trying to take over while trying to get Donna to remember who she actually is. The big reveal here is that all of the continuity crunching that the Donna Troy character has experienced is all quite real and has ALL happened in continuity. Donna remembers ALL of her previous incarnations. Donna gets THE maxin
-
Oct 20, 2005 7:10:04 PM CDT
No prob, buster00... actually, this has got me thinking...
by astrothunder
...about other songs boasting the names of comic books/superheroes. I'm thinking The Kinks' "Johnny Thunder" and "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman"; Donovan's "Sunshine Superman"; XTC's "Sgt. Rock" and "That
-
Cool ID! Sometimes when I wear a black suit to work, kids call me "Mr Anderson" and I get all thrilled. Anyhoo, Which HoM tie-in do you like? I don't really like HoM, but I do really like the New X-Men tie-in, much more than HoM actually. My comic shop says HoM is their top seller, so plenty of people are at least interested in it (like me) whether or not they like it (me, not so much).
-
We actually Roundtabled the first issue of HOM. Which means that various points of view were expressed. I believe you are right that one or two people expressed that they would not be picking up issue two (much like Vroom did in this roundtable), but one of many things that you misunderstand is that the @$$holes are comprised of a GROUP of reviewers. There is no opinion louder than another. No cross-the-board mandate to hate Marvel and love DC. No consensus. Believe me, I've tried to get the group to agree on the simplest of things and it usually doesn't happen. Hell, Buzz occasionally still sends me reviews in Latin, even though I've screamed until I'm blue in the face that it is a dead language. The thing is, that's what makes it fun because we are a group of sometimes 7 sometimes 13 reviewers who have widely different opinions, yet respect each others opinions enough to agree to put it all into one column. SO yes, in the HOM roundtable, someone (I believe it was Buzz or Sleazy) said that they would not be returning for a second helping, but there were others who decided to stay on for the long haul.********As for your misguided argument comparing comics to movies...well, I think a more accurate comparison would be comparing comics to a good TV drama like Sopranos or Lost or Deadwood, where each episode stands on its own AND contributes to the ongoing story. Using your argument, theaters could release a movie, show the opening credits and a bit of intro and then turn the lights up with a teaser to come back next month for another part. Comics that are sold in a monthly format should not be piecemeal parts that only make sense when read six months from now. If they sell something, it should be able to hold it's own. Would you buy a car now with the promise that wheels would be supplied in a month? How about a hamburger patty by itself, then the cheese an hour later, then the lettuce, then the bun later than that? No, you wouldn't. So why settle for that in comics?
-
Dave, I often agree with, but Prof? To answer your question, Prof, I don't read the DCU but was attracted to the hype and this issue was bloody awful to me. It was like a fucking Michael Bay movie; all nonsensical action. I didn't understand a lick of it. And it wasn't about not knowing the characters because I didn't know the characters when I read Watchmen, or the Firefly pilot, or lots of things. It was because there was supposedly big stuff going on in this Crisis, with zero sense of tension. With no sense that anything was at stake. I'm really *thisclose* to thinking Geoff Johns is a hack, even though I know a hack couldn't have a career this successful.
-
This and House of M have me looking at what superhero books I buy, and wondering if I can live without them. I am SO tired of this pissing contest between the Big 2 right now. This competition is not just seeping into thier lines of books, it's *dominating* them, and that ain't right. They're trying to out shock-and-awe each other, but it's all sizzle and no steak. ***** And I've said it before, and I'll say it again: can we get *anything* between Johns' "everything happening on every page" MO, and BMB's "nothing happening in entire books" MO? There's no middle ground for these event books? Seriously? My taste lean much more to Bendis, but damn...
-
Maybe it's because I love the harmless, comedic Silver Age Bizarro. Maybe it's because (like Johns apparently) I read "Of Mice and Men" in high school. But I didn't like the combination of those two things at all. *** Although not to come off a complete troll here, I loved the artwork in this whole issue. Superb superhero art.
-
I have to say Dave and i finally came to an agreement on something and a lot of what he said this week i talked about last week. The way i see it, i like Grant Morrison's take on IC. Beware, this is all based on speculation upon All Star Superman: The guy just goes and writes the Superman he's wanted to see all these years. He doesn't create a huge event book that "puts the character through hell" so that he can see the light at the end of the tunnel and realize his female genitallia ways. Nope, he just writes the character like he wants to without over explaining everything and being overly dramatic. I mean, i see that sequence with Batman telling Superman he doesn't matter anymore and it just stinks of pretensiousness and melodrama to me. Johns has just set himself up for a huge task, making Superman important again. And he's doing so with a closeup on Batman's scary eyes, how terrific! How heroic are these heroes if they need to be dragged through hell and swim across rivers of blood to realize they're not doing their jobs? "Well now that everyone's died...i guess i'll stop being an asshole" I'd MUCH rather read a silly comic where Batman opens the door to the watchtower and all his friends are there for an intervention.
-
....in identity crisis!oh, snap!
-
i agree with u vale. they shouldnt have to go so far just to bring back the heroicness of these icons. still interested to read where it all goes tho.especially now that im up to speed thanks to psynapse! dude u rule! your lucky im straight or id be all over that ass...
-
for the kind sentence...i appreciate your knowledge, theories and passion about these word ballons that are filled with well, words...oh and of coarse the love of the greatly missed angel...wesley would clean up this crisis/hom in a minute.
-
So i could make a joke about Darth being all over Psy's ass the way the Identity Crisis killer was all over the ass of that girl that got raped and killed. Oh well, ZING!
-
No one was complaining when she sliced the Gorgon's head off and carried it away in a sack. Why should she treat other baddies any differently? Can she only kill villians from ancient myths?
-
Twin pistols, shotgun, and unfoldable sword by his side. His ability to make time slo-mo whilst shooting will be greatly missed. 0 :)
-
To answer your question from the other TB, I have read Morrison's JLA, but that's about it. But I must go now. I was on a comedic dialogue roll earlier and I must return to it. Smooches and Weather Wizard Bits, my dear cog$!
-
How bout Alan Moore?
-
**THALYA: "Now, for those who are arguing "IC stinks because DC messed up their own universe and then decided to make a few years of even more unpalatable-to-me stories just to make a big point with the Crisis when the big point is they should never have screwed up their universe in the first place", a few bits of Drama 101. With something as unwieldly-to-control as a far-reaching comic universe as the DCU, continuity mixups, bad stories and bad choices are going to happen, that much is inevitable. That the high-ups on this project have recognized it and formulated and enacted a plan that will address and rectify and make sense of all these problems WITHIN THE STORY ITSELF (instead of doing a reboot) is going to be landmark in the field of alltime storytelling if they can pull it off, this is severe making lemonade (out of lemons). Drama's about ups and downs and they're utilizing the Phoenix Principle here ('darkest before the dawn', 'once you hit rock bottom, all you can see is up'). In the end because they're going so far into crisis the goodness that comes out of the resolution is going to be that much more meaningful to characters and readers alike. If you don't have these ups and downs then you're flatlining."
-
heh. superman is a jerk. mr. goodytwoboots! ___________ but i'm seriously, i know next to nothing about the DC Universe, but i like that exchange up above. the frame pacing is coolness -- Batman talking, the closeup on eyes for emphasis, and Supes looking shocked.... it seems inconsequential in terms of form, but thats a great example of why i love the visual language of comics.
-
Oct 20, 2005 10:01:48 PM CDT
Ambush Bug, thanks for explaining how these reviews come about.
by mr. anderson
Part of my frustration with *some* of the reviewers here is that sometimes they seem a tad impatient. Over the past several years, I've defended tons of comics that other people, whether at the shop or online, think are too boring or are taking too long to get to the ass-kicking. During the final storyline of PREACHER, I had to convince some people that the slow bits were necessary for the characters and the story, and that the pay-off would be spectacular. And it was. Since then, I've defended Y: THE LAST MAN, EX MACHINA, SUPREME POWER, and Azzarello's SUPERMAN (though, admittedly, I was wrong to defend that last one). I think most adults who read comics do so because of a love of good storytelling, and the appreciation of the comic medium to tell some damn good stories. I also think a lot of people who are fans of serialized TV shows like LOST and 24 are comics fans without realizing it. You were right to correct my "comics are like movies" analogy, because they are much more similar to TV in how their stories unfold, and how each installment ends. And hell, I'd gladly plop down three bucks to watch LOST each week. But comics and TV shows are also similar in that they both share the same weakness: they have to constantly engage out interest to keep us coming back. But even if a show like LOST tends to drag a bit in the middle of a storyline, like HOUSE OF M did for a couple issues, I'm not going to throw in the towel and quit watching. I have more faith in the writers than that. I know that a short lull towards makes the huge climax all the more satisfying. And yes, I know that last sentence was a double entendre. I guess the reason I saying this, besides the fact that this is the first time an AICN staffer has conversed with me in a talkback, is that I wish comics fans would put more faith in the people writing the stories they profess to love so much. Sure, there will be some stories that end up truly sucking (coughfortomorrowcough), but I think there are plenty more that will reward the readers' patience. If we demand more flash and less substance, we get Rob Liefeld and Michael Turner. And Homer Sexual, the HoM tie-in that I enjoyed was CAPTAIN AMERICA.
-
... showing the remnants of "Crisis" about to put thier 2 cents into this whole mess really means that "Crisis" never ended.
Hmmm? -
alan moore is responsable for all this crisis stuff...i mean seriously...how effective can he be at deciphering the "mystic arts" and all their magical properties...i mean he sure is a genius of a writer, probably my favorite...but magic shouldn't be tampered with when one cannot control their facial hair. and HOM...the ad's were nice. i kid...or am i?
-
Lots of love for all.
-
Oct 20, 2005 11:59:19 PM CDT
D.C. didn't HAVE a universe before the original CRISIS serie
by frankdrebin
For example, both Batman & Superman lived in New York City. Bat's NYC was gloomy & oppressive, while Supes' NYC was bright & futuristic. It wasn't until CRISIS that everybody was brought into the same world, and continuity established. (I always thought it would make a cool Bats/Supes video game to have one city change into Gotham at night and Metropolis by day. Every street and building would have a counterpart in both versions of the city. Maybe you could even see things change as sunset moved across the city. Grafitti would appear on walls, windows would become boarded up, nice cars would now be up on cinderblocks, etc.)
-
That's a pretty ridicules theory, considering the sheer number of JLA, JSA, and Teen Titan stories that existed before 1985.
-
He MIGHT be thinking of the very first Crisis, where the JSA and the JLA teamed up. But I dunno, maybe he's just drunk.
-
I bought the Devil Dinosaur/Hulk book last night and I thought it was fantastic. I think the problem the reviewer had with it (I don't recall who it was) was that it's not funny. Well, except for a few gags at the end, it's not really SUPPOSED to be funny. It IS supposed to be FUN, in an old school Jack Kirby monster/Hulk story sense, and at that it succeeds.
-
*hesitates* um, no.. and yes, I know that means I still haven't read Watchmen. *hangs head* Oh, the shame... But hopefully with that DC Alan Moore collection that's coming out I'll be able to catch up (For the Man Who Has Everything, What Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, and The Killing Joke are required reading anyway).
-
Fer pete's sake, what do you want to get stoned or something?!? Don't admit that kind of stuff on message boards!
-
It's getting so every week at the comic store I have to carefully check every book I buy to make sure it isn't a reprint. In the old days, if a book had alternate covers, they would come out the same week and you could choose. Now, an alternate edition can pop up two to five weeks later, confusing the casual reader and causing many of us to buy the same book twice. That seems to be the game at DC and Marvel now. Trying to sell the same story as many times as possible with minimal investment.
-
Um, not quite. There are 2 instances for variant covers from the big 2. 1) Variant is planned in advance and an order quotient/ratio is decided and communicated to the retailers. I.E-for every 10 regular copies they qualify for 1 variant or whatever the ratio has been decided. 2) The initial sellout is much higher than expected and the back order requests exceed stocked copies requiring a reprint. Marvel & DC do not reprint IN ANTICIPATION of sales numbers ever(well, any more I should say) it's just too costly if they make a genuine mistake. Retailers now have the ability to adjust their order numbers almost up until the print run date now. This also helps keep down the number of unsolds that get returned to the publisher as well.
-
thayla...you are not a moore accolyte yet? gulps...this is a blow...i think we might have to take your batsuit privelages away from you for a week.
-
I'm saving up for that..yeah, that's it... er..uh... Alan Moore is Evil! *runs back down secret passageway*
-
Oct 21, 2005 12:11:20 PM CDT
Rest assured, Thalya will take to Moore like a duck to water
by psynapse
Our lady Calc. is quite the gourmand when it comes to dramatic literature. In fact, I'd dare say she's the most widely read Cog you're gonna meet. Though I truly cannot stress how much you should read Promethea Katie, It's the most digestible treatise on mysticism you're ever gonna find disguised inside a pop culture medium. Not only that it is one of the most honestly respectful towards females stories I've ever read. (*_^)
-
Back in the early 80's, when I first started collecting comics, I was almost entirely a Marvel Zombie. SpiderMan, Avengers, FF, practically anything I could pick up. Periodically I'd get some DC issues, mostly on weeks when my faves weren't coming out, The odd Superman, JLA, or Teen Titans issues. I enjoyed them, but Marvel was my bread and butter. And I LOVED cross-overs... mostly because they were relatively rare. Having Daredevil pop up in Amazing was cool! Anyway, I was thrilled when Secret Wars came out... the ultimate cross-over! But in the end, I looked ta it and thought, crap, that was a lot of empty calories. Somehwree along there, I started noticing this wierd character showing up in the shadows in the few DC books I picked up, selling weapons and whatnot. I picked up COIE #1 because it was a light week for me. I got hooked (line and sinker included) and gobbled up any COIE tie-ins. That series was a MAJOR turning point in my comic buying. I didn't really cut back on my Marvel intake, as much as ramp up my DC reading. All the truly memorable series/issues that came out in/around that timeframe are in boxes in storage now. **** Flashforward to a year or so ago. I'm a growned-up boy now, but still pick up some books once a month. Interestingly enough, I no longer get ANY Marvel stuff... with the exception of Supreme Power... and very few DC titles. I saw Identity Crisis #1 on the rack that week, and decided to give it a shot. Sucked me right back in. That was one of the few comic book issues that made me think "holy shit, I actually FELT something while reading that!" The series didn't end up closing on as high a note as that, but I still enjoyed it. It also got me paying attention again to titles being solicited for the future. So I actually saw Infinite Crisis coming. Frankly, anything that hinted at revisiting COIE had me at hello anyway, as nostalgic as I am. I've loved VU, liked DoV and OMAC, and felt "meh" about R/T War. I find it interesting that I feel like I understand how the "Trinity" seem to have (d)evolved into dick, wimp, and bloodthirsty. And yet, the perspective of the COIE holdovers in IC#1, that the heroes have forgotten how to be Heroes seemed perfect. I, for one, will be along on this ride until something pushes me off.
-
Oh... and this should be fucking required reading for any "sophisticated" comic-lover. Or at least anyone with delusions of being such. It's just plain fantastic.
-
just magical...and that absolute watchmen has been out for couple weeks now...trying to snag me one as well at ad ecent price. perhaps you could get it for me for christmas. :) ;) i'd chase you down that secret passage for that moore statement, but i can't find it...sighs.
-
Hmm.. well you know, if this is the CogMansion, there's got to be design layouts around somewhere or in the computer or something.. That, or check the noses.
-
Sweet zombie Jesus! I believe there was a nod to Alan Moore in the anime. Wow. While Sophie & Howl travel through her village there is statue whose head looks exactly like Alan Moore's ( tinyurl.com/djdd7 ), though a bit more knight-like. ****** Thalya, after reading Watchmen, I wholeheartedly recommend you to read the first 6 Swamp Thing TPBs. Excellent storytelling & affection for the DCU & great art = ::heart:: . A sine qua non addition to those 6 is the aforementioned latest version of 'the DCU stories by Alan Moore'. Great, great times await you, Ms.
-
Dare I ask what else I should add to it?
-
you could just hold open the door for the secret passage and wait for me...that'd be nice you know...and for moore goodness, read top ten, lxg, and whatever he scribbles on napkins while in a medievil bar ferreting info from novice "magicians" on the whereabouts of well...expert magicians...it's all facinated stuff collected in a trash bin somewhere or near a bar stool. i've tried ever so hard to get a few of em but i'm just not magical enough to attain them. and when can we start talking bout lost?
-
Read it again. After you're done with that, read it once more. Then wait a few months, then read it again. Something new every single time.
-
Trust your comic book pimp. You will spend months upon months disscecting the meaning(s) layered throughout that story.
-
...that don't really have much to do with the hirsute sequential art shaman Alan Moore. Off the top of my head, the stuff I've told some of my buddies to buy include The Golden Age, Superman: Secret Identity, DC: The New Frontier, Charles Burns' Black Hole, Gary Spencer Millidge's Strangehaven, anything by Adrian Tomine, Craig Thompson's stuff, Paul Has a Summer Job, filmmaker Alejandro Jodorwosky's wacky-ass comics, WE3, Madman, and Red Rocket 7. * * * Actually, on the note of Alan Moore, anyone know if Moore's Supreme stories worth digging into? Heard they're basically a tribute to silver age Superman.
-
Would you say you have an interest in comics as an art form or, just DC superhero comics? I'm not passing judgement or anything, i'm just curious. On recommended Alan Moore reading aside from everything that's been mentioned i'll have to drop my fave: From Hell. From Hell is absolutely...i can't even describe it...it's better than Watchmen, and Watchmen is a masterpiece, that should tell you something. There's also V for Vendetta of course, and for straight up superhero FUN his run on Supreme is faaaaantastic. Try Top 10 as well.
-
Please don't drop those possibilities on public forums. Geoff Johns will totally dig the story possibilities and bring him back in Rorschach: Rebirth.
-
What, you think I'd do that so you'd grab me and tie a parsnip to my nose and start chanting "Burn her! Burn her!"? About Lost, I dunno. What'd you think of the last ep? And who's dying? And Watchmen, check, and Promethea, double check.
-
El Vale, there was an impurity in Kitty Genovese's dress that must be righted.
-
Enough with the spoilers, gentlemen. It will be her first time reading the Watchmen. DON'T SPOIL IT!
-
... a little. (after Shigeru)
-
let's spoil something else...like um, i dunno the ending...perhaps the endign of this talkback...oh wait...it's too early...it's only been a day...anyway how have you been gus, heathen, darth, and my fellow colombian?
-
It's mainly just the Infinite Crisis stuff right now, as that's been my whole jumping-on point. I have a feeling that once it passes and things normalize in the DCU, my interests will probably expand and I'll start picking up less mainstream stuff (although I have picked up the first three TPBs of Hellblazer and Lucifer. Ennis' Hellblazer's been a good read, but I couldn't stand Lucifer so much that I didn't make it through the 2nd book. Oh, and I've collected maybe the first 2/3s of the Sandman TPBs but I've dropped off in interest). At least to me, "indie" feels even more doom and gloom and dystopia, and some of the Vertigo stuff has left my insides feeling like they're covered in heavy grime. I definitely have an interest in comics as an art form though, possibly even as a creative medium for my own stories (aside from fanfic).
-
Starting at this point, I would advise approaching any of his material like you've simply bought something you're interested in and taking it from there. You know how people say, "You gotta read this, you gotta see this, you gotta here this, this is a must" and while it may not ruin the experience, it's more like a class assignment than something done for the pure joy. WATCHMEN can be enjoyed on many levels and there always seems to be a new way of looking at it. Is it a mystery? A deconstruction of superheroes? A dark comedy? A puzzle worthy of Joyce and Pynchon? Are these the Charlton heroes or the DC heroes? Is this about superheroes in the real world or just another comic universe? How is the story being told by the artist? The paneling looks ultra-traditional, but damned if something isn't going on through the entire book. And how can Alan Moore write so convincingly in so many different voices when it comes to the newspapers, comics, biographies, etc. that find their way into the book? Remember, one of the key characters is named Rorshach, which means WATCHMEN is as much about what you bring to it yourself as what it shows you. If they ever make WATCHMEN into a film, there are only three directors I can think of that could carry it off properly: Terry Gilliam, Oliver Stone and Buzz Maverik...Other Alan Moore: I started with SWAMP THING, which should be mandatory for anyone who wants to write comics. I don't think a lot of writers or editors or uh, the guys at Marvel, have ever read SWAMP THING. I'll bet you that Alan Moore didn't alienate any of the few existing fans of the series when he took over. He didn't scrap anything, he embraced it, deepened it and made it his own. When he finally left, the book was nothing like the way it began. Yet here was a guy who, only a relative few issues apart, could give us Swamp Thing's audience with the Parliment of Trees and a battle with Batman in an overgrown Gotham Park (it took Lex Luthor to banish Swampy from the planet, but you'll see). To this day, Moore is a writer whose encyclopedic knowledge of comics is in harmony with his personal and darker passions. DC already has a trade called ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: THE DC UNIVERSE STORIES OF ALAN MOORE. I mean, with WATCHMEN, the KILLING JOKE, etc, he still put the same care into a Batman vs. Clayface short for a BATMAN ANNUAL. There's the ABC line with LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINAY GENTLEMEN (which is a theme I'm personally sick of; between Moore, Warren Ellis and the guys imitating them, like Professor Challenger said, they're all riffing over Phillip Jose Farmer and the original material and yeah, it's well done and initally intriguing but it's been over done and the unoriginality is showing, PROMETHEA which may be his last great work and TOM STRONG which is pure pulp for the modern age. My personal favorite, which I think is hard to find, was his Image series 1963. It's a spoof of early Marvel comics that is hilarious without being mocking. Even funnier is the faux behind the scenes stuff like the letter columns ("I love your comics, but since I live in England, I notice that you have some details wrong. For instance, Queen Elizabeth doesn't like inside Big Ben. If you set any more stories is the UK, I'd be glad to help you with your research. Your fan, Neil Gaiman Age 11...Well, Neil, when we need your help, we'll ask for it!" ...or "My uncle knows Rollicking Rick and he was telling my uncle how he created the Fury and what is work for hire?"..."You must have misunderstood. Ol' Rollickin' Rick is happy to be at the drawing board, doing that zingy artwork for Affable Al's stories and characters, aren't you, Rollicking Rick?"). Marvel used to have a page in each of their comics called Bullpen Bulletins which hyped to books, talked about other projects the staff was doing, maybe congratulated writers and artists on marriages or the births of their children, etc. Stan Lee had a column on the page called Stan Lee's Soapbox. Usually, it was just Stan, probably the most positive person alive, being positive about Marvel, comics, the fans, etc. He'd try to talk about issues in a non-controversial way that fit the times, like racism, etc. In the 1963 books, Moore, writing pitch perfectly in Stan's voice as "Affable Al" nailed Bullpen Bulletins and Stan's Soapbox. I forget what they were called. Instead of the Marvel Bullpen in was the '63 Sweatshop. In his anti-racism column, Affable Al said: "Basically, at the ol' '63 Sweatshop, we believe in brotherhood. Which is why we're going to continue including negro characters in our comics, even though we color them light grey show you can't really tell what race they are and unless we get letters or sales go down in the South." Another item talked about how Andy Warhol and Salvadore Dali came down to the the ol' Sweatshop and we're given a tour until they started to give Affable Al the creeps and he called security. Moore can write in any voice. Heck, he even worked for Rob Liefeld for a long time on SUPREME if you can believe that and was great. Dark '80s Supreme: "Good soldier. Good soldier." "Why does he keep saying stuff like that?"
-
and im glad to see everyone of u cogs is present and accounted for.wait,wheres heathen?what did u guys do to heathen?its finally slowed down enough here at work for me to be able to read and post. good discussion so far and i really have nothing to add to the reading list that hasnt been added already other than to say watchment again. and from hell,godamnit vale i want to grow up to be as cool as you are for reminding me of that my friend.***as for lost, im still loving the shit out of the series but i NEED MORE ANSWERS NOW!!and now we have to wait 3 weeks til the next new episode?!Da fuggin hell be this shit?!!
-
For some reason the only way I can see that working is if they team up to fight a universe overrun with Chester (Dick Tracy) Gould villains. In the spirit of DC team-ups past, it would have to be called The Brave, The Bold, and The Ugly.
-
we are minus one...heathen must of ran out of emergency batsuits and is too embarressed to show up at our COG-MANSION/COG-WATCHTOWER/COG-SOMETHING...we'll figure this out all soon enough. and in the name of whatever is considered holy...how can i siphon off some of the talent that moore has?
-
I'm just sayin.
-
That, or he ran out of Weather Wizard Bits (TM).
-
I'm not sure whether Watchmen will be more or less daunting now, but the clue-age really helps. That said, to everyone else, I think I just might take Buzz's advice and hold off a little to let some of the pressure release.. In the meantime though, T-minus 2 hours til I get to my comics shop for Noah's first big cover! *SQUEE!*
-
I got lost in one of those damn secret passages in our new orbital Cogmansion. Yeah, I've been so busy w/ working 15 hr. days this week (screw deadlines!!!) that I haven't been able to talk to my Cogs. And Everyone down South is going freaking apeshit about Wilma, but w/ last years 5 canes and Katrina this year, I guess people should be worried. : ( It's not the Weather Wizard either (I'd break that bitches other arm!) and hopefully Ms. Flinstone will stay away from Florida too. I'll chime in as much as possible Cogs. *** At least Dave *shrugged* right? Ahh, LOST cause. Btw, the scene where the Others *walked by slow* was really freaky to me for some reason. And I'm like Eko or is it Echo? Later
-
We should also have a Mr. Cogsworth.
-
Who are these other Wold-Newton imitators you mention? Fables maybe?
-
I know Buzz said we're all wrong for telling you to read stuff, but it's not in the spirit of assignment at all. It's because we feel so passionately about the work that we want to share it with every person we can. Especially the only girl present in our dear talkback. So "you MUST read this" stands for "this is SO AMAZING i'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it as much as i have!". From Hell, the movie, proved Watchmen should not be adapted to film. Moore's work is so layered and full of meaning and possibilities of interpretation, that turning it into a 2 hour movie means translating the skeleton to film, and not the entire package, thus creating a somewhat interesting plot and nothing more. And in the case of From hell (again, the movie) not even that. So no...ok maybe Kubrick could do it. Yeah Kubrick. Don't you guys miss Stanley Kubrick? I know i do.
-
Thing about there being a bunch of levels to Watchmen also means that it can be enjoyed on many levels. So just have fun discovering it is what i say.
-
Has anyone here read Moore's book, Voice of the fire? I've read the first few pages and it was Moore brilliance all around. There's a preview for it @ Amazon if you're interested. Oh and Heathen, i'm glad you're alive. Make sure you stay that way.
-
I read Voice of the Fire a little after it was published stateside. Good read about the diminishing sense of magic in England. More of a short story cycle with recurring themes than a novel, IMO. The first chapter is really tough trudging -- reminiscent of Russell Hoban's "Riddley Walker." The rest is easier going. Some chapters more interesting than others, but Moore is really good at writing distinct voices for each story's narrator's. I mean, who else could write the thoughts of a severed head so convincingly?
-
Dude i've often wondered about Gibbon's art on Watchmen, how "normal" the art looked, especially the composition, when the writing was so challenging and uncommon. i always felt, like you, that there was something lurking beneath it and i couldn't put my finger on it. My brain is, perhaps, too underdeveloped to grasp such intricacies. Could you make one of your signature scary analyses and enlighten us all, sir?
-
The first chapter is written from the point of view of a retarded caveman. But if you prefer the more mystical Moore (From Hell, Birth Caul, etc.) to the super-hero writer (Top Ten, Supreme, etc.) you'll like the book.
-
...first chapter in Voice of the Fire is also reminiscent of that Swamp Thing issue with the space turtles.
-
I found that reading the first chapter aloud helped me understand things better, kinda like when I had to read The Canterbury Tales in Middle English during undergrad.
-
I was dead serious when I said she's more well read than any of us and I stand by it. Nearly a year on our own board showed me this girl has read wide and far, and then a little farther still. She is true literati in every sense of the word. Oh, and ever wonder what Earth-2 Thalya looks like? Wonder no more: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Psynapse/05bde94f.jpg
-
If only DC were talking to Tribune Media Services to acquire Dick Tracy... maybe then I could sell them on the idea.
-
At which point Thalya admits she hasn't seen any Kubrick films either and is promptly booted out of AICN. Kubrick would do a Shining on Watchmen and somehow make it better. Vale, there is a website around here somewheres in the vast infinity of cyberspace that actually goes into quite a bit of detail in examining the grid structure of Watchmen, how certain pages mirror each other, some directly juxtaposed, some occurring later in the series. It's fascinating stuff. I can't remember the website or the specific conclusions made by the writer, (eidetic memory and massive consumption of controlled substances don't mix) but a little poking around and you'll be able to find it. I wasn't even looking for it and I found it. In fact, I think I was looking for more information on the Charlton characters' histories, and stumbled across it. I'd like to see a Rorschach and the Question animated series starring the voices of Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Combs.
-
I read a few pages of it and was completely fascinated. It was so rythmic and pure, for a moment there i was totally inside the caveman's head.
-
thayla...you are not a moore accolyte yet? gulps...this is a blow...i think we might have to take your batsuit privelages away from you for a week.
-
Wasn't one of the old Crisis books Todd McFarlane's first cover? Going to dust off old books now.
-
That's why i love me.
-
why havent i heard about this before?!! good job subverting us to your will vale.
-
...heathen im glad your alright buddy! keep safe and dont hesitate to activate the cog signal if u need our assembled might!
-
http://tinyurl.com/9okvd
-
Go snag "V for Vendetta." Do it NOW and get in on the ground floor before Hollywood surely fucks it all to pieces. Not only does "V" contain the most accurate depiction of an acid trip you're ever liable to see on a printed page, it will stir you into revolution like a well-crafted punk rock record. ANYONE WHO IS SICK OF THE BULLSHIT should just go read "V" right now. This is an excellent time in history to do so.
-
...your generosity knows no bounds! thanks!
-
I agree with those who thought it was a little crowded. Hope #2 is better.
-
And for the very reasons buster00 cited. Kind of spooky how 'timely' that 20+ year old tale is, eh?
-
whole bunch of posts get deleted or are my eyes playing tricks on me?
-
Guys guys guys!!! Who here reads BoP? 'Cause I picked up all of Gail's backissues at one of the Wizard Worlds this summer and have been reading a few on the train ride home every Friday and... the secret villain to Infinite Crisis is made clear in issues 72 and 73 of BoP, there's no doubt in my mind. Anyone else read?
-
Oct 21, 2005 7:23:26 PM CDT
Does anyone want to talk about anything besides Watchmen or IC?
by sideshowbob
I got THE PUSH MAN AND OTHER STORIES by Yoshihiro Tatsumi last week (published by Drawn & Quarterly), and it's blowing me away. He's a Japanese cartoonist from the 60s who inspired Adrian Tomine so much as a kid that Adrian has worked hard to get this reprinted, and even wrote a foreword AND afterword in the book. These little stories that are half slice-of-life and half twisted fucking shit predated everything you like and even top half of it. This book is practically a must-read for fans of manga (though it's not really manga), Tomine, and Tarantino. (*hears crickets chirping*) Uh...nevermind. So how about that Batman? What a jerk!
-
As the resident 70s Marvel buff I was hoping for an informed opinion on ESSENTIAL WEREWOLF BY NIGHT since it's now been out for a week or two. Like, does the story make up for some rather lackluster artwork? I can't decide to purchase it or not based on flipping through it. Even Mike Ploog (who I love), his art seems a bit on the crude side here. But if the stories are good, it doesn't matter. And is this where Moon Knight first rears his shrouded silver head?
-
Supergirl #whatever gets a variant cover, that's what passes for news over at Newsarama. And still there are hundreds of books and creators begging to be discovered out there. Discuss.
-
...but in a good way.
-
what was reviewed again this week? and runaways was pretty dang good this week.
-
Oct 21, 2005 9:56:14 PM CDT
"In the spirit of DC team-ups past, it would have to be called T
by voice o. reason
Its funny cuz its true.
-
Oct 21, 2005 10:20:46 PM CDT
since were hopelessly sidetracked from the original reviews....
by darth kal-el
...who plays xbox live? im going to be taking the night off from bar hopping tonight and will be in halo 2.my xbox live name is samuraihellrazr.come get your ass beat!
-
I liked Krueger/Ross' "Justice"...good rendition of the Riddler...
-
Hey, Sideshow, I glimpsed this at my sister store (didn't order it at mine, 'cause my customer base is so heavily mainstream) and it really intrigued. Based on your strong words, I might give 'er a look-see, though I confess: I'm rarely drawn into straight-up slice-of-lifers unless they really offer something new. I'm afraid I've never even read Tomine, even though I'm seriously considering buying his upcoming sketch portfolio just 'cause it'd make a classy bit of living room decor - comics and fine art in one! Is that a vile way to assess art or what? But that's me. Blue collar art fan.
-
i go by the name of Darth Chaos in that realm my friend, but alas, i no longer have a live account. I'm/was/is such a Halo junkie that i have annual halo events by the name of Haloween, Holiday Halo, and Cinco De Halo!!! One of these days i shall resume my account and us sithcogs will battle!!! *** I'm working @ 3:52am. Something isn't right about that? I did manage to see Domino earlier tonight. It was asi asi, okay, Keira's boobies where in it and the 90210 bit was funny, but ultimately forgetable. Happy fraggin Kal-El!
-
I started reading V FOR VENDETTA a few months ago and tappered off a few chapters in in favor of some other reading material. I shit you not. I honestly was a little put off by it. The villains felt caricatured, the hero a bit of a condescending "Mary Sue" character (was this Alan Moore writ large, same as all of Ellis's leads are idealized versions of himself?). Oh, I'm sure to go back and read it before the Wachowskis sexy it up, but quite rarely for an Alan Moore work...it failed to grab me. ***** As an aside, I think my own favorite Alan Moore work is FROM HELL, followed closely by WATCHMEN and SWAMP THING, with TOP TEN winning a special award for populist material. With FROM HELL, I sometimes find myself returning just to the chapter on London's pagan architecture, one of the most dizzying and satisfying comic book chapters of all time. To Thalya, I recommend SWAMP THING in particular as a first venture into Moore's world. It's got ties to the DC Universe, can be read in bite-sized trades, and for a horror comic is surprisingly...beautiful. TOP TEN's another winner, especially for the longtime superhero fan, immersed as it is in the genre. And, again, it's a very humanist work, not nearly so bleak as WATCHMEN or FROM HELL. On the other hand, WATCHMEN is ostensibly a superhero outing too, and is just such a goddamn *experience*. I remember reading that for the first time in high school, and it had the same effect as reading immersing myself in literature: on completion, I almost had to make myself exhale, to just decompress and try to take in the totality of what I'd just experienced. ***** Oh, and one other Moore-related comment. I'm all ready for Buzz to dissect WATCHMEN's art some more too, but at least on a basic level, I think part of its secret was the syncopated effect of Gibbon's layout. With a bare minimum of panels breaking from the harsh regularity of the nine panel grid, there's a lulling effect. It's like you slip into its groove easily, never startled by some jangly Image-style panel or even the diagonal compositions of Neal Adams. You ease in, and first and foremost, the story takes on primacy above all else. No glam, no flash, no sense of the egotism of the artist's style - just the purity of the story. Secondly, because the reader finds himself undistracted by layout (for instance, when you flip a page there are no startling images to focus on - you just begin at panel one and move on), when he does hit one of the many, many startling moments of drama, they hit with particular intensity because they were "stealthed" into the reading experience. And lastly...when you've got a panel layout so regularized, when you DO break it...brutha, it has IMPACT. Like, knock-you-on-your-ass level impact! That's my layman's take.
-
man im a halo junkie too! i lov3e your holiday names! im one of the guys that took the day off to play halo 2 and stood in line at midnight! its always been a part of our thing from back in halo 1.wed hang out at one of the houses or my apartment when i had it and play halo 1 four player matches and drink then head out to the bar or wherever we were going to be that night. then 2 hit and with online capable games it was over.now we halo it up all week long! today i didnt feel like going out so i just started making rum and cokes and fraggin fools1.i think ive seen darth chaos before! well man u gotta get back in itll be sweet!
-
As always, wildly watchable, but as we begin to hit second or third flashbacks for these characters, I'm afraid they're starting to feel like wheels spinning to me. What did we really gain from the Jin and Sun flashback? We already knew that Jin's working-class background made him a tough fit for Korea's upper-class jobs and that his sympathies were grounded in The People. And I didn't quite buy the obliviousness of the bald guy who had the arranged thingee with Sun - that felt like contrived drama, though both she and the guy who plays Jin acted the hell out of their parts. Still, what did her scenes add to her character? Anything? Maybe I actually missed something, but I was vague on why the present story had her so focused on her lost wedding ring when the flashback had NO real focus on her time with Jin. Was this setting something up? Did I miss some obvious bit of meaning? And as to the mystery aspect of the show...again, it seems like the writers are digging themselves into a pit. Each episode that piles on an additional element of mysticism that has no ties to the previous one has me more convinced than ever that the writers are just making shit up as they go along. Remember Jin's roommate? Was toying with some sort of Korean astrology and, of course, his predictions bore fruit by the end. As with everything on LOST, that moment of bearing fruit always *seems* meaningful - "Oh, WOW," we think, "That casual reference earlier in the show set up this emotional climax!" - but think about it a second. In addition to all the other coincidences in the show, to Hurley's bad luck, to Desmond's seeming precognition about Jack's wife regaining the use of her legs, to Claire's fortune teller being spot-on...in addition to all that, now the Korean zodiac is real?!! It's a little disheartening. I guess there are still explanations that might bring it all together - I'm hoping the numerology stuff might tie into a PI-style explanation where someone's tapped into the infinitely complex mathematically structures that govern the universe, such that one can all but work magic of one knows the right math - but man, it's getting harder to believe. I'm having a harder and harder time feeling emotionally invested in climactic scenes that have, as their lynchpin, whatever latest bit of unexplained magic the show's writers have cooked up. It feels like they're cheating to earn their drama.
-
I'm such a fan that i was able to persuade the lovely employees that they should let me take home the Master Chief cardboard display "earth will never be the same" on the bottom. I gave them a notebook w/ all ogf the pictures i've taken durinig holiday halo, etc. and told them not to raffle it off to some sticky fingered little brat, but to someone who could have some real use for it like ME!!! The stand is in my garage right now. I haven't put it back together since i moved, but the holidays are coming up! go here for some cool jackolantern stencils *** www.zombiepumpkins.com *** I can't believe it's almost halloween. Ive known my girlfriend for 7 years come sunday too! Damn, where does the time go?
-
heathen u lucky bastard! i had my eye on that display but someone had claimed it weeks before!wow 7 years is a long time!*****dave i couldnt agree with u more about lost. im still loving the show but it feels like so many things are being thrown at us that i almost feel like i need to be taking notes just to keep track. and then ill go on a message board and someone will put forth a theory or something and its just...arrghh...its driving me nuts with anticipation!i already decided im not following it if it goes past 2 seasons...
-
That was pretty cool. and the scene before that of the still shot of the jungle reminded me of Predator. Hey Kal, if you Tivoed it, pause it on that shot and see if you can see anything, i bet there's something there, out there, past those trees. Gonna have me some fun
-
i thought the exact same thing! especially with eko(?) barely visible like bill duke back in predator?but see i didnt think it was creepy but i was antsy like 'get up and hit them from behind you fukcers!'
-
Yeah, that stuff was bitchin'-scary. And all the scenes with Sun and Kate and Locke and Hurley were great too ("So, Seoul...is that in the good Korea or the bad Korea?"). The craft of the show is hugely winning. ***** As to it's *meaning*, well...here's a musical spoof that I can only presume is by Weird Al, and it kind of sums things up: http://tinyurl.com/8tjer Note: I'm no Weird Al devotee, y'all, but if that is indeed from him, I thought it was really pretty clever. Mirroring literally every single line of the song with some relevant scene from the show is a neat trick, and the song's coda is pretty spot-on for voicing my fears.
-
Oct 22, 2005 3:51:18 AM CDT
my gorram computer's sound if screwed up right now of course
by the heathen
And btw Dave, i kinda feel the same way about V For Vendetta. Doubt the movie will change any opinions, but ya never know.
-
...season one of LOST had one of the all-time pants-crapper moments for me on TV, and that was the scene where creepy Ethan walked out of the jungle all scowly at Claire and Charlie. I don't think I've EVER seen a scarier presentation of an ostensibly normal guy. Even when I'd see him in "previously on" recaps...brrrr.
-
loved the stencils dude those are cool! i want to try the chewbacca but im artistically retarded so ill probably botch it up and cut myself in the process.****dave the lost rhapsody was hilarious! it definitely sounds like weird al.i agree the ethan part was very scary.i watched it with my cousin on dvd and we both said "ahhh!! holy shit!" and then turned to look at each other at the exact same time.i think its how insane he looks that makes the scene.im not clear on if him and the french woman where working together or not. she told sayid she hadnt seen another human in a long time(not exact words but close if i remember) but then claire remembered her from the night she got abducted.is it just me?also,and its probably been brought up before but i was staying spolier free til i fnished watching the dvds, what the fuck is the smoke creature that danielle called "security system"?
-
and that sound, it was like a cranking sound wasn't it? Danielle def scratched Claire, but not much was said about it. Weird. Kal-El, get one of those pumpkin kits at the supermarket, they help people like us who would cut off our fingers. I did the Ed Scissor hands, Shaun, M. Myers, and Yoda last year. There cool when lit dude.
-
yeah claire did scratch up danielle so she had to have been working with ethan but what danille said was something different.it gets better and better,deeper and deeper.im going to try fingers be damned! those are too cool to pass up doing one this year.i had this fantabulous halloween party one year...nah thats a story for another day.im kinda drunk so i think im going to go crash.have a good rest of the night heathen and dave.
-
http://tinyurl.com/cz22e*****sorry thalya
-
a welcome wake-up call, all though I technically have't gone to sleep. A motherfuckin all nighter!!! Have a good one Kal-El and Dave. Hope to go by my shop before Wilma gets closer. Last year there was a hurricane sale!!! Interested in BoP #72-73 Lady C. Good night guy's
-
Keyra Agustina ::heart:: . Hey, you South American chaps, hook me up with her (I believe that is not her real name) and unimaginable wealth, fame, power will be yours. DO IT!
-
I gotta agree with Dave on this one. Sure, I want to see what these guys do with the film adaptation, but this is one graphic novel that I don't think holds up. When I first read it, like 20 years ago, it totally blew me away. When I tried to read it again this last year, I thought it was horrible. Slow moving. Ponderous. I sold my tpb for $1 to Half-Price Books.
-
Time magazine voted WATCHMEN one of the top 100 novels of all time. and they didn't play it up as a novelty item (you know what i mean -- the whole, "comics aren't just for kids anymore!" soundbyte). they talked about as an strong work of contemporary literature. these, my friends, are the baby steps to the comic's medium literary acceptance! pretty cool, huh?
-
Dave, I'd check it out. The more I read this, the less I'm feeling the slice-of-life bit. It's essentially a series of 5-6 page stories that each start out as slice-of-life, lull you in to these character's mundane lives, then wham! something awful happens and/or they are faced with a morality judgement call that they almost never get right. So it's not exactly 20 pages of a girl riding on a subway and arguing with her boyfriend (not that that is what great slice-of-life comics are, but you get my meaning). I've found it to be a tremendous examination into the frustrations of human existence. And if that sounds pretentious, it's not. The guy is a damn good cartoonist too, with a storytelling style that I can't quite put my finger on, but haven't quite seen before, that really gets under the skin. It's got a very unique sense of rhythym.
-
That to me is what's great about the Watchmen art, and it's standard 9 page paneling. The rhythym is so simple and perfect, Moore and Gibbons have such control over the story beats. You can practically set the reading of that book to a metronome. Like the chapter with the neon light going on and off...it lulls the reader in like very few other comics. Also, by using the same panel size over and over, it doesn't tip its hand to the readers as to what story beats are more important, so it's really up to the readers to decide what is more important to *them*. Compare that with something like Infinite Crisis (or practically any modern book--though I'd say Brian K. Vaughan for one is particularly good at this), where the writers/artists use panel size to essentially manipulate their readers into thinking and feeling EXACTLY what they want the readers to think and feel. Nothing wrong with that; in fact it's not an easy thing to do so my hat is off to creators who can do it. But the Watchmen exists in a grey area that is both uncomfortable and refreshing, where you have to decide for yourself what is important, and what to think and feel about it.
-
Oct 22, 2005 10:38:54 AM CDT
Somewhat on the subject of that Infinite Crisis thingy -- 52
by astrothunder
I don't remember if this was discussed in a past talkback, but how does everyone feel about 52? For those who don't know what it be, 52 is the weekly jam series that will spiral out of Infinite Crisis and cover a year of real time continuity in DC. There are no specific details right now, but does anyone think that they can pull off a weekly for an entire year? Will the quality of art be diminished? Or the writing? How much will this stuff cost? When Marvel titled their House of M-associated event 198, was the number-as-title thing an intentional yank at DC or just a coincidence? I'm interested mainly because of the talent involved (Giffen, Johns, Rucka, Morrison, Waid) and the fact it's got the insane spectacle of an 80s Jackie Chan stunt or an Evel Knievel jump -- even if it crashes, burns, and breaks its collar bone, at least it'll be kinda interesting... hopfeully.
-
Oct 22, 2005 12:24:08 PM CDT
*picks herself up from being a complete puddle after BoP #87*
by thalya
Uh..huh? oh, yeah.. *wipes drool from chin* Think they'll ever make a Calculator pinup calendar? Because I'm debating whether to make one myself... *** Dave_F: Thanks for the recommendations, I'll definitely take them under advisement. *** Heathen: If you can't read the books themselves, here's some interesting bits. The story is basically there's a cult out in Oregon made up of kids, a handful of which have been committing suicide while garbed as deceased superheroes, and Huntress is sent in undercover, as is Vixen, while Oracle does some hacking on it. Bit #1: Canary is confronting one of these accolytes about to commit suicide when said advocate has this line of dialogue, "NO. Father says, he says there are DEMONS. He says there's a CRISIS. In HEAVEN AND EARTH!" And then there's a church with stained glass images of Supes fighting Darkseid and little action figures of Sentinel and Jay Garrick/Flash on the altar and a collection of real live mindcontrolled metas like AirWave II and GeoForce in the basement. And the "Father" of this apparently has mind-control powers and is working with Brainiac.. And the only way Helena can stop him is to kill him (only she doesn't because her crossbow jams).. Sound familiar?
-
The only interesting part about 52, to me, is...aw come on this one's easy, you guys know me! Starts with an M and ends with an Orrison.
-
of 1. Grant Morrison himself, 2.his collaborators (co-plotters) bringing out overall better work than their usual to make up for working along him, 3.the great art featured in Identity Crisis #1 and 4. for the 'supehero porn' DC and Johns has provided for us.
-
That's great about Watchmen making Time's 100 best novels. Thanks for the heads up. And Darth, thank you for that! On another subject, should we be concerned about your drinking? And am i the only man alive who doesn't think Kiera Nightley is hot? Her jaw is like totally pushing forward like she's half woman half barracuda.
-
This looks to be balls-to-the-wall fun. The 24 approach applied to what a year in the life of the DCU looks like in real time..well, maybe it'll serve as a benchmark for measuring comic book time in the future. And if they find it's so successful that they actually continue it (really doubtful because of all the pressures involved), it would be a great way to keep a handle on continuity. Is it just me, or is DC trying something bigger with their books? I'm thinking that Superman/Batman, Supergirl, and the upcoming Brave and the Bold (and 52) have been/are ways to merely lay down specific plot points while being entertaining reads. That is, the plot points themselves haven't been crucial to the books themselves, but to the overall DCU, the books are just constructs (and what a jump in philosophy if you compare that to pre-Crisis on Two Earths/JLA where each book had its own world). Look at Supergirl for instance. It isn't about Kara at all. She's just a device-character (perhaps like the Monitor was?) to showcase what's what with the teams on the DCU: #1 was the JSA, #2 was the Teen Titans, #3 will be the Outsiders, #4 will be the JLA. They're really just treading water until they get to the point in time where it's safe to reveal what her deal actually is.
-
because it's exceptionally well crafted (a Moore/Lloyd collaboration), (to me it's) poignant, humane, revolutionary (in the traditional sense, with a capital 'R') and a love letter to superheroics (albeit in a more realistic world, a la Bats). I found these qualities in V the first time I read it, but I can't see how over time they can diminish or change. **** Thalya, you mentioned a crossbow jam. Well, it does sound familiar, but right now I cannot muster the strength to describe my related anecdote. **** Heathen, by tomorrow I 'll have posted here my recounting of my meeting Crispin Glover. I remember you had encouraged me to ask him about the Begins sequel. **** Vale, I just found out that 'Chiquititas' is an Argentinian production. ( You are Argentinian, right? ) Well, this particular show has been syndicated for ages here, albeit (the 2nd time I am using this word in this post) dubbed in greek. I find it very irritating and painful to watch. I was about to make a joke on how of all things from your culture (again, provided that you are Argentinian), I can daily sample its most vile aspect, but I failed. **** Any of you guys (Thalya is American) familiar with the 'City of Villains' european beta? I just got selected.
-
http://tinyurl.com/df9cg
-
can't wait.
-
and Keira is kinda hot sometimes and then not at others for me, but hey, you like those gorgeous Nicole Kidman types Vale. Good standard my friend, even if I want to kill you for being surrounded by a house full of J.Lo maids!!! Domino was pretty average and it was Tony Scott's most fast paced, short attentioned span work. It was like Man On Crack, not Fire, and with a girl, and Brian Austin Green, and a funny Afgahn man named Alf who blows stuff up. He was my fav. I'm going to try and get more than 3 hrs. of sleeo, but I'll be back Cogs. You know I luuuuvvvv yooouuuu. Later.
-
its just a weekend thing.belive me i have a fully functioning life during the week but i like to have a few drinks on the weekend.but seriously it means a lot that u even asked if u should be concerned.it used to be a problem but i got it under control.***u dont liike kiera knightly?yeah i think shes pretty hot.her an natalie portman are almost interchangeable in looks in my mind.****domino sounds and looks pretty damn cool. i was at the movies last monday night but my friend i went with dragged me to waiting which was ok,kinda funny but not roll on the floor funny.****im interested in seeing how 52 is going to turn out as well.and how will they do trades for this?the best i can figure is 5 volumes of 10 issues each with maybe a double sized last volume. i dont know i guess its too early still for that kid of thought.****second teh vote to hear about crispin gus****once again thank you vale it means a lot that u cared enough to ask.****ok guys im off to do some errands including going to the comic store so i will be on later.have a great weekeend cogs and @$$es!
-
i'm kinda with you on knightly...and gus...vale is colombian like i am...no argentine blood to be found anywhere me hopes. heathen thanks for the link to gail simone...and who plays catman and deadshot in a feature flick? and who directs? i'd plop my money down for that over a fantastic four sequel thats for sure. and heathen we cogs love you too...such a lovely group...with such a pretty cog-mansion-watchtower-secret pasages thingy too...god, i need some banana bread.
-
But, surely Vale you were referring to Mike Orrison as his reason for reading 52, weren't you?
-
an erratum
-
Yes indeed eye yam colombian. I kinda don't like argeninos right now because they have faces made of poopoo. And god yes, Nicole Kidman is probably as beautiful as it gets in my book at least. And Kate...mmm purdy! that's the main reason i want Lost back.
-
with all sentiments that ethan from lost was a creepy mofo...rest in peace ya bastard. i aslo agree that argentines are kinda poopoo...especially with losing to urugauy...sighs another world cup missed...when did ecuador become so good? sighs...oh and kate from lost is mighty purty...who will she gravitate to in the end...sawyer or jack? and has sawyer found a new rough and tumble cheek. and eko is just cool...well i loved him in OZ...oh yeah...it's an OZ reunion weeeeeeee.....now i have to go pull a jack bauer and use my skills in search of banana bread.
-
..but I think I saw some pumpkin spice bread in the kitchen awhile back. If you take a left past the roundtable meetingroom and the third right after the weapons room you should be right there.. I think there may have been some Weather Wizard Bits (TM) - they're snackalicious!, in there too..
-
Hmm, not bad. Crunchy And chewy at the same time and only the occasional piece of gristle. But you really have to try them dipped in Dr. Psycho sauce. yum!
-
I just watched it on DVD, and I gotta say: That is one steaming turd of a fuckin' movie. Just when you thought Batman movies couldn't get any worse... they do. Actually made me long for the crap Tim Burton Batman where he at least had the sense to keep that stupid-ass rubber suit in the shadows instead of shining a fucking spotlight on it in every scene. Ugh. Worst... Batman... EVER!
-
...just finished watching batman begins again on dvd(first time at the theater)and i couldnt disagree with jar jar more!i love this movie!*munches pumpkin spice bread*this is not bad! thanks thalya.no hard feeling about me drunk-posting the porn link?weather wizard bits make me go a big rubbery one...
-
...and maybe still am. Figure on giving 'er another viewing sometime soon. By memory, what I liked *least* about the flick was its insatiable need to explain everah gahdamn thing about Batman's methodology. Where's the mythic element in that?! And what's Batman without some myth? Didn't think much of the romance stuff either. Thought some of the pschobabble was a bit loopy. No love for Bat-tank. What I liked was Christian Bale presenting a Batman I actually liked, and who, more importantly, appeared to like *being* Batman. Liked Caine. Liked Scarecrow. Liked the plot in fits and starts. The one thing I know is that I do feel like giving it a second viewing. Got superheroes in my blood, 'pears.
-
but i did go into it expecting to maybe not be wowed just based on things i read on the net.i knew it was a new take based loosely on year one but other than that i had stayed pretty spoiler free.i think what did it for me was the fact that i went in with the mentality of this is something new.i wasnt trying to make it be the comics or the other movies or anything else.in my mind this was a brand new,clean slate for the character. thats why i love the bat tumbler and the fact that he was trained by rhas al ghul to be a nija.it was just different and new and i liked it.i think thats a lot of what the rest of the world saw that drove the box office numbers by sheer word of mouth.i think its pretty obvious from my posts that,while i love comics, im not neccesarily the guy that has read the most comics or knows all the back history to every character.i was happy with seeing THIS interpretation of batman because to me thats what it is is an interpretation. there are those on this board who have been reading comics for a lot longer than me who may feel batman was out of character for this or that reason referenced in BATMAN COMIC ISSUE # Whichever,but to me as a movie goer,it kept me in my seat loving it, and after the 2 hours + wanting more.i think on that level it succeeds.
-
Oct 23, 2005 5:53:56 AM CDT
"That is one steaming turd of a fuckin' movie. Just when you
by darth kal-el
i always laugh at this kind of reaction on this site.if i see a movie i dont like i usually say something like 'damn that sucked',or if its very bad 'im not ever getting those 2 hours and 9.50 back',but its always a joke or,you know, just something u say.but see,i never go on message boards to talk about how shitty the movie was and then compare it to other movies that are vaguely related to the movie i just saw or other movies that are not even in the same genre just to point out how bad the movie i just saw was. in my mind,if its that bad turn the fucking thing off!
-
u owe it another viewing
-
Dave, I can certainly understand how you felt about the last episode. It was almost entirely a character-"building" piece that didn't add breadth to Sun and Jin. But I thought it added a LOT of depth to them. But perhaps that's just because the two actos did such a gret job. In any case, my disappointment comes from the fact that with two weeks off, they left us with a low-key character piece... where I was expecting more inthe way of a cliffhanger. And you don't know what we were supposed to "learn" from the episode? Hell, Locke had to beat it into our heads by saying it aloud: Stop looking and you'll find what you have lost.
-
Darth: 'Welcome. And no biggie. Boys will be boys and I'm not going to even pretend to fathom that part of the male psyche. *** Psy: How about the creamy filling?
-
Guy Pearce. He could be Blake or Lawton, he's versatile. Oh, okay fine
-
Today is the seven year anniversary of meeting my best friend and better half. My one and only Latin Godess. I love this day. It's finally starting to feel like fall in Florida. : )
-
Oct 23, 2005 11:14:26 AM CDT
Ooh, I forgot, there should be cream cheese in the fridge, also.
by thalya
I think the only real flaw I found with Batman Begins was how relentlessly-paced it was. You didn't get to breathe between plot points and absorb all that was building up. You could do that if we got established-Batman from the getgo, but.. But that's about the only problem I found and Gary Oldman rules the world.
-
hell yeah, that's why I was totally down with it. Casting suggestions Lady Calc?
-
Yeah, I had some problems with it -- wish the fight scenes weren't such a shakey, indecipherable jumble of blurring shapes in the dark; wish the score was iconic and more emblematic of the character -- but I thought it was good. Liked Batman Begins better than Burton's pair of flicks, but I still think the best Batman flick is Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Actually, I was wondering if anyone else has asked this with the recent glut of superhero flicks: Where are the iconic superhero scores? John Williams wrote music that made you believe a man could fly and Danny Elfman wrote great compositions for Burton's Batman entires and The Flash TV show. But apart from these, who can actually recall a superhero movie score that made you think, "Oh, that's totally so-and-so's music"? Elfman's tackled both Spidey and The Hulk, but neither score, while good, felt really attached to the characters. While I liked the score in Batman Begins, it didn't make me think, "Man, whenever I hear that I'll think about Batman." I dunno, I miss that brand of memorable score that really epitomizes a character, and maybe that's just because as a kid I had this bizarre obsession with and admiration for Peter and the Wolf, but I think comic books movies need that to some extant.
-
I dunno about casting, that'd be tough because I'm not sure we have actors who lack boyishness enough for Catman or Deadshot. Possibly Peter Stormare for Calculator though.. And congrats! All the happiness, dude.
-
seriously, I can't hate that guy in anything, not even Brothers Grimm. When's Prison Break coming back? Hell, he was the best thing in that. And thank you. I haven't felt happy in a while. Or maybe it's because I was able to get more than 5 hrs. of sleep last night. Either way, I'll take it. : ) Ooh, and I think I took the cream cheese in the fridge to make some Philly sushi rolls.
-
Man, Peter and the Wolf. Good times indeed. I agree w/ Elfman not bringing it for Hulk and Spidey. Although, Spidey had a hint of something brilliant, especially in the 2nd movie. Wonder how the 3rd movie will be w/out Danny? His Batman score is one of my favorites, but James Newton Howard *** http://tinyurl.com/7mtep *** (2008!!!) and Hans Zimmer's Batman had this
-
is more of a mood piece anyway...ilove batman begins...definately in my top three films i've seen this year...right now perched on the top...but there's still stiff competititon to come...batman begins is far better than the other comic book adapdations we've gotten this year..i.e...f4, constantine and the wedding crashers...huh? what you mean that wasn't a comic. i should know, i've been reading comics for a week so i'm steeped in continuity ahem. thanks for the pumpkin spice bread thayla...and i've finished all the banana bread...damn addict that i be :)...now i search for pie...who's turn is it to pick up the milk? and who left all these posted notes about LOST on the fridge? well, i'll admit this hurley one is nice...wonders off...
-
Watched it on DVD and liked it quite a bit. Oh, there are problems for sure. The action is terrible. The fact that Batman essentially tried to kill a bunch of cops on his way out of Arkham is a moral leap I can't make. And most importantly, trying to make Batman plausible is more ridiculous than the Adam West Batman in its own way. I think it was wrong-headed in its attempt to apologize for the fact that it came from a comic book. *** But still, enjoyable movie. Gotham was a cool and believable city. It was well written and the cast was superb top to bottom. *** Must say, I did enjoy Fantastic Four better in the theaters, but I really have no desire to see FF again.
-
The fight scenes are though. And I wouldn't even call them terrible, but just too hard and fast, but that looks like what they were going for. It's some new martial arts called Kenshi(?) or something. It was on the second disc.
-
the one with Charlize Theron on the cover. Best legs on that woman, but anyway, yeah, great article. Read it fools! Moore says that Issue 4 about Dr. Manhattan is his favorite. Mine too. It's probably the single grreatest issue of a comic ever imho. Either that or House of M #5. Boy, I can't decide. ; )
-
All you ever think about is food and Batman Begins. I read the Newsarama article about the EW article. Awesome stuff, it even had Jude Law in it.
-
Rorschach.
-
casting call would be interesting.
-
i wish all the happiness in the world for u guys!yes i agree with my post as well.batman begins rules. i do agree about the score tho.i watched the movie last night and i had to put the dvd back this morning to try to remember the score. hoepfully what we get for supes will be more iconic.hey i just tivoed something off cartoon netwoork i dont know if any of u guys have ever heard of it-its called 'the batman vs dracula'.it looks pretty damn sweet and its 2 hours long.im about to spend a lazy sunday morning checking it out.mmm i wish we still had more banana bread-damn u blackthought!vale i think we should be concerned about blackthought's banana bread addiction.its time for an intervention.and im already fat/skinny,have BO and have never had a girlfriend.dont u remember?i read comics!
-
Watchmen casting because we can make things right with hair dye if need be -- The Comedian: Dennis Farina * Manhattan: Ed Harris (duh) * Nite Owl: Alfred Molina * Ozymandias: Robert Redford (if we could de-age him about a decade) or George Clooney * Rorschach: John C. Reilly * Silk Spectre II: Lucy Lawless
-
As a wise man once said... http://tinyurl.com/2y18
-
I could have sworn I'd seen it, but I can't remember Oldman at all, and if you can't remember Gary Oldman in a movie, clearly he wasn't actually in it. I mean, no one'd be so crazy as to cast the guy as a forgettable character...right?
-
Oldman was Lt. Gordon. You may have missed it because he played the character as a regular human being rather than a cartoonish charicature like he usually does.
-
I just wanted a *character*.
-
nothing can stop my addictions which are many...no intervention please!...i'm skinny so i can use the pounds...so the fridge is mine!...and also congrats heathen...when you gonna pop the freaking ? if you know what i mean...how long must she wait? i just want some wedding cake...sighs...that and to where our cog-smooch backup batsuits there too...that would be a sight.
-
Today my girlfriend and i broke up. We've been together for about 2 years now. Had been together, sorry. It's not particularly sad nor particularly...anything. It's just weird. Hell it could even be positive, but it still feels like "the end of an era" if that makes any sense. she was my first love. And no i'm not trying to steal Heathen's thunder, i think it's great about him and his lady and i wish them many years of happiness together. Weird weird day.
-
it is indeed the end of an era my friend.im right there with u.im hoping it will be a positive thing for you rather than a negative. wish u the best because i know how it feels to lose a love.
-
2 years is 2 years, it counts for something. So it'll be an adjustment. Thankfully it was an agreement instead of something dramatic so no tears were shed. That said i think she *should* "cry me a river" because i'm totlly awesome.
-
2 years is nothin. You must be liek 18 to care so much. It won;t matter, you'll be banging new chicks in no time going "'insert name' who?"
As to this Crisis shit, its shit. DC sucks shit. I'm not always a fan of the nuMarvel approach but at least their stuff is fun. The DC stuff, all of it, is so pondrous and ugh, pompous. And Brad Metzler is a terrible novelist. I read his first book because i was into legal thrilelrs at the time. What an ass, it was so bad I couldn't finish it which hardly ever happens. -
sorry to hear about that buddy. I get what you said about it could be bad or good (hopefully good) and that this chapter is over with. But, here's a positive - you don't have to convince her to watch a Star Wars movie right? *** Thanks for the kind words Dave, Darth, and blackthought. I am the man now dog! And WHEN I do pop the ? I should bye all of you Cogs & @$$holes plane tickets and make you wear your emergency batsuits to the ceremony!!! The reason I haven't popped it (the ? that is) is a simple one: I intend to only be married once, and I want it to be right you know? I grew up in rural N. Central Fl and you would not believe how many of my friends from school had shotgun weddings w/ gorram cows in the background while a fat lady was singing that LeeAnn Wolmack song, "I hope you dance." *shudders* Yeah, I can't let that happen. But the emergency batsuits are fine and you can have all the cake you want blackthought.
-
BOM: For me, Batman's defining moment is when Lieutenant Gordon says to him, "I never thanked you," and Batman responds: "And you'll never have to." That's the cashing in of everything that's come before because that's when he stands for something, for something honorable.
Nolan: Yes.
BOM: And he's not just this dark, martyred knight who's defined by torture and suffering.
Nolan: Yes.
BOM: Whereas in so many movies, the evil is more interesting, more compelling, than the good. *** or here is the whole article ** http://tinyurl.com/bkef5 ** -
What was your opinion of Burton's Batman? Surely the bumbling tubby Santa Claus of a Gordon in those movies were worse. My only problem with Oldman
-
and vale...sorries bout the news...to all...wonder what the mondays will dish out this time...now i must be off to my lighting class...sighs...mondays.
-
A long time ago I too broke up with my then current girlfriend. A few days later, on an impulse I went and messed up her home planet a bit. Now, THAT'S how to feel nothing at all. / blackthought, you know nothing of boredom, if you haven't been in a effin' lightning class. Fucking Snakedays for two whole n-years. / Guys, I am having some problems, but I promise I 'll post my meeting Crispin Glover here before the new column is up. / Funny how I always thought of the Police Academy series as proto-superhero team films.
-
you see, for now, on friday evenings I stumble into that lonely room off the north-east corridor of the cogHQ and step into my green lantern recharger/cryo stasis tube for the weekend. only to emerge on monday morning fresh and new.
-
I read most of "Blankets". Um. wow. It was so personal and hit sooooo close to home for me I almost felt kind of nauseous reading it. Finishing it tonight probably.
-
Sorry to hear, Vale. On the plus side, at least it was mutual. A lot easier on the heart that way, believe me..
-
I've always been interested in it, and I've only seen it in a store once. Is good da? I read the first two Goon trades yesterday, although I haven't finished the second one yet. I'm liking it quite a bit, especially the humor, "knife to the eye!"
-
Ya is good. Just read it. I can see different people taking away different things from it...well, just read it. Maybe the best SEQUENTIAL ART storytelling I've ever seen, that's fer sure. And that 25 cent Goon issue was so bloody good it makes me want to buy everything that says Goon on it.
-
hope all u guys have a great one. as for me its incredibly busy here today so i will try to post but it will be sporadic. sorry again vale but its good to know it was mutual.i agree with thalya its easier that way. and as for your wedding heathen, no need to speend on plane tickets:well take the Cog-Jet(TM)!
-
Did you see that one post of mine with the details from BoP 72-73? Was wondering what you thought..
-
yes ma'am I did. I was "hoping" to get to my shop to pick up the issues first hand and then chime in. but I haven't read them yet. *** IC SPOILERS (possibly) *** As to what you said, it sounds interesting. Interesting because A) Nobody has pointed it out before and B) This would explain the rumors of losing another Flash in a Crisis, but not the one we thought C) What Airwave has to do w/ the larger part of the Crisis (I last saw him in JSA) D) Mind Control powers and Braniac and Darkseid AND the Lex Luthor(s). Maybe Superman or "men" and Boys will have to step up to fight the 3 main villains from their gallery? Question: What does Pariah say to the impostor Luthor that runs the Society in VU #5? Doesn't he say that he isn't the apex predator, and that the one who is will do what exactly? I wish I had the issue in front of me, but it sounded important when I reread VU. Thoughts Lady Calculator?
-
it's actually kinda cool in Florida right now. Yay!!!
-
blankets is that good imho that is. really good rood with a personal touch. i love the goon, not enough good can be said about. gus, i have no clue what you are talking about but i still have cog love for you. oh yes, the cog-jet...who pilots? i saw that post thayla...you sure like to dig deep...it's interesting to say the least.
-
I feel it's appropiate. Thalya, did you read the interview with Gail Simone on VU? She talks about the one shot that's being planned for all the Countdown minis.
-
blankets will definately be a good winter read for you.
-
Hey Heathen come up here to Boston and feel what a real winter feels like ya wussy! ha just kiddin dude. But there is A LOT of snow in that graphic novel.
-
Blankets is a great read, though I do have a slight preference for Goodbye, Chunky Rice. While I love how Blankets reminds me of my own struggles with faith and love as a teenager, Chunky Rice is one of those comics that grows with you, it mutates as your hair falls out, goes through a metamorphosis as you get older. It's like reading Something Wicked This Way Comes every few years -- it resonates in different ways each time. Maybe it hit me more because I read it a little after a friend passed away, but whenever I revisit it, I still get those awestruck pinpricks and chills while flipping through its pages. It's such a simple little story, but, man, sometimes those are the ones that are able to push those buttons the best.
-
Heathen, do take a look at Brainiac's dialogue when you can, it's scary. Not to mention I think it was in issue 78 or 79 that Dinah and Helena had a talk about "where do you draw the line?" as far as killing. Big things seem to be in store for Helena, and I'm worried about Dinah because she was a JLI-er. I'm really surprised people aren't picking up on this, especially since BoP is so popular (even though seemingly less consequential in the scope of the universe) and the OMAC virus is B-13 tech. As for B) & C) I'm worried about Alan as well as Jay, especially after that one JSA. D) I'm especially wondering about Darkseid; both he and Joker were supposed to be on a rest as mentioned at a convention in June, but now we're supposed to keep an eye on Joker, so.. There's been zero on him or the New Gods in this, though Metron and Krona's Cosmic Egg from JLA/Avengers has been rumored to play a part. As for what Pariah says in VU #5 (in the mistaken belief that he was talking to the other Lex, it's "You will not survive his coming." The death list from this post alone could be: Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, Joker, and one of the Lexes/Lexii.
-
Yep, I saw.. Calculator has big secrets! And the one shot comes at the end of his BoP arc. I'm going to be on pins and needles for the next half year hoping he survives it all. But that Gail started BoP 87 off inside his head in kind of a protagonistic fashion and in a bit of a sympathetic position gives me hope..
-
I was on a comedy spree, a cosmic comedy spree that is. I started by describing the carnages I inflicted on my ex's home planet after we split and I proceeded by giving you glimpses of my school days; taking place outside the time-space continuum, hence the weekday known as Snakeday, the n-years and the lighting classes (as opposed to your feeble lighting classes). Lame, truly.
-
I don't think they'll knock off a character that has so many possibilites, especially in BoP and VU. I don't think Garrick noe Alan Scott will make it, but I think I think I recall G. Johns saying that Scott was going to be appearing in Hal's GL ongoing in the next year, but IC has 6 more months, so it's still possible he won't make it. "You will not survive his coming." I took as Pariah talking about the "big bad" right? And what Lex do you think he was talking too? Mockingbird is the real one isn't he?
-
But as Rucka likes to say, you don't kill characters you don't care about. I hope they're not getting all his big stories out of the way so they're not wasting potential, though.. Here's hoping he turns the tables on everyone in the VU mini. Big Bad/Apex Predator, methinks.. No idea on Lex. It's a big matter of semantics on that one, but I'd believe that whichever was president and had/has the suit is actually the new player in town and Society Lex is the one from the Crisis reboot. Though everyone's claiming otherwise..
-
Is it called DC?
-
Here's Harry talking about Boll, "Hell, he even signed an autograph for Quint on an audience voting card that Quint had marked POOR on in advance." Pretty funny, and not in any kinda creepy way either.
-
Excelsior!!!
-
How warped is this statement? "So what you're saying is I would be perfectly justified in keeping you here against your will if in truth you're subconsciously influencing me to do just that?" Particularly in the context of a budding romance?
-
thayla...that's not disturbing at all...that's how we did it back in grade school...er...
-
Oct 24, 2005 8:16:22 PM CDT
"So what you're saying is I would be perfectly justified in
by astrothunder
Aren't those lyrics from an Al Green song?
-
So much for putting my finger to the wind to make sure I'm on course..
-
I mean, really.
-
And here I thought the Cog$ had gone and pulled a Freedom Fighters or something..
-
I haven't been phallicly impaled ala phantom lady... yet.
-
Is today just a really blah day, or? And hmm... I'm thinking in addition to the Cog$Mansion, we've really got to work on a Rogues Gallery..
-
"Captain Moviemack"? "The Troll"? Ooh ooh wait I got one: "Brian Michael Bendis". Ha.
-
Okay so issue 5 was just released at the end of August and they nerfed the crap out of everyone just about. Now issue 6 goes live with the release of CoV 'Now with enhancement diversification!'that penalizes you for any Single Origin enhancement slotting over 3 per type per power. I ask you how is being told almost exactly how you must develop your character supposed to be fun?
-
shigeru...captain moviemack would definately be a rouge...probably needs name tweak though...
-
sorr its been a busy couple of days.
-
Oct 25, 2005 3:58:17 PM CDT
*pulls himself outta the water* Like Uncle Sam (not really)
by the heathen
I'm fine Kal-El. Wilma was more of a sweet Betty (for myself at least). We had a cold front (YES, COLD AIR!!!) push in and move Wilma away from N. Central Florida, so I'm in tip top shape on that front. Deadlines from publishers/editors who can't print a magazine from their own ass' is a different story. I've worked like 100 hrs. this past week and this week combined (look back at our Halo chat @ 3-4 am last Sat.) But it has indeed been a lousy couple of days, besides dodging a hurricane that is. And The Troll and Captain(?) Moviemack the Won't of Wontbies are totally in our Rogues Gallery. Later folks, Ill be back. : )
-
oh poor pariah...what did lex do to you? and parademon...you blew yourself up...laments villains united...i love that book...just read it again...and again...
-
yeah i remember talking to u and dave and like 1 am my time. i still say u need to re up your live subscription and come fraggin with me
-
Oct 25, 2005 6:13:54 PM CDT
"I ask you how is being told almost exactly how you must develop
by dave_f
Sounds like a response to an editorially-driven comic crossover! Ha, your inner feelings about INFINITE CRISIS are making themselves known!
-
No fair Dave! My Petard! Mine!!!
-
umm...aren't ALL impalements phallic? Just failing to see the discretionary distinction here, LOL.
-
youre such a queercog! :-)
-
So anyway, I'm putting my finger to the wind now that more Cogs showed. Please feel free to tell me I'm nuts for thinking that line of mine up above is romantic, but tell me on a scale of 1 to 10, if you would..
-
while reading the line i would give it a 3 for romance on a scale of 1-10 only because i had to go back and reread it and put it in the context of a budding romance. but i guess if the line was delivered particularly well it could get a higher score.
-
what is this romance thingy?
-
Oct 25, 2005 9:35:34 PM CDT
That thing you used to do back in grade school, blackthought. :)
by thalya
-
so you mean drawing real poorly for girls then wondering off to play kickball...gotcha :)
-
Sorry i haven't been on much, i've been somwehat busy. Thalya, i think it would all depend on the context...as it is it doesn't sound romantic at all, but it's one of the things that could be considered romantic depending on who's saying it and why it's being said. does that make sense?
-
only if they make a "SLUTCH!" sound.
-
That quote of yours does KIND OF depend on context, but right now I'd give it a 2 on the romance scale and a 7.5 on the creepy scale. UNLESS it is like a Punch Drunk Love moment, then it is strangely romantic. You know: "I'm lookin' at your face and I just wanna smash it. I just wanna fuckin' smash it with a sledgehammer and squeeze it. You're so pretty." to which she replies "I want to chew your face, and I want to scoop out your eyes and I want to eat them and chew them and suck on them."
-
Well, er.. I was just looking for the weirdness of it mainly. The context itself was romantic (developing from an abductor/abductee relationship). *sigh* Eh well.. I'm trying too hard, perhaps..
-
Oct 26, 2005 9:49:06 AM CDT
"The context itself was romantic (developing from an abductor/a
by shigeru
wtf? please tell me this is fanfic or something.
-
It's not a bad thing to have a healthy sense of the absurd, is it? :)
-
I thought for a sec you were referring to something that actually happened. In that case I like!
-
I've got a number of 'em up my sleeves, actually, like "You sure picked a pretty time of year to do your abducting.." Anyone else have any good lines?
-
I was going to try and help w/ the whole scale thing, but I'm feeling kinda airheaded right now, so let's not and say I did. Saw Elizabethtown last night. It was good. Has a real monotone feeling throughout the movie, but it's better than the last few movies I've seen, besides Serenity. A History of Violence isn't playing where I live any longer, neither is Serenity, but that INto the Blue still is and it's made less money than both of those. Hmm.
-
Not by me, but overheard by me in next room some time ago: "I love the way he holds me, like he just completely covers me and won't let anything get in, and
-
LMAO!!
-
So this guys walks into a bar and orders 12 shots of whiskey. The bartender of course asks what for. The guy replies "I'm celebrating my first BJ today." The bartender of course offers to buy another shot. "No thanks." the guys says, "If the first 12 don't kill the taste nothing will."
-
romantic/creepy lines-i remember this old r&b song by a group called 112.it had a line i always liked-"i will always want you when nobody wants you, if i die now my love will still haunt you"
-
Not really, but I'll throw out some bad ones: "Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just hap-- Oh, that is a gun." ---- "I rememeber my first abduction like my first kiss." "Do you really?" "Well, yeah, they were one in the same, but you know how that goes." ---- "Do you think if you didn't forcibly abduct me that we would've hit it off just as well?" "No, that's crazy talk."
-
"what are you dense? are you retarded?"
-
I'm still on page 6 of 22 of 6 issues or so..
-
I wake up and check the talkback and i'm laughing inmediately. Today's gonna be a good day. I LOOOVE Punch drunk love. In fact, i love Paul S Anderson. What's your fanfic about, aside from abduction Thalya?
-
and he proceeds to strip her down and draw calculator buttons on her body and then does some "complex math" wow i can't believe I just wrote that
-
moviemack who said that line about you heathen?
-
That's actually..well, the linear algebra doesn't come until the second 6-issue, arc, but.. To answer your question Vale, the big overall theme is 'what would it be like if three people from this world crossed over into the DCU?', and one of the character arcs I just figured out is about the healing power of love when it comes to niggling character details I don't like, such as Noah's OCD (that bit has been a total wrench in me since I first read that story this weekend, the characterization just didn't sit well, but mere moments ago I came up with a solution in the storytelling about how to fix that problem of mine). This is also the same story that has Weather Wizard Bits and Grant Morrison being made afraid of air by Psycho Pirate and then going crazy, (in a later arc becoming a High Priest of the living entity that is the DCU, then growing to Godzilla-size and rampaging through Metropolis).
-
only 2 more days to go for a new comic column!*hoping,hoping*
-
darth's first of gus' saying
-
Oct 26, 2005 7:46:41 PM CDT
Crispin Glover in person & his film What is it? ***SPOILERS***
by gus nukem
Written in AICN report-style prose
On Saturday the 24th of Sept. I went to watch Crispin Glover's 'What is it?' ( imdb.com/title/tt0118141/ ) . He directed it, produced it, acted in it and co-wrote it along with Steven Stewart (a man suffering from cerebral palsy, he died shortly after the completion of the film). The film was shown as part ( tinyurl.com/dh9zt ) of the 11th Athens International Film festival ( www.aiff.gr - babelfish translate it if you like, or ask me ). I remember an article here on rumors on the next Joker; Paul Bettany and another chap; Harry's recommendation was Crispin Glover. I had never watched a film with/by him before; some friends mentioned a pretty cool silent assassin character in the Charlie's Angels trainwrecks. I thought this would be an intelligent man, certainly uncommon and the film apart from provocative could be good. A Q&A with the director had been announced and thus I decided to go, posted in a comics talkback and before I departed I remember Heathen's confirmatory comment to ask him (on the Joker part). I arrived with a few minutes to spare and was seated at the back of a packed, albeit beautiful screening room (Danaos - I). Smartly dressed people all around. Hot chicks were abundant. Before the film was to start, I saw Mr. Glover. He was dressed in excellent style wearing a three piece suite and was very suave and kind (not in a fake a la Bale in Begins manner, but in a more honest way), reminding me of how Bruce Wayne would be if he lived in the 1940s (for that, I recommend Eddie Campbell's 'Batman : The Order of the Beasts' ). In my book he could easily be him, or James Bond. That cool. He checked out the room, the people, while chatting with some folks from the festival committee. Then he came and stood behind the last row, just as the commercials were starting. Being a fanboy and prodded by Heathen, I had to ask him if he was to play the Joker. So, despite feeling like a nervous puddle, I stood up and while the lights were dimming I went to him and said sth. like this: 'Excuse me Mr. Glover?' At first he didn't notice me, but fortunately before I had to repeat myself, he said 'Yes?' So, I say 'Uhm, I work for a greek comic magazine (sic, sweet Jesus, sic) and I would like to ask you if you will be playing the Joker in the upcoming Batman film' By then the room was dark and the titles of his film were playing, so he said 'I will answer some questions after the film, you should ask me then' Embarassed by my terrible spoken english and the triviality of my question to him, I said 'Okay' and went back to my seat, a few seats from where the dialogue had taken place.
I liked the film and think it was good. My social ineptitude (hideous nervousness prior to asking the Mr. J. question) and geekness detracted from my viewing experience and made me under- and mis-appreciate it as I was watching it. This is the closest film to the one the Joker makes and shows to Gordon at the Killing Joke that I have ever watched. Eerie, disturbing, haunting, provocative. All the actors in the film have Down's syndrome, except for Crispin Glover who plays a despotic villain here, Steven Stewart who has cerebral palsy and plays an omnipotent character and some hot female nude dancers who wear ape masks.In this film there is rampant violence against snails and a praying mantis. People smash them, or burn them with plain cooking salt all the time.
After the film was screened it was time for the Q&A. I went and sat at the front rows, dreadful of his low opinion of the geek who came to ask him a Batman-related question. I tried to cover it up a bit, so when we were opted to ask questions I asked him ' 1. how come you used some songs by the Manson family? 2. What type of camera did you use? and 3. will you be playing the Joker in the next Batman film? ' He replied that 1. he used the Manson songs seeing that they were in the same tone with his film and that they would provoke the viewers 2. because the whole filming took place in a total of 2 months during a 10 years span, he used different cameras throughout the process. Most of the film was shot on a 16mm handicam and he believed this would be one of the last 16 mm films to be shown in a movie theater. He found it fortunate however that the scenes filmed with each camera had a similar feel and altogether the result
was harmonious and thus satisfactory. 3. He finds the Joker a very interesting part and would be most definitely up for the part. In the end he believes it's up to the director and the writer to decide whom to give the role, but he certainly would like to do it. Based on the answers to other question, he expanded on the lore behind this film. He pointed out that he saw no big variation among the people who attended the screening. He felt that people with Down syndrome being discriminated out of most human community activities - such as moviegoing - is accepted by all as the norm and he wanted to challenge that notion, he
wanted to present different kinds of people as being humans too, ie having the common human feelings, desires and passions. He wanted to make a film with people accepted as abnormal, acting as normal humans, flawed, sometimes violent, affection-seeking, sometimes heroic. People with Down's syndrome were most willing to act in his film and in most cases their guardians, had no problem with that. After one screening a boy and a girl with Down syndrome came to him and referring to the characters in the film said 'They 're like us'. He thought they recognized other people with Down syndrome, but they clarified how they
meant that the hero and heroine of the film were in love, a couple, just like them. He mentioned that in the State of California snails are considered pests
and therefore he had no legal ails while screening it there. The film would be followed by a second film 'It is fine', plotted by Steven Stewart and to be
written by Crispin Glover. Steven Stewart suffered from cerebral palsy, couldn't breathe well because of an emphysema in one of his lungs and died shortly
after his scenes were filmed. Sometime in the future, Glover wishes to make a third and final film 'It is mine'. -
Ask any questions you wish.
-
http://tinyurl.com/bpuql ***** http://tinyurl.com/bhsqs ***** shamelessly ripped of from here --- readyourselfraw.com --- (contains articles by Alan Moore, including one where he recommends comics) ***** PS Thalya, the moment you start using the word 'snarf' is a good time to reevaluate your life and perhaps take a break and relax for a while. It happened to a friend of mine, he noticed it and asked for professional help and is now a million times better.
-
I'm glad I prodded. Sounds like a cool event, and it's cool that he was so sincere and up for the part. I would like him, or Sean Penn, or maybe even Hamill just because his voice as the Joker (and his present appearance) are so fitting for the part. Thanks again buddy, I'll chime in more tomorrow. *** And blackthought
-
Oct 26, 2005 8:14:41 PM CDT
Whoam whoa, whoa, you people need some *Snarf* e-joo-ma-cation!
by psynapse
Thalya and I shared a (then very) special board/home for nearly 2 years where snarfage was a common occurrence due to the wit of the board. A *snarf* is what happens when you happen to be drinking something (liquor, code red, gasoline, whatever) and read something in a post or article that makes you laugh out loud so hard and so quickly that said drink sprays out of your nose or mouth and gives your keyboard a bath. A *snarf* while acknowledging the original reptile/cat has very little to do with Thundercats other than the name. Now you know.....(and I thank my fellow Cogs for both inclusion as one and the proliferation of much *snarf*-age on my part)
-
we cogs welcome ye psynapse...gus...good post...sounded like a fun time. and sorry to hear moviemack doesn't like casablanca heathen...truly sad...sighs
-
So who's worse? Great article, Gus.
-
Worthy of being sent to Harry himself and posted on the front page, methinks. Especially since it touches on possible Batman casting and could set off yet another talkback free-for-all. Only, before you do that, you have to truly conform to the AICN style and include ten to fifteen paragraphs explaining in excruciating detail what you did the morning of the screening. What you ate for breakfast, who you encountered on the street, what happened at any strip clubs you might have gone to on the way, the shape and form of your bowel movements, and some random political bullshit or oral sex talk just for good measure. That said, really, great review, sounds like a truly interesting film, I wish I'd been able to see it when it came to Michigan State University earlier this year. I could've had Crispin sign a handbound copy of a privately published book of poetry that I bought ten years ago from a coffee shop/proto-Goth hangout which has since mysteriously burned to the ground.
-
but when you do see it, you will like it. It's like th movie equivalent of Evangeline Lily bathing with Nicole Kidman
-
We need a new comics talkback, stat!
-
11:36am on thurs and no new column. How else am I gonna keep distracted/entertained at my boring ass job?
-
And Shigeru, so are you psychic, or?..
-
I'm just smart. From observing your posts, demeanor, and unhealthy obsession with a B-List, nondescript, obscure DC villain, coupled with the fact that you like to write fanfic, and you are a dirty fangirl.... I came to the conclusion that you want The Calculator to twixt your nethers.
-
okay i'm done.
-
or, mmm, peanut butter twixed nethers. Yeah, I think a new talkback is in order.
-
i just read the evangeline lilly bathing with nicole kidman post, and while i dont like kidman much i like evangeline enough that that will be with me the whole day! :-)good thing i have a sit down job...
-
Only I think the thing with him is, much like his old suit which would allow him to never be defeated after a first encounter because it had collected enough info on the other person, after the first night, his lady would never go unsatisfied again. And you're right, it is unhealthy. I can't even think straight anymore.. I thought I had it all figured out until that one nasty bit of cheap and easy characterization Gail gave him..
-
I was a bit shocked myself after thinking about it - it's a pretty gorram good fantasy. *** Thalya, if you love Calculator so much, and think that Peter Stormare ( http://tinyurl.com/d2yr6 ) should play him, does this mean you love him as well? Just curious, sincerely The Heathen.
-
i play the calculator? i got glasses you know...and it looks like the cog smooches will have to make their own column.
-
I was gonna save this TB ? of the week till the new column but eh eff it: What's the raddest/most embarassing comic-themed halloween costume you've ever worn? I would have to say Spider-Man 2099 for myself. Yes TWO THOUSAND NINETY NINE.
-
Heathen: Not so much. P.S. was just off the top of my head as someone with that hairline.. *** blackthought: *blushes* Are they half-moon shaped? Do you have suspenders?
-
Last year I went to a party and the costume theme was 'Pimps-n-Ho's'. My friend Mary and I went as 'Superpimp and WonderHo'. Check it out: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Psynapse/pimpnho02.jpg **and** http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Psynapse/pimpnho01.jpg
-
Spider-Man 2099!!! Ha! Ha! If only you had a picture Shigeru. I've gone as Batman, and Superman (who hasn't?) and, and, er
-
but I dunno if I'll ever post it. Cause I was like 12 and it was homemade. Not too bad looking but yeah still pretty embarassing. (you should have heard my half-mumbled explanation of who I was to confused door-answerers) That same year my friend went as Deadpool (!). I went as the Punisher when I was like 10 once too. Complete with completely real-looking plastic Uzi and M-16. These days I would have gotten shot.
-
it sucks not being able to have those real looking plastic weapons anymore. I loved them, but I would be tasered 8 times, beaten with batons, and maced to death nowadays. I think my "eventual" brother in law wants to be The Punisher this year. He's 19 (mentally 8), kinda intense, and doesn't need to hold anything even remotely dangerous. He came out of Domino firing dual machine guns w/ his hands.
-
sounds like just the type of dude you'd want to go out with your sister, huh?
-
http://tinyurl.com/asolu I like Lee's #2 better than Perez'. Which is amazing, because Perez' cover to #1 is awesomely trumping Lee's #1. I haven't read JSA Classified #4 yet, but does anyone know Power Girls origin or relation to the heros that just broke out at the end of IC #1? Please clue me in w/out any big SPOILERS if anyone knows. Oh, and like The Beast - keep your reply down to five words. Just kidding. Man the last part was funny at first, and now I'm annoyed by it.
-
I think part of his testosterone problem is that he's 5' 1" and suffers from lil man syndrome and not taking enough hr. long "shits" as he refers to them as. Too much info? Thought so.
-
Oct 27, 2005 1:52:06 PM CDT
spidey 2099? that rules shigeru i hope u do post the pic
by darth kal-el
when i was 6 i went as he-man. complete with little brown shorts and my mom made me fake muscles and his chest piece. she also dyed my hair blonde with some spray on junk that looked terrible. i love my mom she was always great about comstumes for us. oh i went as admiral ackbar one year too. it was one of those cheap plastic mask ones but my mom made me a white tunic with the admiral bars and everything.
-
that is all
-
Power Girl is in fact the Kara/cousin to the Superman that busts out at the end of IC. PG was originally from earth-2 pre-COIE and my money says they're gonna re-establish that fact.
-
Darth you take the prize!
-
you know, the padded bodysuit type
-
thanks
-
OMG... IC #2 is going to be The Entire History of the DCU.. Look at all that's in there that plays a big part: Captain Atom, Psycho Pirate, the Anti-Monitor, Death of Jason Todd, Pariah's eye, Harbinger and the Monitor, the cover of the first time Barry Allen met Jay Garrick (the very first Crisis), death of Supergirl, Doctor Light, the Freedom Fighters, the first time the JLA met the JSA, the death of Barry Allen, Max Lord killing Ted Kord, Doomsday killing Superman, Guy Gardner(!), Captain Marvel, Battle Suit Lex, the Hand at the Dawn of Time, Darkseid, Parallax, Superboy gone bad, Alex Lutor taking in E-2 Superman and Lois and E-0 Superboy, Lady Quark, the Breaking of the Bat, Brother Eye, WW killing Max Lord, and a few others I can't identify.. Oh my... they've got the big 5 mid-90s downfalls all in there: death of Superman, Breaking of the Bat, Parallax, the WW thing at the bottom right was when Artemis took over as WW, wasn't it?, and up at the top there's Aquaman losing his hand, I'm guessing? I think I'm also seeing old-costume Nightwing, Donna Troy, Phantom Stranger, Arion, Uncle Sam, J'onn J'onzz, and Gentleman Ghost..
-
I don't think any of us take enough of those.
-
does anybody else find it hilarious that that is probably the only time Power Girl will be drawn where you can't see the front of her?? On a cover no less!
-
Ok where's the new column? Heathen, if Casablanca is as you described it, i predict there will be tons of masturbation during the movie. Good times. I never had a superhero costume as a kid. Well i had the Batman costume when i was about 5, but that was it. I'm lame, please don't kick me out :(
-
but I think you got everything else. Where is Elongated man in the DCU right now? I hope he fights Dr. Light or at least just shows up.
-
I wasn't sure about that one. I knew it was Elongnated Man, but I couldn't put my finger on the other person..
-
i was crazy for star wars and i honestly think that was the last costume left that year. this was '83-84 if i remember correctly. and yeah my mom fuckin rules! shes always been super cool about making us costumes or helping out at school functions and the like. i remembered something else from my childhood-this wasnt halloween but its funny so ill share. my dad used to be a minister and when id go to church the only way id let them put a tie on me was if they let me wear my superman costume underneath.now let me clarify,i was obssesed with the man of steel as a boy but i did not own a superman costume.what it was was a superman t shirt with sweat pants and a blanket that i used as my cape. the blanket wasnt even red.so i went a couple of times like that to church and then we would stay for a potluck afterwards and i always purposely spilled something on myself so i could bust open my shirt with the 's' t shirt underneath and run around like superman. with a blanket as my cape.that wasnt even red. yeah i love superman
-
Seriosuly, I really dig the Perez covers over the Lee ones: Much more dynamic in terms of composition and character poses, much more going on of interest, really has more of an epic feel like we're looking at movie posters or something. Man, Georgie Porgie is doing a heckuva job (as always).
-
...well, for Halloween last year I was Wesley Dodds, the golden age Sandman. Had a toy snub nose, a fedora, a suit, a gas mask, and made a gas gun out of a silly string gun covered in electrical tape (shot silly string, not sleeping gas, unfortunately). For Comic Con 2004, I dressed up as Hourman II (Rick Tyler). The best part was walking around the Gaslamp in full Hourman attire and just getting gawked at like I was a Miraclo-powered douchebag.
-
And yeah I gotta agree at least that the Perez covers to 3 and 4 are radical. Just really fuggin good.
-
and i forgot to say great review gus!
-
I don't even know who the heck Hourman II is. But Wesley Dodds is a GREAT IDEA. that would look cool.
-
Hourman II? Kal-El, that Supes story was classic, dare I say it is part of your Cog Smooch origin? George Perez is also doing some interior stuff too, or so I heard. Sweet. I'm going to a costume place called Center Stage (maybe Shigeru's heard of it?) with my brother after work. He almost bought a giant Predator mask the other week and he looked like a giant tard cause the mask was the size of a garbage can basically, but it was still pretty cool, for my benefit at least.
-
well that and the time my kryptonian escape vessel was influenced by the dark side of the force!
-
who is going to be john locke this year. he even shaved his head and everything
-
Hourman II (Rick Tyler) is the son of the first Hourman (Rex Tyler). Rex was a member of the original Justice Society of America, Rick was a member of Infinity Inc. and is a member of the current JSA. Both Hourmen are powered by a drug called Miraclo which gives them heightened strength, durability, and endurance once a day for exactly one hour. Here's Alex Ross' rendition of Hourman which looks about 5000 times better than my costume: http://tinyurl.com/ch2c6. Here's another one, both Hourmen are to the left of Powergirl: http://tinyurl.com/ctrkp
-
my glasses are not of the rounded kind and right now i'm not wearing supponders...but i'm thinking i could it off...be a nice halloween costume...darth locke would kick ass to be...or how bout hurley? or kate ahem!...and who's going as moviemack.
-
Realistically, it's been 2 weeks. Let's go @ssholes. Bendis has put out 19 or so books in that time, let's kick him around.
-
DC rules Marvel drools! C'mon Cogs how about a little gasoline with that Sterno cocktail! See, what few know is that the 'Q' in 'Joey Q.' stands for queef! (or queeve depending on where you're from.
-
Oct 27, 2005 5:23:01 PM CDT
Yes, it IS a slow work day and this TB has been rode hard and pu
by psynapse
Thus do I watusi in it's entrails rending flesh with teeth and flinging bits of bone in all directions. Marvel sucks harder than a toothless Bagkok whore! *waits for the zombie riot* (LOL)
-
I'm gonna email that asshead webmaster about the new column, you guys should do so too.
-
Oct 27, 2005 5:37:19 PM CDT
I think the @ssholes are still working out the kinks for the cas
by heywood jablowme
Hulk Hogan IS Lion-O, brother. Taye Diggs IS Panthro. With special guest star Frank Stallone as Tigro. Watch as Panthro gets down and dirty "cat-style" with Cheetarah, played by none other than America's favorite reality TV sweetheart, Janice Dickinson. PUT UP THE REVIEWS ALREADY!!
-
does it count as a *snarf* if its a piece of salad that flew out?
-
Personally I've never differentiated between liquids and solids when determining *snarf*-age. Janice Dickinson I have determined however, is a booze and drug addled lowlife SKANK! That's right Janice! You be a skankity-skanked skank-ass skank! I know you read talkbacks bitch, feel my contempt! (Although, if I'm ever in an ocean plane crash with that bitch I confess I will hang on to that skeeze for dear life. With all of the plastic she's had installed that bitch is a walking flotation device)
-
It's nice to know we have a replacement, should Buzz die a horrible death.
-
You deeply move me, sir. I salute you.
-
i deeply moved myself reminising about my childhood and my mom making us costumes. its nice to remember...
-
As I'm writing this, it is 10/28 by local time standards. Today is a national celebration here in Greece. On the 28th of October in 1940 the Italian Ambassador formally presented the greek prime minister with an ultimatum asking for free and uninhibited passage of the Italian army (I suppose extending in general to the Axis allied forces) through greek territories. Probably their destination would be towards the African and middle-eastern theaters of war. The dictator, Ioannis Metaxas, serving also as greece's prime minister, had built the entire fascist state (yes folks, when Greece entered WWII, it was as a fascist state) mirroring that of Italy's. As a military man he admired the german army and state, however he was loyal as a puppy to the King (of Greece). The King of Greece in turn had pledged his allegiance to the British, already in war with the Axis. Furthermore, at a previous time, the King of England on a visit to greece had congratulated the greek dictator (and PM) on some trivial reasons. The dictator, being a simple country man was charmed, flattered and felt deeply honored by the words of praise coming by the King of England; that fact along with his King's (King of Greece, Pavlos) allegiance and alliance with the Brits and the massive public rallies against the humiliatory terms of surrender to the Italians forced the greek head of state to reject the Italian ultimatum, in essence thrusting the greek people into war against the Italians. In greek the word for No is 'Ohee' (omikron hi yiota) and this is what we are celebrating on 10/28. The word No. The greek people's 'No' to occupation by fascists. The greek army managed to kick the italian's ass in Albania, until somewhere in 1941 the German decided to deal with us: they handed us our asses and proceeded with occupying the country (small parts of Greece were given to Italian or Bulgarian allies of them). My father, born in 1940, remembers the German troops. In fact, his father used to take him along as a distraction on several missions in occupied Athens, where they carried bags stuffed with vegetables on top, hiding grenades or propaganda leaflets underneath. Funny how the same audience would regard such a father and son in a completely different way in today's Iraq. The country was freed by UK troops, shortly after the Nazi empire crumbled, in 1944. After that, and since the major Allied powers had decided in Yalta that Greece would go under UK influence post WWII, a bitter civil war started between the communists (being most of the resistance fighters in WWII-era Greece) and the new (post WWII) sovereign state's army, backed by UK troops. Cue to present, where Greece - along with Cyprus and the military run Turkey - treasures its era of proud defiance, by pompous student marches on this day, side by side with marches of troops and military vehicles; a custom which originates back to the fascist greece of 1936, inspired by the state of things in her contemporary fascist Italy. I say, freedom to the Iraqi people, freedom from dictatorship (done with), and a corrupt puppet of a democracy, and believe that most Iraqi resistance fighters (Americans, you prefer the word 'insurgents') are fighting a similar (not exactly the same) war against the Allied occupation forces, similar to the one my forefathers fought, striving for the basic elements of decency and independence (like all reasonable people would) ****** PS In my post were some facts and some opinions of mine, which I voiced in a civil manner, trying to back them up. Seeing the contradiction between my post and the fact that this is an American server and site, and a pop culture site for that, I ask my post not to be removed for the reasons I just mentioned.
-
I swear, this one chick in my Constitutional Law class a few years back could give Tom Selleck a run for his money. Fascinating story Gus, but you can't top Admiral Ackbar. Classic. An inspiration to us all.
-
i love history so it was pretty cool to read about what your country went through during WWII. my grandfather in Ecuador has a huge library of WWII books and encyclopedias and when i was a little kid i would flip throught these and be both horrified and fascinated by the pictures of the war and the camps and all that.***and guys is it just me or can our buy gus write pretty damn well?(based on the review and this post)***happy NO day gus!
-
check out gwool.com (search for Ioanna Lili). Truly, girls here are hot (or can be ugly, just like anywhere in the world), but I guarantee such stories about moustaches are completely invalid here *** Indeed, it is difficult for one to top Admiral Ackbar related stories.
-
It certainly feels strange and maybe funny from such a distance in time, to think what people did, or had to go through for us to live in a non-Nazi world. And to (be able to) talk about Admiral Ackbar, hot girls, Tom Selleck and so on.
-
the gwool.com site is a must ::drool:: -- Be sure not to download any shit, it seems a bit dangerous, stick to pics.
-
Just giving you (and the Greeks) some grief. Hey, how can I hate on the same civilization that us lesbians? By the way, if you want ugly, try West Virginia. Chicks there are so ugly that when they go to the beach, cats try to bury them.
-
Oct 27, 2005 9:15:09 PM CDT
Of course, you know that should read "gave us lesbians".
by heywood jablowme
Wouldn't it be just dandy if we could edit our posts? If only to correct dumbass typing errors. But hell, the "news" here comes via other sites and the "reviews" are of movies that are coming out in 2 days or are playing 2 blocks away. And don't get me started on this comics thing. Shit or get off the pot fellas.
-
You should know also that your sentiment is shared by at least some Americans. There are those of us who genuinely feel our country no longer has any business in that situation (not touching whether we ever did with a 10 foot pole)and that 2000 of our people to have had their lives wasted by it. I'm not trying to be partisan in any fashion, I just don't see how peace comes from war. Someone far wiser than me once said "War is the ultimate lack of imagination." PS-This is not (this means you Trolls)an invite to discuss the particulars of that situation, that is best said elsewhere. Just really dug such an intelligently expressed opinion. (*_^)
-
thus why this talkback is superior...you get a bit of everything in here...on another holiday type note...i wish to don the mantle of catman into hallow's eve...but i need me a deadshot.
-
great post gus...
ignoring the iraq war reference (any iraq war post from either side is probably going to get as much of a well-thought, calm discussion as a "LOTR owns SW" post) I just want to add few more interesting things...
Hitler didn't really think much of any potential greek resistance at all...he basically sent in mussolini to finish them off, while he was focusing on invading the USSR. When the Italians ended up getting their asses kicked, der Fuhrer had to lend a hand and send troops to greece which were supposed to be headed for Russia. Due to fierce Greek resistance (by far the most that the axis had encountered to that point), the germans had to delay the Soviet invasion, and keep german troops stationed in Greece until basically the war ended. What this meant is that the German invasion took place closer to winter (to the advantage of the Soviets), and that troops scheduled for the attack were busy in Greece. Because the Germans came so close to victory in the east, you can make a case that the Greek resistance was one of the most important events of the war (arguably more important than d-day)...if the Greeks had surrendered like, for instance, the Dutch or the French had, you can certainly make the case that the Axis would have been victorious
Also, for Greeks the war didn't end in 1945...most of the people killed that my grandmother knew, for instance, were killed during the Civil War...very bloody, didn't end until i think 48 or 49 -
*tongue firmly in cheek*
-
But more than anything i'm glad people responded so well to it. Alright so i have an idea: How bout we do the new column ourselves? I mean you guys bought comics this week, you can write the reviews while impersonating some @$$hole. Fun for the whole family.
-
Yes, that is also what we pretty much learned in school. The delay Greeks provided for the Germans, meant that when the Germans finally pushed through, they also had to face the russian winter, a factor that turned the battle against them. Thus, the greek resistance against the Germans, despite failing, gave the Russians the extra advantage of the terrible winter (that the Russians themselves were obviously accustomed to). And ultimately, the good guys won. **** As for my beliefs on the Iraq war, I just wanted to point out that people everywhere tend to long for the same things.
-
stuff this week...some bad, some good...and thus a new column is started.
-
Look, we're like learning stuff! My 2 pennies would be that we shouldn't have started this war in the first place, it indeed was/is illegal and immoral, and the whole thing is now severly FUBAR. But I would have to say that your father and grandfather didn't sneak grenades so they could kill non-combatant citizens of their own country eating in restaurants and the like, correct? That's not freedom fighting. There's a big difference. Anyways, um what happened to the @$$holes...? it's FRIDAY.
-
So one of the Halloween costumes I wish my parents had said no to was when I went as Buckwheat for President in 4th Grade. Sure I liked the Little Rascals, but, thing is, I'm white. Now there are all these pictures of little me in Black Face that I'll never live down. Much thanks has to go to Papa Gravy though for making me the most amazing Weequay (the skiff guard from Return of the Jedi) costume when I was 8. He molded a mask, sewed the uniform and even made a perfect replica of the staff weapon - still a prized possession. This year I'm going as a black and white Kevin from Sin City and at another party I'm one of the Ex-President bandits from Point Break with some friends.
-
That is pretty embarassing. Weequay??! wtf first Ackbar and now him?
-
We're awesome. Yet another good post Gus. Here is a quote from Eberts Answer Man column on his we site that I believe is poignant. Q. "I enjoy reading your movie reviews. However, I have no desire to read your political opinions. You have expressed gratuitous political views in two recent reviews, "The Great Raid" and "The Constant Gardener," and you need to stop. Stick to what you know. Keep your nose out of what you don't." A. "Both movies were inescapably political and to pretend they were not would have been dishonest. I have my views. You have yours. Please continue to express yours, which in fact you have done by urging me not to express mine." Great answer Roger! So, no worries on that end Gus.
-
Walking Dead #22, Fear Agent #1, Loveless #1, Girls #6, Justice #2, Jack Cross #3, New Avengers #12, Birds of Prey #73 & #87, Wolverine #35, and I am awaiting others titles in the mail such as Supreme Power minis, GL Recharge #2, JSA's, JLA's, Batman's and Superman's titles.
-
C'mon @$$holes! This column is so very the village bike now. Everyone's had a few rides. *sigh*
-
what does everybody think about the news of stephen king continuing the dark tower series as an ongoing marvel series?
-
In 84 I wanted to be Lando. In 85 I wanted to be Stalker. The dangers of growing up white in Detroit. Thank god my parents stopped me. Instead I was a Grim Reaper and a Melted GI Joe figure (Grunt), respectively. My best comic-related costume would have to be the Crow from 94. So well done that a patron at a drugstore I stopped in at on my way to a party asked me if I was the actual actor doing an in store appearance. Seriously. I had to patiently explain that the actual actor actually died during filming.
-
i have no real feelings for king's dark tower series continuing with marvel eitherway.
-
the art looks fucking great but i was very disapointed with book 7 and the lack of any real resolution to the series. i think i will be checking it out if only for the art but im not holding out hope for the story
-
Did the @$$holes die? It's friday, no column still, and i haven't seen even one of them in the talkbacks thse past few days. Should we expect tragedy?
-
Yeah, it has been too long, and not even a peep from Dave nor Buzz even. Hmm. I haven't read any of Kings Dark Tower books, but have heard great things about some and almost nothing about the last two. Was it supposed to end with seven books? How many more parts will be in graphic form? Part 8 only? And the art is pretty cool, isn't it done by Jae Lee? And lastly, should I read the Dark Tower books? Wait until I tell my cousin who always sticks his nose up at me and my comics that one of his favorite authors will be continuing one of his fav series as a comic! Ha!
-
i wonder if they didnt so much die as we cogs were disconected from the rest of reality and now float in a seperate pocket universe
-
for a long time i was the biggest tower junkie ever. i read all the books that were out at the time and the tie in books as well.it was a series that i truly loved. when they announced the last 3 i coulndt be happier and the last 3 started out like the tower stories i remembered so fondly but so much had been established in the previous books and the tie in books(theres 5 or 6 stephen king books that while not called dark tower tie into the events taking place) it seemed like a huge tapestry was being woven but in the end i was very disapointed with the last book and it kinda turned me off of stephen king altogether. in fact when i but the comic it will be the first king thing since the last tower book. keep in mind i read these books over a span of something like 11 years and it was literraly 6 years between some of the books so that might have caused some of the disapointment at the anticlamactic last book. but u might have a different experience picking the books up now and going through them.i mean to re- read them to see if i feel the same but time is a precious comodity now a days with school and all.the comic series is actually a prequel of sorts supposedley addresing issues brough up in the novels. if anything i recomend book 1 'the gunslinger' pick up the new "directors cut" edition.its a quick read and its pretty good as a stan alone story. and who know it may make u want to take the journey all the way to the end which was all things considered vastly entertaining.hope it helps my friend
-
I just read Joe Friday's over @ Newsarama and it sound like this could be cool. Maybe I'll give them a go. The Gunslinger is the book I hear the most about anyway and the first of what appears to be many 6 issue minis involves the characters from that first book and I think the fourth. **** Maybe eerie things are happening because it's almost Halloween? When I went to that costume shop, Center Stage, last night it was like the 'in' place to be. There was like 500 people crammed into this place that had about 12 different rooms that all connected. Pretty cool place. It seems like the only place that has gotten into All Hallows Eve this year. *** I'm going to a Death Cab for Cutie concert on Sunday. Does anybody like them? I happen to like them quite a bit. One of my favorite lines from one of their songs is: "There's a tear in the fabric/ of your favorite dress/ and I'm sneaking glances." It's called Lightness.
-
Don't fret, gang, and much thanks for the enthusiasm, but you know how even Marvel and DC push back release dates all the time these days? We're just taking inspiration from 'em. Should have something...soon-ish, though. I think.
-
It's not like you can't...you know...review all the books you didn't review last week because of IC or anything. But i forgive you. *hug*
-
Funny about the Crow costume Mortsleam - one year I made myself a Grimace costume and went into a McDonald's and sang "Free Burgers for Everybody!" To which the counter girl replied "Oh no you didn't." And I countered "It's OK, I'm from the Home Office." Comic-wise, I'm interested in checking out those BoP back issues Lady C shouted out about a week ago (used to love that series, don't know why I stopped reading it, were the Gilbert Hernandez issues any good?) and, it's been so long since the last review, I was thinking of picking up this House of M thing everybody's looking forward to.
-
at least we know we may be lost but were not forgotten
-
i used to really get into halloween in years past but this year it totally snuck up on me and i havent done much of anything.oh well going to go see saw II after work and then i think i might rent some old classics ut i dont have a costume or any parties planned.ive never heard of the band u mentioned but i mostly listen to old school hip hop so i might have missed it. waht kind of music is it?
-
i think they are pretty good...no ol' skool hip hop though darth...like um, marky mark and the funky bunch...and now off to a hallow's eve party...ciao fellow cogs.
-
this one better be good
-
lot's of mini-reviews...i.e. cheap shots/indie jones but a column none-the-less.
-
it's Cogless besides blackthought too.
-
*** http://tinyurl.com/axl7b *** You can use the link I gave or read the lyrics to one my favorites by them if you wish, or both, or neither if you don't want to. : ) Here are the lyrics to "Title Track" off their second album. > I love me some old school hip-hop too, what are you into Darth? I pulled up next to a really cute girl last night and caught her casual glance as she played some old Tupac and I almost fell in love! It was say damn refreshing to hear something I'm used to than all of this Ying-Yang Twins krunkville type stuff that is so popular these days. And I'm from the south you know?
-
As for the south: Outkast-ATLiens, Aquemini. UGK-Ridin Dirty ("3 in tha mornin" hell yeah). Geto Boys. Devin The Dude (ladies love the dude). Scarface. Bubba Sparxxx. Trick Daddy-www.thug.com (album, not url). Non south: Tupac & Biggie of course. I love Dr. Dre. I even own the intstumentals version of 2001!!! Sean Carter of course, Em as well, Timabaland (& Magoo too), Neptunes, Kanye, Obie Trice, The Roots, and many more that I can't think of.
-
did you mention this falling in love with tupac listening girl to your gf? and i love zee outkast, big geto boys fan...scarface is dope...trick daddy can have his moments...my thoughts on your southern rap...and a saturday column makes me think that there's an asshole crisis of infinite columns happening.
-
I totally told my gf. She thought it was refreshing too. Not that I thought that the girl was cute, but that she was listening to old Pac. At LAST, a decent girl (besides mine of course) in these parts, which is purely speculation, but I'm thinking positive. : )
-
Oct 31, 2005 1:03:21 PM CST
its monday and i havent gone over to read the new column so i wi
by darth kal-el
i love me some old school hip hop heathen.yeah im a huge pac and biggie fan so i would have fallen in love right there with you.i love outkast and dre of course and em and 50 cent and g-unit.love scarface(i used to live in houston) love nwa,ice cube the pharcyde. and i know what u mean about the krunk ying yang dominating the airwaves. i like south hip hop but it gets out of hand sometimes.its all over the place.i think paul wall is probably my fave right now from the new southern stuff popping up
-
fantastic as alwayS!
-
last as alwayS!
-
last...:)
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 325 total posts 322 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 106 total posts 106 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 63 total posts 60 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 74 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 159 total posts 51 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 47 total posts 41 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 161 total posts 34 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 488 total posts 33 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 121 total posts 23 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 70 total posts 20 posts