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Honor Roll – Week of January 9, 2006

The Honor Roll is a weekly column where I rundown five interesting posts, comments or developments that are buzzing about the comics blogosphere. This isn’t about  events in the books themselves – we all know what happens there – merely a bit of navel gazing. Worse, it’s subject to my own myopic interpretation of what’s interesting or funny. Enjoy.

5) Ye Olde Comick Booke Blogge is actually a new comic book blog, spun out of 2 Guys Buying Comics. Jake does a pretty good job tracing a boatload of Bendis crep back to the infamous Powers Monkey issue, and then attributes it to Bendis’ evil twin. I think Jake is on to something. If nothing else he’s carving a nice little niche in the comic blogosphere as our answer to Oliver Stone. Soon we’ll see him on Larry King holding up two photos of Bendis, “You see, in this picture…”

4) Irrelephant. Heh.

3) Jon Cormier of hypnoray provides Eleven reasons for new comers to check out The Best of The Spirit. I have this collection sitting on a shelf – time to read that baby. 

2) As to Ian Brill’s open question to everyone who has at any time left comics: what brought you back? Well, I’ve answered this question in too much detail already, so I begged off leaving my own lurid story. But I was shocked, shocked I say, at how many people have quit comics for a fairly extended periods and then returned. My nearly 25 year gap may yet hold up as the record though.

1) Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t offer up congratulations to the comic blogosphere’s highest profile contributor, Dave Campbell of Dave’s Long Box, on the recent addition to his family.

Honor Roll – Week of January 2, 2006

The Honor Roll is a weekly column where I rundown five interesting posts, comments or developments that are buzzing about the comics blogosphere. This isn’t about  events in the books themselves – we all know what happens there – merely a bit of navel gazing. Worse, it’s subject to my own myopic interpretation of what’s interesting or funny. Enjoy.

Boy, so much to choose from this week. It looks like the holidays managed to recharge everyone’s batteries. This week I'm going to focus on the theme of creating comics, sinse that's always a popular one for the comics blogger set, especially this time of year as we set our agendas for the next twelve months.

5) So, if your resolution is to write for comics then you ought to consider Jason Rodriguez’s offer to review 40 word story pitches. What better starting point could you have? I’d advise you to move quickly though. Once Jason picks up his Eisner you’ll be lucky to get a response from the assistant to his assistant.

I thought about going this route but it turns out that I probably suck, so, you know, forget that. But as to the rest of you…

4) Can’t think of what to submit on? How about a Silver Age-ish horror story? Monster and horror are all the rage now and Chris Sims over at the Invincible Super Blog has provided a handy primer on this genre. 

3) As you probably know, once you finish your comic Speakeasy is no longer an option as a publisher, as their focus is now on internal properties and licensing. Guy was musing the other day about what properties were actually out there worth licensing. And then he answers his own question over at PopCultureShock with the announcement that Rosario Dawson will be writing a comic for the beleaguered publisher this spring. Well, at least it answers part of the question.

2) If you’re female and you want to get into “mainstream” comics, you’ll want to give it some serious thought before plunging forward -- and not just because mainstream comics may never be considered mainstream entertainment (or maybe it will – who won that argument anyway?) -- but whatever you decide, be sure to Ronee’s recent piece over at PopCultureShock. (Yes, I’m an unapologetic shill.)

1) Finally, read Mark Fossen’s post for a little perspective on the women in comics situation.

Honor Roll – Week of December 12, 2005

The Honor Roll is a weekly column where I rundown five interesting posts, comments or developments that are buzzing about the comics blogosphere. This isn’t about  events in the books themselves – we all know what happens there – merely a bit of navel gazing. Worse, it’s subject to my own myopic interpretation of what’s interesting or funny. Enjoy.

I was going to dedicate this week’s Honor Roll to the Speakeasy gefuffle but decided I’ve little more to add. Let’s have fun instead.

5) Chris at 2 errr, 3 Guys Reading Comics had exactly the same reaction to Marvel’s ANNIHILATION announcement I did. I’m waiting for the House of DC presser.

4) After the holidays you’re going to have a little extra time so take a break after paying homage to Visa and read Jim Roeg’s latest opus. It’s on ALL STAR SUPERMAN and it’s a dandy.

3) Jason Rodriguez, of DC Conspiracy, Moose in the Closet and Hoarse and Buggy (ELK’S RUN) fame, is putting his splendid Here’s the Thing series to bed and will be starting something anew after the first. Look for that. Here’s the Thing was one of the better ongoing comic book blog columns and I expect the new effort will be a similarly excellent read.

2) I’ve noticed it’s link Mike Sterling week around the comics blogosphere and truly, few are more deserving. My favorite recent post is his rundown on the old DC Samplers. I actually stopped reading comics before these came around so when I think of samplers I think of sushi or microbrewed beer. Somehow that all still fits together.

1) Now for some truly inspired Christmas related blogging. Go forth and read Tom Bondurant’s Infinite Christmas over at Comics Ate My Brain.

And I’ll take this moment to wish all my comic blogosphere friends and various visitors a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Honor Roll – Week of December 5, 2005

The Honor Roll is a weekly column where I rundown five interesting posts, comments or developments that are buzzing about the comics blogosphere. This isn’t about events in the books themselves – we all know what happens there – merely a bit of navel gazing. Worse, it’s subject to my own myopic interpretation of what’s interesting or funny. Enjoy.

5) Uncensored over at Zilla and the Comic Junkies has posted the first (that I’ve come across) of what is sure to be many year-in-review posts we’ll see in the next few weeks. I’m a sucker for these. Uncensored is a big Daredevil fan, in case you were wondering.

4) Batman didn’t used to be so bound up by this whole “sanctity of human life thing.” Check out Sleestak’s comparison of the original BATMAN AND THE MONSTER MEN and Matt Wagner’s version. 

3) My sons have been running around the house singing this, so it seems appropriate to link to H and Mag’s (at The Comic Treadmill) Holiday offering.

2) Scott at Polite Dissent and Dave at Yet Another Comics Blog have both kicked off Comic Book Cover Christmas themes. Who knew there were so many Christmas themed covers? Fun stuff. And don’t forget Dave’s CBLDF Fund Drive.  I’m going to do this, I promise.

1) Speaking of violence, Marionette has a thought provoking post up regarding violence towards women in comics, as filtered through the latest issue of Supergirl. I didn’t read this one, and probably won’t, but I’m unsure if this by itself is an example of the writer or artist’s subconscious anger towards women. I'm sure the fallback position for any particualr instance is that the author/artist is doing what they do in service to a specific story. I think the problem is not with any one event or depiction but the sum of it all. This Supergirl/Lex Luthor confrontation probably wouldn’t have registered with me but for one little comment Luthor makes -- you can go read that for yourself if you don’t already know -- which sends the whole scene in a very creepy and unnecessary direction.

Honor Roll - Week of November 21, 2005

The Honor Roll is a weekly column where I rundown five interesting posts, comments or developments that are buzzing about the comics blogosphere. This isn’t about  events in the books themselves – we all know what happens there – merely a bit of navel gazing. Worse, it’s subject to my own myopic interpretation of what’s interesting or funny. Enjoy.

Boy, I’m kind of glad I didn’t run with my planned Thanksgiving post that was to include a certain JSA cover. But I hope everyone had a great holiday, nonetheless. Here’s this week’s Honor Roll:

5) I stopped reading JACK CROSS after the first issue but I’ve found myself in the odd position of actually rooting for it not to be cancelled just so I can read Jog’s monthly evisceration. (Note: scroll down a bit for this one.) Wup - nevermind, he's dropping the title too.   

4) The League of Melbotis gives us a sneak preview of a new Superman Returns action (?) figure. Somehow that picture makes me think the word “plush” should have been used.

3) Some time back Jim Roeg of Double Articulation fame posted a fascinating, if somewhat rambling, essay (and he’s one of the few in the comic blogoshpere who’s posts actually qualify as “essays”) on multiplicity as it relates to INFINITE CRISIS, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS and politics. This sparked a rejoinder from Marc Singer at I Am Not The Beastmaster. Both of which you’ve hopefully read. Jim’s now posted a follow-on to Marc’s post. I love this kind of stuff but recognize that it isn’t for everyone. If you’re looking for a little deeper than normal examination of the multiverse and what it might represent, I encourage you to read all three posts - although I’d recommend you pack a lunch.   

2) Last week saw the usual round of limitless goodness from Mike Sterling over at Progressive Ruin. It’s always hard to pick any one thing out Mike’s wonderful stream-of-linkiness posts, but I really enjoyed the links to old comic business news (especially the Comic Book Markup Language stuff – just what I need, something to tie my two geekish identities together) and the bit about cutting off the heads of toys to be returned. My sons would happily volunteer for that duty. My daughter would cry.   

1) Finally, a big post-Thanksgiving thanks to everyone who’s visited, commented and linked to this blog. You folks make it fun for me. 

Honor Roll – Week of November 14, 2005

The Honor Roll is a weekly column where I rundown five interesting posts, comments or developments that are buzzing about the comics blogosphere. This isn’t about  events in the books themselves – we all know what happens there – merely a bit of navel gazing. Worse, it’s subject to my own myopic interpretation of what’s interesting or funny. Enjoy.

5) Not exactly comics related, but it’s time for a Yet Another Fantasy League update.  When last we visited on this I was 0-6. My worst ever start to a fantasy season of any kind, including that dopey fantasy golf league I let my cousin rope me into a few years ago. You’ll note that my team, Danger Limited, (renamed from: Danger Unlimited, for obvious reasons) has reeled off four straight wins to find itself in playoff contention (top eight go). I’ll need about 80 yards and two TD’s from Samkon Gado tonight to pull out the V this week. Guy has managed to displace me as King of the Cellar, but he did get the win this week.

4) Science geek that I am, I love this kind of stuff.   

3) This post at Howling Curmudgeons, and the subsequent comments, provides a fascinating look at the history of the graphic novel. One of the more interesting links from the comments was to this Stuart Moore article. Great stuff from Moore, except maybe for this:

Digression: Comics people have a tendency to think of book publishing as a stable, dignified field. In truth, it’s a pretty small, desperate world. Most trade and mass market books lose money, and book publishers habitually pounce on any fad that might bring in a bit of cash. Right now, they’re all over manga -- and mark my words: Inside of eighteen months, they’ll have that little bookstore section so glutted that individual title sales will drop like a rock.

The article is dated November of 2003.

2) The Comics Should Be Good Roundtable for All-Star Superman #1 and with its varying viewpoints is pretty much the definitive “review” for the book. And in addition to all the commentary goodness you’ll find there, the mystery (to those like myself who breezed through and didn’t pay attention) of why Clark de-cleated that pedestrian was solved. I just have one nit pick: why would monorail need a muffler? Are they putting internal combustion engines on those things?      

1) Ian Brill’s interview with Fan Boy Rampage’s Graeme McMillan is required listening. It will take an hour or so of your time, but it’s worth it, whether you frequented Fanboy Rampage or not. 

Honor Roll – Week of November 7, 2005

The Honor Roll is a weekly column where I rundown five interesting posts, comments or developments that are buzzing about the comics blogosphere. This isn’t about  events in the books themselves -- we all know what happens there -- merely a bit of navel gazing. Worse, it’s subject to my own myopic interpretation of what’s interesting or funny. Enjoy.    

I didn’t start this blog thinking there would be times where I’d go a full week between posts, but for whatever reason I had six clients last week who found their world coming to an end and only my company’s astonishing technical skills could save them. Or maybe that was what caused the problems to begin with. In any event, here we are, back with the Honor Roll.

5) Hey, now that Halloween is over it’s time to think about the number one cash draining holiday: Christmas. And since we all know how hard Batman is to shop for, Bully over at Comics Oughta Be Fun gives us Batman’s Amazon Wish List. Now originally I had planned on cooking up a little decompiler -- specialized for remote satellite software -- but that seems a little too utilitarian for this festive time of year, so now I’m leaning towards the Catwomen of the Moon video.

4) Comic Asylum’s James Meeley points out what has to be one of the few remaining potentially great match-ups in comics. I’ll admit to being a bit shocked it hasn’t been done already.

3) Lots of Crisis talk with the roll out of INFINITE CRISIS #2. The funniest post was this one by Tom O ‘Neil over at The Hurting, providing DC with some very solid character ideas for a post-Crisis DCU. I would definitely read Space Abraham Lincoln stories.

2) Heidi Meeley asks, How Pretentious Should Comics Be? in response to some schmuck who apparently complained about the, “low quality of reviews and musings done by other blogs.” That kind of criticism strikes me as being about as worthwhile as complaining about the color of someone else’s living room carpet. If you don’t like it, no one’s forcing you to go there.

1) There’s a fascinating thread over at Lea Hernandez’s LiveJournal (hat tip: Comics Worth Reading) regarding “MangaPods” - a TokyoPop promotional effort whereby scripts from actual books are given “dramatic radio play-style performances”. There’s a bit of a steam up over this because it seems the creators of the original works weren’t allowed input into how the books were read and (and to me this is an important “and”) TokyoPop is apparently releasing these before the books actually hit the shelves. Read the post and then ask yourself whose voice you hear when you read Batman, Superman, Spider-man, Wonder Woman, Wolverine, et al.  Or do you hear distinct character voices at all?

Honor Roll – Week of October 31, 2005 – Bulleteer Edition

I’ll admit it, I chickened out on reviewing the first issue of BULLETEER. I wasn’t so much afraid that I’d write something offensive (c’mon, it’s the Internet – that’s what we do), it was more about my inability to find a point of view and stick with it. There’s nothing I hate more than rereading one of my posts a week later and thinking, “Gee, that was stupid.” And as I began reading other responses to the book I realized my decision was a smart one. Here’s five that made me think:

5) Randy’s review over at 2 Guys Buying Comics was among the first I read. My initial response was similar to his in that I thought this was the most accessable of the Seven Soldiers premiers and while I noticed the “Cleavage 101”  -- particularly  the cover -- I didn’t think it really added much to the story.

4) Brian Cronin aptly points out that our heroine’s brick s**thouse appearance is part and parcel of Morrison’s greater commentary on the depiction of female superheroes as well as his exploration of the seamier side of the crime fighting business. He also throws out the "Cousin Larry" analogy, which you'll just have to follow the links to understand.

First pass through the book I really didn’t pick up on the greater sexual exploitation theme. Maybe it’s a sad statement on how females are depicted that I more or less glossed over all the imagery - noted, appreciated, next...Thematically I was looking at things from the narrower viewpoint of Alix’s relationship with her husband, but Brian and a few others got me to thinking in broader terms.

3) & 2) Mark Fossen and Jog explored Morrison’s themes in even greater depth. Both did a great job of laying out how Yanick Paquette’s posing of Alix in varying degrees of undress and suggestive body positions serve to actually reinforce the sexual exploitation/fetish theme.

Like Jog, I really liked the metacommentary about people who would do nearly anything to gain superpowers. In a world with superheroes, there's little doubt this would happen. 

1) Apparently there must have been a bit of an uproar somewhere about Alix’s depiction. I’m guessing it was on the messageboards since the comic blogosphere gave the book a universal pass from what I could tell. (It’s times like this when I really miss Fanboy Rampage.) But Johanna Draper Carlson, so often the voice of reason, comes to the rescue and at the same time lends some credence to the "Cousin Larry" analogy Brian had made:   

“Now, he may not have anything new or unusual to say about it (I have a hard time believing that there IS anything new or unusual to say about it), or he may not follow through on the expectations he's created, but to get upset here because Morrison is supposedly better than that, well, he's part of the corporate comic sausage factory. He wouldn't be the only one foregrounding the subject as a way to have his cheesecake and eat it (benefit from it) too.”

One thought that occurred to me after reading the thoughts of Brian, Mark, Jog and others is that of all the revamps introduced by Morrison this one seems the most ready made to enter the DCU. It doesn’t seem likely that every appearance she makes is going include a little background check explaining just why she’s depicted as she is. The look will simply become part of her package and Morrison and Paquette will be able to more or less wash their hands of it.

Of course there’s also this little tidbit in Johanna comments, courtesy of Paul O’Neil:

“I've heard it said that Morrison's script for BULLETEER didn't actually request that level of cheesecake, and certainly didn't ask for the lead character to spend most of the issue in her underwear. It seems to be more of an artist's decision.”

Hmmm….

Honor Roll – Week of October 24, 2005

5) “Formulaic pablum (is that redundant?) for fanboys.” Ouch. Opening line to the Shrew’s review GREEN LANTERN CORPS: RECHARGE #2. This is actually from the previous week, but I missed it. Since my expectations for this book were fairly low, I've found myself pleasantly suprised. The Shrew, not so much.

4) From Dave’s Long Box:

Here's a tip: do not shoot cats in front of Batman. He will punch you through a f**king brick wall.

Dave highlights one of my favorite Frank Miller scenes (and there really aren’t many – I’m not a huge fan) - taken from BATMAN:YEAR ONE. Even when he’s half asleep Dave’s more entertaining than most of the rest of us.

3) From the, "I'm a soft touch dept": I bought SCHEMATIC COMICS on-line at the recommendation of Jog. Total cost including shipping: $4.34. That's a darn good deal if the book is half as good asJog says. And yes, if your daughter comes to me selling Girls Scout cookies, I’m guaranteed to order. My wife never buys enough Peanut Butter Patties.

2) From Listen To Us, We’re Right, responding to a spot of Peter David pablum (and as far as I’m concerned, that’s redundant as well):

"A shared universe, like any fictional construct, hinges on suspension of disbelief. When continuity is tossed away, it tatters the construct. Undermines it." 

To which Joe Rice responds:

I call total horseshit on that. I have never, ever, ever read a comic book or seen a movie where fantastic things were happening and thought, "Hey, yeah, that could happen," or "Hey, that's not possible!" It's fiction. I don't need to believe it. I need to enjoy it or feel enlightened by it.

Triggering one of the more lively comment section debates I’ve seen in a while.

1) Maybe the biggest news in comics last week was Marvel’s announcement that Stephen King will write a DARK TOWERS comic book. The comic  blogosphere seemed to receive this with tempered approval – great, why wouldn’t Stephen King write a comic? – but the reaction from the non-comicbook bloggers and media in general was far more pronounced. This is a big deal and it will be interesting to watch the long-term affect of King’s involvement.

Honor Roll – Week of October 17, 2005

The Honor Roll is a weekly column where I rundown five interesting posts, comments or developments that are buzzing about the comics blogosphere. This isn’t about  events in the books themselves – we all know what happens there – merely a bit of navel gazing. Worse, it’s subject to my own myopic interpretation of what’s interesting or funny. Enjoy. 

5) From Polite Dissent’s quite humerous Bat-Mite expose:

Mr. Mxyzptlk: That Bat-Mite sure knew how to have a good time. I would meet up with him after work and he always had at least 2 or 3 women draped all over him. He also had a fondness for those fruity foo-foo drinks. I think it was the paper umbrellas, really. He could always make me laugh though.

Read the whole thing.

4) Scipio discussing Batman's post-CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS transformation, “Clark and Diana shed lots of their excess backstory in a big hypertime yard sale (I was there, and let me tell you, Alex Ross and Phil Jimenez are vicious little shoppers ....!)”

3) Not specifically a blogger, but certain to spark yet another run of blogging commentary: Johanna Stokes latest column. After three columns do you think the folks at Comic Book Resources are wondering, “Didn't we hired that other Johanna?” (If I was them, I’d make that my story and stick to it.) The latest offering is yet another intellectually lazy effort, propped up by a few well turned phrases. And I say this as someone who’s gotten a lot of mileage out of intellectual cruise control. The good news is that she’s pretty well exhausted the no-look stereotypes and she might have to resort to some original material here real soon. 

2) Hard to ignore this one. THE WATCHMEN make Time Magazine’s Top 100 Novels. Agree, disagree, whatever - there’s no ignoring the fact that a comic book crossing the blood stream like this is a major accomplishment. A quick look at the Readers Top Rated Books tells you everything you need to know about on-line polling. 

1) The top spot this week goes to Zilla and the Comics Junkies for a general level of comics enthusiasm that is sometimes lacking from the rest of us. Whenever I find myself getting hypercritical of some comic or shaking my head at some numbnut thing I've read in the vast world of comic commentary, I pop on over to Zilla's for a simple reminder that comics should be, and usually are, fun.