Archive for October, 2005
Hey kids, boobies…er, comics
In what is fast becoming a tradition here at ferret central, we take a look at DC Comics solicitations for the month of January, not with an eye for the latest crossover or creative team, but rather the lifeblood of comics marketing: boobies. And I’m pleased to say that after a disappointing month last time around, this one is (ahem) stacking up quite well.
Criminal Boobies
Law Enforcement Boobies
Amazon Boobies
Big Tiny Boobies (it’s a paradox!)
Alien Boobies
Boobies, all lined up for your convenience
Elf Boobies
And let us not forget the A in T&A:
Hey there, you with the stars in your eyes
The Onion AV Club’s Underrated list includes one comic book creator, Paul Chadwick, and one character, the Martian Manhunter. Yes, the Manhunter — the Sammy Davis Jr. of the DCU.
http://avclub.com/content/node/41706/2
(Yeah, I initially wrote “overrated.” I regret the error.)
Funny: Saddam plays Rock, Paper, Scissors
A coworker just sent me this link. It’s friggin’ hilarious: Rock, Paper, Saddam.
“Aziz: Tiger Hand always beats paper.Saddam: I’m sayin’, bro!”
Ultimate Halloween costume idea
Check out this sweet home made Doctor Octopus costume:
Step-by-step instructions on how to build one can be found here.
(via boingboing)
Music break
Just wanted to let y’all know about a Columbus band that’s made it big: The Sun. They’ve debuted their latest album, Blame it on the Youth, on the Warner Brothers label. I’m totally digging the track Justice, which is getting a lot of air play on CD101.
I’m no music critic, so I’m not going to try and describe their sound to you. Instead, you can listen to all the tracks from the album on their website. Plus they feature some cool album cover art.
If y’all haven’t yet go check out Warren Ellis’ Engine forum. A wealth of industry info can be had there. I just read a thread on marketing that blew my mind (check out the thread on Salamander Dream). This one’s getting bookmarked!
Alan Moore hearts pirates
Postmodern Barney takes on DC’s shameless attempt to ruin beloved old characters using cheap sensationalism. You know, “Watchmen.”
http://www.postmodernbarney.com/2005/10/reading-watchmen.html
At least it’s not just us
From “The Blogger Who Loathed Me” by author Steve Almond, Salon.com, 10-13-05.
I said before that few of these lit blogs actually discuss literature in a meaningful way.
Why, then, do so many people read them?
To begin with, not so many people read them. Instead, a very concentrated population of people read them over and over. Namely, other bloggers. They all read one another, in the hope something they mentioned on their blog will be cited on another blog. It’s a kind of Ponzi scheme in which the object is attention, and the shared illusion is one of relevance.
That said, plenty of aspiring writers and publishing folks also read blogs. With coverage of literature all but disappearing from corporate media, lit blogs serve as instant clearinghouses for news items, local readings and reviews. Many (Sarvas’ included) advocate for favorite writers. They allow people to feel connected to the world of letters. All this is perfectly commendable. At their finest, blogs contribute to a serious discussion of literature and the culture at large …
But lit blogs also have a tendency to boil that world down to a series of conflicts and controversies. Reading them often becomes a legitimized form of scandal mongering. (It’s a lot easier to read about Philip Roth’s angry ex-wife than it is to read one of his books.)
Most writers perceive themselves as failures. They suffer rejection and disregard on a daily basis. Even the lucky few who get published can’t get the New York bigwigs to return their calls. The modern writer is engaged in an enterprise almost guaranteed to crush her spirit. And certain blogs — like other forms of modern media — serve as bulletin boards for the resulting feelings of despair, spite and rage. Their chosen topic happens to be literature, but it could just as well be politics or sports. Their deepest allure resides in the gratification of primal negative emotions.
Monday Morning “Guess the Artist”
I thought last week’s page was going to be easy, but it turned out to stump most folks, with the majority guessing incorrectly that it was Alan Davis. So this week, I’ll try a page that’s got to be easy. I mean, it’s fairly obvious who it is, right? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Hint: that’s not an X-Men related uniform, despite the big “X”.
As always, use the comments section to share your guess.
(click images to mega-size)
(previous weeks: 9/12/2005, 9/19/2005, 9/26/2005, 10/3/2005, 10/10/2005)
Your moment of pure WTF zen
So there’s this USAToday Weekend insert on my Sunday paper that I occasionally flip through. The first page is one of those “write in with your celebrity question” columns. And what do I see (aside from the picture of Kelly Monaco looking like a porn star…who the heck is this woman anyway? Some soap opera actress? It seems like she’s all over the “entertainment” landscape these days, because she learned to dance on TV with Mr. Peterman from Seinfeld or something…oh sorry, got sidetracked there)? The following question from one Mary Anderson, from Visalia, California:
“What is the real scoop on why Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton aren’t on speaking terms anymore? Do they realize they are acting like spoiled little girls?”
I’ll give you a moment to digest that.
Do they realize they are acting like spoiled little girls? That’s comedy gold. So not only is Ms. Anderson about 3 years late to the party, but she’s actually so worried about the image these poor girls are unwittingly projecting that she’s going to take the time to write to a gossip column about her concerns.
Comedy. Gold.
(On the other hand, I’m wasting time actually blogging about this, so I probably should shut up now…)
We now return you to your regularly scheduled comics blog.
Gaiman wins first Quill Book Award for graphic novel
It’s kinda old news, but then again, the “gala awards ceremony” won’t be telecast on NBC until October 22nd. Gaiman’s work on 1602, of all things, was the “graphic novel” that beat out the other competition. And look who presented the award: Jonathan Lethem. Mere coincidence that Lethem has a comic book project in the wings at Marvel, the publisher of 1602? Unleash the conspiracy theory hounds!
By the way, check out the qualification requirements for nomination:
“To be eligible for the long list of Quills nominees, a book must have been published in its original format in North America between August 1, 2004, and July 31, 2005, and marketed in the United States. It must also have met one of the following criteria: a starred review in Publishers Weekly, a Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers Program selection, one of the American Booksellers Association’s Book Sense Picks, a Borders Books & Music Original Voices title, or an appearance on the bestsellers lists of Publishers Weekly, Book Sense, Barnes & Noble, or Borders. “
(via The Beat)
Steven Grant reviews Panel: Myth
It’s good, it’s bad, it’s all of the above. Here’s the super short review. Warning: Matt Kish dissing ahead, which I consider blasphemy.
Speaking of which, I’m so gonna’ use this line in promo material: “Any anthology that begins with a little lighthearted blasphemy warms my heart.”
Thursday Lost recap
So here I am, starting up a new weekly feature, and not much actually happened in Lost last night to talk about. I mean, am I wrong, or were the only real big developments the confirmation that there are survivors from the tail section of the plane, and that there was only enough food in the hatch to feed Desmond for 3 months? The former most people had already guessed at from last week’s episode, and the latter was pretty obvious too. I don’t think anybody really believed Desmond had been down in that hatch for 3 years with absolutely no contact from anyone.
The big letdown was the whole “Jin is speaking English” teaser that they gave us last week. As I suspected, it was a dream sequence. Not that it won’t bear fruition down the road, as there’s definitely something in the mix about Hurly and Michael suddenly knowing Korean in future episodes. But it was a lame way to tease us.
Speaking of Hurley, the flashback focus on him was probably the best part of the show. He’s easily one of my favorite characters in the show; easy going and laid back with a dry sense of humor and lovable mannerisms, yet an integral piece of the puzzle due to his first hand experience with the “numbers”. Ever time he starts a sentence with a monotone “dude…” I crack up. They cast the perfect actor in that role.
Ok, some wild ass guesses:
Eventually when the two different survivor groups hook up, they’re going to play up the love triangle (rectangle?) between Kate, Jack, Sawyer, and Ana-Lucia. The end result will be Kate and Sawyer hooking up, much to everyone’s dismay.
Desmond is part of the “game”. He’s not who he claims, an innocent person caught up in the madness when his boat crashed on the island. He’s been working for the Hanso Foundation from day one. Although that doesn’t explain how he genuinely seemed to not remember Jack at first. Then again, that could be chalked up to “just part of the act to make it all believable,” or maybe he truly did get abandoned by his corporate masters and ended up going stir crazy in the hatch.
And one thing that’s got to stop: the “losties” just going along with all the vague explanations and answers that Desmond and the tail section survivors have been giving to their questions. I mean, come on, wouldn’t they press them more for details on some of this stuff?