Archive for September, 2009
This weekend, we turn the Wayback Machine (© Craig Bogart) to 1987 for Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1:
Written by Jim Owsley (way before he changed his name to Christopher Priest), with pencils by Mark “Doc” Bright and inks by Al Williamson. Young Dara has fond memories of this book, as it featured a good cold war espionage story, and a no holds barred fight between the two protagonists. If my memory serves me right, this was also a controversial little story, as it features Spider-man inadvertently killing someone. The only disappointing part of this one-shot was that the story, while mostly self-contained, did lead in to Amazing Spider-man #289, a title which I did not follow. Oh well, still a nice little story from Owsley/Priest.
Three of the five webcomics I regularly read are having weddings right now.
Here’s Least I Could Do.
and The Rack.
(Derf and Toothpaste for Dinner have the usual hilarity going on.
Captain America #143
For today’s post, let’s dip back to a simpler time and pick up a comic geared just for children that won’t challenge our preconceptions; something shallow, purely juvenile, that doesn’t make any attempt to provoke thought. We’ll return to the simpler days of 1971, where we find…
Oh. That can’t be right. This is a pre-Vertigo, code approved superhero book published when I was 1 year old. I thought Alan Moore or Frank Miller invented this grim-n-gritty real world deconstruction stuff.
Or we could simply call this exhibit #379 in my case against any knuckleheads that think the soft porn being published today is more “mature” or “sophisticated” than what was being far more widely read decades ago. Gaudy costumes and Marvel-style cornball dialogue aside, put it in it’s proper context: Martin Luther King was assassinated less than three years previously, and All In The Family was barely a blip on the cultural radar when Gary Friedrich and John Romita played up the tension between blue-eyed Cap and his Harlem based, dating-a-militant crime fighting partner The Falcon. The subject matter aims pretty high, and any suburban mom who bought this for their kid probably didn’t anticipate the discussion they were about to foster.
A masked figure is preaching a message of violence to a group of militant activists, and social worker Sam (Falcon) Wilson is dragged to one of their meetings by his girlfriend where he learns of their intent to burn down a Boys’ Club whose organizer they have labelled an Uncle Tom as the first salvo in a race war. Wilson’s attempt to preach moderation doesn’t go over well, and he is later found bruised and battered by police officer (really) Steve Rogers.
So it is that Cap and the Falcon end up standing between an army of rioting youths and a very nervous police department (it’s surely a coincidence this was published soon after the Kent State massacre, as well). Bartering for time with the leaders of the two factions, the pair take the fight to the masked man that started it, discovering that he’s got his own history of race warfare behind him.
One death trap and secret escape route later, Cap and the Falcon return and defuse the situation, though both sides make it clear they are not going away. Along the way, Cap unintentionally makes a thoughtless remark that creates some tension with his partner, underscoring the troubled macrocosm they inhabit. The partnership of this spandex-clad Tibbs and Gillespie is an uneasy one.
More gorgeous McKean art surfacing over at MK Gallery. This batch includes some wonderful drawings of dancers.
I love how buttery the paint looks in the piece to the left here.
Something to waste time while OSU blocks any hope of me escaping tonight with their stupid night (home) game.
Check out this genre-related useless trivia I ran across while perusing on Lance Henriksen’s Wikipedia entry:
“[Lance] Henriksen and Bill Paxton are the only actors to appear in the Alien, Predator and Terminator series. While Paxton was killed by all three title creatures in his appearances, Henriksen was killed by the Terminator and a Predator (in AvP), and would have had the distinction of also being killed by an Alien after his character in Aliens was torn in half by the Queen. However, the android was not killed, and after making an appearance in the third Alien movie, asks Ellen Ripley to deactivate him.”
That is all.
Sort of… Info and such for the 2010 show are up now over at Back Porch. I’ve been working with Bob (the organizer) on the overhaul of the site. Most of the main pages have been redone. The rest we’re still working out. Any suggestions, tweaks, dropped links let me know. Some of the subpages are still sporting the old layout(s) from last year.
edit: I forgot, as a part of the overhaul, I had Bob reestablish a new blog with access to more than one person. You can check out the blog here. So far it’s Bob, Max and I adding content. Max just added news about the John Porcellino signing in Oct. (Wholly Craft). The posts will dump onto the front page.
(we need this mercy bump after Tom’s previous post)
So we saw Ponyo last night. With a G rating, it’s definitely very kid-friendly, but that also means the plot and thematic elements aren’t nearly as complex and Miyazaki’s other more recent movies, like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed it, from 10 year old Hanna to er, 30-something Wendy and yours truly.
Ponyo is a rather odd goldfish who befriends a five-year-old human boy, Sōsuke, and despite her human father’s objections, wants to become a human girl. The movie is full of charm and humor, with fantastically realized child characters.
However, the true strength of the movie is in the lush animation, full of vibrant colors and magical seascapes. As I watched some of the beautiful underwater scenes filled with a myriad of sea creatures, I kept thinking “if they ever make an Aquaman animated movie, they should hire these animators.” At nearly 2 hours running time, this movie may be a bit much for really young viewers, especially since it doesn’t take the ADD approach to filmmaking that American movies do. But there’s plenty of visual eye candy to keep most kids engaged during the slower character moments.
The American voice casting is quite good, with Frankie Jonas and Tina Fey doing a nice job of voicing the lead characters Sōsuke and Lisa. Other immediately recognizable voices include Liam Neeson as Ponyo’s father, and Betty White as a senior center resident.
Highly recommended, especially if you have kids.
This guy missed out on the Mystery City Comics deal. More cosplayers than you can shake a stick at in Dragoncon. This show seems like a catch-all for the nerdcore. Gaming, ‘celeb’-types, comics, etc. It’s wrapping up but it was all Labor Day weekend in Georgia.
I surprized myself how bummed I was that I missed the Firefly cast panel. I learned something today. It’d be my luck if I got a table by Matt Busch.
Start planning for the free pre-Mid-Ohio-Con party, sponsored by the PANEL folks on this blog. More info and maps at the main Ferret Press page.
Another surprise during a family road trip, this time to Cleveland’s excellent Museum of Natural History:
Wait, Roachwhat?
Before we go any further, you have to know this about me: I got into comics in 1983. By 1984, I had discovered comic book stores, and with that came the realization that there were literally dozens and dozens of independent publishers putting out strange, amazing, bizarre, an innovative comics that were a far cry from the Marvels and DCs I’d been used to. Sure, this was the “black & white glut” of the 80s, where every fly-by-night publisher was trying to cash in on the popularity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But there were some really good comics being published as well. Edgy, non-derivative stuff. And I fell in love with a ton of them.
Roachmill is one of my all-time favorites from that era. Written and drawn by Rich Hedden and Tom McWeeney, the book had one foot in Looney Toons and the other in Raymond Chandler. It was black comedy, satire, social commentary, and a relentless noir thriller all rolled into one. Here’s the Wikipedia summary of the book’s high concept:
“The comic is set in 30th century New York where an influx of aliens to Earth has caused social problems. In response, the Extermination Act is enacted, a law that allows anyone who carries a gun to use lethal force in “alien-related” situation. Eventually, the law is extended to allow the killings of humans as well, allowing for the creation of licensed Exterminators. Roachmill – a tall Dirty Harry-era Clint Eastwood look-a-like with two extra cockroach arms extending from his abdomen – is one such Exterminator, willing – for a price – to kill anyone or anything.”
Anyway, here are 7 covers from Roachmill, which was initially published by Blackthorne Publishing in 1986 before moving to Dark Horse Comics 6 issues later.
One day soon, I promise to do a big post on this fine comic book series.
(Have a favorite series of your own? Or an artist? Character? Submit your own set of 7 covers by sending me small files (i.e. 72 dpi for the web) to ferret at ferretpress dot com and include “7 covers” in the subject line. Also, let me know if you have a blog or website you’d like me to link to.)
