May 2013
3 posts
4 tags
Committed: Science Fiction Action Movie Music...
Last weekend, a friend who works on music for television and film took me to a concert commemorating the 35th anniversary of a publisher of film scores. She warned me that it would be kind of industry-heavy evening for her, lots of people for her to talk to who I wouldn’t know, basically something like a comic book launch party but with a different kind of nerd (though as it turns out, music...
6 tags
Committed: Iron Man 3 - Neither Super Nor Heroic
It is miserable disappointment for me to have to admit that a person who hates sports but loves superhero movies thoroughly enjoyed the superhuman heroism of 42, and was disinterested in the sound and fury of Iron Man 3… But this is probably all my own fault; if I hadn’t seen 42 in the same week as Iron Man 3, maybe it wouldn’t have seemed like such a featherweight.
20 minutes...
4 tags
Committed: Death Sells… But Who’s Buying Ultimate...
Unfortunately, we seem to have come to the point where the logical extension of making violence an all-ages-friendly subject, means that death in comic books is no longer shocking, it is boring.
In our current social climate, the one high impact event that it is acceptable to use as children’s entertainment, is violence. The most extreme outcome of violence is death, therefore when it came...
April 2013
4 posts
5 tags
Committed: The Dangerous Ideas of Grant Morrison’s...
This week I picked up the trade paperback of Marvel Boy, (originally published in 6 issues between 2000 - 2001) by Grant Morrison and Jeff G. Jones. The main character of Kree diplomat, Noh-Varr, lone survivor of an accidental shipwreck, is a charming, irreverent, unpredictable one. His love interest / sparring partner, Oubliette, daughter of our hero’s one true enemy (in true star-crossed...
8 tags
Committed: The Importance of Krypto
It is no accident that Superman, the original boy scout, the mildest-mannered, the most humane of all superheroes, always has a dog. Obviously, the concept of a super-powered dog is probably the silliest one yet to come from comic books, but whether it was with Krypto or a more mundane dog, I always picture Clark Kent growing up with animals. Unlike the humans in his life, he would never have to...
Committed: The Relatable X-Men
Growing up with the X-Men made me feel like I wasn’t alone. I guess I was lucky because whatever kind of freak I was, I wasn’t any kind of outcast and there were always friends around, but I never felt like part of anything or understood by anyone. I had an unconventional upbringing and that engendered hiding a lot of things from people, nothing really big but I didn’t feel...
3 tags
Committed: Porn & Wonder Woman's Pants
In a move which disappoints everyone, (but surprises no one), the first promo pic from the upcoming Vivid Entertainment Wonder Woman porn parody reveals that her costume is significantly closer to her comic book counterpart than any the hero has worn in other screen adaptations.
[[MORE]]Unless you’re a fan of the high-waist and clunky heels of Lynda Carter (whose awkward run did hold a...
March 2013
3 posts
Committed: 44 FLOOD's TOME - A Kickstarter Success
Buying a book before it is has been created is a bit of a gamble. A collaborative art project by comic book artists, painters, writers, and musicians has to be even more of an unquantifiable project, so TOME has been a particularly pleasant surprise.
At this point, I expect that a lot of people reading this have contributed to some sort of crowd-funded project, whether it be a major motion...
Committed: Learning from Superheroes
Superhero comic books have saved me. I don’t mean that some real-life lunatic vigilante in a costume stopped a mugger or something, I’m talking about the actual comic books. There was a turning point in my life, when I had to stop waiting to be rescued by some larger-than-life hero, and figure out that I was (and am) my own superhero. It changed everything and I am so grateful that it...
Committed: My 2013 Emerald City Comic Con Awards
As always, this year Seattle’s incredible Emerald City Comic Con presented an amazing line up of comic book creators and associated ephemera. The staff, guests, and attendees were consistently friendly, helpful, and entertaining. There was so much to see and enjoy that I only managed to fit a tenth of what I wanted into the three days I had there and by extension, I only managed to fit a...
February 2013
4 posts
Committed: the Fallacy of Superheroes for Boys &...
Like a lot of adult comic book readers do at some point, I’ve been taking stock of my reading choices and the type of mainstream, ongoing, monthly comic books which I read. It took me a while to figure out what was bothering me, but I found that I was making a couple of assumptions which, upon closer examination, were wrong.
1. I’ve been assuming that I read predominantly two types of...
Committed: 10 Great Superhero Boots
Comic book artists make strange shoe designers. Some of them don’t really draw feet, others perch their heroes on tiny 6” stilettos and assume they’ll be able to fight. Decades ago when I first began reading American superhero comics, the footwear fascinated me. Too young to be wearing anything but the most basic, functional kid-shoes, I loved the thigh-highs, the swashbuckling...
Committed: "Reset", "Seconds", and Peter Bagge's...
Reset is the story of out-of-work, B-movie comedy actor Guy Krause, whose life has become a series of tabloid story jokes. He’s penniless and out of work when he’s approached to be a guinea pig for a mysterious, virtual reality project which allows the subject to relive and change events from their past. The only control that the subject has over his virtual experience is a...
Committed: The "Batman On Robin" Exhibition...
This Friday sees the opening of an exhibition of original art inspired by the relationship between Batman and Robin at Mission Comics and Art from February 6th - March 3rd. The exhibition includes original works from 30 artists, including Ed Luce, Sina Grace, Beth Dean, as well as the curators; Justin Hall and Rick Worley. I spoke with Worley and Hall about the exhibition, and they gave us a...
January 2013
5 posts
Committed: Jeff Lemire talks Constantine
Last week Jeff Lemire let me know that he and Ray Fawkes are committed to keeping John Constantine’s life filled with self-sabotage, demons, sex, and all kinds of insanity. After a sneak peak at the script for Constantine #1 (on shelves in March) I found some points of interest, certainly enough to make me look forward to the release of Constantine in March), and Lemire kindly agreed to...
Committed: Kyle Baker's "Why I Hate Saturn"
Kyle Baker has posted small versions of his graphic novels on his website for everyone to read for free. I’m hoping that this will lead more people to discover the subtle genius that is “Why I Hate Saturn”, along with many of his other very clever, funny, beautiful, eclectic books.
For many years, Why I Hate Saturn was one of my favorite comic books, it was funny, silly, clever...
Committed: Big Bang Theory Vs. Morgan Spurlock (or...
Like junk food, I expect my consumption of sitcoms to be unsatisfying and flippantly derogatory. I do not expect the same from films calling themselves “documentaries” but unfortunately that is what I experienced.
Last week an episode of the The Big Bang Theory (season 6, episode 13) featured the guys going to a small convention in costume, leaving their girlfriends to explore comic...
Committed: "Elizabeth's Canvas" Interview
Jud Meyers and Scott Tipton (founders of Blastoff Comics in North Hollywood) are the team behind the ambitious compendium comic book for Elizabeth’s Canvas; a non-profit organization which offers cancer patients and people affected by cancer creative therapy through free art classes, including painting, drawing, and writing. Published by IDW in March, with all of the proceeds going to the...
Committed: My Top 16 Comics of 2012
In 2012 a broader variety of author communicated their joy and intensity using the alchemy that is art and literature in comic books. The wealth of great comic books published in nearly every genre made me happier than I can say and when I put in my votes for the CBR Top 100 Comics of 2012 I was hard pressed to pick only 10 comic books to vote for. So for you, I’ve compiled 16 mini-reviews...
December 2012
3 posts
Committed: Happy Holidays!
This year I designed a particularly silly holiday card for you. Enjoy and have a wonderful time (if you can. If not, then I hope that you can read some comic books, listen to some music, and wait until this weird time of year is over.)[[MORE]]
Just in case you’re actually reading my column today (instead of recovering from holiday craziness,) I’ll tell you about one of my most...
Committed: Marvel Fairy Tales
This week I wanted to write about something sweet and lovely, far away from the silly horror stories and swashbuckling superheroes which have become my weekly ongoing comic book staples. So I looked to the stack of books-to-be-read which have somehow piled up over the last few months and found something perfect; Marvel Fairy Tales - a book mixing classic fairy tales with classic Marvel superhero...
Committed: The More You Know...
Do we, as comic book readers and lovers really want to hear about the business of comic books?
[[MORE]]Do we want to hear about a director who used violent hate language to talk about women and homosexuals?
Do we want to hear about the departure of one of the most visible, powerful women in alternative comic books from a mainstream company (while everyone tip toes around the fact that this...
November 2012
5 posts
Committed: Catwoman (The Dark Knight Rises...
Since today is my birthday it is lucky that I get to write about something I really like; Anne Hathaway’s depiction of Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises. With the release of the blu-ray next week (December 4th to be precise, in plenty of time for early holiday shopping), I had a chance to review it and check out all the special features that come with it. Since I’m sure you’ll be...
Committed: Revisiting Charles' Burns "Black Hole"
Last night I picked up Charles Burn’s Black Hole to read in bed. There are two reasons why this is a bad idea. First, the book is so good that there is absolutely no way that I could put it down without finishing it, so I was up half the night (and it is good enough so that I really can’t rush it, even if I have already read it before.) Second, Black Hole is creepy, not in a generic...
Committed: My Top Ten Photos of Male Cosplayers
Since I wrote you two columns last week, and this week I have both laryngitis and a sinus infection (aren’t you jealous? ugh…) this week I’m going to give you some fun pictures instead.
Over the years that I’ve been writing my weekly articles, I have also been attending comic book conventions and taking photos of things I find interesting. Naturally, people in costumes are...
Committed: Hellblazer - DC Shoot Themselves in the...
Today I found out that Hellblazer is cancelled, and John Constanine is moving into the main, general DC universe (see the CBR piece for more about the mechanics on that.)
Unable to come up with any decent new ideas, DC has gone from fiddling with one 30 year old Alan Moore creation - Watchmen - to messing up another: Hellblazer. Of course DC has forced itself to continue this practice of...
Committed: Graphically Communicating the Election
If you live in America (or the world) perhaps you were as enthralled by the election as I was. It was fascinating to watch unfold online, as the results were reported, extrapolated, and opined upon. If you’re at all interested in visual communication and the use of imagery to convey information (as so many comic book readers are) then this was a banner year to find interesting and new ways...
October 2012
5 posts
Committed: Halloween Interview with Steve Niles,...
In case you hadn’t noticed, today is Halloween. It can be hard for me to understand how I can love some horror comic books, yet hold such an aversion to horror movies, so I asked acclaimed horror comic book writer - Steve Niles - if he would to talk about what it is that makes horror comic books so appealing, how he writes, and what we can look forward to from him in the future.
…
...
Committed: DC Got Their Marketing All Over My...
The other day I finally got around to reading Justice League Dark #0. Now you can tell me that this is “a different John Constantine than the one in Hellblazer” or that “DC is a different universe than Vertigo.” I don’t buy it. Those are rationalizations, excuses for screwing up a well-established, well-rounded character with a ton of history and a strong following....
Committed: Artist's Alley vs NYCC & How I Made...
Attendance at New York Comic-Con was up again this year, this time to around 116,000. Although Lance Fensterman said that with the increase in attendance there was also an increase in space, this space was circuitous and inconvenient, wrapping itself around the ongoing construction work. Next year the completed construction work promises an extra 90,000 square feet, clearly this can’t come...
Committed: Things to do at APE (while I'm at NYCC)
The song “New York, New York” wasn’t actually written about New York Comic Con, but it could have been. If you can deal with that convention, maybe even have a good time, then you can probably handle any convention of any size, in any place. With attendance around the size of San Diego Comic Con, crammed into a building half the size with none of the nearby hotels to absorb the...
Committed: NOT MY BAG - Sina's Scathing Fashion...
Next week a new autobiographical comic book comes out from Sina Grace. Unlike so many of its predecessors, this one is about a man with a job. He might not like the job, nor even want it, but he throws himself into it with a totality that nearly undoes him, sucking him into a destructive, corporate, retail abyss and spitting him out the other side, ready to become the artist he was meant to be....
September 2012
4 posts
Committed: Hanna-Barbera Made Me Like This
On Saturday I went to a rather inappropriately fancy screening of the one-hour live action show Legends of the Super Heroes: The Challenge at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills. I’m a huge fan of the incongruous lauding of trashy pop culture that seems to be prevalent in Los Angeles and this did not disappoint. Part of an exhibition of the Warner Archive Collection, this low-budget...
Committed: Book Shopping with Clowes, Tezuka &...
While I fully support all business charging (and paying tax themselves too), on the evening of September 14th I used the excuse that Amazon were going to start charging tax in California as an excuse to finally buy some books that had been hanging out on my shopping list for months. The books I bought were The Art of Daniel Clowes, two books by Osamu Tezuka (The Book of Human Insects and Message...
Committed: Enjoying the Momentum Trap
Momentum is a funny thing, particularly when it comes to reading monthly comic books. Recently I was surprised to realize that Unwritten is not “the new comic book which I’m not I’m going to buy regularly”, but is actually the book I’ve been buying faithfully for 3 years. It is monthly, (or maybe sometimes it’s bi-monthly, I’m vague about the specifics),...
Committed: Back to School
Lately I’ve been so busy working on design projects that I didn’t have time to write you an article. Instead, I thought I’d share a little of what I’ve been doing. Unfortunately the comic book project I’m working on is pretty much top secret, so you’ll just have to wait till it is in stores (sorry, I’d love to talk about it.) However, I can share the...
August 2012
4 posts
Committed: The Male Superhero As Rock Star / Drag...
My attraction to the superhero genre has always been the result of a confluence of many, many elements, but lately it is the men in costume that are interesting me most. Perhaps for some people this is some sort of variation of the old men-in-uniform fetish that so many people have, and I know that a lot of people think of superhero costumes as a sort of military uniform. I do not, to my mind,...
Committed: Ed Piskor's "Wizzywig", and when it is...
Wizzywig was originally published online, and this long term view to the creation of this massive undertaking is obvious. This is a book about a fictionalized (though chillingly well researched) hacker, from a childhood playing with lock picking, through to teens phone phreaking, down to full-on hacking for fun (and eventually some kind of depressing profit-out-of-necessity as he lives on the...
Committed: Why We Read
Some comic book readers follow characters while some readers are loyal to specific publishers, some readers follow a specific artist and buy whatever he or she draws, regardless of the character or publisher they’re working on, other people do the same sort of thing but with specific writers.
I used to slavishly follow artists. Having grown up with two artistically-inclined young parents,...
Committed: Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect of...
In too many superhero books, architecture can be pretty low on the importance level for a lot of comic book creators. Naturally it depends a lot on the interests of the specific writer or artist, and once in a while, the environment looms large and becomes an intrinsic part of the story. More than context, a well-crafted architecture can become another character in the story, lending substance and...
July 2012
4 posts
Committed: Industrial design and the Batmobile
The current Batmobile as a simple product design is representative of many aspects of our society. The way any product created for mass production and use is designed tells us a great deal about the manufacturing techniques, natural resources, fashions, aesthetics, politics, values, hopes, and fears of a society. Good fictional product design in films can do so to an even greater level, since it...
Committed: My Giant, Dorky, Wonderful 2012...
This was a banner year for me at Comic-Con International, a lot of really mellow, random meetings with all these nice people and great comic book creators, a large pile of nifty comic books I picked up, and so many fantastic things to see. With my brain all soft and mushy from five days of overstimulation this is a little unstructured, but I want to share as much as I can with you. After five...
Committed: The Altered State of Comic-Con
Comic-Con International, TED, pop-up communes, Burning Man… these places should all offer drastically different experiences, but the similarities are pretty important. For a limited time, they each offer a mass, consensual altered reality, and having experienced all of them, I’ve found that the differences are mostly cosmetic and when they’re over, everyone is different.
...
Committed: The Independent Women of BRAVE & Are...
This is probably trite as hell, but I have to say it. Brave has a lot in common with Alison Bechdel’s Are You My Mother?, (but of course, on a much, much, much simpler level), they’re both about independent women, separating themselves from their mothers. Obviously, one is aimed at tiny children so it’s a different sort of approach, I know because I went to a midday showing...
June 2012
3 posts
Committed: The Mysterious Potential of Superheroes...
The basic superhero touchstones, the ones that stick around for decades, aren’t really very complicated. Over time, various individual writers and artists come along to imbue them with contemporary characteristics for a short time, but because none of these things are set in stone, they just do not stick. Because they aren’t part of the DNA of the character, there is always space for...
Committed: Alexander McQueen, Tailoring, and the...
Last week I bought the book Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, a retrospective of his most iconic and radical designs. One particular quote gave substance to my own feelings about his work, and really really spoke to his emphasized, supeheroic fashion aesthetic.
“I want to empower women. I want people to be afraid of the women I dress.”
“When you see a woman wearing McQueen,...
Committed: Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever (Secret...
If you haven’t already read Henry & Glen Forever & Ever, you’re going to want to hit your local comic book store to try and find this weird little indie book, because there hasn’t been such a compellingly silly pairing since Oscar and Felix in the Odd Couple. Fantastic, diverse pin-ups and stories pack the black and white pages, painting a vivid portrait of a disturbingly...
May 2012
5 posts
Committed: Diving into the X-Statix Omnibus
Last night in my dreams, The Orphan from X-Statix was asked to do an interview. In the way of dreams, I don’t remember what it was about. But I do remember that he didn’t say what he was asked to say, and while Spike Freeman wasn’t happy about it, the team loved it. I woke up gagging to get back to reading my giant comic book.
This is what happens when you pick up the massive...
Fairytale gay wedding vs gay marriage
Yesterday, amongst some media attention, Marvel announced an impending gay wedding. I can’t help but notice that there are no fairytales that begin with the main characters’ wedding. When there are weddings, they are the payoff, the money shot, and definitely the grand finale of the fairytale. No one wants to read a fairytale that begins with a wedding, because then it would be about...
PunisherMAX: Better in Black & White
Some books simply demand the stark simplicity of no color, the absence of any warmth or hope. Steve Dillon’s stunningly beautiful artwork shines in black and white. Simultaneously, Jason Aaron creates an all-encompassing bleak world view for the inhabitants of the Punisher’s world. The PunisherMAX has little use for color.
[[MORE]]I just finished reading Jason Aaron and Steve...
