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If you’re a fan of NBC’s Heroes you should head over to my friend’s ebay site and buy one of his vinyl static stickers. Speaking of Heroes… I’ve never seen the show. Being a huge fan of comics, I am kicking myself for not watching this one. I skipped over it figuring it for a lost rip-off. What are your opinions? Should I download it from iTunes?
Update: I’m an idiot and forgot to add the link the first time around. It’s there now.
I’ve had a lingering question on my mind lately. Why are there no comic book-like heroes in the world? What prevents a slightly off kilter vigilante from donning a mask and busting criminals Batman style?
Good sense? Surely that’s not the reason… people do all sorts of stupid things these days. Just take a look at the folks behind Jackass.
Fear and a good sense of mortality? There are so many thrill seekers out there that this wouldn’t seem to be a hinderence. People love to face death, sometimes on a regular basis. Skydiving, rock climbing, and bungie jumping are just a few extreme sports that thousands of people take part in for fun.
Seriously… why haven’t we seen a “super” hero emerge from the sea of humanity to lend a selfless, muscular, glove clad hand to the struggling masses?
What’s your take on this? Will we ever see a super hero on the world scene? Should some multi-billionaire who’s family was slaughtered in front of his face take on an alternate persona and deal with his inner grief by beating the crap out of street thugs? Has there been a super hero of this caliber in times past that I’m just not aware of?
If you’re looking for a non-traditional comic book, Helpdesk Magazine recommends Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi.
Good review, check it out.
Sometimes I get the urge to write something very brief. I hate to do this in the main content section of the site, so I’ve created this new sidebar. I am calling this short post category Shortbox. If anyone would like to have this broken in to a separate RSS feed, comment and let me know.
Superman #1 has been scanned and uploaded to the internet. I’m not sure of the legalities here, but I’m guess it’s out of it’s copyright period.
At any rate, be sure to visit that site before it’s shut down and download you very own copy of Superman #1.
I’m so far behind on my comic book reading that it’s not even funny.
Currently my unread pile is over 30 comics, some of which date back to several weeks ago. The last Civil War related comic I read was Civil War #3 (or was it #4? I can’t even remember). I’ve been so busy lately that I just can’t seem to catch up! Am I reading too many comics for the limited amount of free time I have, or am I just not utilizing my time correctly?
I think it may be a mix of the two.
So, how many comics do you read each month? Ten? Twenty? I’m currently somewhere around 30 - 50 I believe (I’ll publish a whole list as soon as I can get a print out from the comic shop). How about you? What’s on your list each month? Do you have problems finding the time to keep up with your monthly reads?
Currently I’m taking a look at my life as a whole and creating a schedule to help prioritize my time. I’ve been letting precious hours slip away and I’m sick of it.
I don’t mean that I should have been working in those hours either. I mean that I’ve wasted those hours on work. Whatever happened to the good old days when I could enjoy a walk in the park without some hobby or project hampering my good time? Have I become a work-aholic? For anyone out there that may be going through something similar I recommend the following:
First off make sure that you don’t procrastinate. Procrastinating creates piles, not just of comic books, but of little projects here and there. Those projects (whether they be cleaning a room or making some side cash) start turning in to bigger and bigger projects. The bigger they get, the more you’ll procrastinate. It’s a vicious cycle that will lead to burn out. Get things done early on and you’ll be happier with the end result.
Secondly, don’t take on too much. When you overwhelm yourself with work, hobbies or other leisure you’re opening the door to stress. Try cutting out the less important things. Take regular inventory of your life situation.
Thirdly try to avoid physical clutter. When you clutter up your work space or your living environment it will either immobilize you or make you waste extra time picking up after yourself.
For months now I’ve stressed myself out by taking on way too many small tasks and then procrastinating until they’ve piled up, much like the stack of comics on my shelf. On top of that I’ve become a total slob in recent times as a direct result of my feeling overwhelmed… I just don’t feel I have the time to put something away when I’m through with it. This is a very unhealthy lifestyle that just makes me go around in circles like a dog chasing it’s tail.
Starting immediately I will be begin eliminating stress. How about you?
Royal McGraw (writer) and Marcos Marz (penciller) took the reigns of Detective Comics… I wish someone would take them back. Detective Comics #825 was boring and cliche. The dialogue was sophomoric and the art was pitiful. I can hardly believe Didio let this one get past the concept stage.
In this issue of Detective Comics, Batman must stop Doctor Phosphorus from killing convicted criminal Rupert Thorne. Dr. Phosphorus was thought to be dead… killed at the hands of Ted Knight. But, like all good comic book characters, he’s not really dead… he’s just more powerful and ready to exact vengeance on the world… starting with Thorne & CO.
The art in this issue is very distracting in a bad way. I’m not sure if Marz is to blame, or if Luciana Del Negro (inker) is the guilty party. Or perhaps John Kalisz (colorist) should be taking some of the heat. All I know for sure is the thick outlines and faded colors (in-particularly seen in the faces and flesh tones of each character) give this issue a very cheap look.
The writing was no better. I hate to ruin the ending for any poor sap who wasted their money on this issue and has yet to waste their time on reading it as well, but I have to finish the rant out by commenting on the finale (stop reading if you don’t want to spoil the “surprise” ending). Batman defeats Phosphorus with Baking Soda. On one hand this is somewhat inventive… baking soda being a fire retardant. On the other hand it comes off feeling like an advertisement for baking soda. When Batman gears up to punch Dr. P in the face, he says “Baking Soda. They say it has one hundred different household uses. Call this one hundred and one.” KRACK.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Bruce Wayne and Alfred have an interchange on the final page of the comic that relates to this magical powder. This exchange between Alfred and Wayne is horrific. Bruce makes mention of the beignets tasting “a little off” to which Alfred replies that he was “half way through making these” when he realized that Wayne stole the Baking Soda. Bruce, with a disgusted look on his face asks what was used instead. Alfred tells him that salt was used as a substitute to the baking soda, but he will happily make something else to replace these (since they taste like horse crap). Bruce responds with a cheesy pun (which I won’t waste your time on here) and the final panel is a drawing of Wayne Manor. The end.
If McGraw was anything more than just a fill-in for this title, I would drop it on the spot. If you haven’t bought this comic yet, absolutely do not waste your money.
Recently I signed up for an account at reviewme.com, a site that helps advertisers and bloggers hook up. It was created by the same people who made Text Link Ads. Review Me helps advertisers find bloggers who are willing to review their site or product. They pay the blogger a fee that is predetermined by Review Me based on the blogger’s Alexa rank.
For a limited time Review Me is basically handing out free money for signing up… all you have to do is write a review on Review Me within 72 hours of accepting the assignment. I was a little apprehensive at first since this is strictly a comic book blog, but I also want free money. Call me a sell out, call me greedy… you can call me $30 richer which will help me to buy even more comic books to review on this site that you read for free.
At any rate, Review Me is a very cool concept. The system has a nice simple design to match it’s simple business structure. The only thing I’m a little frustrated with, but not at all surprised is that there is no Comics sub category which you can list your blog under. It’s hard for me to praise Review Me very highly since I haven’t had much experience with it. For a guy like me who does comics, I would say that the chances of turning a nice profit are slim to none… what on earth would people pay me to review (besides comic books… hint hint)?
If Review Me turns out to be anything like Text Link Ads then I’d say it has a bright future. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes.
Side note:
Fear not. My site will not become littered with advertised falsified reviews. There are two things I plan to live by if the opportunity to review another site presents itself.
Ever since I was young I loved the issues of Batman and Superman when the two would team up. Even when I wasn’t a huge fan of DC Comics I thought these were some great stories. I feel the same way today and that’s why I really love Superman / Batman. Recently I got my hands on Superman / Batman Annual #1, a 38 page retelling of the Superman and Batman’s first team adventure which was originally published in Superman #76 in 1952.
The original tale involved Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent boarding a cruise ship along with Lois Lane. A fire breaks out and they each have to save the day, save Lois, and catch a jewl thief. This tale also involves the three characters aboard a cruise ship, but rather than a fire breaking out, there is a pan-dimensional rift where Owl Man and Ultraman show up, along with Superwoman and two Deathstrokes (see update at the end of this article). The overall story has a silly, over-the-top feel, but it is done very well. In fact, it offers an explanation for it’s silliness at the very end which I will not spoil for you. The front cover hints at this outcome in it’s title “a re-imaginary story”.
If you’re a fan of the monthly Superman / Batman series and haven’t picked up the annual, be sure to get a copy. Also, if you enjoy lighthearted stories that have no impact on later issues, this is a comic for you.
If you only enjoy comics with a serious tone, steer way clear of this comic because you’ll be very disappointed.
Personally, I really enjoyed reading this comic (I even laughed out loud a couple of times). The rivalry between Superman and Batman was nicely portrayed. I came away with a longing for a monthly series featuring retellings of older issues. Nicely done!
Update: It was brought to my attention that in fact there was one Deathstroke and one Deadpool which is awesome (Deadpool being a Marvel character that is almost identical to Deathstroke). This makes the book way more hilarious and I can’t believe that I overlooked that detail (cut me some slack… the two characters are basically twins. On top of that, they never say his name… I just figured he was an alternate Deathstroke).
When I was first introduced to comics books in the early 90’s it seemed that every comic book that came in to my possession had a letters column. I remember reading through the letters from various dedicated readers who would be lodging their complaints, posing various questions or simply praising their favorite book.
Upon returning to comics a couple years ago I realized that letter columns are nearly extinct from the pages of main stream comics. None of DC Comics current titles print letters, and very few of Marvel’s titles do either.
So what’s the deal? Where have all the letters gone?
I believe that the internet has played a large part in killing off letters. What’s the point in writing in to an editor to ask them a question that you could easily research with google? Why actually put pen to paper and pay for a stamp when you can simply switch on the computer and post on a message board for free and within seconds?
Furthermore, why would a comic book company bother printing letters? They’re usually rather dull and increase the overhead come press time.
Still, a comic without letters from readers seems a little lacking… at least that was my original sentiment. Then I came across an old issue of Justice League America (#71 published February 1993… a terrible issue) which actually has a letters column, entitled Justice Log. The first letter made me reverse my thoughts on letters columns on the spot. It reads, in full:
“Dear Brian,
A true story: Last Friday, new comics day that it was, before I stopped into Galaxy Books for my weekly indulgence, I mowed the lawn. But while mowing, I must have inhaled pollen or something of the like for I wen into a sneezing fit for the rest of the day. Later, while picking out my comics, and Justice League America #67 in particular, I felt the mother of all sneezes building up. Hastily I withdrew my Kleenex from its pocket resting space and lodged it squarely in front of my face before heaving the mother of all sneezes out of my sinuses. It was then that I witnessed the cover of JLA #67 and knew exactly how Beetle felt while echoing his soon-to-be immortal words, ‘EEEEE-ew! Where’d all this goo come from?!’Joe Kucharsky III
Haddon Heights, New JerseyP.S. You know you can count on my support for the Fire calendar.”
The reply:
“I know what you mean, Joe. Ehh… Ehhh… ACHOOO!”
What in god’s name was the editor thinking when he allowed this letter to be published? I’d rather not hear about this kid’s sinus explosion in full detail… but I got to anyway. I could just picture his sweaty little thick fingers gripping the latest issue of Justice League America. His pulse quickened from an unhealthy intake of Pepsi and Cheetos. Fresh lawn scattered about his tube socks, formerly a pristine white, now resembling the green hair of his imaginary girlfriend, Fire. Suddenly he feels the onslaught of allergies. He quickly reaches for a tissue and blows out a snack for later. So thrilled is he by this irony that he is motivated to pen a letter to Brian Augustyn, 39 year old editor of JLA. He too is amused by this irony and sees a reflection of his younger self in this young boy. Moved by the letter, he stops the press and bumps this amazing true story to the top of the Justice Log heap.
Comic book companies: abstain from printing a letters column. It produces more of an overhead for you, and makes a comic book feel even nerdier than it did in the first place.
If you absolutely must print a letter’s column, please choose it’s content wisely, and resist the urge to attempt humor in your replies.
Readers: if you get the strange urge to write a cheesy letter, please suppress it. If you still feel you really must speak your opinions, start a weblog and get it accepted in to the 9rules Network.
