April 04, 2006
Superhero chat
In this week's Onion, the A.V. Club interviews Kurt Busiek of Astro City and Marvels fame.
KB: They seemed to find character flaws. They certainly didn't make Batman physically inferior, although again, Batman has no superpowers. Of the characters in Watchmen, only one is superhuman. The others are all costumed adventurers, and Alan [Moore] explored human failings among them. But every single one could still kick my ass up and down the street. They were certainly physically superior to me.O: Even Nite Owl?
March 16, 2006
My blogging technique is unstoppable
Don't miss the whole new batch of Get Your War On comics that were recently posted. Excellent and harsh as always—
Here's George Bush's constitutional analysis: "I don't understand the fuckin' thing, so why should I obey it? It's written in some kind of loop-de-loop old-timey scribble language anyway."
I also love the one that slams Dennis Miller as a "has-been with a beard and a thesaurus."
March 10, 2006
Cat and Girl are self-constructed
I love Cat and Girl. And, as the banner text so neatly puts it: If you want a new Cat and Girl comic today you are going to have to make it your own damn self! Dorothy sez:
Today instead of me making a Cat and Girl cartoon, you can make a Cat and Girl cartoon. It won't be very hard - I've already drawn all the pictures for you. (Sorry about the confusing banner kerfuffle. Sam? Are you reading? This is why I wanted that new archiving system.)
Go! Make cartoons! Donate $5 (or more) and she'll draw a picture of how she spent the money.
November 30, 2005
Steve Dallas doesn't really seem like the vegan type
For a limited time only: Opus takes on Thanksgiving dinner.
November 29, 2005
Aeon Flux, Part II
Even better: Mike Russell's culturepulp.com offers a slightly expanded version of the Not-so-secret History of Aeon Flux. It's also nicer, because it all loads on a single page, instead of having to step through frame-by-frame. (He's also got a single-page color PDF version.)
He's done other fun, celebratory cartoons on diverse topics; Ravioli Day, marble fest, comics fest, and Oktoberfest! are the four most recent entries. I like this guy!
November 12, 2005
Today is new comics day!
I just received a big box o' goodies from Bob at Aquilonia Comics (Troy, NY). It's been well over a year since I've stopped in to pick up my file, so I've got lots of reading material: 1602, Hellblazer, Planetary, and more. I needed to send a check, but didn't have the shop's address handy. When I Googled to try and find the (now apparently defunct) wizvax.net Aquilonia website, I accidentally stumbled across a web meme that I somehow missed: 10 Places of My City.
10 Places of My City apparently started out as a "Chinese blogger social movement, using [the] Technorati tag system to encourage bloggers to showcase the top 10 places of their own city." Lots of other folks have hopped on (Dallas, London, Toronto), and this morning I found Dan Nugent's entries for Troy, NY. (Aquilonia Comics clocks in at #1.)
I'm inspired. I have to charge up the batteries for the digital camera, and head out into town to take a few photos. Cataloging 10 interesting places in Maynard sounds like a fun project, and I'll post the pix to a Flickr photoset in the near future.
May 11, 2005
Yow! A follow-up to Zippy
I meant to write about this over the weekend, but it got away from me. Despite the pouring rain and gusting wind, I did make it to That's Entertainment in Worcester for Free Comic Book Day. It's a great store— all kinds of comics, action figures, posters, toys, and what-not. (Lots of what-not.)
Bill Griffith was there, and he signed my copy of his new book: From Here to Absurdity
May 06, 2005
May 05, 2005
Yow! Free Comic Book Day!
That's Entertainment is hosting a nifty event in honor of Free Comic Book Day (May 7): Zippy Comics and Worcester Diners. Both Bill Griffith and Richard J. S. Gutman will be there. I'm looking forward to checking it out (not that I need much of an excuse to head to Worcester for a diner breakfast, free comic books, and author schmoozing).
I think that the best Zippy strips are set in diners; this rice pudding haiku is a personal fave (and not just because it features the wonderful Boulevard Diner).
January 29, 2005
City of Litigators, cont'd
PvP on Marvel vs. NCsoft: start here.
July 21, 2004
Summer reading
Yay, Minuteman Library Network! I just finished Box Office Poison, and I really enjoyed it. The characters are interesting (and somehow familiar), the story is well-written, and the artwork fits the story. It's got something for everyone, and I hope that it sells lots of copies and makes Alex Robinson a bundle of money. I read it once through, then immediately started to re-read it, just to make sure that I didn't miss anything the first time through. It's that good.
Folks have oohed and ahhed over Daniel Clowes's Ghost World, but I have to admit it left me cold. Not my cup o' tea.
Three superhero comics that I gotta recommend whole-heartedly:
- Powers, by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Oeming
- Top Ten, by Alan Moore
- Astro City, by Kurt Busiek and a lot of talented people
Between these and City of Heroes, I've been getting my fix.
June 07, 2004
March 06, 2004
In space, no one can hear you scream.
So, we're eating dinner and Chris springs this bit of news on me. Three words: Hellblazer. Constantine. Keanu. One response: Aieeee!
<comic_book_girl>What microcephalic studio executive green-lighted this train wreck of a project? No wonder Alan Moore has divorced himself from the film, "[washing] his hands of the entire debacle." Worst. Idea. Ever. I must register my disgust on the internet for all to see.</comic_book_girl>
Update (9:57 a.m.): Neil Gaiman refutes the above claim, stating:
Oh, it's true that Alan's rejected the money for CONSTANTINE and assigned it to his cocreators, but he's now done that for all films of his and things he's done that might one day be filmed. This was because he was deeply hurt and offended and irritated by being accused in the Larry Cohen lawsuit of having written League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as some kind of studio shill, and because Alan never does anything by halves. Up until the lawsuit his position was that he didn't care about the films people made from his work, but was happy to cash the cheques; after, he decided that he didn't even want to cash the cheques.
December 20, 2003
November 23, 2003
Penguin Lust.
Opus is back! Go buy a newspaper! Don't delay! Also, Salon interviews Berke Breathed (free, but you have to sit through a commercial):
>What are the advantages of a Sunday-only strip?In my case, having a life. Ever see a seven-day-a-week cartoonist?
They all look like Keith Richards at 5 a.m. I've said that cartooning, like education and sex, is wasted on the young ... but I understand why it's that way. It's wearing, corrosive, killing work. Consider Charles Schulz. Look where he is today.