Friday, May 18, 2007
Free Form Comments
Free form comments: introduce yourself if you are a lurker or a new person, post random thoughts, questions (not just questions for me), ideas, suggestions, recommendations, promote what you are doing on your blog or in your life, make personal attacks on me or someone else, request to be added to the blog-roll -- whatever.
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28 comments:
Hey Geoff-
What up with the "something big" we were staying tuned for?
It is a Comic Geek Speak appearance that will go up Thursday or Friday, with a little something extra that will make it AWESOME.
How about you and everyone posting do a this or that quiz. It might be fun.
1) who's the better Captain Marvel? DC's or Marvel's(Mar-Vell)?
2) Best Green Goblin? Norman or Harry?
3) Best Bond? Craig or Connery(or one of those others pssh)?
4) Best Flash? Jay, Barry, Wally, or Bart?
5) Justice Society or Justice League?
6) Young Avengers or Teen Titans?
7) Obama or H. Clinton?
8) Best Obi-wan? Allan Mcguiness or Ewan McGregor?
9) Bret Hart or Owen Hart?
10) Best fighter in the World.
Randy Couture(current World Champ,came out of retirement)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xuilq_a-farewell-to-captain-america
or fedor emelianenko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMMMaSkgma8
Geoff, I read all the posts under your "Frank Miller" tag. It was very interesting, and made me wonder what it would be like to read all of the Miller-penned Batman work in pseudo-chronological order, i.e.:
Year One
All-Star B&R
Batman/Spawn
DK1
DK2
Presumably it wouldn't really work ... (But it's interesting to note that All-Star B&R is turning out to be a prequel/sequel to DK2 in the same way that Year One is was a prequel/sequel to DK1.)
Anyway, I love your interp of All-Star, and I'm pretty sure I'll pick up the series in trades when it's collected.
Also, a recommendation: Reading those Frank Miller posts I noticed your digression about Magneto, and your assertion that Ian McKellan "owns" Magneto in a way that Mark Millar and Grant Morrison don't. As the resident "guy who makes you feel bad about Chris Claremont," first of all, I'd think Claremont's portrayal is more worthy of comparison to McKellan's than Morrison's, yes?
But actually, I'm just disputing that thesis in the first place. McKellan's portrayal owes everything to Claremont's best Magneto stories. I think Claremont is the one who succeeded in making Magneto one of the most psychologically rich comic book villains out there. McKellan gave a performance worthy of the psychology that Claremont crafted, but I'm not convinced he *surpassed* it.
My Exhibit A: The back-up story in Classic X-Men #19. I just re-read it, and I think it is the best X-Men story ever written. In terms of "continuity," the story ostensibly exists to kind of fill in a gap in Magneto's characterization -- how did the tragic events of his youth lead to the criminally insane character who first appeared in Lee-Kirby's X-Men #1?
The story in CX #19 begins with a pre-X-Men #1 Magneto hunting down former Nazis so that they can stand trial. 11 pages later, he's a super-villain. It's all done with incredible economy and some really elegant storytelling. And it kicks the ass of anything you'll find in the X-Men films.
The story is reprinted in a TPB called "X-Men: Vignettes Book 2", but the original comic is probably fairly cheap. I highly, highly recommend it. The final panel gives me chills.
There is a little less light in the universe.
Veronica Mars has been axed.
Moarn.
I will post about the Geek Speak appearance late tonight or Saturday.
Jason: you SHOULD continue to make me feel bad about Claremont. I deserve it. Seriously. As for my point about Magneto, I do not deny that Claremont is responsible for creating the character that McKellen plays. But the strongest portrayal wins the day no matter who came first and for me when I am asked to picture Magneto, I imagine McKellen, not Claremont's comic book. Another way to say it would be that McKellen is the apotheosis of Claremont's Magneto.
VoE -- I heard. and I just published on how great it is.
"But the strongest portrayal wins the day no matter who came first"
I get that. I like that way of looking at things.
" and for me when I am asked to picture Magneto, I imagine McKellen, not Claremont's comic book."
Ah, but have you read Classic X-Men #19? That's the Magneto *I* picture. You gotta read it, Geoff! I'm sure it's overly-optimistic for me to think it might change your mind -- BUT I would love to hear your opinion of the story. It's quality stuff!
"Another way to say it would be that McKellen is the apotheosis of Claremont's Magneto."
Well-said. I don't deny that McKellen's performance is great. It just didn't succeed in usurping the image of Claremont's Magneto as pre-eminent in my mind.
I usually do a list of my various recent blog posts here, but I don't feel like enumerating them today, so I'll just put up a link to my blog for anybody who's interested. The post at the top of the page at the moment is my 200th post, in which I scanned and posted a bunch of panels from a semi-pornographic Love & Rockets story. Because I felt like it, that's why.
What the hell, I'll answer Pat's questions.
1) DC's Captain Marvel, although I suspect the one from the 40's is best. Jeff Smith's version is also pretty good.
2) Norman, although I'm tempted to say Norman's psychiatrist, just to be silly.
3) Connery
4) Wally, I suppose. But Bart is the best Impulse.
5) Justice League, preferably written by Morrison.
6) Teen Titans, I guess. I'm kind of tempted to read this when Sean McKeever starts writing it.
7) Obama all the way, baby! He's my senator, and I suspect my wife would leave me for him given the chance.
8) Alec McGuiness
9) Bret Hart, I guess.
10) Best fighter in the World: Tony Jaa! Elbow to the head!
I was introduced to New X-Men last winter and became completely obsessed reading the series beginning to end. I'm really green to the scene, so I've stuck pretty close to X-Men. I'm currently engrossed in Ultimate X-Men. I am pretty intimidated navigating beyond Xavier and the team and, besides, I LOVE the characters. Discovering Doom Patrol has been absolutely amazing for me, too! My purse is heavy with Doom and X-Men at all times if I ever get a moment to read! Mostly, I'd like recommendations of writers and artists beyond my scope. Don't know much lingo and the like, but am amped to learn! So any books with well-developed characters/stories, creepy weird things, and just an all around sense of emotional attachment that I can gain from letting them into my imagination besides same old shoot-em-ups would be much appreciated! Thanks for writing with such vim and vigor and thought!
Actually it's "Sir Alec Guiness"
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000027/
Possible follow up for the Morrison X-men analysis. Morrison JLA, or Why it Works (or Not works if you that way)...
Hello all - weekend's here. I'd love to have some traffic on my blog (http://marcscomichut.blogspot.com/) - there's a new "new comics" post, a post on a great ad campaign I saw this week and a new schedule for posts that (really!) kicks off on Monday.
Matt: love Love and Rockets. Some of the greatest work ever. Nice job.
Jason: I will try to find it.
Matt: thanks
Sally: thanks for joining us. Continue to comment. People around here are very nice. My short term advice is Follow Grant Morrison -- JLA, the Filth, All Star Superman. Also read Casanova by Matt Fraction, the hardcover is out next week. Big advice: don't follow teams follow good writers and artists. My big jump came when I stopped reading X-Men titles and started reading Morrison's JLA; after that I followed Morrison. If you like Millar on UXM, check out the Ultimates, but avoid Civil War.
Lurker -- I am looking for something non-Morrison. I don't want to get to bogged down as the Morrison guy. I have to expand.
Marc: thanks
we are having a bbq party tomorrow - wooot!
it was supposed to be a bbq POOL party but the stupid weather is being extra stupid because the gods all hate me.
that's all I wanted to say.
I remember going to one of your pool parties a while back ;)
Wish I could be there.
Any other Nexus fans here? Anyone excited about - or interested in - its return? Back in the 80's, I got hooked with issue 11 or 12 of the First Comics run after Chris Claremont pointed me in its direction in an Amazing Heroes interview.
Congratz on the new CGS podcast, Geoff. Your shows are always fun.
My question is when can we expect to see the second edition of your kick ass book - How to Read Superhero Comics and Why?
And do you even still want to do a revised version of the book - or would you consider writing a completely new follow up text?
Dammit. Sir Alec Guiness, of course. I thought the "Mc" seemed odd. What was I thinking?!
Sally, here's a few recommendations: Preacher, or other stuff written by Garth Ennis. Sandman (written by Neil Gaiman), which is great, but might be confusing at first; stick with it through at least the second collection. Anything written by Alan Moore, but especially Watchmen, Top Ten, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (don't be dissuaded by the horrible movie), From Hell, or Promethea. That last one is a mind-fuck of the best kind. People recommend Swamp Thing, but I've never read it (Booooooo!). Someday. I also like Morrison, and if you like Doom Patrol, you might also like Animal Man. He also has some more recent stuff that's really good: We3 and Vimanarama, to name a couple. And I know Geoff doesn't think too highly of him, but I like Brian K. Vaughan a lot; some of my favorites of his are Runaways for Marvel Comics, Y: The Last Man, and Ex Machina.
And Geoff, I don't listen to many podcasts, but I don't think I can pass up the upcoming Comic Geek Speak. It sounds fun.
Sally: I agree wholeheartedly with most of Matt and Geoff's recommendations. (As impressive as it is, From Hell left me kinda cold. I haven't read Runaways or Y: The Last Man, so I can't comment on those ones. And while I'm not nearly as enthused about Morrison's JLA as many here are, it's certainly decent).
So anyway, here are a few more recommendations:
1) Peter Milligan's Enigma mini-series (can't remember the artist and I'm too lazy to google). It's be collected, but the trade paperback might be hard to find. Heck, the individual issues might be hard to find too. Worth the hunt, though.
2) Peter Milligan and Mike Allred's X-Force/X-Statix. Beware any X-force issues by other creative teams, though; by and large, they're crap.
3) Ed the Happy Clown by Chester Brown. Only available in singles from Drawn & Quarterly. No collected edition at this time. Brown's Louis Riel is more acclaimed, but Ed the Happy Clown is waaaaaay more fun. Apples and oranges, really. Louis Reil is historical fiction, while Ed is surreal, madcap fantasy.
4) Ed Brubaker's Sleeper (Geoff disagrees mightily on this one). Also, his Captain America. Steer clear of his X-Men stuff, though. Based on what I've skimmed through, it seems to be more mediocre.
5) The Trouble with Girls by Gerard Jones, Will Jacobs, and Tim Hamilton. Hilarious and intelligent send-up of spy/adventure stuff. Some of it was collected by Checker Comics fairly recently, I think.
6) SuperF*ckers by James Kochalka. Snarky superhero fun. Not collected yet, as there are only about three singles out so far.
A warning about Preacher. Expect Ennis' portrayl of God to be totally predictable and uninteresting. Then sit back and enjoy the central characters and the roller coaster ride he puts them through. A fun contemporary Western.
Sure, I'm suffering from as much event fatigue as the next comics fan, but this Fraction/Klock event is going to be spectacular, amazing, incredible, uncanny, astonishing, and - most importantly - damn entertaining. You go, Geoff! Very cool.
PAT: 1) Captain Marvel? Mar-Vell
2) Green Goblin? Norman
3) Bond? Tony Stark
4) Flash? Animated Wally
5) Justice Society or Justice League? Justice League
6) Young Avengers or Teen Titans? Never read any Titans. Young Avengers7) Obama or H. Clinton? Obama
8) Best Obi-wan? McGregor. Terrible movies, but at least he wanted to play the part. Plus, y'know, back-flips.
9) Bret Hart or Owen Hart? Bonesaw McGraw.
10) Best fighter in the World. The Hulk.
Oh yeah, not terribly exciting, but my my blog's updated.
Thanks sooo much for the recommendations! I'll be popping in to ask/discuss my new options. I appreciate the positive responses and you letting a new fan in! Now if only I could figure out podcasts... Told you I was really green:) Any help?
I read your latest blog on All Star Batman and must say that I totally agree... I loved the latest issue. I think I've come to the conclusion that the reason I love Miller so much is because he's the 'Anti-Ross' (or Geoff Johns). Whereas they believe these characters should be treated with reverence and be respected as the Gods (they believe) that they are (and in doing so they make it all so serious that they drain every last drop of fun from it), Miller thinks that "it should just be fun"... you can tell Miller is having a blast. I love that the first thing we hear Bats say in that issue (apart from maniacal laughter) is "I love being the Goddam Batman!" I have no idea if that was in the orginal script or was added later, but, either way, its serves as a brilliant 'Fuck You' to all his critics.
Scott
I know nothing
I'll second the X-Force/X-Statix reccomendation. I'm a huge fan of Mike Allred, so I'll also recommend his Madman and The Atomics. He actually just started a new Madman series, and the first issue came out last month. It's mostly a recap issue, so it's a good place to start if you're unfamiliar with the character.
And since Troy recommended Ed the Happy Clown, I'll take that as an invitation to recommend some of the more indie comics that I like. Daniel Clowes is really incredible, and I would highly recommend both Ghost World and Ice Haven.
Chris Ware is another favorite; Jimmy Corrigan is one of the best graphic novels of all time, but I'll warn you that it's very, very dense.
Some other good indie stuff includes Blankets, Black Hole (because you said you like creepy, weird stuff), and Scott Pilgrim. I highly recommend those. There's tons of other stuff, but that's what I came up with off the top of my head.
That "i know nothing" was a mistake, that I did not know got posted. Sorry. It was going to start "I know nothing about Nexus" then I got distracted and the next thing I knew it was up there.
Sally: for the podcast I will send you to the website and you will just hit the play button.
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