Say whatever you want to in the comments to this post -- random, off topic thoughts, ideas, suggestions, questions, recommendations, criticisms (which can be anonymous), surveys, personal news, self-promotion, requests to be added to the blog roll and so on. If a week goes by and I have failed to add you to the blog roll TELL ME TO DO IT AGAIN, and KEEP TELLING ME UNTIL IT GETS DONE. I can be lazy about updating the non-post parts of this site. Tim Callahan, Dark Horse Presents (with the free Joss Whedon Fabio Moon comic, and the free Gabriel Ba comic) have been added to the sidebar links this week, as has my favorite website, Go Fug Yourself.
ALSO. You can use this space to re-ask me questions you asked me before that I failed to answer because I was too busy (but now might not be). That is often the reason I fail to get back to people, and on a blog, after a few days, the comments thread dies and I just kind of forget about it. Let's use this space to fix that, because it does need to be fixed; I look like a jackass sometimes, leaving people hanging. I will TRY to respond to any questions here.
AND you can use this space to comment on posts that are old enough that no one is reading the comments threads anymore. For example, if you thought of a great quote for the great quote commonplace book, but now no one is reading that, you could put it here.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men 10
[This post is part of a series of posts looking at Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men run issue by issue; for more of the same click the Astonishing X-Men label at the bottom of this post.]
I am just going to say that the cover to this issue is bad; I can see what they were going for but a black and white blurry zoom on Professor X's weird cranium on a white background is not really working for me.
In this issue Danger beats the crap out of the X-Men, and then Professor X shows up, ready to put her down.
The frame story with Danger and Xavier is perfect. Professor X is one of my favorite comic book characters, and I love it when he gets to be a bad-ass. Cassaday keeps the tension high by showing a series of even sized close-ups until the final page; Whedon keeps the exchanges almost Western in simplicity, and ends with Xavier's wonderfully confident "I am incalculable ... You've fought the X-men a thousand times, a million in your mind. But you've never fought me." Maybe one of the great Charles Xavier moments. The shot of him in efficient black combat gear, in a giant stone wheelchair, is awesome.
The main part of the issue itself has some problems, however. I am not in love with Danger's "The thing I have in common with every dimestore villain these X-Men ever faced: I want to be understood." That is maybe too on the nose, or something, too clear a justification of the villain speech, I think. Eventually, in his old age, Whedon will just have stories where all the characters sit at desks, scripting their own lives complete with stage directions they can say out loud.
And oh dear, you have to be very careful about allusions, intentional or otherwise. Danger is a robot with big boobs and a shapeshifting hand. Where have I seen that before? Oh. Yeah. Terminator 3. When invoking other works a good rule of thumb is to stick to the ones that do not suck outright. Especially if your bad guy already has design problems.
We get a shot of how Danger is thinking, how she processes the fight. This is admittedly not an easy thing to do -- comics, like film, are not great at showing internal states (as novels are). So I have no idea how this could have been improved. But I have no patience for things like text superimposed over Cyclops that reads "92% probability of early frontal attack." Cause computers think like this. No, that is just annoying, and reminds be of Ziggy on Quantum Leap, in a bad way. Danger is a combination of the Fem-Bot from T3 and Ziggy Quantum Leap. Scheesh.
And Danger throws a spike through Kitty and Colossus. The way Cassaday draws this -- and people can say I am wrong about this -- but it seems to me it would be instantly fatal, just because of the size of the spike. And yet you know Whedon is not going to kill off these characters, so the moment just feels like a mistake, a cheap attempt at making me think you are doing something only to take it away next issue. And no I do not care that a healer has already been established in the mansion -- instantly fatal. He would have to be Jesus Christ Man or something to bring back the dead.
But back to the good: There is a great moment when Brand makes fun of a psychic alien, who "senses destruction" when the mansion is clearly blowing up; Whedon reminds us of Brand, Brand's mole, Emma's secret, and of Ord -- this is all going to come together soon, where a lesser writer would have left Ord behind for five years until a dramatic return. There is also a pitch perfect joke in which Cyclops throws Emma at Danger just to do something Danger would not expect.
Cassaday repeat/background watch:Danger gets a double take, then another. Emma gets a triple take; there are maybe 25 panels here with just no background, but there are a lot with background; it is only a little annoying in spots.
I am just going to say that the cover to this issue is bad; I can see what they were going for but a black and white blurry zoom on Professor X's weird cranium on a white background is not really working for me.
In this issue Danger beats the crap out of the X-Men, and then Professor X shows up, ready to put her down.
The frame story with Danger and Xavier is perfect. Professor X is one of my favorite comic book characters, and I love it when he gets to be a bad-ass. Cassaday keeps the tension high by showing a series of even sized close-ups until the final page; Whedon keeps the exchanges almost Western in simplicity, and ends with Xavier's wonderfully confident "I am incalculable ... You've fought the X-men a thousand times, a million in your mind. But you've never fought me." Maybe one of the great Charles Xavier moments. The shot of him in efficient black combat gear, in a giant stone wheelchair, is awesome.
The main part of the issue itself has some problems, however. I am not in love with Danger's "The thing I have in common with every dimestore villain these X-Men ever faced: I want to be understood." That is maybe too on the nose, or something, too clear a justification of the villain speech, I think. Eventually, in his old age, Whedon will just have stories where all the characters sit at desks, scripting their own lives complete with stage directions they can say out loud.
And oh dear, you have to be very careful about allusions, intentional or otherwise. Danger is a robot with big boobs and a shapeshifting hand. Where have I seen that before? Oh. Yeah. Terminator 3. When invoking other works a good rule of thumb is to stick to the ones that do not suck outright. Especially if your bad guy already has design problems.
We get a shot of how Danger is thinking, how she processes the fight. This is admittedly not an easy thing to do -- comics, like film, are not great at showing internal states (as novels are). So I have no idea how this could have been improved. But I have no patience for things like text superimposed over Cyclops that reads "92% probability of early frontal attack." Cause computers think like this. No, that is just annoying, and reminds be of Ziggy on Quantum Leap, in a bad way. Danger is a combination of the Fem-Bot from T3 and Ziggy Quantum Leap. Scheesh.
And Danger throws a spike through Kitty and Colossus. The way Cassaday draws this -- and people can say I am wrong about this -- but it seems to me it would be instantly fatal, just because of the size of the spike. And yet you know Whedon is not going to kill off these characters, so the moment just feels like a mistake, a cheap attempt at making me think you are doing something only to take it away next issue. And no I do not care that a healer has already been established in the mansion -- instantly fatal. He would have to be Jesus Christ Man or something to bring back the dead.
But back to the good: There is a great moment when Brand makes fun of a psychic alien, who "senses destruction" when the mansion is clearly blowing up; Whedon reminds us of Brand, Brand's mole, Emma's secret, and of Ord -- this is all going to come together soon, where a lesser writer would have left Ord behind for five years until a dramatic return. There is also a pitch perfect joke in which Cyclops throws Emma at Danger just to do something Danger would not expect.
Cassaday repeat/background watch:Danger gets a double take, then another. Emma gets a triple take; there are maybe 25 panels here with just no background, but there are a lot with background; it is only a little annoying in spots.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Comics Out August 8, 2007
Matt Fraction and Fabio Moon's Casanova #8.
The new issue of Casanova is out, and it is blue, shockingly blue. It was a shade of blue I was not expecting when Fraction sent me the black and whites and told me they would be blue. It is blue-tastic.
It is also the first, and probably last sight of a super-villain (well, not so super to tell the truth) whose name really was was inspired by my name, DOKKKTOR KLOCKHAMMER, appearing here less that two weeks after I finished at Oxford and officially became Doctor Klock. Nice timing Fraction.
Casanova 8 doubles as a great introduction for those that have never read Casanova before -- if you want to jump on, today's the day; Fraction does a great job re-establishing a lot of things without making you feel like he is re-establishing a lot of things. Cause in Casanova exposition, even review-exposition, is always fun. As Fraction himself says in the back-matter, the thing does a needle scratch through the album that is the first seven issues, remixing all of their great stuff in 16 pages. But be warned -- Casanova 8 will make you want to shell out the money for the hard-cover collection of Casanova 1-7.
As for the issue itself. It has a hilarious Dungeons and Dragons reference, a genuinely surprising ending on a couple of levels, and the art is amazing even though it is not by Gabriel Ba, which should not be possible (Fabio Moon is Gabriel Ba's twin brother if you can believe it; and I probably do sometimes) - it has a looseness that goes over well. Fraction (I think) has said that Moon brings the Pope while Ba had the Mignola in his pocket -- that's exactly right. You will love this issue.
Plus: I have seen upcoming issues and read upcoming scripts and I know stacks of secrets and I can promise you that this is going somewhere awesome, somewhere that will rival volume 1.
Buy this issue or something probably bad will happen to you.
Matt Fraction and Ariel Olivetti's Punisher War Journal #10. The White Supremacists Punisher arc comes to an end, white supremacists get the crap beaten out of them (and who does not love to see that -- that's what comics were make to to back when Hitler was setting everything on fire), little Clark really grows as a person and as a killer, and Fraction finds a hell of an ending, a hell of a thing to set between his two main characters. Also the bad guys here have an H-ray generator (hate-rays); what do the bad guys in Casanova have? An H-element generator. Interesting... (Ok, maybe not interesting, but kinda fun.... Remember when you noticed that the Philosopher's stone in Morrison's JLA was the Hand of Glory from the Invisibles -- kinda like that, but with more ... something).
Grant Morrison and J.H. Williams III's Batman #667. This is a lot like Seven Soldiers #0, but slower -- Morrison and J.H. Williams team up to show you a bunch of superhero-losers (including a fat guy), then let loose the killing. There is even an image reminiscent of The Whip on the second to last page of Seven Soldiers 0. It is also a bit like Identity Crisis, with the nostalgia and dire consequences. I loved the two page title spread, Batman's appearance to the group, the two images framed in the hand, and the cruelty of the death, but I am not really feeling on board with this story. I just get annoyed at loser superheroes. It is an easy shot to take? Or I don't care? Something.... Even Williams had as many snoozer images as knockouts. Morrison's Batman is just not doing it for me, even with one of the best artists around.
AND
Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon's Sugershock (Online, and for free) #1. Oh, this is a lot of fun, and Fabio Moon is just the right guy to draw this -- Cassaday is great, but I think Whedon benefits from someone more lose and energetic. You have to give Moon a lot of credit-- this guy knows how to pick who to work with. He is having a great week -- not long ago I did not know who he was and now I love him twice over. Girls, robots, rock bands, awesome. [I was told about this by a commenter a while ago, but was too busy to notice; then Alex Su reminded me today. Two quick questions -- what is the home-page for this and is there a way of being alerted when the new issue comes out so I don't miss it? I mean I know you guys will tell me, and please do, but still...]
Nothing in comics new jumped out at me.
Review, recommend, and discuss this week's comics and comics news.
The new issue of Casanova is out, and it is blue, shockingly blue. It was a shade of blue I was not expecting when Fraction sent me the black and whites and told me they would be blue. It is blue-tastic.
It is also the first, and probably last sight of a super-villain (well, not so super to tell the truth) whose name really was was inspired by my name, DOKKKTOR KLOCKHAMMER, appearing here less that two weeks after I finished at Oxford and officially became Doctor Klock. Nice timing Fraction.
Casanova 8 doubles as a great introduction for those that have never read Casanova before -- if you want to jump on, today's the day; Fraction does a great job re-establishing a lot of things without making you feel like he is re-establishing a lot of things. Cause in Casanova exposition, even review-exposition, is always fun. As Fraction himself says in the back-matter, the thing does a needle scratch through the album that is the first seven issues, remixing all of their great stuff in 16 pages. But be warned -- Casanova 8 will make you want to shell out the money for the hard-cover collection of Casanova 1-7.
As for the issue itself. It has a hilarious Dungeons and Dragons reference, a genuinely surprising ending on a couple of levels, and the art is amazing even though it is not by Gabriel Ba, which should not be possible (Fabio Moon is Gabriel Ba's twin brother if you can believe it; and I probably do sometimes) - it has a looseness that goes over well. Fraction (I think) has said that Moon brings the Pope while Ba had the Mignola in his pocket -- that's exactly right. You will love this issue.
Plus: I have seen upcoming issues and read upcoming scripts and I know stacks of secrets and I can promise you that this is going somewhere awesome, somewhere that will rival volume 1.
Buy this issue or something probably bad will happen to you.
Matt Fraction and Ariel Olivetti's Punisher War Journal #10. The White Supremacists Punisher arc comes to an end, white supremacists get the crap beaten out of them (and who does not love to see that -- that's what comics were make to to back when Hitler was setting everything on fire), little Clark really grows as a person and as a killer, and Fraction finds a hell of an ending, a hell of a thing to set between his two main characters. Also the bad guys here have an H-ray generator (hate-rays); what do the bad guys in Casanova have? An H-element generator. Interesting... (Ok, maybe not interesting, but kinda fun.... Remember when you noticed that the Philosopher's stone in Morrison's JLA was the Hand of Glory from the Invisibles -- kinda like that, but with more ... something).
Grant Morrison and J.H. Williams III's Batman #667. This is a lot like Seven Soldiers #0, but slower -- Morrison and J.H. Williams team up to show you a bunch of superhero-losers (including a fat guy), then let loose the killing. There is even an image reminiscent of The Whip on the second to last page of Seven Soldiers 0. It is also a bit like Identity Crisis, with the nostalgia and dire consequences. I loved the two page title spread, Batman's appearance to the group, the two images framed in the hand, and the cruelty of the death, but I am not really feeling on board with this story. I just get annoyed at loser superheroes. It is an easy shot to take? Or I don't care? Something.... Even Williams had as many snoozer images as knockouts. Morrison's Batman is just not doing it for me, even with one of the best artists around.
AND
Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon's Sugershock (Online, and for free) #1. Oh, this is a lot of fun, and Fabio Moon is just the right guy to draw this -- Cassaday is great, but I think Whedon benefits from someone more lose and energetic. You have to give Moon a lot of credit-- this guy knows how to pick who to work with. He is having a great week -- not long ago I did not know who he was and now I love him twice over. Girls, robots, rock bands, awesome. [I was told about this by a commenter a while ago, but was too busy to notice; then Alex Su reminded me today. Two quick questions -- what is the home-page for this and is there a way of being alerted when the new issue comes out so I don't miss it? I mean I know you guys will tell me, and please do, but still...]
Nothing in comics new jumped out at me.
Review, recommend, and discuss this week's comics and comics news.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Other People Who Have Doctorates (Commonplace Book)
In honor of my finishing my doctorate -- and having a super villain name in Doctor Klock -- here is a list of fictional characters that go by Doctor or Professor. The list is from comicbookdb.com. I would also add to the list Dr. Dre (yeah, I know he is not fictional, but still, I am putting him on the list), Doctor Who, Doctor Claw and Matt Fraction's Dokkktor Klockhammer (who makes his first, and probably last, appearance tomorrow). Also Alan Moore, when he was slumming with Rob Liefeld in the 90s gave us a very brief glimpse of an old superhero team Youngblood fought (or an older version of Youngblood fought) which included a character called Dr. Clock (who had a cape, and a clock for a head); this is, oddly, also the name of Heather Graham's character on Scrubs. I have put the standouts, just in terms of cool names, in italics.
Doc (DC)
Doc (Disney)
Doc (G.I. Joe) -
Doc Abstruse
Doc Cyber
Doc Danger (Danger Unlimited)
Doc Horror
Doc Oxford
Doc Samson -
Doc Savage -
Doc Seismic
Doc Strange (Tom Strange) -
Dockles, Herschel
Docteur Q
Doctor, The (14 characters with this name)
Doctor (60s movies), The -
Doctor (Wildstorm) (01), The
Doctor (Wildstorm) (02 - Jeroen Thornedike), The
Doctor (Wildstorm) (03 - Habib Ben Hassan), The
Doctor (Wildstorm) (03 - Renegade), The
Doctor 13, the Ghost-Breaker
Doctor Alchemy (01 - Albert Desmond) -
Doctor Allirog of Earth-S
Doctor Bedlam
Doctor Bong -
Doctor Brain
Doctor Brainard
Doctor Cobra
Doctor Cornelius
Doctor Crocodile
Doctor Cyber
Doctor Darrk -
Doctor Davis
Doctor Death (DC) -
Doctor Death (Marvel)
Doctor Decibel
Doctor Delphi
Doctor Demonicus -
Doctor Destiny
Doctor Diehard
Doctor Doog
Doctor Doom
Doctor Doomsday
Doctor Dorcas -
Doctor Double X
Doctor Druid -
Doctor Eclipse
Doctor Evil of Earth-1
Doctor Fate (01 - Kent Nelson) -
Doctor Fate (02 - Eric & Linda Strauss) -
Doctor Fate (03 - Inza Nelson)
Doctor Fate (04 - Hector Hall) -
Doctor Faustus
Doctor Gittelsohn
Doctor Glitternight
Doctor Gotham
Doctor Gym'll
Doctor Hastings
Doctor Hayward
Doctor Hibbert
Doctor Hypno
Doctor Impossible
Doctor Jace (DC)
Doctor Janus
Doctor Juris
Doctor Kilgore (Milestone)
Doctor Kocohm -
Doctor Leofrix
Doctor Light (01)
Doctor Light (02 - Jacob Finlay)
Doctor Light I (Arthur Light) -
Doctor Light II (Kimiyo Hoshi) -
Doctor Manhatthan -
Doctor Manx
Doctor Mayavale
Doctor Mid-Nite (01 - Charles McNider) -
Doctor Mid-Nite (02 - Pieter Anton Cross)
Doctor Midas
Doctor Midnight -
Doctor Mime
Doctor Minerva -
Doctor Mirage
Doctor Mist
Doctor Moon
Doctor Morlo
Doctor Nemesis
Doctor Nick
Doctor Nirvana
Doctor No
Doctor Occult (Earth-2) -
Doctor Occult (Post-Crisis)
Doctor Octopus (01 - Otto Octavius) -
Doctor Octopus (Ultimate)
Doctor Pangea
Doctor Phosphorous -
Doctor Poison (02)
Doctor Polaris -
Doctor Potsam
Doctor Psycho (post-Crisis) -
Doctor Regulus
Doctor Regulus (post-Zero Hour)
Doctor Riddle
Doctor Rigoro Mortis
Doctor Shrivel
Doctor Silk
Doctor Sivana of the post-Crisis Earth -
Doctor Solar
Doctor Sparta
Doctor Spectro
Doctor Spectrum (01 - Kinji Obatu)
Doctor Spectrum (02 - Joe Ledger)
Doctor Spectrum (03 - MAX)
Doctor Spectrum (04 - Martha Gomes)
Doctor Spectrum (05 - Alice Nugent)
Doctor Spectrum (Billy Roberts)
Doctor Spin
Doctor Stasheff
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strangefate
Doctor Sun -
Doctor Tambura -
Doctor Tolstoy
Doctor Tyme
Doctor Tzin-Tzin
Doctor U'bx
Doctor Venom
Doctor Verlag
Doctor Voodoo of Earth-S
Doctor X
Doctor Yamashita
Doctor Zodiac
Dr. Adele Burkhart -
Dr. Cassandra Knox -
Dr. Cyclops
Dr. Mindbender -
Dr. Rachel Steel
Dr. Reinstein
Dr. Rocket
Dr. Trap -
Dr. Venom -
Professor Appel (Crimson Guards) -
Professor Fallout
Professor Flutesnoot
Professor Fortune
Professor Frink
Professor Garbanzo -
Professor Harbinger
Professor Ivo
Professor Killgrave
Professor Kox
Professor Merlin
Professor Nutjob
Professor Power -
Professor Prometheus
Professor Radium
Professor Riggles
Professor Universe of Earth-S
Professor X
Professor Zodiak
Professor Zoom (01 - Reverse-Flash) -
Professor, The
I will also add to this list all the members of The Surgery, a throway team from Warren Ellis's Nextwave: Doctor Injectable, Doctor Nosexy, Doctor Meatball and Doctor Headless.
Now all I have to do is get knighted, like Sir Mix-A-Lot.
Doc (DC)
Doc (Disney)
Doc (G.I. Joe) -
Doc Abstruse
Doc Cyber
Doc Danger (Danger Unlimited)
Doc Horror
Doc Oxford
Doc Samson -
Doc Savage -
Doc Seismic
Doc Strange (Tom Strange) -
Dockles, Herschel
Docteur Q
Doctor, The (14 characters with this name)
Doctor (60s movies), The -
Doctor (Wildstorm) (01), The
Doctor (Wildstorm) (02 - Jeroen Thornedike), The
Doctor (Wildstorm) (03 - Habib Ben Hassan), The
Doctor (Wildstorm) (03 - Renegade), The
Doctor 13, the Ghost-Breaker
Doctor Alchemy (01 - Albert Desmond) -
Doctor Allirog of Earth-S
Doctor Bedlam
Doctor Bong -
Doctor Brain
Doctor Brainard
Doctor Cobra
Doctor Cornelius
Doctor Crocodile
Doctor Cyber
Doctor Darrk -
Doctor Davis
Doctor Death (DC) -
Doctor Death (Marvel)
Doctor Decibel
Doctor Delphi
Doctor Demonicus -
Doctor Destiny
Doctor Diehard
Doctor Doog
Doctor Doom
Doctor Doomsday
Doctor Dorcas -
Doctor Double X
Doctor Druid -
Doctor Eclipse
Doctor Evil of Earth-1
Doctor Fate (01 - Kent Nelson) -
Doctor Fate (02 - Eric & Linda Strauss) -
Doctor Fate (03 - Inza Nelson)
Doctor Fate (04 - Hector Hall) -
Doctor Faustus
Doctor Gittelsohn
Doctor Glitternight
Doctor Gotham
Doctor Gym'll
Doctor Hastings
Doctor Hayward
Doctor Hibbert
Doctor Hypno
Doctor Impossible
Doctor Jace (DC)
Doctor Janus
Doctor Juris
Doctor Kilgore (Milestone)
Doctor Kocohm -
Doctor Leofrix
Doctor Light (01)
Doctor Light (02 - Jacob Finlay)
Doctor Light I (Arthur Light) -
Doctor Light II (Kimiyo Hoshi) -
Doctor Manhatthan -
Doctor Manx
Doctor Mayavale
Doctor Mid-Nite (01 - Charles McNider) -
Doctor Mid-Nite (02 - Pieter Anton Cross)
Doctor Midas
Doctor Midnight -
Doctor Mime
Doctor Minerva -
Doctor Mirage
Doctor Mist
Doctor Moon
Doctor Morlo
Doctor Nemesis
Doctor Nick
Doctor Nirvana
Doctor No
Doctor Occult (Earth-2) -
Doctor Occult (Post-Crisis)
Doctor Octopus (01 - Otto Octavius) -
Doctor Octopus (Ultimate)
Doctor Pangea
Doctor Phosphorous -
Doctor Poison (02)
Doctor Polaris -
Doctor Potsam
Doctor Psycho (post-Crisis) -
Doctor Regulus
Doctor Regulus (post-Zero Hour)
Doctor Riddle
Doctor Rigoro Mortis
Doctor Shrivel
Doctor Silk
Doctor Sivana of the post-Crisis Earth -
Doctor Solar
Doctor Sparta
Doctor Spectro
Doctor Spectrum (01 - Kinji Obatu)
Doctor Spectrum (02 - Joe Ledger)
Doctor Spectrum (03 - MAX)
Doctor Spectrum (04 - Martha Gomes)
Doctor Spectrum (05 - Alice Nugent)
Doctor Spectrum (Billy Roberts)
Doctor Spin
Doctor Stasheff
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strangefate
Doctor Sun -
Doctor Tambura -
Doctor Tolstoy
Doctor Tyme
Doctor Tzin-Tzin
Doctor U'bx
Doctor Venom
Doctor Verlag
Doctor Voodoo of Earth-S
Doctor X
Doctor Yamashita
Doctor Zodiac
Dr. Adele Burkhart -
Dr. Cassandra Knox -
Dr. Cyclops
Dr. Mindbender -
Dr. Rachel Steel
Dr. Reinstein
Dr. Rocket
Dr. Trap -
Dr. Venom -
Professor Appel (Crimson Guards) -
Professor Fallout
Professor Flutesnoot
Professor Fortune
Professor Frink
Professor Garbanzo -
Professor Harbinger
Professor Ivo
Professor Killgrave
Professor Kox
Professor Merlin
Professor Nutjob
Professor Power -
Professor Prometheus
Professor Radium
Professor Riggles
Professor Universe of Earth-S
Professor X
Professor Zodiak
Professor Zoom (01 - Reverse-Flash) -
Professor, The
I will also add to this list all the members of The Surgery, a throway team from Warren Ellis's Nextwave: Doctor Injectable, Doctor Nosexy, Doctor Meatball and Doctor Headless.
Now all I have to do is get knighted, like Sir Mix-A-Lot.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men 9
[This post is part of a series of posts looking issue by issue at Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men run. For more of the same click the Astonishing X-Men link at the bottom of this post.]
In the danger room Wing gives weird speeches, and the X-Men attack, releasing the Danger Room in humanoid form.
"This being has power we can't fathom, and all it has ever known in violence." This is a persuasive point, and justifies Whedon's idea of a sentient danger room. Whedon adds some stuff about consciousness and contradiction and finding yourself in the contradiction which is actually pretty good, I think, though I do not know much about the science of consciousness and language. It sounded pretty good, which is all that matters here. And the contradiction Whedon imagines makes sense: we thought the danger room was programed not to kill, but Whedon's idea is that is was programed to kill and then had a separate parent program that prevented it from killing -- hence the anger, aggression, and the feeling of being trapped. This is pretty good stuff, well thought through.
Two problems here, though. The first may not really be a problem, and I need to check it to be sure, but Chris Bachalo drew an arc of Uncanny in which Cerebro became sentient, then came back to kill the X-Men. I expect, and like, major plots like Return to Weapon X and Days of Future Past to be returned to again and again in different versions. That is inevitable, and good, as I explained in the context of Morrison. I am less sure what to say, and what to think, about a doubling of a minor earlier story with no real acknowledgement. That seems to leave allusion and revision behind for less reputable modes of memory. Or is could just be inevitable that stuff like this happens in a comic book that has been around for more than forty years, and it is no big deal.
Problem number two? As everyone pointed out at the time the Danger Room -- Danger from here out -- has dreadlocks. Now the word dreadlocks refers to the dread of god Rastafarians have; they do not cut their hair because of a biblical commandment. This fits in with the religious stuff the religious stuff Danger has been spouting. But it does not do much about the fact that Danger is a bit of a design disaster. She is at boring and a bit silly when something awe-inspiring is needed. It has other problems too, which I will talk about next time, as it comes up.
Cassaday repeat/background watch. Wolverine gets a zoom, the X-plane gets a double take, Wing gets a double take. The X-Men spend time in a blank grey space, much of the danger room is a blank red space, which morphs into blank blue space. Enough of the panels have a background, or assorted details, to make the empty ones acceptable. Cassaday does some cool stuff here, before the reveal of Danger.
In the danger room Wing gives weird speeches, and the X-Men attack, releasing the Danger Room in humanoid form.
"This being has power we can't fathom, and all it has ever known in violence." This is a persuasive point, and justifies Whedon's idea of a sentient danger room. Whedon adds some stuff about consciousness and contradiction and finding yourself in the contradiction which is actually pretty good, I think, though I do not know much about the science of consciousness and language. It sounded pretty good, which is all that matters here. And the contradiction Whedon imagines makes sense: we thought the danger room was programed not to kill, but Whedon's idea is that is was programed to kill and then had a separate parent program that prevented it from killing -- hence the anger, aggression, and the feeling of being trapped. This is pretty good stuff, well thought through.
Two problems here, though. The first may not really be a problem, and I need to check it to be sure, but Chris Bachalo drew an arc of Uncanny in which Cerebro became sentient, then came back to kill the X-Men. I expect, and like, major plots like Return to Weapon X and Days of Future Past to be returned to again and again in different versions. That is inevitable, and good, as I explained in the context of Morrison. I am less sure what to say, and what to think, about a doubling of a minor earlier story with no real acknowledgement. That seems to leave allusion and revision behind for less reputable modes of memory. Or is could just be inevitable that stuff like this happens in a comic book that has been around for more than forty years, and it is no big deal.
Problem number two? As everyone pointed out at the time the Danger Room -- Danger from here out -- has dreadlocks. Now the word dreadlocks refers to the dread of god Rastafarians have; they do not cut their hair because of a biblical commandment. This fits in with the religious stuff the religious stuff Danger has been spouting. But it does not do much about the fact that Danger is a bit of a design disaster. She is at boring and a bit silly when something awe-inspiring is needed. It has other problems too, which I will talk about next time, as it comes up.
Cassaday repeat/background watch. Wolverine gets a zoom, the X-plane gets a double take, Wing gets a double take. The X-Men spend time in a blank grey space, much of the danger room is a blank red space, which morphs into blank blue space. Enough of the panels have a background, or assorted details, to make the empty ones acceptable. Cassaday does some cool stuff here, before the reveal of Danger.
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