Is too! Is not!
Young Bill Young here. This is from Michael Kupperman’s first volume of his collected Tales Designed to Thrizzle comics. And a sort of coda to yesterday’s post:
Sadie’s due back next week. It’s been a blast!
Dear Billy, Please Read This
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Young Bill Young here. My friends have basically two reactions to my recent rediscovery of comic books and graphic works. They either think it’s cool, or kinda odd. The ones who think it’s odd may have trouble envisioning a satisfactory reading experience from those glossy, colorful covers that stare out of the shelves at comic book shops and bookstores. The ones who think it’s cool may also not appreciate all the rewards that can come from the genre. But graphic works can be every bit as rewarding as traditional literature. Yes, I said “literature.”
Case in point: Garth Ennis’s Dear Billy, the second three-issue arc of his WWII Battlefields series of comics. Dear Billy is like reading an exquisite, life-changing short story. You know, the kind where you put the book down and take a deep breath, amazed at the talent of the author, perhaps startled by something you’ve learned about the human condition, and then composing yourself so you can get on with life.
Like all good literature, it weaves the big themes into the lives of protagonists we come to care about—in this case, a nurse who suffers rape and attempted execution by the Japanese in Singapore, and the wounded flying ace named Billy who she comes to love.
It ends as it must end, even though we’re surprised, even though we should have seen it coming. And like all good literature, it demands a discussion of its themes and characters. Dear Billy. Please read this. Then we’ll talk.
Webcomic Wednesday – It’s the Man of Steel!
Young Bill Young here. From the USA Today website:
“Every week, usatoday.com will feature a new episode of the Superman serial running in Wednesday Comics, a weekly collection of 15 newspaper-sized comic strips from DC Comics. The complete package is on sale every Wednesday for $3.99 at comic book shops.”
We’re already into week five of a twelve-week run of Superman, but you haven’t missed anything. USA Today still has the earlier comic strips up. Start your Superman web adventure here!
(By the by: If you’re on a Mac, use the Safari browser. Firefox totally didn’t work for me.)
A Rapturous Break-Up
Young Bill Young here. Sadie’s out of town this week, so I’m helming the blog. Let’s get started…
Girl meets boy. It’s love! Girl loses boy. Girl gets on plane to the left coast. While girl is in the air, the warring factions of Earth’s superpowers have a final battle, destroying themselves and devastating civilization. Girl calls boy on her cell phone to profess love and forgiveness right before all communications go down. Girl is visited by a spectral figure called “The Word” who gives girl a powerful sword to avenge the innocents against the cruelty (cannibalism!) that is emerging in the wake of the apocalypse. Girl strikes a deal: she’ll become this avenging angel if it means she can be reunited with boy. But girl will have to do a lot of slaying to get her man back. Total kewlness.
And that’s just the first issue of Dark Horse Comics’ new series Rapture. Dark Horse calls the story the “worst break-up ever.” Ya think?
Honestly, issue two was a let down after the superb set-up, but I’m not giving up hope… yet.
Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that boy plays guitar and writes songs. Follow Rapture on MySpace and hear boy sing a song! Total kewlness.
And don’t confuse our heroine with this different Rapture. Plus, if you’re intrigued by sword-weilding females, check out the Luna Brothers’ The Sword.
Webcomic Wednesday
Young Bill Young here. This is how I felt when I bought the first incarnation of The Sims. ‘Nuf sed!
Groom Lake
Young Bill Young here. I’m holding down the blog for several days while Sadie and family prepare for the arrival of little Leo.
First up: Groom Lake. What if all of those Hollywood aliens really existed? You know, the ETs, the little grey men with goggle eyes, the insatiable blob, and that scary robot from “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” Well, in Chris Ryall’s and Ben Templesmith’s new IDW comic title, they do! They all reside in a secret base located under a dry Nevada lake bed known as Groom Lake. (It’s real by the way. Uh… the topographical feature, I mean, not necessarily the secret base. Although the real Groom Lake is located right next to Area 51, and, well, you know how people talk about “that” place!)
Seems the government makes sure there are Hollywood movies about these real aliens for public consumption. That way, when people start describing real alien encounters they just come off as crazy. (You bin watchin’ too many o’ them sci-fi picture shows!)
Two issues have been released, and the story is quite a wild ride. It’s funny and warped as all get out. And there’s a mystery: are the government officials and aliens working together for the good of the planet, or for the destruction of life as we know it?
The best character has to be Archibald, the little grey alien that crash landed in Roswell in 1947. He’s practically immortal, doesn’t need to eat or sleep, can’t have sex because he doesn’t have the parts; and yet he is obsessed with smoking, partying and all things carnal.
There’s more to read on the web (duh!) if you’re interested. . .
Ryall & Templesmith Want to Believe in Groom Lake from Cup o’ Joe
Going to Groom Lake with IDW’s Ryall and Templesmith from Newsarama
Go forth! The truth is out, er, under there!
Archie Loves Veronica
As if there was ever any doubt.
Now it’s official. Archie will ask Veronica to marry him. That’s coming from CNN no less! The Archie comics and I go way back. I took them to family summer camp. I would go back and forth between Betty and Veronica, a lot like Archie did. Though I never understood why the two girls would fight over him when, hello? REGGIE!!!
Why “Sex and the City” should never be a template
I don’t hate Sex and the City so much as squirm uncomfortably when it comes on. Although, I don’t exactly change the channel. Because some things are funny and because I feel the need to figure out just what the hell people mean when they declare themselves “a Carrie” – as if it’s a badge of honor. There’s no denying the show made some kind of cultural impact but my god, enough already!
Then you get this:
We fight crime and have bad taste in men - tee hee!
There’s a lively discussion going on over at Comic Book Resources about the new Marvel Divas that promises to be:
“Sex and the City” in the Marvel Universe, and there’s definitely that “naughty” element to it, but I also think the series is doing to a deeper place, asking question about what it means…truly means…to be a woman in an industry dominated by testosterone and guns. (And I mean both the super hero industry and the comic book industry.) But mostly it’s just a lot of hot fun.”
Wow. Really? A lot of hot fun? Cause last I checked working in a male dominated field wasn’t so much “hot fun” as “cold shoulder” but whatever. It may actually be an interesting endeavor with a terrible pitch. After all, one of the reason I really like X-Men is because the interpersonal relationships are more fleshed out than, say, Batman.
But here’s why they shouldn’t use “Sex and the City” as a template or model.
1. The endearing quality of Sex and the City was NEVER about the characters as they appeared on paper. If you were to describe each of these characters most women would cringe. An aging sex kitten who uses her sexuality to get ahead in her career to little or no success? But the actresses who played these characters gave them heart, a silliness or awareness that I think translated to the screen. It wasn’t the characters themselves women related to but the what the actresses made them.
2. Fashion is central and spandex is soooo not there. Spandex has never been there.
3. Sex and the City is inherently irritating to most people. The grating whininess of selfish women will get on even the most “a Charolette”’s nerves. So this series can’t last very long.
4. Sex and the City wasn’t hot fun. If they really want to use the Sex and the City model then the sex needs to be awkward, drunken and hidden by strategically placed bed posts. Lame.
So I’m not against giving the Marvel superheroines romantic lives or exploring the concept of “what being a woman means” (barf, ok I am against that because it’s somewhat insulting to suggest that being a woman means constantly surrounded by this weird mystique that separates you from the “norm” despite being half of all populations in the world) – sorry, ok back on track – I’m not against Marvel Divas (oh god the title is just terrible, worse than Minx) -
One more time here, I really and truly am not against this idea. But please please Marvel do NOT use the Sex and the City template. If you are going to go that route, take note that all of the City ladies were a B cup or smaller.
Though a really interesting side story might be the decision to get surgically altered to better fit into the superhero world…
Elliot Stabler is the Green Lantern!
The New Green Initiative | Graphic Novel Reporter - New Green Lantern cartoon movie coming to DVD!
The above article includes an interview with Chris Meloni, or as I like to call him angry Elliot Stabler. You may also recognize his name from Harold and Kumar go to White Castle - yes, that was him!!
He sounds all excited about the prospect of voicing a superhero, “You become a kid again. I’m doing what my five-year-old son does in his bedroom. Only I get paid for it. That makes it even more fun.”
I think Meloni is a great choice. He’s got a strong voice but it isn’t too deep (think Batman) or too unsure (think Superman) or too high (think Spiderman).
Green Lantern is certainly getting a lot of attention. I read the beautifully illustrated and mythos heavy Sinestro Corps War. I was confused, it’s true, but enjoyed it none the less.
Nickelodeon Magazine announces Comic winners
The children have spoken and here’s what they say – Nickelodeon Magazine – Nicktoon Comics.
I’m really pleased to see that so many kids are enjoying Diary of a Wimpy Kid! I chuckled at the Simpsons win too.
