Mind Mgmt # 2

You're high if you're not reading Mind Mgmt. Matt Kindt is putting out one of the most entertaining and engaging comics that is in stores right now. Mind Mgmt really dares the reader to pull at any and all threads of the tapestry that is being woven from page to page.


Its a mystery that surrounds a flight where all of its passengers, save for one, lose their memory mid-flight. Two years after the incident, Meru, a true crime writer, decides to break out of her sophomore slumb by investigating the strange disappearance of a particular passenger on the plane. Things get hairy when Meru runs into CIA agents and the 'Immortals' that are after both parties. Surrounding all of this, we are slowly introduced to members of Mind Mgmt, a clandestine group of psychics whose origins are tied to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand from the Great War. 


Bits and pieces regarding the Mind Mgmt and their motivations are given to the readers in the form of 2 page strips on the inside of the front and back cover and on the last pages of the book. The back cover of each issues teases one part of a six-part numeric code that will unlock a message at www.mattkindt.com/mind¹. And on every page of the main story, there is a line from a Mind Mgmt Field Guide, providing instructions to an agent which are related, if only sometimes tangentially, to the panels of that page.


For most of this issue, the protagonists are running from the Immortals, all while finding more questions than answers. Meru runs into the first member of Mind Mgmt, Perrier, one of two psychic twins, who appears to be mentally controled to peck away at a type-writer, producing cryptic messages which speak to Meru in a peculiar way. There's a suicide. 'The Futurist', Jake Duncan (who was introduced in the case file excerpt from Mind Mgmt # 1) makes an appearance where he ruminates over the course of events that took place in the issue for a brief moment before citing his retirement as a reason for staying out of it all.


Mind Mgmt is interesting, odd duck of a book. Kindt delivers a story that seems like a simple enough mystery that only gets more and more confusing the more you look into it. Who are the Mind Mgmt? Who are the Immortals? What type of strange game have Meru and her companion from the CIA, Bill, unwittingly found themselves playing a part of? What do these fake ads for 'Mindjuice' and 'Clearhed' on the back of every issue have to do with the story inside? And what comic creator is going show up next month in the letters column, spouting off who knows what kind of nonsense?


Its a fun, well executed romp that you should be reading today. Period.


¹ As of the date of this posting, the URL is serving up a GoDaddy 404 page right now. I imagine that will change once the 6th issue has come out. 

I got nothing

I'm sorry. I have neglected my blobligations. I'm like that friend that you really want to hang out with that never returns your calls. Its not because I stopped liking you, it just that I've been BUSY.

Honestly.

I blame it all on the band. In case you did not know, I'm in band called Secret Wars. Its loud, obnoxious crap that most of you probably out grew sometime in the early 90's. And yes, its called Secret Wars. It was either that or Robocop A Feel, which we declined to use due to copyright reasons. We've had 4 shows in the past week with 3 more to go between now and next monday. Playing this many shows this close together is a new thing for us so its kind of taking its toll on me. Add in the extra 2 or 3 hours that band members spend after the show picking up on not so good looking chicks(except Sparky! Dude finally came up!) and there have been quite a few late week nights that I could do without.

Other than that, not much comic book reading. I picked up the Other Side which just read like an algamation of every good Vietnam movie thrown into one. Despite that complaint, the last few pages redeemed the whole thing for me. In non-comic book reading news, I'm making my way through Joseph Heller's Good As Gold. Its an interesting book takes Catch 22 and throws it into the realm of Politicians and Family. Its good, but not AMAZING. After I get through this, I think I am either going to pick up some more Chabon or Lethem. Sure, its hipster reading, but its so damn good.

Well, that's all I got. Just wanted to say hey. What's new with all of yous?

Live Antholobloggin!

Today, for the first time....EV-ER! I, Spencer D. Carnage will be bringing YOU, the fearless reader(s), Live Antholoblogging. For those that are curious as to what exactly Live Antholoblogging is, please consort with the Live Antholoblogging FAQ:

Q: What is Live Antholoblogging?
A: Live Antholoblogging is where I read a comic book anthology and blog to you, LIVE, about the whole thing. Its kind of like blogging the Oscars but not as boring or "Been there, done that, yawn"-ish. In other words, its groundbreakingly awesome.

Work's slow so I thought I'd treat you guy(s). Today we are going to Live Antholoblog New Reliable Press's you ain't no dancer vol. 2 which was released towards the end of the last year that I picked up two months ago at APE. Let's dive in, shall we?



11:10 AM 6/4/2007
Let's take a look at the cover. That's Jeffrey Brown throwing down a picture of a kid getting pinned to ground. Oh nos!, that beetle's gonna get yo 'shit! Eh, I'm not a big fan of Mr. Brown's work, but I like the concept that he's got going on here.

11:11 AM 6/4/2007
"A Recipe For Youth" by Hope Larson. 2 pages of nice things that you should touch in order to stay young. It starts out with a purring cat which is thumbs up in my book! I could make some joke about how a woman's hoo hoo is not on the list, but I won't.

11:13 AM 6/4/2007
"Puzzles" by Meg Hunt. Another little story about the nostalgia of our youth as incited by doing puzzles when you are older. See? Even indie artists nerds are all about nostalgic. I bet you Meg's all "The crosswords in Garfield's Crossword Extraganza from 1985 were so much better than the ones they got in those wack ass Spongebob puzzle books..." Right?

11:15 AM 6/4/2007
"Enormous" by Patrick Murphy. Okay. Some big ass ol monster comes up to a some kid's house, which prompts this small child to climb up the monster's back and fall asleep. While sleeping, guess what the monster does? EATS HIS HOUSE. Got a nice chuckle out of me, so it's all good in the hood, G. Yeah.

11:17 AM 6/4/2007
"Weatherlad" by Weatherwise. Finally! Some of those stupid super heroes that I hate/love/hate so much! Wait a second...this isn't a super hero story. Its about a nerd that likes super heroes being forced to ask girl out! Now that's Science Fiction if I ever saw it. Nicely done, Mr. Weatherwise, even if there's no one getting punched out or being forced to Register or else!....

11:20 AM 6/4/2007
"Those Were The Days" Mitch Clem is funny. One page, six panels, all about the agony of being a teenager. I think Mitch has voyeuristic access to my youth as an awkward hessian turned punk rock adolescent, sans the hilarious alcoholic father.

11:22 AM 6/4/2007
Ugh... duty calls! BRB!

11:24 AM 6/4/2007
Ok, I'm back. Where was I? Oh yeah, Mitch Clem. Good stuff! Next!

11:24 AM 6/4/2007
"Chimney Preference" by Jeffrey Brown. Umm. I don't really like Jeffrey Brown. Everything I've read is just super whiny emo crappity crap comics. He can't really draw and his life does not seem interesting enough for me to want to read about it. That what he does, auto-bio comics right? Yeah, not fan. This two pager just recounts some childhood thing he did, which is miles better than the young adult to adult things he does, but so what? First crappy strip of the book. Let's hope that's all we gotta deal with.

11:27 AM 6/4/2007
"Michael Redhead" by Jordyn Bochon. Let me tell you something. I am a redhead. More of a reddish-brown head, but still pretty much a red head. As a red head I have a confession to make: I don't really like other redheads. It like showing up at prom and someone else is wearing the exact same dress. Now there are exceptions, but for the most part, if you got red hair, I don't want anything to do with you. In this strip, we briefly analyze the down-trodden childhood life of Michael Redhead and then state that we don't know what happened to him after some presumed escape from our lives in highschool. Who cares? He's a stupid ass ginger that's probably trading tricks for rocks. Good riddance to bad rubbish! The art in this one is really good though. Thank god it was in black & white. Don't wanna flare up like a bull looking at Michael Redhead's flame orange hair. God!

11:31 AM 6/4/2007
"Indian Princess" by Colleen MacIssac. One page strip about two friends that want to dress up as indian princesses. Of course, the honky girl shows up as a native american. (The other girl was actually Indian.) Stupid white people! They're # 2 on the list of people I hate, right below mother fuggin' redheads!

11:33 AM 6/4/2007
More work stuff. Hold up.

11:36 AM 6/4/2007
Alright. Next we have "When I grew up" by Liz Prince. This falls in line with that same Jeffrey Brown rant, artistically speaking. The punch line isn't as bad, but I'm not running out to buy any of her work anytime soon.

11:37 AM 6/4/2007
"Overcompensating Babies: 1988-Lunch Special" by Jeffrey Rowland. Its a bunch of white kids running around, talking ebonics and going on about lunches and Yo! Mtv Raps. The improper use of Street Knowledge can be a bit cliche, but it works here. So far the longest story at 7 pages.

11:40 AM 6/4/2007
"Of Course, Of Course, Of Course" by K Thor. Jensen. Oh, see that's what I like. Some indie artist talking about how when he or she was a kid, that they hoped they would get super powers and now they tell us in their artsy fartsy way how they went about doing it. Haven't read any of K. Thor Jensen's work, but now I'm inclined to do so. Funny stuff he's got going on in here.

11:43 AM 6/4/2007
"The Eve of" by Blaise Laramee. An interesting little look into the world of teenagers after high school going back and doing the stuff they used to do IN highschool. You see the overall theme this anthology's got going on? Its drawn well and doesn't upset me like redheads or Jeffrey Brown so I give it 2 thumbs up. At the end, there's a fade out right after the two girlfriends approach each other, with words "Oh, Yvonne." captioning the fade to black. This take place in a cemetary. Am I an a-hole for assuming this was their first lesbian kiss with each other? Or is Blaise Laramee an a-hole for not showing us the goods? Please don't skimp on the girl-on-girl make out sessions next time, thank-YOU!

11:47 AM 6/4/2007
"Litter" by Grant Reynods. Woah. Show us some cute puppies being taken care by they momma only to show the owner do away with the whole pack. Its beautifully illustrated but harsh. Why you gotta make me all sad?

11:48 AM 6/4/2007
"The Third Cat" by Lilli Carre. Ok, a cat comic. Not so sad anymore. Hold up. Did that guy just break that cat's back just because Mr. Whiskers got a little scratch friendly? Indie comics just want to bum you out and make you feel as miserable as the people doing so. Thanks alot, you underpaid miserable cartoonist!

11:50 AM 6/4/2007
"With Pig Eyes" by Jason Turner. Jason Turner did my Lockjaw & Lockheed sketch, so he's cool even if the story is a little bongo. We get to take yet another trip into someone's past, except this guy seems crazy and wears a pig's head on his head. I like his brush work even if its a little rough.

11:52 AM 6/4/2007
"Sharp Young Minds" by Phil McAndrew. Another fine little 4 page strip. Its got charm and wit, and was drawn like hell. Reminds me a little bit of the art from Where The Wild Things Are. I like it.

11:54 AM 6/4/2007
"Gunplay" by Jeff Bent. An imaginary tale of kids playing "war" that's pretty funny. Playing "war" as a kid was the best. Except for when Kevin played. Kevin was the neighborhood nerd that was always getting whooped by whatever powers and/or weapons I devised for myself that day. Right as you were about to lay the smack down, he'd cross his arms across his chest and yell "teleport!" all whinyish. That used to PISS us off. Or he would always come up behind you and "paralyze" you with his "paralyzing touch." Paralyze? Teleport? Please! You wanna play war, you gotta play WAR! There's no teleporting or paralyzing in Energized Bo Staff to Energized Bo Staff combat! Did I tell you that Kevin was also from Missouri that wore Coke bottle glasses? Yeah, he was pretty lame.

11:57 AM 6/4/2007
"Fanboy Meets The Wooly Bear" by Dalton Webb. Fangboy vs. Wooly Bear over the last fig. Fangboy wins. And that's about all I can say for this one. Next!

11:58 AM 6/4/2007
"Sled" by Jon Sukarangsan. Kids go sledding and run into the Goddess of Fate who inquires into the death defying nature of children. Its fairy tale-ish. And stuff. Drawn very well, too.

12:00 PM 6/4/2007
"Books Before Bed" by Graham Kahler. Another pleasant little romp into the fantasy land of children. I think.....? Decent, but whatever.

12:04 PM 6/4/2007
"A Fifth Hole Adventure" by Fred Grisolm and Jamie DeeGaleey. This one's good. Two guys get attached to each other by two umbilical cords which eventually shatters all of reality. A nice little commentary on gay marriage in showing how stupid people are when they talk as of allowing gay marriage to take place will ruin life as we know it. Why you gotta be all oppressive and shit, dang ol' homophobic straight people?

12:07 PM 6/4/2007
"Untitled" by Dalton Sharp. Another good little strip. Just a bunch of panoramic glimpses into the various different generations of young adults, starting in the 40s that ends with a post-apocalyptic future. Sometimes I wish that society would just get over itself and just destroy itself. Then I could outfit my Civic with steel plates and gun turrets and call it the UnCivic. Don't be trying to steal gas from me unless you want a crossbow to the skull!

12:12 PM 6/4/2007
"Up Til Now" by Neil Babra. And we finish off with a wordless montage of life, love, and heartbreak. Neil Barba sure can draw. It gets a little weird and metaphysical half way through, but then again, what is love without a little bit of metaphysical squid tentacles coming at you to illustrate your broken heart? Its stupid, that's what it is.

And that's it. Our first foray into Live Anthoblogging! I feel kind of exhausted and tired after all that. Maybe this wasn't the best anthology to try this little experiment out with because of the shortness of all the stories. Then again, most anthologies are like that. Short and sometimes sweet.

Damn. How the hell could a person do this for the god awful Oscars or American Idol is beyond me.

If you only buy one comic book this week...

Make sure its called Shaolin Cowboy # 7. It rarely makes any sense, comes out every 3 to 4 months and is completely hilarious. If you buy 7 comics this week, get Shaolin Cowboy issues 1 through 6 as well. Once you meet that quota, you can buy all the Countdowns and Hulk Super Fight comics you want.

The Spirit and Criminal

Ok. So I have been enjoying Mr. Cooke's newest iteration of The Spirit up until the last few issues. Let's talk about this, shall we?

First three issues? Great, great stuff. Last three issues, not so much. # 4 wasn't all that horrible, but 5 & 6? Pure crap. Blue? Spirit Beans? After reading both issues last night, I was curious exactly how much of those stories were reworked versions of Eisner's source material. This early in the game, I am quite sure that they are just that. Are the originals that bad as well?

And Mr. Cooke's art doesn't have the same Pop! for me that it did in New Frontier. Maybe when he is walking the super hero beat, the work shines. Cooke's semi-urban gritty pulp noir stuff doesn't seem to sit too well in my aesthetic nether-regions. Same can be said for his work on Batman Ego. Cooke can still draw himself some pretty girls, though. However, 6 issues in and I am dropping it. To see such a decline in quality does amuse me at all.

I also got a chance to read Brubaker and Phillip's Coward trade for their Criminal Series. I bought the first issue then decided on waiting for the trade. Its good, but its not amazing. Thinking back to their Sleeper work, it took a couple rereads for me to really enjoy it. Criminal works well, but I feel like maybe my standards were set a little high. Then again, this is the first arc which are notorious for lagging a bit. Reviews of issue 6 have been good and I figure now is a good time to give the single issues another shot and see how it goes from there, because, well......its god damn Bru and Phillips!

Serious Literature

From Michael Kupperman's Tales Designed To Thrizzle # 1

SF: APE Sketches

Lockheed & Lockjaw Team-Up by Jason Turner:



Lockjaw by Anders Nilson:



Pretty birdy by Anders Nilson:



I didn't get that many sketches. I did not even think about sketches until I saw "Will Sketch Anything for $1" sign at Jason Turner's table. Then I saw Anders Nilson and asked him to hook me up with another Lockheed & Lockjaw Team-Up. After he did Lockjaw, he decided he had had enough and did that nice little bird. Its fun getting independent comic artists to draw semi-obscure characters from the Big Two. The look of confusion that crosses their face when you say "Lockjaw from the Inhumans" that slowly melts away into understanding after you explain that Lockjaw is that teleporting dog with the fork on his head is worth it alone. Plus, you get a kick ass sketch out of it. Admit it, Anders. You would totally work on some Spider-man if given the chance!

SF: Comics, Booze and a bearded guy named Sparky

A friend and I drove up to San Francisco last weekend so we could attend the Alternative Press Expo. How was it? It was great.

We drove up from Los Angeles friday night only to arrive at Pachoob's house at the wee hours of the night. Upon our arrival, we started drinking and watching Delta Force II. While my friend Sparky started to mess around with a Wii so he could check his myspace, Pachoob and I discussed our mutual disdain towards Warren Ellis's more recent, non-Authority/Planetary/Transmetropolitan work. After some more Wii action, we all passed out, with Sparky having the last word in regards to Pachoob drunk, annoying female roommate. Sparky is only in SF for the girls and Angela didn't make the cut.

Saturday morning comes and Pachoob's friends started to make their way over. Sparky cracks open the first beer at 11:30 AM much to the surprise of everyone. "I'm on the Vay Kay, dudes!" After a little bit of lollygagging, we make our way to the convention. As we enter, we discover a bar to our right. Sparky and a few others quickly make their way over. A half-hour later, I myself am walking around the floor with some Whiskey & Coke, apologizing to all the booths for not having any cash on me to buy their stuff. After some effort, I manage to get directions to an ATM and make a withdrawal.

The Alternative Press Expo is my first comic convention. Thank God. If half the things they say about San Diego and the WizardWorld are true, I think I may stick with the indie crowd. No bad BO, no idiot fanboys, lots of cute girls, and a bar. Everyone I talked to was really friendly. I could have easily spent a whole paycheck on comics if I wanted to. Its hard to approach a booth and not find something you like. I got my hands on a number of mini-comics this way. I met Nate Powell, whose work I have read in the Meathaus 8: Headgames anthology. Anders Nilsen did a couple sketches for me(which I will post later.) I also got a really cool sketch from Jason Turner as well. I did miss Bryan Lee O'Malley and Kevin Huizenga unfortunately. I saw Art Spiegelman talk for a bit. Ran into a kid I know from LA. Sparky had a nice Stranger Than Fiction moment when some cute girl came up to him and told him that he looked just like a character from her comic brought to life. It was a great time. I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I simply forget in the face of so many great comic books. Everyone that came with us to the show walked away with something they liked. Even the non-comic book reading fans such as Sparky enjoyed it.

After the show, we ate and rested. Watching Charm School we found ourselves enamored with the ramblings of Buckwild, occasionally invoking her sage-like wisdom several times through out the day. Night time came and we headed to the bars. We did shots of fernet and danced to 80's music. Sparky, being the Dodger fan that he is, accosted the Giants fans in our group. At some point we made our way home and passed out. We had ourselves some brunch the next day, said our goodbyes to our gracious hosts, and headed back down to LA with a hang over.

I had an awesome time. Pachoob and all his friends were really cool and I look forward to hanging out with them again soon. Sparky himself was as entertaining as ever, whether it was on the dance floor trying to get with chicks or on the car ride home, divulging all sorts of stories about his idiot self. I ran into some old friends that I have not seen in a while. To top it all off, I have a crap load of new comics that I will be making my way through for the next couple of weeks. If you ever get the chance to go to APE, do so. Its a great show with lots of great comics and good people. You can even stay with Pachoob! That dude's got himself a Wii!

Random stuff

I finally finished Kavalier & Clay. What a great book. It took forever and a day because of these dang funny books I be wrasslin' with. If you haven't read it, DO SO NOW.

I also recently read Ander Nilson's Don't Go Where I can't Follow and The End. As the years pass by in this life of mine, I come ever closer to the realization that I am a colossal wuss. At one point, I was reading The End and I choked back a sob. At work. Powerful, intense, and raw. And different. These ain't no super hero books.

Going through some stuff last night, I came across a letter that I had written in the 9th grade ('94) which was to be opened at the end of 12th grade. ('97.) My goals included owning every Image Comic and owning a bass. Needless to say, I do not own every Image Comic. I do own and play a guitar though which in the context of the first goal, is like owning every Image, Ultraverse AND Valiant Comic combined. Take that, failed guitarists!

Also, I came up with a pretty decent pitch for a Cloak & Dagger mini-series. I know, its weird that I would even type that sentence, but it hit me on the 170 freeway awhile back. Like my friend Tony says, it could use a little more high concept to it, but when you have "super heroes gain powers from using drugs", I can't imagine you going more high concept than that. Do I really need to invoke the power of communist samurais that drug traffick in Brazil to sell this thing? No. All I need now is a job in Hollywood and that writing gig is mine.

Last, but not least, APE is two days away. Tomorrow night I am on the midnight train to SF, where the new guitarist and I will be taking up residence on fellow semi-blogger Pachoob's floor. Pachoob, I apologize in advance for the short, bearded guy that will be coming up with me. He's a pistol, but an all around great guy. If you so feel the need to smack him, please do so. He loves that kind of stuff.

Until next time, my comic book loving internet friends..

What I read last week

Army @ Love # 1

I had high hopes for this. I have enjoyed most of the stuff I have read from Rick Vietch and was looking forward to a Vertigo book that seemed as if it would capture some of the 90's Vertigo spirit. Where I am a fan of Veitch's sophisticated work on Swamp Thing and Question, I find myself a little put off by the over-the-top gratituitous nature of his Maximortal and Bratpack. Unfortunately, that is the category that Army @ Love falls into. Soldiers fighting a pointless battle that leads to a pointless sex scene that is being sold as an attempt to advance the plot. Since the plot is a bit weak, it only comes off as empty shock value. And not that shock value for the sake of just being shocking is bad, I was expecting a little bit more. Its only the first issue, so things can definitely turn around. Until it does, I will leave it up to others to figure it out and let me know accordingly.


Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born # 3

On the third issue, Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born has paid off very well. Jae Lee does a fantastic job as always with Richard Isanove complimenting his style perfectly on colors. The script is solid, too. I am a bit of a sucker for that whole post-apocalyptic low tech future setting thanks to quite a few years sitting at a table, rolling dice, and consuming large amounts of Coca-Cola in my teenage years. My friend, who is a huge Dark Tower fan loved the first two issues that I gave to him to read. Myself, I stayed away from Stephen King, due to a series of horrendous straight-to-TV movies that were spat out back in the 90's. I know, its dumb, but that's how do sometimes. But you put a Stephen King book into comic form and sure enough, I will pick it up and read it. That's the power of comics for ya! When this is done, I will probably borrow my friend's books to see what the hoohah is all about.


Iron Fist # 4

Best damn superhero/kung fu book on the shelf. If you are not reading this, you are killing comics. Fraction and Bru are doing a bang up job, with Aja kicking ass on art. And the guest artists are awesome. Whoever thought a dude wearing ballet slippers could be so cool?





Madman Atomic Comics # 1

This is the first Madman comic I have ever read and I want to apologize for that. When I was reading X-men comics, I was sleeping on what is such a fun book. Mike Allred can draw something fierce and his wife does such a great job of polishing it all up for all of us to enjoy. Now I just need to find a way to scrounge up $175 just so I can buy that huge book that's coming out soon. This book is all catch up, which is fine for me because I am totally in the dark about the world of Madman and found myself quite surprised on what has been going on in his neck of the woods. Solid stuff, my friends. Get it!


Brownsville TPB

Jewish gangsters set in 1930's New York. I love the crime genre, but this one takes a lot of the conventions associated with your typical mafia story and replace the italians with jews. And the art. Its not bad, but I could never tell anyone apart from each other. Being in black & white definitely did not help. If you are big on the mobster scene, this might do something for you. If you're smart, you will heed my sage-like advice and pass it up for something with a little more substance and originality.




Ode To Kirihito TPB

This blew me away. An 800 page medical/horror drama from the Godfather of Manga himself, Osamu Tezuka. I read it in two days. The visual tricks alone that Tezuka employs are worth the book alone. The book's style stay well within his classical early Disney influenced style as seen by most in Astro Boy, but breaks away into a more detailed form that jumps closer to photo-realism at just the right moment. This carries a real huge emotional impact at times as issues of racism, fear, and treachery run rampant through out the book. A young doctor goes to investigate a rural japanese village where some of the denizens are mysteriously turning into dog-like humanoids that eventually die. Once he gets there, the adventure and intrigue start up and it keeps going from there. Doctors squabble about the right away to cure the condition while victims confront the world that does not understand them. Things get pretty weird in this book. It suffers slightly from using rape as a motivater for the male protagonists which is the only short-coming of the book. Other than that, its a brilliant piece of work that has got me interested in reading some of Tezuka's other work.

My name is Spencer Carnage and I endorse this website

Fist-a-cuffs. You go now.

Super huh?

Its been, what, a week? Sorry, mis amis.....been straying away from the super hero funny books, trying to get up on the smarty arty tip! You heard correct! I'ma talking about Original Graphic Novellas! Capeless genre excursions! Dirty, ugly crime noir and French Science Fictions! Even Manga! Books with bare boobs in 'em!

COMIX!!!

Its a breathe of fresh air. Let me tell YOU. Right now, I could give two shakes of a lamb's tail about the death of the Living Legend, Captain America. I'll pour my footy out for ya, dawg, but I don't need to pay you no nevermind just because Marvel wants to sell some books!

I have traveled to a world where teenage sex can rearrange your DNA! I stood next to private dick, Jacob Marlowe, while he beat goons up and spit mysognistic game on dames! I was there to witness some drama on the cliff, German stylee!! Like some sick, fetishistic voyeur, I watched Anders Nilson's life fall completely apart!! I traded blows with the Itto Ryu!!!!

I can't tell you how much more I have enjoyed my comic book reading experience when it doesn't involve allusions to Captain America not really being dead or neo-fascoheroism. I think its safe to say that it has affected my blogging a little bit, especially when you stop to consider that I am only good at blogging when it involves some facet of the Marvel U. that I dislike.

Don't worry, though. I'll still be hating! What's the point of being 1 of 6 Marvel bloggers if you ain't gonna complain about it!? Just bear with me, Fearless Readers! I may have been busy lately, but I still be around. I still gotta show you all how the Beyonder parties!

Stay tuned!

Diamond 1, Boob War 0

Did I ever tell you that someone made a comic book using my roommate as a template for the main character? Its called Nightmare Girl and you can check it out right here at NightmareGirl.com. Its Boob War through and through.

Last night, she asked my friend Ryan and I if we knew what Diamond was. We explained to her that Diamond was pretty much the one and only distribution company that supplied everything comic related to comic shops all over the nation. Intrigued by her question, we asked here why she was in interested in Diamond.

"They won't carry Nightmare Girl because they said that both the writing and art aren't good enough."

Huh. Although Nightmare Girl is not necessarily my cup of tea per se, there is definitely a niche market out there for books like it. Just take a look at the likes of Lady Death, Vampirella, and Tarot comics. What's to keep Diamond from adding Nightmare Girl to the ranks of such esteemed alumni? Are we left to assume that where Nightmare Girl artist Duvall Stowers fails, the work of Jim Balent meets the Gold Standard of cheesecake comics that Diamond has set in place? Is it even fair to maintain some kind of standard for a small branch of the comic book medium that by the very nature of its subject matter disregards things like "good taste" and "decency"? Now, I am not condemning books like Lady Death or Nightmare Girl for being tasteless. To do so, would certainly miss the point. Its safe to say that a book like Nightmare Girl is catering to a specific audience that openly embraces the cheesecake nature of the art. Interestingly enough, the comic book exploits of a female character like Ms. Marvel can be equally full of gratuity and vapid storytelling as some of the aforementioned books. The main difference being that a book like Ms. Marvel has Marvel Comics on its side. With that, comes some kind of respect that dignifies the purchase of Ms. Marvel over Lady Death. Don't ask me how, but for some strange reason it just does. As for Nightmare Girl? If there was a time machine available, I would instruct my roommate to jump in it and turn that dial back until it reads 1994.

When I look at a book like Lady Death on the shelf, I can not help but think that its merely just a hold over from an era where variant covers depicting male super heroes have been transformed into buxom females by Rob Liefeld sold well. A move like that today on a super hero comic SHOULD get you laughed off of the racks. (Fear not, readers. If anything, we still have the female version of male heroes to satisfy that need.) Despite the fact that the 90s are for the most part over, there are people out there that still continue to buy Lady Death and Tarot. As long as there is the threat of an ample bosom ready to burst open the bikini that fights to hold them in, there are fans that threaten to compromise ad space in Previews when they open and read a Jim Balent book. And there is a large contingent of people out there that are more than happy to hear the news of Diamond's decision towards a book like Nightmare Girl as well.

Over the past few months, I have witnessed my roommate's reaction when she first saw some of the art for the first time, having posters printed up, and eventually holding the finished product in her hands. It was exciting to see her tell everyone about the comic that she was going to be starring in. The adolescent power fantasy that most comic book fans wish for was a real for her and sitting right there on our coffee table. Its safe to say that the breast enlargement the creators gave her was something that she could do without. (Especially since I have recently overheard her arguing with another friend against women getting breast implants.) She probably assumed the increased bust line was an attribute that all female heroines had to possess in order to survive on the racks, much like the muscles their male counterparts needed to defeat a super-villian. Unfortunately, it appears as if that same bra size could have very well been one of the reasons for the book's defeat at the hands of Diamond.

I helped put into perspective for my roommate the uphill battle that Nightmare Girl is going to be facing. Off of the top of my head, I threw out the name of Cold Cut with the advisory that I was unfamiliar with what kind of titles they distribute, thinking they might have a chance there. Taking into consideration the traits that Nightmare Girl exudes, there really was only one piece of semi-worthy advice I could give her:

"Wear something skimpy and hit those convention floors. From what I hear, they are absolutely CRAWLING with potential fans for this kind of stuff."

In the face of Diamond's decision, that might be this book's only chance.

I like stuff.

I'm a little slow today, so please forgive my lack of proper blogging enthusiasm. Last night, the band played at a sports bar a couple towns over for a very drunk crowd of 12 at a time when I'm usually yawning for sleep. Considering it was our first show in 3 months and at least 50% of the band was drunk, we did amazingly well and had an absolute blast. One thing to remember for next time is to NOT put my beverages in front of the bass drum because the long hair welding guitar player will kick them over. The night ended with an invite to play another sport's bar, this time in our hometown.

Secret Wars: Rocking your faces while you watch ESPN

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Wong! Rival Hydra Factions! Giant Santa Claus Hydra Robot Rampaging Through New York! A Fin Fang Foom Story That Doesn't Involve Stupid Jokes About Purple Pants!

Marvel making the holidays a little more merrier with this Newsarama preview for this year's Holiday Special...

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I downloaded some podcasts this weekend and I want to give a shout out to everyone's favorite "Ironic Age" blogger, Chris Sims of the ISB for giving us a short but sweet podcast. Two in fact. Could be a little longer in length, but they're fun nonetheless. Check them out.

To celebrate Chris's foray into podcasting, I offer up a picture of Captain America getting his face kicked by some guy named Joe:





In addition to Chris's podcast, I downloaded a few from Wordballoon as well. If you have not had the pleasure of listening to John Siuntres, please do so. He comes from radio and brings with him a very entertaining combination of comic book knowledge and class.

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My friend Ryan just let me borrow the American TPB by Mark Verheiden from Dark Horse and the Jonah Hex Showcase TPB. Leaving for work this morning, I think I made the unfortunate mistake of picking up the American instead of the Jonah Hex because after only a few pages, I feel as if I am going to choke on the late 80s/early 90s not-so-good Grim 'n Grittiness of it all. Help me out here, fellow bloggers and commenters. Should I continue? Is there anything in Verheiden's The American that would a fully involved read?

Yeah, probably not, huh.

The last sensible person on Earth to read Chris Ware

This is great. Thanks to Boing Boing, who were pointing those amazing Chris Ware New Yorker Thanksgiving Covers, they also pointed out this absolutely hilarious cover for the Virginia Quarterly Review. My favorite is Coleridge on Opium, followed by the back and forth with Sterne and Johnson. That aside, I have never read any of Ware's stuff. I've seen the book on the racks. I went to the art show earlier this year. I've even expressed interest in reading his stuff, however I just never picked it up. My friend Tony has a book or two that I could easily borrow, but I just never got around to it. Any suggestions on where I should start?

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Check out some art from Lucy Knisley (pronounced "nigh-zlee"). Here comics are hilarious and her illustrations make me jealous. Why can't I be this good? Just because I only draw once every 4 months, why is that a reason that I can't bust like Lucy can bust? Regardless, this made me fall in love, only for the simple reason that if Lucy and I were take up a relationship that involved copulation, I could easily use excuses like "I can't help the fact that I'm stuck with extensive knowledge of the Marvel Universe crowding the parts of my brain that should be used for good!" when I forget things like anniversaries, birthdays, and what not.

And yes, this picture makes me jealous:


Huh. Me jealous of a girl for a reason that DOESN'T involve unfettered access to female breasts. Interesting.

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Happy Tofurkey Day!

Civil what?

Miss me? 'Cause I missed yoooooooouuuuuuu! Really, though. Not much in the way of serious and/or funny comic book discussion going on around here, because I am knee deep in writing essasys about DRM and psycho killers (ba-ba-ba-bah..ba-ba-bah, bah, bah...) so don't be getting all uppity on my ass, 'kay?

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I went to the Secret Headquarters comic shop in Silverlake for Jordan Crane's art opening just before Halloween. Mr. Crane's art was just as great as the tiny little shop that showcased it (my first visit there). He's got a very simple, comic-strip style that explodes with enough added detail just when its needed. My favorites of the showcased work were two separate series: one involving a lone figure in peril (hanging out of a burning building or being thrown about in a cyclone) and another of women in various states of destructive despair. I think my appreciation for the last set had something to do for the love of a woman's tush, but I may be wrong. I did pick up a copy of his new floppy, Uptight, which was drawn very well, however, I'll be damned if I got anything from the story itself. Dang independent comic books....I also picked up his The Clouds Above from First Second Books which was a fun little read that could easily translate into a great 70s cartoon ala A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. If I ever become a bazillionaire, one of the many tax write offs that I'll kick around will be an animation studio just so things like The Clouds Above can make their way on to the Silver Screen like they rightfully should.

All in all, it was a good art show that was followed up by kick ass pumpkin carving at my good friend Jessica's house. Where her boyfriend was all "yo! check out this Spidey face I did!", I came out it like a true Avant Garde, utilizing the full power of the medium. The result?

The Spirit Of Vengeance himself, the Ghost Rider!
Do you feel bad for that time you picked up 7 issues of Youngblood # 1? That's because the Ghost Rider is giving you the penance stare, making you relive all the crappy things you do! Yes, I understand that this is soooooo last month, however, if Chris Sims can post about Christmas 4 months out of the year, I can give you a little belated Halloween love.

Little Known Fact About Spencer Carnage: That was the first time EVER that I carved a pumpkin. Self High Five!

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That guy who does that book about a guy called Scott Pilgrim has got me wishing that I had more money to spend on comics. Lately, I've been finding myself leaning more towards the artsy fartsy indie set, hence the reason I made my way out to see Jordan Crane's show. Looking at the Bodega site, I see things from various different companies like the Recidivist, 676 Apparitions of Killoffer, Frankenstein Now And Forever and Stacks that probably won't make their way into my loving arms anytime soon. Yes, that is a tear in my eye. Thank you for noticing. Until then, I'll go back and reread my Pulphope Ashcan and salivate over Paul Pope's pouty lips and ice cream cones.

And Spencer's unofficial "NON-SUPERHERO COMICS" WEEK that might possible turn into a MONTH, 2 MONTHS, 5 MONTHS and 3 WEEKS, or Heaven forbid, the rest of his LIFE, continues on. That's right. Its theme week slash month slash whatever here in Spencer D's neck of the woods and we're talking about the "100% AUTHENTIC MANGA" BLAME!, you round eye Douchy McDouchersens!

My original encounter with Nihei's BLAME! was from reading a Blade Of The Immortal fan site that had scanned some pages from a Japanese edition of a BLAME! manga. Super nerd Spencer kicked in and I bought the Japanese version a few many years ago. The art was pretty, I had to get it. Anyways, a trip to Borders one day and lo and behold, they finally released an English edition. Cool beans!

Set in the far flung future, BLAME! chronicles the adventure of "Killy" as he ventures in some kind of cyber dungeon that goes on for miles and miles and miles, searching for clean genetic material. Or something. Starting out, Killy is on the tail end of one of his missions, in which he disposes of techno-organic looking baddies that try and steal his unsoiled genetic loot. 20 some odd gun shot induced explosions later and Killy has secured the specimen and is waiting for someone to fetch it. Once he unloads the clean genes, he is sent on another mission for more untainted chromosomes.

And we're off!

This is how BLAME! does its thing. This is how we get the character in brutal fight scenes with bio-mechanical cyber sci-fi wank off robo fighters that try and step only to get blows upped. We only learn more about this dystopia dungeon world that Killy roams when he accidentally stumbles into the chaotics lives of random characters, providing our sullen lead(and us) with some answers with what the hell is going on. When the answers don't come so easy, we find that our curiosity is diverted with gun play and creepy robot machines. Killy's interaction with others is limited and short, leaving only enough time for these bit part cast members to explain either their dire situation for Killy to resolve or their contempt for Killy's presence. Regardless of their place in the story, they all end up cannon fodder in cyber dungeon's attempt to off Killy.

Good luck with that, mechanoid bitches! Killy's got a tiny gun that will blow you and the wall behind you to mother fucking BITZ! Yes, we all know Killy is a lame name. Let's move on, shall we?

Having finally read the English translated man years after my initial introduction to BLAME!, its somewhat of a let down. The most interesting premise of the story is the fact that my curiosity is being scratch like a cat on a lazy sunday. The art, which was my reason for liking BLAME! in the first place, is still amateurish in some spots. A good number of illustrations permeate the manga, but there are times, whether its action scene that doesn't flow well or a set up that's drawn in confuso-vision, Nihei still has some work to do. However, when its good, its good.

Will I buy the next volume? Of course. With my curiosity that had been hungering for WTF BLAME! was all about for so long, I gotta stay on board. At $9.99 a pop, that's a bargain that my mother would chew me out for passing up. This one's for you, Ma!

PS: There was going to be a picture of the book up in the top but Blogger sucks so boycott Google until they return my picture sharing ability. Thanks!

For today's post, we pick apart the new-ISH MOME anthology from Fantagraphics Books, MOME 3:Winter 2006. I know what you're already thinking, that you're all ready to start ranting and raving about how I need to finish my posting about the New Warriors and what not. I know. Don't worry, pretty soon we'll have New Warriors MONTH and this place will feel like the rest of the internet comic book blogosphere with all kinds of clever wit and delicious ironic-tinted nostalgia. Trust me, it'll happen. But TODAY. Today we talk artsy fartsy and its most likely not going to be pretty. Ready?

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Yeah. Fucking MOME, bitches. Its a whole lot of indie for your buck. 15 bucks to be exact, unless you're lucky like me and you picked it up in the half off graphic novel bin at my LCS. Yes, that feeling in your heart is the emptiness you never knew you had until you heard the words "half off graphic novel bin at my LCS." Although not the glorious of bargain selection, it has offered up some pretty nice gems from time to time. If you want, I can snag you a copy of GI Joe: Ninja Classified Warfare Cobra Killers. Just call "dibbs," and its yours.

But yes, MOME. Call me a new fan of the format. I've read a few anthologies, the last ones being Sexy Chix and Four Letter Worlds from Image(or is it Four Letter Words? Thinking too hard about things like this make me dizzy and cause wrinkles.) and they are, for the most part, interesting. Entertaining some of the time, interesting the more of the time. Not my most favorite format when it comes to reading comics, however, you are all a smart bunch so I won't bore you with my obvious observations on the nature of anthologies when there's other things to bore you with, like....

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Opening and closing the book is Martin Cendreda's Matthew And Buster. Think of your newspaper gag strip were the main character says something so funny and/or mean spirited to someone else, causing them to fall over, faint, have their head explode, or have clouds of squiggly lines to form above their head in frustration or anger or general upsetness. Take those 3 or 4 panels, stretch them out for about 8 or 9, and then have two dogs that smoke and swear making this comments that cause everyone else to, you know, bug out. In this case, be launched backwards from their seat or standing position in a 45 degree angle "zip." Oh, and make sure its not funny because this is indie comics.

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Next is David B's Armed Garden. A little French comic that is seeing english translation for the first time so you're feeling a little special, yet a little bit of anger creeps in too because the French called us a bunch of jerks for trying to war up on the rest of the globe. Whatever, France. You're just pissed because your government is totally, completely failing at being a Western Power with big balls to tote around for all to see and stuff. PLUS, we got that whole Revolution thing over and done with THE FIRST FRAGGING TIME AROUND. Jealous, a little? Probably.

France rant out of the way, David B's Armed Garden is really good. Its got all kinds of religious war and naked people running around that you forget for a moment that you're a bigoted American and enjoy the brown hued world of medieval craziness that David B has conjured up. And the picture of the Pope John ^^III getting his murder/sodomy/simony on? My next tattoo.

Did I mention there's a goose in there? He acts as the guide for our protagonist Jan Zuska who is in charge of disposing the nakedly insane Rohan and his cadre of naked followers, leading Jan Zuska down the roads of Creation to Paradise. Without the Goose, Jan Zuska would have fallen victim to the fake Sun that Rohan becomes. And when Jan Zuska gets greedy and wants to take a look at the Origin of Creation, Goose is all "told you so, bitch" when Chaos forms in Jan Zuska's one good eye, causing him to be blind. I love me some ducks and gooses.

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Then comes Anders Nilsen On Whaling. Two pages and your weak ass humor is lost on all of us. Sorry, bro, but this fish ain't biting.

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J. Bennet's Roll of Film is decent, however I feel that I must be some kind of photograph taking artiste in order for me say "oh, man, I know this guy or girl that is totally like that, taking pictures of every mundane thing they see with the hopes of adding some level of importance to their miserable little lifes, unlike myself who only takes tasteful nudes." That or you're the person saying "Fuck you, J. Bennett, you hack" because he called you out. I'm really neither, but I get it enough to appreciate what he's getting at.

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And then comes Cher Shimura from R. Kikuo Johnson(of Nightfisher infamy) which really is the best of the whole book. Six 4 to 5 panel strips detailing the non-existing love life of Cher Shimura as she nervously goes from hopelessly in love to heartbreak in the span of seconds, all unbeknownest to her object of desire. There's really not much to say about it other than its a very simple collection of strips that really made me laugh, especially when Cher mocks the object of desire's girlfriend.

"'I love Grapes.' -Ha ha!- Slut."

You have to read it, I guess.

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Overpeck, part 3, by David Healey starts to go down the idiotic path of nonsense of Martin Cendreda's Matthew And Buster with two juvenile boys playing with their juvenile toys and what not. One of them eventually calls the other a "faggot" for crossing some kind of imaginary Maginot line of young boy masculinity and ho hum, boring. Only when the "faggot" is kidnapped by some old lady that can turn into a wolf, does the jewel of the story show itself. Thrown into the machinations of the old lady's mind, the history of her sexual abuse and subsequent perversion comes out as a means of justifying her reasons for kidnapping the little boy. It entertains in the way that Gummo entertains. Its scary because Healey's talking some real life messed up stuff. However, that ends very quickly and we're back to nonsense involving naked girls, weird crippled shut in boys, and, uh.....stuff. Its only part 3, so maybe we're getting somewhere that will help us make sense of the rest of this mess.

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Odd Petal Out. Kurt Wolfgang captures that 15 year old burgeoning romance like zang. The art's good and the crack about older kids dissing on the younger kids' taste in music is standard issue experience in the life of little punk/indie rock kids growing up. No would-be elitist snob should be without it.

We'll also include Wolfgang's one page Toughskins '77 strip, which basically cements the fact that Wolfgang pretty much has that whole growing up thing nailed down. Kids crying about stuff can always be solved by blowing things up. Yep.

I haven't read the interview with Kurt Wolfgang, but I'm sure its good.

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The rest of MOME 3: Winter 2006 just kind of ho hum's its way to finish. Capt. Ayres is historically comics for historical folks. Interesting. Mike's Cafe is excessive auto bio stuff that I'm ok without. And Jeffrey Brown? More of the same, just worst. Sorry, but that's how I feel.

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And that's MOME 3: Winter 2006!

*round of applause*

So, I'm more than halfway through V For Vendetta, and hot damn, this book is good. I read it for the first time last year and like all things complex and well thought out, a good portion of it flew right by me. I blame it on the sheer volume of books that I was ingesting at the time, making it difficult to fully appreciate V For Vendetta. That and my lack of a proper college education. However, the second time around, its even better. I would love to write a huge length Ian Brillesque post about the similiarities between V For Vendetta and Miracleman(both prominent works of Moores that he put out in the 80s that were also both stopped and restarted at some point in their publishing schedule)specifically focusing on comparing and deconstructing the totalitarian environments that Moore creates for each story as well as the transformation that both main characters undergo from human to superhuman, BUT......that shit is way too smarts for the like of this blog, so we'll just leave it at.

Is there any mp3s for the "Vicious Cabaret" that V sings at the beginning of Part 2 online anywhere that anyone knows of? I'm sure it will show up in the movie, but I'm curious to see if Alan Moore ever got crazy and recorded something. I'm almost half tempted to plop the music in front of my mother and have her play on it on her church organ, but I'm afraid she might find it offensive.

In other Alan Moore related news, I never made it to the shop, so I never picked up Future Shocks. Kelvin says its good so I'll have to keep an eye out for it next week, along with Tales Designed to Thrizzle # 2.

In some non-Alan Moore related news, I'm juggling the idea of doing a series of posts about the greater glories of the first 25 issues of New Warriors just because. This would be complimented by a "What Bendis Could Have Done Better" series of posts about the New Avengers, inspired by Randy's little rant the other day. What started as a comment on his posting turned into a full blown rant of my own that I'm almost afraid to explore for fear of it putting me dangerously close into fan fiction territory. And if I go there, do I get so bold as to make it a slash piece, considering that if there ever was a time and place for a romantic relationship between a billionaire super hero industrialist and a mutant Canadian killing machine, that time is now and the place is the pages of New Avengers?

Nah, someone probably beat me to that punch already.

Warning: This is a serious post about comics!

This morning I was having a lovely grand time in my perusal of thine finer blogs of the World Wide Web, when I found myself over at the Great Curve. Those fine young chaps where so kind enough as to provide me with a link to some of thee forthcoming Graphic Novellas from Penguin Classics.

Upon viewing the future prospects from Penguin Classics, I laid mine eyes upon this work of art and splendor:



Although I am completely unawares as to what The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster with a cover by Art Spiegelman is about, I have read City Of Glass by Paul Karasik and David Mazzuchelli's and.....wait a second.....reading, reading, reading......googling..........reading, reading, reading..........becoming frustrated.....googling......reading........reading, reading, reading, oh fuck me.

These aren't comics at all. These are BOOKS. And not BOOKS ABOUT COMICS, but regular old BOOKS.

Double You Tee Eff Question Mark Question Mark Question Mark Exclamation Point Question Mark.