Bowen Designs: Mystique

Back to the statues for a moment, and then we can continue on some more interesting topics.

Distributed by Bowen Designs
Sculpted by Jason Smith
Size 12"H
Type Statue
Release August '10
Price $175.00

Zimm's Two Cents
Nice choice of character to sculpt.

Points in Favor

• The belt. The costume. The blue color of the skin.
• Base isn't incredible, but it still has something to add.
• Great detail with the gun.
• Like the pose. A little more then the standard museum piece.

Points Against

• The face. Just something there that I don't like. Side view looks good, but then I am uncertain about the side view of the hair.

Recommendation: Neutral. Nothing that screams, "I've got to have it!"

Houston Comicpalooza Review

Well, I made it!

What did I think?

My expectations exceeded the event. I wanted more! More booths. More costumes. More events. More artists! MORE!

What did I get? What they promised. A relatively new con. No more, no less. Or maybe a bit more than less.

I left disappointed, but when I think back and compare, I should not have been.

Comicpalooza offered a host of talented artists. Enough to draw me to the tables and walk around. Enough to spend time debating on whether or not I should actually get a sketch or two. (No, Robert. I will not be drawn into your mess). They even introduced me to a number of unique artists with creative skills that any true geek would admire. They could have had more, but they are still growing.

They offered a limited number of activities, but not enough to interest me. Yes, I am that picky. It takes a lot of work to develop the activities, and I wonder how many they could truly manage for being such a new con.

They did lack in costumes; however, I am using DragonCon as a reference, which does set the bar a tad-bit high for any con. Also, one of the costumes was unique enough to draw a 'wow' from my sister-in-law. Hmmmm, I am wondering how she would react at Dragoncon.

My biggest disappointment: the dealers. I wanted more. Comicpalooza lacked in the diversity and depth of other conventions. Even some smaller conventions that I have been to (and are no longer around) offered more to me from a dealer's perspective. Maybe some of the dealers had opted for the gun show next door, or maybe Comicpalooza didn't open their geeky doors wide enough to invite every 'geek-like' shop possible.

Overall, from a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 4. 1 is a really good local comic book store and 10 being ComicCon.

Would I go next year? Of course, but DragonCon first.

UPDATE:
I know that you can read his points in the comments, but when someone is correct, I want to make certain that I share it with everyone.

Sky Captain Cedric Whittaker:
"Yeah, DragonCon IS setting the bar a little high for such a new con, but I think Comicpalooza did a great job. My crew and I really enjoyed the smaller feel of the con, and it gave us a chance to interact with the public more than we are use to. We brought 11 people this year, and everyone of them plans to return! Can't wait till next year."

And I agree:
They did do a great job for a new con, and yes, I will definitely be returning next year. In comparison to some smaller (non-DragonCon) cons that I have been to in the past, I still wanted MORE.

If you think about my statements, Comicpalooza left me with the feeling of wanting more and willing to return. If it had been a bad con, I would not be wanting more or willing to return, and the con would not have merited a post or comment.

Sky Captain Cedric Whittaker (what a name) is right. For a new con, they did a great job.

I just want more! (Like any true geek. I can never have enough geekiness in my life.)

By the way, thank you for all of the feedback.

Ame-Comi: Catwoman (v.1) Purple Suit

Same piece, purple costume.

Distributed by DC Direct
Sculpted by Jack Mathews
Size 9.5"h
Type PVC Figurine
Release Nov. 2010
Price $60.00

Zimm's Two Cents
Not going to give this one much of a review, as it is basically a 're-release.'

Recommendation: If you didn't get the first one, you might as well grab this one. Buy.

Red 5 Comics

Yesterday, I got a hold of some small press comics from Red Five Comics. (Independents?) Neozoic. Atomic Robo. Abyss. Drone. A friendly and enthusiastic rep was handing out freebies from some past wingding. I have only read two, but they did spur some initial thoughts.

Neozoic has an interesting premise: dinosaurs have survived and medieval-ish humans must battle with them for coexistence. The other, Atomic Robo, recounts the adventures of a 1920s atomic robot with artificial intelligence—not quite as exciting. Neozoic is reminiscent of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard. The artwork reinvigorates the early nineteenth century, giving them a fresh, bold feel. Robo’s colors infused the sparse utilitarianism of 1940s industrialism with elegance. (Robo’s blue parka is a study of simplicity and texture. Not surprisingly, he has made it onto an iPhone ad.)

The storylines in both are rough, leaving passages and events unclear. Although Clevinger’s Atomic Robo is better executed than Ens’s Neozoic, both narratives fail to live up to the artwork—especially to the colors of Wegner in Robo and the art of Korim in Neozoic.
Perhaps I am easily dazzled by pretty pictures and impatient with rough hewn storytelling. Not sure. I am still a novice in this world. Either way, I reached the end of both stories without fully understanding how I arrived there.

A Question
With that rambling discourse in mind, would someone fill me in on the role and place of these small presses? Are the best and brightest snatched up by the corporate giants? Or do these indies provide new artists with a place to grow and polish skills?



No doubt, though. He is cool.

Recommendations?
I may fork out the $19 for Neozoic. (I have been a sucker for Tarzan and his cronies since I was twelve. Plus I like Lilli’s bellybutton much better than Robo’s dull sheen.) Then again, I may not. Hard choices have to be made, and the wife watches the AmEx bills closely. I may just download it on my PSP.

Bayard

AME-COMI: Artemis

Yet another one! Keep them coming, Ame-Comi.

Distributed by DC Direct
Sculpted By Jack Mathews
Size 9.5"h
Type PVC Figurine
Release Nov. 2010
Price $60.00

Zimm's Two Cents
She looks really familiar. In fact, if I squint a bit, I think that she reminds me of the Ame-Comi Wonder Woman.

Points in Favor

• As always, the colors.

Points Against

• I feel like this is Wonder Woman repainted, renamed.....rebranded.
• Isn't there only one 'magic lasso'?

Recommendation: Get the original - find the Wonder Woman. If you don't have it, have fun getting the sword to fit into her hand. Beautiful, but I will Pass.

Robert is the one that is really collecting these. I wonder what he thinks.

Robert's Two Cents
Zimm, she's the fill in Wonder Woman from the mid 90s, who herself was based on a character who was introduced years ago as the previous bearer of the title before Diana. Mike Deodata Jr. was the artist on the book at the time.

Points in Favor

• I liked the Artemis storyline.
• The color choices are dead on. She wore a non Wonder Woman costume and these colors match the costume she was wearing in her own series.
• The head sculpt and the sandles are actually probably more appropriate for Artemis than Diana.
• I almost think they had intended the original to be Artemis.

Points Against

• It is a repaint of the existing Wonder Woman. I would have preferred that she at least get her own sculpt.
  
• They should have given Diana an axe and Artemis the sword. Also Artemis should have a bow and arrows. Artemis is an archer.
  

Recommendation: I'd also get the original. However, if you were a huge fan of Artemis, this is the more appropriate one to get. I'm calling it Neutral, unless you're an Artemis fan.

Predators

Can you ever have enough predators and aliens?

I just came across the blurb for Robert Rodriguez’s new version of the Predator saga. I enjoyed the first Predator—though the FX quickly dated it. (The sequels were dated before they hit the theaters.) One reviewer complained that this new one seems to lack the plot of the original. I don't remember the original as having much of a plot beyond dog fighting: throw a bunch of angry maulers into a pit to see which comes out. "If it bleeds, we can kill it."



All of that said--Rodriguez usually has a cool, unique vision in his movies. I am curious to see if it holds with his return to the rednecks of outer space.

Good, bad, indifferent. I think it is an obligatory.

Bayard

The Umbrella Academy

The Umbrella Academy stumps me. It trots along with a straight-faced, unapologetic adventure all the while daring me to reject the visual and narrative hyperbole. Unlike Kick-Ass, which moves into and out of and back into a meditation on our relationship with comic books and their heroes, Umbrella Academy sticks to the story line—as strange and cryptic as it is.

I liked it—The Academy that is. Despite myself. Despite the strangely incomplete narrative. Despite its subversive challenge not to be taken seriously.

Someone said that watching The Maltese Falcon (or perhaps it was The Big Sleep) is like going down a staircase in the dark. Wish I had come up with that one for The Umbrella Academy. The characterizations overtake the storyline. But isn’t that the case with the all of the others? Batman, Spiderman, the Fables. Sam Spade. We read them not to see what happens; we read them to hang out with the crew.

And Kick-Ass? I am going to blaspheme. Hold off for the movie. The graphic novel vacillates between violent and sexual sensationalism—delivering plenty of both obscuring all else. (A round of CoD or Gears would have been a lot more satisfying.)

Bayard

Bowen Designs: Vulture statue

A classic Spider-man villain - the Vulture!

Distributor Bowen Designs
Sculpted by The Kucharek Brothers
Size 17"h
Release July 2010
Price $225.00

Zimm's Two Cents
Before I start, let me remind you - the Kucharek Brothers do some incredible pieces. As I have stated in the past, they are a favorite of mine, and I tend to bias their pieces from the start.

With that said,....

Points in Favor

• It is the Kucharek Brothers. Detail, color, extras. Par for the course.
• Look at the base. I love when they consider a rockin' base to go with the statue. The detail on the gargoyle alone are awesome.
• Wings! Look at the Wings!
• Interchangeable head. You can have a "Blackie Drago" head instead. Personally, I would probably keep the "Blackie Drago" head.

Points Against

• While Robert may disagree, I even like the paint and colors. So, I have nothing.

Recommendation: This is one of my "Hot Buys". I think this piece looks great.

Legacy: The Hidden Temple

Finishing Legacy: The Hidden Temple (volume 5), my initial opinion from the first volume remained: beautiful drawings portraying a loop of the same story.

Still, I am taken by the subtle criticism of the Jedi in the graphic novels and the later set of movies. The order’s attachment to the light side of the force—actually its zealous rejection and denial of the dark side—reflects an idealism that is ill-suited to the harsher realities of life.

Yoda and Obi Wan warn Luke against returning to his father. Obi Wan warns Anakin against giving into his emotions. Everyone warns Cade against everything. The play on Eastern notions of detachment are clear. But at some point we move over to the realm of repression. Building a hidden temple just in case? They're hiding under their sheets with a flashlight.

As Krishna told Arjuna, detachment is essential. But a key to detachment is disciplined action. People must act in the world with all of its uncertainty. The Jedi (both Lucas’s and Dark Horse comics’) would not have stopped long enough to listen to Krishna's admonishment in their rush for higher, safer, detached moral ground.

The Jedi are sterile, ineffective, blinded by the light. (I know. I know)

Anakin does balance the force; he brings it back from the goodie-goodie, ineffective, unable to spot the poser Sith side. Luke dresses like his father only after he has kinda sorta compelted his training; he obviously has some Bogan bouncing around in him. And Legacy's Cade? He dares to ask "How dark is a murder that ends a genocide?" The inglorious bastard.

Good things come from the dark—besides romantically inclined vampires. Lovecraft, Batman, Tim Burton, Neil Gaiman's Nobody, the backseat of any family sedan.

The Skywalker clan embodies a revitalization and relevance the other Jedi seem unwilling to face. Interesting. But not worth another 15 bucks.

Recommendation? I agree with Robert. The series is just an extension. More of the same. Watch the movies again, and save your money for The Unwritten.

Bayard

(It just struck me. Is the title an oblique play on Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, the basis of the original Star Wars?)

Bowen Designs: Dormammu bust

Distributor Bowen Designs
Sculpted by Jeremy Lloyd
Size 8"h
Release July 2010
Price $60.00

Zimm's Two Cents
Before I start, I like Dr. Strange, which means that I like Dormammu; however, that doesn't mean that I like a statue or bust.

But I like this one. Like is probably an understatement.

Points in Favor

• The rich colors.
• The detailed base.....too cool.
• The manner in which Jeremy Lloyd did the head. Even the detail in the head is 'sweeeeet.'

Points Against

• I'm not really sure that his muscles would show up in that type of a shirt; however, it is Dormammu. He probably has a spell for that.
  

Recommendation: Hot Buy! Jeremy really pulled out all of the stops on this one. I can even overlook the blotchy paint job that drives Robert crazy.

Robert's Two Cents
First, I'm amazed that Zimm spelled Dormammu correctly.

Secondly, he's one of the coolest looking villains ever.

Thirdly, I hate Dormammu, but that may be a blog post for another day.

Fourthly, Zimm, just like an iPhone app, yes, there's a spell for that (the muscles showing under his shirt comment that Zimm made).

Points in Favor

• Awesome flaming head.
  
• Something I typically don't get too hung up on, unless they're awesome, the base is cool.
  
• It's the perfect Dormammu pose.
• His collar. I wish I could pull off a collar like that.
• That evil grin.
  

Points Against

• Maybe they shouldn't have wiped off as much paint from the shirt as they did, but I can even overlook that.
  

Recommendation: Hot Buy! It's an amazing piece. I almost forget that it's a bust with the level of detail. I wonder what Bowen Designs would do with a Dr. Strange bust if they released one today.

Piranha - 3D

Something very few people know about me, but the Piranha series is one of my favorite 'B Movie' series. I remember watching all of them, when I was a kid, and I loved the fact that they got just kept getting worse. I think I enjoyed it so much because I realized it was supposed to be bad.

I won't be going to the theater to see this one, but I do love the fact that they did it.

Newbies Star Trek Uniforms

Wahoo! This one is AWESOME.

My neighbors across the street just had a baby boy in December, and one of these would be perfect.

Yes, yes. I realize that he is the ultimate sports fanatic, and if you did not know it already, he is also a Baseball Coach at the local High School. When we discuss geeky things, his eyes glaze over, his feet start moving, and some how I never get to finish my story.

He (and his wife) accepts my geekiness. I accept the fact that he is interested in some of type of outdoor activity, but that does not mean that his son is lost cause. There is hope, which is why I should start early.

What the.....16 Port Hub!!!!

But it makes perfect sense. You can never have enough toys plugged into one socket. It really doesn't look that cool, which is rather disappointing, but it hits the geek radar. Only problem is that it is $159.99, and I would rather buy something else. I can live with the wires and other hubs

The Graveyard Book

Looking through past postings, I came across Robert’s reference to Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book.

Gaiman’s novels are strange disconcerting affairs. Stardust, Neverwhere, Coraline, and American Gods all create a sort of magical realism in which the everyday world exists adjacent to a magical, darkly beautiful world. His works offer us an alternative to our world, which has become too big and too small all at once.

The Graveyard Book is slightly different. It follows the first half of an orphaned boy’s life. The Gaiman twist is the adoptive family. The boy—Nobody, an Everyman—is raised by the inhabitants of a graveyard—ghosts and a vampire (perhaps).

The tale is filled with drama, romance, adventure, fantasy, and villains.

At times the book slows to a crawl. And at times it skips, alluding to battles and histories we do not get to see. All of this may be what Tolkien terms “sub-creation,” the extension of the fantasy world beyond the boundaries of the narrative. Literary terms and analysis, though, need to be put on the shelf—as do the comparisons with Kipling.

Gaiman moves beyond the macabre and beyond the storybook trick. He ventures into the realm of fable and fairy tale. We learn with Nobody what it means to be a part of a community, to be a part of a family, to be human. We watch him grow. And as he does, we love him. That is Gaiman’s trick on us.

I reread the ending twice—telling myself that I could be the father that Silas was.

Buy The Graveyard Book and read it knowing you are going to be heartbroken.

Bayard

(A movie?)

Iron Man 2 - Trailer 2

Yes. YES! IRON MAN 2.

Everyone has their favorite superhero movie, and I think mine is Iron Man, which makes the release of Iron Man 2 just a tad bit exciting for me. I'm not an Iron Man collector or avid reader. In fact, I am embarrassed to say that I don't even own an Iron Man statue.

Yeah, yeah. Leave me alone. My finances at the time were a tad bit stretched, so I had to pass on the one that I wanted. Hmmm.....note to self: surf net for possible sale item.

Sorry to ramble.

So, when I got back to my hotel last night, turned on the TV and saw the new trailer. I realized that I had to post! I had to share! I had to oooh and aaah.

Blackest Night Conclusion

Sorry about the delay in my posts. Traveling and starting a new project can really take a toll on a person.

First off - this is not a spoiler or a review of the final Blackest Night books. This is a simple observation of why I have enjoyed the series for so long.

For those following the series over the last few years, I picked up this series with the start of the Sinestro Wars. I understood the concept.

The Sinestro Corp Wars were not going to be about Yellow vs Green Lantern, or Sinestro revenge against the Guardians. No, this war was over something simple. Sinestro's hatred of Hal Jordan. Hal replaced Sinestro's friend, and then Sinestro took Hal took on the task of training Hal to be a Green Lantern.

As we all know, that turned into an incredible disaster. Sinestro gets thrown out of the Green Lantern Corps, and Hal is a hero.

But the wars grew into even more, as the Blackest Night dawned. (How did you like that one?)

Anyhoo-ha (and to finally get to my point), the Blackest Night is a story about the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Hal and Sinestro are forced to work together, while still despising each other. Two "friends" constantly competing to outdo the other. Hal can never be better then Sinestro, while Sinestro could never do anything good.

While some have enjoyed the intergalactic war, I have enjoyed these two characters. I guess that's why I still have trouble picking up Green Lantern Corps, and while I have enjoyed Blackest Night, I am uncertain about Brightest Day.

Star Wars Legacy

Knights of the Old Republic put me off of Dark Horse's Star Wars series (especially after Robert's comments). I was determined not to return—until a free copy showed up in my mail. And even then, Legacy went to the bottom of the pile.

I finally gave into my curiosity. The draw was too strong.

It is not Fables or Dark Knight. And although the narrative moves quicker, more smoothly than League, it lacks some of the complexity. May be.

Some of the costumes are outlandish, and the characterizations unoriginal (the shapely females, the hulking men, the bizarre super villains reminiscent of death and demons). Nevertheless, the drawings are rich, almost thick on the page.

Thing is, the narrative catches me even as it echoes the original Star Wars trilogy. (Did they have to include R2 and a Wookie? Show some discipline guys.) In the same vein, I overlooked and continue to overlook the shortcomings of Hamill’s wooden performance in the original trilogy.

Lucas’s original coming of age story is intriguing, complex. And the same appears to be true with Legacy.

A young Jedi’s epiphany leads to a denial culminating in a bold new direction. At least, that seems to be the direction the graphic novel is headed. Based on Joseph Campbell’s theory of the monomyth, Luke operates as a mythic hero. Luke’s battle with the dark side and his reconciliation with his father dovetail with Campbell’s description of father atonement, one of the supreme ordeals a hero must undergo in the process of his quest. The hero comes to terms with his past, reinvigorating it even as he does so.

The work is a myth. (Nothing new here.)

So where does this leave Cade and Legacy? I am not sure. It is still too early. I am in the midst of his battle with the Sith and emperor (volume 3). Will he go through a similar supreme ordeal? No way to tell.

My fear is, though, that the graphic novel will bog down in a drawn out series that refuses to reach or recognize its conclusion. The quest must end—with success or failure. The hero can only remain on the journey for so long before he is lost in the other world, the world of adventure. Even if he capitulates, Parzival-like, the hero must either find the grail or oblivion.

Yes, I know the series has been out for a while, and some of you know the answer to all of this. For me, though, it is intriguing. Will this work transcend pulp fiction in the same ways Lucas was able to transcend his genre? Will it capture the mythic?

Or will it just keep rambling on like an Oscar recipient?

Bayard

BBC: Survivors

I really can't say much about this series. I neither hate it nor love it. The only thing that really captivates me is the concept.

Since I was about 12, I have always planned and prepared for an emergency. Something that very few people have realized over the years. In high school, I carried an emergency can opener on my key chain. In college, I had my "Batman" emergency tool belt. (It included everything from a water filtration straw to a hammock.) Today, I have a 72-Hour emergency kit.

So while the BBC: Survivors series interests me, I really haven't connected with any of the characters.

While there a couple of underlining plots, the ones that I have been forced to endure include:

• The corporation that created the virus.
• The convict who is part of the "Family" and hasn't told anyone. Yet.
• The mother trying to find her son - who may or may not be dead. Yawn.
  

Positive: Villain is a mighty corporation, which supports some of my theories.

Negative: Characters. I can't latch onto any of them. Tom Price, the convict, is about the only interesting one, as you are constantly waiting for him to "show his colors".

Overall: It is scheduled on the DVR, so I will be watching it.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Okay. So I bailed on Ghost Hunters for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Having seen the movie too many times on AMC, I assumed I had a feel for the graphic novel.

Not so. The movie was a comic book version of a strange, uncomfortable text.

Surprisingly, the League is neither headed up nor staffed by gentlemen. Miss Murray, who has had a troublesome year prior to the start of the narrative is a miss, a woman. She runs herd on an opium addict (Quatermain), a pirate (Captain Nemo), a sex offender (The Invisible Man), and a schizoid (Dr. Jekyll and Edward). No gentlemen.

The narrative emerges slowly—like a Kurosawa movie. You have to give this one some time for the story to get underway. (Thankfully not as much time as The Seven Samurai or Rashomon.)

Deciphering the graphics held my interest until the narrative hook set. The men all vaguely resemble zombies, except for Nemo, who seems an extension of his complex industrial sub. The structures dwarf and dehumanize the humans, reducing them to small incomplete sketches. The people of the novel are simply another detail in the gigantic landscape of an industrialized, polluted empire. Like gods glancing down from the heavens, we have to squint to see what these creatures are up to. The tiny figures are often engaged in violent, erotic, ominous acts. Watching, we become voyeurs in their diseased world.

And that decadence seems to be the point. The empire is corrupt. The men short-sighted and fallen. The graphic novel is most engaging when the point is made subtly—as Quatermain and Edward enter the opium den. In the same vein, the story becomes tired and sophomoric when the authors and artists feel it necessary to emphasize the dehumanization (the guestroom in the girl’s boarding school).

With its drawings, fliers, games, and posters, the work can be a busy, sometimes tiring affair. And poking holes in imperialism or deconstructing machismo in this day and age is like shooting dead fish in an empty bucket.

With all of that said, the adventure is there. And I will continue. I want to know what has happened with the cavorite, and I am curious to see what other familiar characters I run into in this unfamiliar world.

Bayard

Bishoujo: Phoenix and Dark Phoenix

Both Phoenix and Dark Phoenix! wow. Really, how hard was it to provide Phoenix and Dark Phoenix. (Note sarcasm)

Distributor Marvel
Creator Shunya Yamashita
Size 9"H
Release August 2010
Price $64.99

Zimm's Two Cents
Do I really have to? Can't I just skip this one? I'll admit it. I'm not a fan of the Bishoujo line, but then again, I'm not a teenager.

Points in Favor

• Great colors.
• Love the flow. Hair, belt and flames - all are part of the same flow.
• Got to love the price too. You can find it on sale for $49.99. Click here.
• Beyond the costume, there are little differences in the pieces. My niece would point out the eyes.
• At first, I wasn't thrilled with the pose, but after thinking about it, it reminded me of clubbing and someone dancing. (Or is that the insufferable music that Jamie is playing the background.) Either/or - I like it.
  

Points Against

• In-plants....again.

Recommendation: Neutral. While this one is just not for me, it still looks like a cute piece. If I had to get one, I would recommend Dark Phoenix. click here.

Zombieland

Horror movies reveal more than we like to admit.

In the ‘50s, we were facing alien invasion. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, slashers lurked at summer camp and in our dreams. In the ‘90s, psychosis ran amok. At the turn of the century, death, boggies, and ghosts tracked down wayward teens. And now in the new millennium, we face apocalyptic hordes of zombies. Different eras face different demons.

The demons personify our fears—our communal terrors. In the dark theater, we can band together to face our boogie men. Alien invasions were thinly disguised Soviets. Slashers reflected a growing intolerance of ‘immoral,’ ‘anti-social behavior’ (sex equals death). Vengeful ghosts and death batting clean up reminded us that our payments were due, fate had caught up with us.

And our 21st century zombies? Perhaps they are the lurking fear of our loss of humanity in the face of technology and big business. We are the pod people—although the pod looks and sounds a bit different than we were led to expect.

Zombieland laughs as our demons burst out of the closet--or in this case the public restroom trailing a piece of tp. Other worse fates await (the loneliness of life spent playing WoW or blogging).

Rent it. Watch it. Learn the rules. And be a hero.

Bayard

Ghost Hunters -- 100th Episode

I have to begin with a disclaimer.

By 8:30, I had begun reading League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and by 9:20, I was asleep.


The sleep had nothing to do with the graphic novel. The 100th episode of Ghost Hunters, on the other hand, probably led to the headache which prompted me to escape into oblivion.
Watching the first ten minutes was painful—perhaps even more so than watching Steve in high school trying to impress the head cheerleader (after she had turned him down for prom because “she was baking cookies”).

The notion of interviewing the cast and asking them softball questions is standard, overused fair. Every sitcom in the last 25 years has celebrated its success with a similar panel discussion. The problem with the premise is we don’t like the celebrities we like the characters. (Of course, they are oblivious to this-they think we love them for who they are—actors hiding behind the masks of interesting people.) This was awkwardly different. These are characters who are celebrities.

At first it seems, fresh, new, and engaging. We like these guys. These geeks. But the problem is we have liked and listened to them for 90 odd episodes. They are fun to hang with in the hunt. Sitting around a steamer trunk, their conversation falters. "What three things would you take to Alcatraz?” “A cat, a DVD, and a hamburger.” Uh, yeah.


We don’t want to sit down and chat with them—anymore than we want to take our Halo clan to work with us. Ever have to bring a conversation around after one of your Live buds has just finished explaining his last online battle? It’s painful. Your heart had to go out to Josh. But at least he was honest. SyFy foots his travel bill.

Yes, it was embarrassing. It is always painful to watch a friend make the stab at being a part of the inner circle. (Can't Buy Me Love, guys, is just a feel good movie. It is fiction.) I couldn’t take it. I was not there for them. I turned off the light, curled up, and listened as my wife channel surf to the Oxygen channel. She was smug; I could tell by the way she clicked the changer.

Bayard Sartoris

Comics Buying Tips for the Economically Strapped Comic Buyer

Our new contributor, Bayard Sartoris, asked a question in a commment on an older post asking for less expensive ways to acquire

trade paperbacks or for "Buying Tips for the Economically Strapped New Collector".

Here are the places I go to to buy stuff.

First online options:

While I do like to support my local comic shop, there isn't a local comic shop in the town where I live. Also, the nearest

comic shop is at least 40 minutes away and has a distinct focus on gaming. While I have nothing against gaming or gamers, when

I have to ask a table of kids playing Magic to move so I can look at the in the back issue bins, it isn't worth my time and

obviously the owner of the shops priority isn't comics. I acquire comics and trades from a variety of online sources.

You can buy trades, often at a decent discount, at Amazon (www.amazon.com yes, I know you know the URL, but since I'm providing them for the rest of the sites I'm suggesting...). If you have an Amazon Prime account, this is an even easier choice to select.

There are other options. If you're looking for new forthcoming trades you can use an online subscription service like G-Mart (www.g-mart.com) which I've written about here or Discount Comic Book Service (www.dcbservice.com).

Another site where you can pick up trades at a decent discount (usually pretty close to Amazon.com) is In Stock Trades (www.instocktrades.com). They are a sister site to the aforementioned Discount Comic Book Service and offer free shipping on orders over $50. They provide pretty decent service and for the money, you're usually no worse off than using Amazon and you're still supporting the direct market.

Watch Mile High Comics (www.milehighcomics.com) for sales and discounts. While they are one of the pricier online comic shops, they frequently offer discounts and sales promotions. My advice would be to get on their mailing list and you will get an email when they acquire stuff and offer sales. They also have a want list feature and since Chuck makes frequent buying trips nationwide, he can often find something you're looking for.

Another resource I check if I'm looking for something is eBay (www.ebay.com). You can build a search and when something you're looking for is listed, you'll get an email. Another benefit of eBay is you may actually get the comics instead of the trade.

Some comics are worth reading for back matter or ads or something similar which isn't offered in the trade. Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips is a series that I would recommend buying the singles as is Fell by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith.

Brick & mortar options:

Sometimes a local shop will offer older or slower moving trades at a steep discount.

There is another option, if you have a local comic shop where the owner actually works in the store, if they have a large back stock of trades that aren't moving, you can always offer to buy some at a discount. At worst, he (or she) may say no or make a counter offer. I've gotten some trades at as much as 60% off this way in the past.

The beauty of one of the local comic shop options is if the owner and staff at the store are on the ball when you buy discounted stuff or ask for discounts on slow moving stuff, eventually they will ask you if you're interested in their slower moving stock at a discount. This helps both you, the discount shopper, and them, the store.

Another brick & mortar option, that Bayard already knows about is Borders (www.borders.com). They don't offer big discounts as the norm, but they frequently send emails with discounts of up to 40% and somewhat frequently around 30%.

Age of Heroes #1 -- Spoiler????

I was scanning the Marvel Previews for May 2010, and I spotted this pic from Age of Heroes 1. If you look at some of the characters, do they not match the shadows presented in "Secret Avengers" teasers? Also, the caption hints that one of the MI13 characters will defect and join the Avengers.

Finally, a question. Can anyone identify the lady in the white dress and red cape? I can pinpoint her character, and she definitely fits one of the Secret Avenger shadows.

Someone probably knows all of this and/or has spoiled all of this. If so, just point me there, and I will take a gander.

Houston's Comicpalooza

As I will be in Texas for a period of time, I figured that I might as well swing by Houston's Comicpalooza. I don't think that it will be anything close to Dragoncon, but it still should be fun. After all, I tend to go for the dealer shops, and it is really hard for me to shop for steampunk online.
Do I expect costumes? Yes, but not at the same quality and/or quantity seen at Dragoncon.
Will I drag members of my family with me? Hopefully, but then again, a lot of them have perception issues. If they are seen with geeks, then you will become a geek. I don't really perceive us as the zombie types. Statistically, zombies will allows when. The numbers are against you.

So, I look forward to Comicpalooza, and while I may not give you an update on how it went, I will probably give you an update on what I bought!

Ghost Hunters Count Down

Ghost Hunters's mid-season premiere is on this Wednesday night. And, I am ready to watch Jason and Grant tackle Alcatraz with their techno-geek speak. A couple of times over the last few months, I have resorted to watching Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel to get my paranormal fix. I was unnerved.

Clearly knock offs of the successful Ghost Hunter franchise, Ghost Adventures and those others (Ghost Lab) reflect a dark trend in our society.

Everyone knows the signs.

A blind commitment
A esoteric and arcane knowledge
A cultish adherence to an unwritten but absolute set of rules
A willingness to explain, expound

These function as filters (better than any ever created by Microsoft). They enable normal people--the high school cheerleader, the two golfers knocking back drinks at the club, or wives discussing Oprah over lattes—to navigate around geeks without having to notice them, talk to them, stop at Starbucks with them.

The geekiness of Ghost Hunter’s Grant and Jason is indisputable. If you have any doubts, spend five minutes surfing their webpages (both the SyFY and the TAPS sites), read a handful of their Twitters, or lurk in their chatroom. It’s all there. The internet does not lie—at least in this way.

True, an authentic geek often has the loyal, socially adept friend. (To fully understand the implications of this relationship, watch Lucas or less painfully reflect on Han’s role in Star Wars. All geeks are ultimately and finally Jedi knights in disguise.) In point of fact, Jason and Grant have Josh Gates from Destination Truth.

For the most part, though, society has ignored the geek and for good reason.

The geeky obsession (if that is not too strong or vulgar) is a response to a higher calling. And this response requires the authentic, true geek to willingly sacrifice any pretense of convention or conformity. In short, social standing is jettisoned.

And therein lies the ugly, dysfunctionality of Ghost Lab and its kind. These guys are not geeks. They are cool hipsters, muscle bound studs, black clad tough guys who spent their adolescence tormenting the kid who knew too much about Spiderman or WoW. Posers. Imposters. Insidious infiltrators. Indeed, I am tempted to label them the Sith of prime time cable programming—but not being a part of the geek inner sanctum (not knowing the name of the creature that almost disembowels Luke on that ice planet) I hesitate.

Uncomfortable with the outlier, our society has taken notice of the geek and has begun the process of assimilation. (Yes, that is a mixed metaphor. And the fact that you caught it and snarked on it marks you as one of them.)

Bayard Sartoris

Jack of Fables Volume 3

The saga of my addiction continues and deepens.


After the punishment of Knights, I needed something, so I picked Jack of Fables back up. The contrast was immediate. Willingham and his crew have a grasp of the narrative; they know how to tell a story. And they play with it—challenging the boundaries of conventional narratives.


Every issue ends with Jack throwing out a teaser, commenting on the direction of the narrative. The small yellow boxes, though, mark this as a dialogue outside of the narrative; the boxes could be Jack’s comments to himself as he tells the story or some such clever two step.


But then Gary—the Pathetic Fallacy—warns Jack and John. He tells them that a disrupted and disjointed exposition is undermining the narrative; he goes on to explain that readers will be lost and that the issues will not have a neat conclusion.


The character is aware of the story in which he lives. The storyteller is aware of his narrator’s audience.

In both Fables and Jack, Willingham and friends are telling a story about storybook characters living outside of the storybook. Like Unwritten (review upcoming), these works can be labeled metafiction—fiction about writing fiction. A tedious, lengthy literary discourse could follow dissecting the significance of this sort of self-reflection—mirror held to a mirror. And perhaps, it should. Narrativity.


Perhaps. (If you are interested, I will send you files—no links for the literary elite. You could consider writing a paper and sending it to the Pop Culture Conference in Albuquerque.)


Strikingly, the narrative is not broken by the character’s refusal to abide by the dictates of the convention. Willingham, though, plows on. The plot continues. The conflict builds. Readers maintain their willing suspension of disbelief—despite the character’s audacious attacks on that disbelief.


The boundaries between fiction and reality are thin. Any sort of extended analysis of the break would be a foolhardy construct meant to bolster what has already been ruptured, to reassure ourselves that that is fiction and this is reality. We would be whistling against the dark—something Jack consistently does.


And as if to highlight the point—the illustrator puts Satan in a devil’s costume. Even Satan assumes his role, dresses the part, challenging the reader to notice that in the end he is just wearing a red suit.


Half-nude women, severed body parts, and dirty words are all much more titillating—for some of us. But this kind of manipulation of narrative threads is reminiscent of American Modernist and Indian epics.



Bayard Sartoris