Friday, June 29, 2007
DC SHOWCASE UPDATE
DC Showcase Presents is a line of phonebook-size black-and-white reprints of old DC comics, primarily from the Silver Age, or the late 1950's and '60's. These books are almost overwhelmingly AWESOME. I've written about a couple of them before, and hope to eventually review all of them in time. Until then here's a quick, nearly content-free run-down of the books I've read thus far.
AQUAMAN VOL 1: B
BATMAN VOL 1: A
BRAVE AND THE BOLD VOL 1: A
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN VOL 1: C+
FLASH VOL 1: B+
GREEN LANTERN VOL 1: B
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA VOL 1: B-
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES VOL 1: A
METAMORPHO VOL 1: A
PHANTOM STRANGER VOL 1: B-
SHAZAM VOL 1: B+
SUPERMAN VOL 1: A+
SUPERMAN VOL 2: A
SUPERMAN FAMILY VOL 1: A
TEEN TITANS VOL 1: B+
THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER VOL 1: B-
THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT VOL 1: B-
DC Showcase Presents is a line of phonebook-size black-and-white reprints of old DC comics, primarily from the Silver Age, or the late 1950's and '60's. These books are almost overwhelmingly AWESOME. I've written about a couple of them before, and hope to eventually review all of them in time. Until then here's a quick, nearly content-free run-down of the books I've read thus far.
AQUAMAN VOL 1: B
BATMAN VOL 1: A
BRAVE AND THE BOLD VOL 1: A
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN VOL 1: C+
FLASH VOL 1: B+
GREEN LANTERN VOL 1: B
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA VOL 1: B-
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES VOL 1: A
METAMORPHO VOL 1: A
PHANTOM STRANGER VOL 1: B-
SHAZAM VOL 1: B+
SUPERMAN VOL 1: A+
SUPERMAN VOL 2: A
SUPERMAN FAMILY VOL 1: A
TEEN TITANS VOL 1: B+
THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER VOL 1: B-
THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT VOL 1: B-
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
so I think that's definitely it for me and wrestling.
I haven't watched wrestling much since 2001, anyway, but now I don't think I could ever get into it again, even if I really wanted to.
I just wonder, obviously Benoit takes the blame here, but how culpable could the industry be in this situation? You can say the constant pain, the probable abuse of pain-killers, and the loss of several close wrestler friends most likely played a role in Benoit's likely actions, but can you really blame pro wrestling for inciting somebody to murder? The steady wave of drug-related deaths is obviously a huge mark against the industry, and something that the WWE could have done more to attempt to prevent, but I'm not sure how much, or if any, blame can be laid upon the industry for this latest tragedy. Of course I'm sure others will do so, and perhaps this will be the final grisly straw that leads to serious efforts to reform the nature of the industry, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.
Obviously this whole situation involving Chris Benoit's death is horribly shocking and depressing news. He's one of the last wrestlers I'd ever expect to do something like this. I haven't watched wrestling regularly since 2001, but after getting back into it in '96 there was nobody I enjoyed watching in a match more than Benoit. He was the finest technical wrestler of his generation, and the absolute best at making it look real. I'd almost always root for him over his opponent, even if that opponent was a more charismatic or engaging personality, which, to be honest, almost everybody was. As great a wrestler as Benoit was, he was mostly horrible when it came to interviews and the more dramatic (or at least melodramatic) aspects of the medium. And maybe that's why, despite enjoying his matches more than any other wrestler since Randy Savage and Ric Flair in their 1980's prime, and despite everything being so sordid, his death hasn't quite hit me as hard as Owen Hart's and Eddie Guerrero's, or made as much impact as a hypothetical similar death of Chris Jericho or Mick Foley would. It's obviously horrible, I was deeply saddened last night, still am really damn bummed, but it's been less than twelve hours since I found out and I'm already slightly detached from the whole thing, and can approach his death unemotionally. With Owen and Eddie I'd get depressed for days afterward. And like I said, I do believe it's mostly because Benoit failed to create a memorable character, beyond being the serious and determined ass-kicker (a stock wrestling type that I really really like, but that still required more acting ability than Benoit possessed), but also I have to wonder what effect the amazingly sordid and despicable nature of his death has already played upon my memory of and respect for the man. Damn.
Nancy Benoit was a prominent valet and wrestler in WCW and ECW throughout the late '80's and '90's. I first saw her as Rick Steiner's geeky superfan, Robin Green, who would sit in the front row during Steiner Brothers matches and eventually became something like his girlfriend. After a few weeks she asked to accompany the Steiners to ringside; Scott wasn't so sure, but Rick prevailed, and so she became their unofficial valet. Of course she immediately turned on them and helped their opponents win. She ditched the goofy, ill-fitting sweaters in favor of a leather bustier, went from dowdy '80's housewife hair to slutty, overly teased, '80's rock video vixen hair, and changed her name from Robin Green to Woman. She managed Doom during their early masked phase, when they were awful, in a memorably one-sided feud against the Steiners. Later she was the valet for her then-real-life-husband, Kevin Sullivan, and after that accompanied Ric Flair to the ring for a brief period of time. She briefly popped up in ECW in '94 and '95, I believe. In 1995 Kevin Sullivan, who was the booker of WCW, came up with a storyline where his wife would leave him for the young up-and-comer Chris Benoit. To make the story more realistic, Kevin had Nancy and Benoit travel together, during which time they started up a real affair. She left Sullivan for Benoit, and the bad blood between those two men eventually led to Benoit leaving WCW for WWF in 2000. But so, after marrying Benoit and taking his name, Nancy mostly retired from wrestling. Initially it seemed like her death would be overshadowed by her husband's, but considering the nature of of their deaths I imagine you'll see a number of wrestling fans pointedly pay tribute to her. Sort of like I just did, I guess.
I haven't watched wrestling much since 2001, anyway, but now I don't think I could ever get into it again, even if I really wanted to.
I just wonder, obviously Benoit takes the blame here, but how culpable could the industry be in this situation? You can say the constant pain, the probable abuse of pain-killers, and the loss of several close wrestler friends most likely played a role in Benoit's likely actions, but can you really blame pro wrestling for inciting somebody to murder? The steady wave of drug-related deaths is obviously a huge mark against the industry, and something that the WWE could have done more to attempt to prevent, but I'm not sure how much, or if any, blame can be laid upon the industry for this latest tragedy. Of course I'm sure others will do so, and perhaps this will be the final grisly straw that leads to serious efforts to reform the nature of the industry, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.
Obviously this whole situation involving Chris Benoit's death is horribly shocking and depressing news. He's one of the last wrestlers I'd ever expect to do something like this. I haven't watched wrestling regularly since 2001, but after getting back into it in '96 there was nobody I enjoyed watching in a match more than Benoit. He was the finest technical wrestler of his generation, and the absolute best at making it look real. I'd almost always root for him over his opponent, even if that opponent was a more charismatic or engaging personality, which, to be honest, almost everybody was. As great a wrestler as Benoit was, he was mostly horrible when it came to interviews and the more dramatic (or at least melodramatic) aspects of the medium. And maybe that's why, despite enjoying his matches more than any other wrestler since Randy Savage and Ric Flair in their 1980's prime, and despite everything being so sordid, his death hasn't quite hit me as hard as Owen Hart's and Eddie Guerrero's, or made as much impact as a hypothetical similar death of Chris Jericho or Mick Foley would. It's obviously horrible, I was deeply saddened last night, still am really damn bummed, but it's been less than twelve hours since I found out and I'm already slightly detached from the whole thing, and can approach his death unemotionally. With Owen and Eddie I'd get depressed for days afterward. And like I said, I do believe it's mostly because Benoit failed to create a memorable character, beyond being the serious and determined ass-kicker (a stock wrestling type that I really really like, but that still required more acting ability than Benoit possessed), but also I have to wonder what effect the amazingly sordid and despicable nature of his death has already played upon my memory of and respect for the man. Damn.
Nancy Benoit was a prominent valet and wrestler in WCW and ECW throughout the late '80's and '90's. I first saw her as Rick Steiner's geeky superfan, Robin Green, who would sit in the front row during Steiner Brothers matches and eventually became something like his girlfriend. After a few weeks she asked to accompany the Steiners to ringside; Scott wasn't so sure, but Rick prevailed, and so she became their unofficial valet. Of course she immediately turned on them and helped their opponents win. She ditched the goofy, ill-fitting sweaters in favor of a leather bustier, went from dowdy '80's housewife hair to slutty, overly teased, '80's rock video vixen hair, and changed her name from Robin Green to Woman. She managed Doom during their early masked phase, when they were awful, in a memorably one-sided feud against the Steiners. Later she was the valet for her then-real-life-husband, Kevin Sullivan, and after that accompanied Ric Flair to the ring for a brief period of time. She briefly popped up in ECW in '94 and '95, I believe. In 1995 Kevin Sullivan, who was the booker of WCW, came up with a storyline where his wife would leave him for the young up-and-comer Chris Benoit. To make the story more realistic, Kevin had Nancy and Benoit travel together, during which time they started up a real affair. She left Sullivan for Benoit, and the bad blood between those two men eventually led to Benoit leaving WCW for WWF in 2000. But so, after marrying Benoit and taking his name, Nancy mostly retired from wrestling. Initially it seemed like her death would be overshadowed by her husband's, but considering the nature of of their deaths I imagine you'll see a number of wrestling fans pointedly pay tribute to her. Sort of like I just did, I guess.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
circling the drain on the radio
Okay, Mesmerization Eclipse still exists every Friday on WZBC 90.3 FM from 3 to 5, including today. It won't for too much longer, though. End of the summer is probably the end of radio, FOREVER.
and yes, they've still got streams and shit.
Okay, Mesmerization Eclipse still exists every Friday on WZBC 90.3 FM from 3 to 5, including today. It won't for too much longer, though. End of the summer is probably the end of radio, FOREVER.
and yes, they've still got streams and shit.
new(ish) weblog by friend and frequent commenter
or perhaps an old weblog whose existence was previously unknown to me: Overundulating Fever. Duly added to the side list there.
also added a link Ryan Lewis's Ryanetics. He writes about comics sometimes. I like comics. I also like reading about comics.
or perhaps an old weblog whose existence was previously unknown to me: Overundulating Fever. Duly added to the side list there.
also added a link Ryan Lewis's Ryanetics. He writes about comics sometimes. I like comics. I also like reading about comics.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
True History of the LOLCats *
Startling revelations:
"Not many people know this, but my great grandfather Aloysius 'Gorilla' Koford, was also a cartoonist. From 1912-1913 he produced a comic strip which was featured in 17 newspapers, including the Philadephia Star-Democrat, the Tampa Telegraph, and the Santa Fe Good-Newser.
The strip was entitled 'the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats' and featured the exploits of one Meowlin Q. Kitteh (a sort of cat hobo-raconteur) and his young hapless kitten friend, Pip. The strip did not last long due to a run-in my great-grandfather had with none other than William Randolph Hearst.
See, the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats was run by one of Heart's competitors, so 'Big Willy' (as Hearst was known in his day) used the bully pulpit of his media empire to hound and mock the efforts of my great-grandfather. Hearst scribes insinuated Aloysius was an actual trained gorilla and purported to have evidence in the form of banana shipping statements. (In reality, my great-grandfather was an expert climber and incredibly hirsute, and had earned the nickname in college.) Pressures continued to mount and Aloysius hung up his pen after only a year of working on the strip. He turned to a life of quiet dignity as a steamer captain and part-time walrus hunter.
But the story doesn't have to end there.
As the only known cartoonist relative of Aloysius 'Gorilla' Koford, I am authorized to sell black and white postcard sized portraits of Kitteh and Pip (on old-timey looking paper even!), for a mere $20 via HOBOTOPIA.
Own a piece of forgotten cartoon history today!
kthxbai "
Here's a slideshow.
*: not actually true
Startling revelations:
"Not many people know this, but my great grandfather Aloysius 'Gorilla' Koford, was also a cartoonist. From 1912-1913 he produced a comic strip which was featured in 17 newspapers, including the Philadephia Star-Democrat, the Tampa Telegraph, and the Santa Fe Good-Newser.
The strip was entitled 'the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats' and featured the exploits of one Meowlin Q. Kitteh (a sort of cat hobo-raconteur) and his young hapless kitten friend, Pip. The strip did not last long due to a run-in my great-grandfather had with none other than William Randolph Hearst.
See, the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats was run by one of Heart's competitors, so 'Big Willy' (as Hearst was known in his day) used the bully pulpit of his media empire to hound and mock the efforts of my great-grandfather. Hearst scribes insinuated Aloysius was an actual trained gorilla and purported to have evidence in the form of banana shipping statements. (In reality, my great-grandfather was an expert climber and incredibly hirsute, and had earned the nickname in college.) Pressures continued to mount and Aloysius hung up his pen after only a year of working on the strip. He turned to a life of quiet dignity as a steamer captain and part-time walrus hunter.
But the story doesn't have to end there.
As the only known cartoonist relative of Aloysius 'Gorilla' Koford, I am authorized to sell black and white postcard sized portraits of Kitteh and Pip (on old-timey looking paper even!), for a mere $20 via HOBOTOPIA.
Own a piece of forgotten cartoon history today!
kthxbai "
Here's a slideshow.
*: not actually true
I Don't Hate This: a review of World War Hulk (thus far).
Whatta surprise: World War Hulk has been kinda awesome thus far. I mean, not the greatest thing ever, and perhaps not even truly great in and of itself, but compared to the other big crossovers Marvel and DC have hoisted upon the public in the past couple of years, it’s really damn good. I’m sure most of the tie-ins and ancillary miniseries will blow, but the core stories, written by Greg Pak and appearing in Incredible Hulk and the World War Hulk mini and prologue, have been tremendous fun. It’s completely goofball, of course, but it fully commits to the goofballery, which is vitally necessary.
But yes, based on the track record of these things, and the fact that I’ve never cared for the Hulk (outside of the Defenders, when he was dumber than shit, like a big green Jim Thome), I totally expected WWH to suck. It definitely got off on the wrong foot, over a year ago, when they started laying the groundwork for both WWH and the preceding storyline Planet Hulk. In 2006 the overrated writer Brian Michael Bendis introduced the concept of “the Illuminati”, basically a group of Marvel’s smartest and most powerful heroes who each represented a different faction of the Marvel universe. Iron Man represents the main body of costumed heroes, Mr. Fantastic is the top scientist around, Dr. Strange is the greatest wizard since Doug Henning, Professor X clamps the lid down on them mutants with his mind, Black Bolt’s just kickin’ it on the moon, and Namor the Sub-Mariner is the unrivalled champ of all the dicks and assholes in the realm (plus Atlantis too or something.) But so they start having these shadowy meetings after major universe-shaking events, going all the way back to the end of the first Kree-Skrull war, which happened in like 1970, real world time. They think they know what’s best for everybody, and since all their meetings have been written by Bendis, almost all of them are written horribly out of character. But so after the Hulk goes on some rampage somewhere, and blows up a refinery or something with the Abomination’s head, these dudes decide it’s time to get the Hulk the hell away from America by blasting him into outer space. Prof X ain’t at that meeting, though, and Hulk’s old Defenders teammate Namor angrily storms off from the meeting in question, making Iron Man, Fantastic, Strange, and Black Bolt the major culprits in the plot. So Hulk’s shot into space, where his ship lands on some crazed gladiator planet somewhere, and over the course of the next year (our time; probably be a day in comics time by 2050) he fights his way up from slave to emperor, just in time for the planet to get ‘sploded along with his new wife and unborn Hulk-child. Apparently the ship he arrived in had some sort of nuclear core reactor failsafe plot point detonator thing, destroying all that Hulk knew and loved and enjoyed and doted upon, and thus sending him into a fit of apoplectic fury unseen since this thing here. He flies his ass back to Earth (through SUPER HULK MAGIC) and decides to batter the four guys responsible into complete and endless death, along with however many billions of random dudes get in his way while going to get themselves a burger, or whatever. So there’s your background, all you non-comics-reading ignorami who frequent this site.
This would be a good idea for a story, actually, if it didn’t make some of the smartest dudes around look like soulless assholes. Even if Dr. Strange is involved, Genocide is NOT cool, whether it's inadvertent or not, and turning the GREATEST FICTIONAL CHARACTER OF ALL TIME (his name rhymes with Proctor Flange) into even a sorta possible bad guy is some hopeless horseshit. So hopefully you can understand my hesitation and dismay at the prospects of World War Hulk.
But yes, that dismay has been unfounded! At least through the first four parts of the story, the first four of like fifty, or only 12 or so, if you discount all the non-Pak written crossovers. Basically these first four parts have seen the Hulk smashing the holy hell out of stuff, knocking down skyscrapers in New York with Iron Man’s limp body, somehow beating the terrigen out of Black Bolt (whose slightest whisper could rend worlds), etc., all while wearing a metal tiara and some leather sandals with elaborate calf-straps. In the latest issue of Incredible Hulk (which I guess is the fourth part, coming after the WWH Prologue, Hulk #105, and WWH #1), Hulk finds out he’s got some folks willing to help him out, including Hercules, the most incomparably awesome dude that almost no comics fans seem to like (repeat: 99% of comics fans are hopeless retards). Angel (who for some reason is no longer blue and metallic) is also on Hulk’s side, making for a nice little mini-Champions reunion, along with Namor’s long-thought-dead-but-recently-revived-in-the-awesome-Agents-of-Atlas cousin, Namora. So I guess these four, along with Hulk’s “warbound” (a bunch of alien jokers who followed him from deadsville to kick human rump) and a demographically diverse group of angry and indigent humans, are gonna help Hulk pummel Mr. Fantastic, or something. Oh, there’s also some Asian boy genius named Amadeus who keeps a coyote puppy in his leather jacket 24-7. I have no idea what the fuck is up with that kid.
So I whole-heartedly endorse these first four installments of Marvel’s latest overblown summer kerfluffle. But that endorsement will be revoked the instant they don’t have Dr. Strange wearily dispatch Hulk and whoever else with an idle twitch of his right hand, without even looking up from the Thaumaturgic Tome of Tatoombah.
Whatta surprise: World War Hulk has been kinda awesome thus far. I mean, not the greatest thing ever, and perhaps not even truly great in and of itself, but compared to the other big crossovers Marvel and DC have hoisted upon the public in the past couple of years, it’s really damn good. I’m sure most of the tie-ins and ancillary miniseries will blow, but the core stories, written by Greg Pak and appearing in Incredible Hulk and the World War Hulk mini and prologue, have been tremendous fun. It’s completely goofball, of course, but it fully commits to the goofballery, which is vitally necessary.
But yes, based on the track record of these things, and the fact that I’ve never cared for the Hulk (outside of the Defenders, when he was dumber than shit, like a big green Jim Thome), I totally expected WWH to suck. It definitely got off on the wrong foot, over a year ago, when they started laying the groundwork for both WWH and the preceding storyline Planet Hulk. In 2006 the overrated writer Brian Michael Bendis introduced the concept of “the Illuminati”, basically a group of Marvel’s smartest and most powerful heroes who each represented a different faction of the Marvel universe. Iron Man represents the main body of costumed heroes, Mr. Fantastic is the top scientist around, Dr. Strange is the greatest wizard since Doug Henning, Professor X clamps the lid down on them mutants with his mind, Black Bolt’s just kickin’ it on the moon, and Namor the Sub-Mariner is the unrivalled champ of all the dicks and assholes in the realm (plus Atlantis too or something.) But so they start having these shadowy meetings after major universe-shaking events, going all the way back to the end of the first Kree-Skrull war, which happened in like 1970, real world time. They think they know what’s best for everybody, and since all their meetings have been written by Bendis, almost all of them are written horribly out of character. But so after the Hulk goes on some rampage somewhere, and blows up a refinery or something with the Abomination’s head, these dudes decide it’s time to get the Hulk the hell away from America by blasting him into outer space. Prof X ain’t at that meeting, though, and Hulk’s old Defenders teammate Namor angrily storms off from the meeting in question, making Iron Man, Fantastic, Strange, and Black Bolt the major culprits in the plot. So Hulk’s shot into space, where his ship lands on some crazed gladiator planet somewhere, and over the course of the next year (our time; probably be a day in comics time by 2050) he fights his way up from slave to emperor, just in time for the planet to get ‘sploded along with his new wife and unborn Hulk-child. Apparently the ship he arrived in had some sort of nuclear core reactor failsafe plot point detonator thing, destroying all that Hulk knew and loved and enjoyed and doted upon, and thus sending him into a fit of apoplectic fury unseen since this thing here. He flies his ass back to Earth (through SUPER HULK MAGIC) and decides to batter the four guys responsible into complete and endless death, along with however many billions of random dudes get in his way while going to get themselves a burger, or whatever. So there’s your background, all you non-comics-reading ignorami who frequent this site.
This would be a good idea for a story, actually, if it didn’t make some of the smartest dudes around look like soulless assholes. Even if Dr. Strange is involved, Genocide is NOT cool, whether it's inadvertent or not, and turning the GREATEST FICTIONAL CHARACTER OF ALL TIME (his name rhymes with Proctor Flange) into even a sorta possible bad guy is some hopeless horseshit. So hopefully you can understand my hesitation and dismay at the prospects of World War Hulk.
But yes, that dismay has been unfounded! At least through the first four parts of the story, the first four of like fifty, or only 12 or so, if you discount all the non-Pak written crossovers. Basically these first four parts have seen the Hulk smashing the holy hell out of stuff, knocking down skyscrapers in New York with Iron Man’s limp body, somehow beating the terrigen out of Black Bolt (whose slightest whisper could rend worlds), etc., all while wearing a metal tiara and some leather sandals with elaborate calf-straps. In the latest issue of Incredible Hulk (which I guess is the fourth part, coming after the WWH Prologue, Hulk #105, and WWH #1), Hulk finds out he’s got some folks willing to help him out, including Hercules, the most incomparably awesome dude that almost no comics fans seem to like (repeat: 99% of comics fans are hopeless retards). Angel (who for some reason is no longer blue and metallic) is also on Hulk’s side, making for a nice little mini-Champions reunion, along with Namor’s long-thought-dead-but-recently-revived-in-the-awesome-Agents-of-Atlas cousin, Namora. So I guess these four, along with Hulk’s “warbound” (a bunch of alien jokers who followed him from deadsville to kick human rump) and a demographically diverse group of angry and indigent humans, are gonna help Hulk pummel Mr. Fantastic, or something. Oh, there’s also some Asian boy genius named Amadeus who keeps a coyote puppy in his leather jacket 24-7. I have no idea what the fuck is up with that kid.
So I whole-heartedly endorse these first four installments of Marvel’s latest overblown summer kerfluffle. But that endorsement will be revoked the instant they don’t have Dr. Strange wearily dispatch Hulk and whoever else with an idle twitch of his right hand, without even looking up from the Thaumaturgic Tome of Tatoombah.
Friday, June 15, 2007
radio rebirth
Yes I am back upon the radio today, WZBC 90.3 FM, Newton, MA, from 3 to 5 pm.
Starting the Countdown. Counting down. To something.
Yes I am back upon the radio today, WZBC 90.3 FM, Newton, MA, from 3 to 5 pm.
Starting the Countdown. Counting down. To something.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Friday, June 01, 2007
