bob.

Sorry as plural televisions

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A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

The Batlord

Oh...

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The Batlord

Not a comic book, but close enough. I just got a shirt with this pic on it. It's definitely one of those things that tries way too hard to look cool even though it's something so dorky that no one other than a dork will ever find it cool, but I don't give a ****.

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LoathsomePete

The Pulse

Pseudo sequel to the critically acclaimed MAX Imprint comic Alias that basically picks up where that left off. Still follows on the adventures of Jessica Jones, a former superhero who left the costumed crime fighting life, now living with boyfriend Luke Cage and dealing with her pregnancy. The framing device is that she joins the Daily Bugle as a consultant for a weekly column about superheroes.

Basically I'm reading it because I loved Alias and I think I'm going to track down more Marvel comic series' written by Brian Michael Bendis.

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101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

The Batlord

It's entirely possible that this is the single greatest thing I've ever seen on the internet. It's basically a fan generated web series inspired by Heath Ledger's Joker, and the guy who plays the Joker is pretty much the next best thing to the original. After a little while you even forget he isn't Heath. And it just gets consistently better and better as time went on. I'm really just astounded at just how well this was done and how much time, effort, and blood, sweat, and tears obviously went into this. And how they managed to do some of the things near the end on what must have been a non-existent budget I have no idea.

Seriously, if you haven't seen this and you have any love for Batman, then you owe it to yourself to watch this. I think I pretty much just spent the entirety of three or four hours watching it in its entirety and I'm just bummed it's over, although they've apparently started a second series.







The entirety of the series in one Youtube playlist.

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LoathsomePete

Been reading a lot more superhero comics lately, so here's my parting thoughts on a what I've been reading:



Cable and X-Force

Out of all the combinations of X-Force characters there have been over the years, this has by far been my favourite. Dr. Nemesis has become a new favourite of mine and I will be looking to expand upon the character. Other than that, the writer covered a lot of ground in just 19 issues, and while I have yet to see how the final story arc resolves, I would recommend this run if you're interested in mutants, but want something a little different to X-Men.



The Immortal Iron First

Enjoyed this one more than I thought it would. It expanded upon the Iron Fist mythos showing that many other have held the title and all came to a tragic end. This had some great support character appearances with Luke Cage and Heroes for Hire and gave a little more humanity and character to Danny Rand.



Captain Marvel Vol. 7

Easily one of Marvels better running comics from the last few years. The writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick, really has a grasp on this character and manages to make her feel both empowered but vulnerable, tactical but reckless, intelligent but impatient. Basically she's written to feel like a person, not just a wish fulfillment fantasy. Now obviously that's what comic book characters are suppose to be, but as an adult it's less about escapism and more about character conflict.

At the end of the day Carol Danvers is probably Marvel's strongest female superhero and I look forward to keeping up with the most current run.[



Truth: Red, White & Black

A 7-issue run that uses the infamous and grotesque Tuskegee syphilis experiment as inspiration for the trials of the Super Soldier serum used to create Captain America. Basically the comic shows the army and clandestine government agencies using black soldiers as test subjects, sending the few who survived on suicide missions until only one soldier remains, Isaiah Bradley. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but this is definitely one of Marvel's more seminal works from the last 14-years and definitely deserves a read from everyone.


Got a few more on the go, mostly based around female characters in the Marvel universe, plus a sci-fi fantasy series called Saga from Image.

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101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

The Batlord

Just picked up the trade paperback of this bad boy. Suck it.

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LoathsomePete

So I'm guessing he got his face sewn back on?

Anyway I decided to take a break from Marvel and start trying to mine DC for some gems, and here's what I've found so far.



Green Lantern / Green Arrow by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams

I'll be first to admit that I tend to shy away from the '70's when it comes to comics. There's good stuff to be had, but I feel like it can be real chore to dig through and find the ones that still hold up. Out of all the series' to still hold up to this day, it's pretty surprising that it turns out to be the Green Lantern/Green Arrow teamup. Basically Hal Jordan (GL) has always been DC's tough guy John Wayne type of character who holds authority and following rules above all else, whereas Oliver Queen (GA) leans heavily towards the left of the political spectrum and sees himself as a modern-day Robin Hood. The basic premise of this series is to have their political and philosophical differences square off, while always trying to find some kind of compromise. Issues of racism (pictured), drug use (pictured), environmental decline, corruption, greed, and many other issues pop up throughout this run, but all are presented in such a way that it does not feel contrived or preachy, which is damn near impossible for this medium.

Out of all of them, the #85-86 "Snowbirds Don't Fly" is probably my favourite, because it could have so easily turned into a D.A.R.E. presentation, but instead dealt with drug use in a respectable manner that didn't just turn into a "drugs are whack" cliche like we got in the '80's (thank you Nancy Reagan). While the message is still there, Speedy (pictured just about to shoot up) has some relevant points and gets to take Green Arrow down a notch or two. Really the only cringe worthy part of this particular arc is the shoehorned in use of slang, which may have sounded hip and cool in the '70's but is just laughable today, which is a shame because I feel that could turn a lot of potential readers off.

I won't lie and say all their attempts to tackle big issues came out as well as that story arc, but they were at least valiant attempts and showcased the medium's potential before it got (mostly) squandered after 1986. The series was recently collected into a single volume and is well worth picking up. In fact, I think anyone who thinks of themselves as a Social Justice Warrior, or bemoans the same should read this as it's practically a how-to guide on how to deal with people with opposing viewpoints.




Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters by Mike Grell

My first real introduction to the character of Green Arrow came from the CW series Arrow, and while it is a perfectly serviceable series given the network (if you've ever watched The CW you probably know what I mean by that statement, but if not I will elaborate upon request), I found myself far more curious about the character after reading Dennis O'Neil's take. I also find this particular 3 part series to be fascinating from a historical point, because it's only a year after Watchmen/ The Dark Knight Returns changed the face of comics forever. It's impossible not to see the influences of those two landmark comics leak into this series (as well as the rest of the industry), but at least here it's not done in the pandering way comics went in the '90's. Sure there's blood, swearing, killing, and brief nudity, but it really is balanced out by a reflection of Oliver Queen as a character as he comes to terms with his own mortality and age. His character growth feels organic and natural given the change in tone of comics as well as the state of the world at the time. This was 1987 at what was probably the height of the crack epidemic, and the beginnings of what I like to call "the end is neigh" style of journalism wherein there's nothing positive in world worth reporting on. It makes sense to change up the DC universe to reflect those changes and from a continuity standpoint it works out because of the events of "Crisis on Infinite Earths".

Basically there are two types of mature comics, those that have substance, and those that have style, and unfortunately most comics fall into the latter, hoping that blood, tits, and curse words will make the older audience not feel self-conscious about still being into something ostensibly marketed towards children. This one is definitely worth your time if you're unfamiliar with the DC character, who is probably one of the most human superheroes in the DC Universe.

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101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

The Batlord

If by haphazardly reattached with hooks into a terrifying rictus that requires the Joker to regularly apply eye drops as he no longer has functioning eyelids, then yes. I haven't finished it yet, as I always end up reading graphic novels as quickly as possible and end up wishing I'd taken my time, so I'm actually only a few issues in, but it's pretty excellent so far. Some of it is less so (like the Catwoman story), but the good ones have been really good. The Joker's reunion with both Harley Quinn, and what I'm assuming to be his first encounter with Barbara Gordon since The Killing Joke were pretty fantastic, especially the latter, as they really get into the emotional aspects of those relationships rather than just being "It's the Joker, dude! You know ****'s about to hit the fan when the Joker comes to town!"-style lazy storytelling that people seem to fall back on now that he's basically the Beatles of comic book villains. I'm a little bit into his confrontation with Red Hood, and even though I know Jason Todd's already met him since his return, I'm kind of stoked, given how this series seems to be about exploring the Joker's relationship toward the Batman and all of his inner circle rather than merely being Jokery. Should be properly intense.

I also dig how, even though the Joker's current incarnation is a transparent attempt at making him even creepier, they still do make him legitimately creepier. There's a scene involving a chainsaw during the Batgirl issue that made me chuckle in morbid satisfaction at how deliciously evil it was. The artwork definitely sells it too. There have already been more than a few soon-to-be iconic Joker closeups.

Even though I don't usually care that much for either of those characters I do want to read that at some point. I hear that it's supposed to be the sort of starting point of when comic books really started to mature so I imagine it's worth reading if only for the historical value. It sounds like it might be one of the only times up to that point where a sidekick actually improved a storyline.

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RoxyRollah

Now wait, this is one your shirt? See I dig it but that particular joker looks like Jack Nicholson. Not at all like the Dini cartoons. Now that I would think would be the more scrutinized, by our fellow dorks and nerds then the shirt itself.

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