Sunday, May 24, 2009

What the hell, one more comics post today

Sorry, all you non-comics readers. Today is truly a day for comic book fans on Confessions of a Post Oklahoman. That's right, this and other posts today are dedicated to all three of you comic book fan readers. Thank me later

I don't really have anything to say about comics, only a couple of cool pictures to post that I thought should be shared. The first is an homage to the best president out there and the hottest VP candidate in the past ten years (sorry Quayle):





Pretty damn awesome, right?







Next is Frank Cho's Tribute to Kirby and Steranko. Also pretty damn awesome, but in an entirely different way. This one reminds me of the Venture Brothers for some reason. And you can totally see that girl's vaginy.

The best damn comics show, period.

Thanks to Tim Callahan for posting a video on his blog about this, it's suddenly become my favorite comics-related video review in the entire galaxy. Yeah, that's right. Galaxy. "Advanced Common Sense with Tucker Stone." So watch and repost. Tucker Stone could be the next Tom Brokaw of the comics world.




And here's the first episode, if you're a completist like me:


Comics I read over the past two weeks (May 13 and 20, 2009)

Sorry for the delay, a strange mix of time and money issues kept me off the computer and away from the comic book store for a while. But here’s a look at what I picked up over the last couple of weeks:

Green Lantern Corps #36
Hey, did you hear? There’s going to be this huge event over at DC which focuses on the Green Lanterns! It’s ripped out of an old Alan Moore GL story and will focus on not just one, not even two, but seven (I think?) Lantern factions in the ultimate battle royal! The last lanterns standing will thereafter be known as the “Best Color in the Universe!” DC’s latest summer event seems to be made out of equal parts superhero police force, World Cup Soccer teams, and WWE No Holds Barred Something-or-Other. Like all events at Marvel and DC, the hype for the books has actually eclipsed the books themselves. Darkest Night is still almost a month away and I’m already feeling vaguely disappointed. This issue wasn’t so bad, though. Kyle and Guy try to quell a riot the Science-Cells, while Sodam Yat (another character/idea stolen from Moore) gets thrown around by Mogul and does something drastic and possibly really cool at the last minute. GLC has become my favorite of the two ongoing Lantern books, mostly because I’ve always liked the other GLs more than Hal. Sodam’s fight with Mogul was okay, but I’m more interested in what happened in that final panel. Did he just pull a Parallax?

RASL #4

The pace has begun to pick up with this issue. Sal the Camel guy is blackmailing Rasl by essentially saying that if Rasl doesn’t hand over a pair of mystery journals, Sal will devote all his time traveling to different parallel worlds and killing Rasl’s special lady friend in each of them. A strange threat, considering that there are potentially an infinite number of parallel worlds, but whatever. Jeff Smith’s begun incorporating some actual historical events into RASL, starting with the Navy’s botched attempt at influencing electromagnet waves, a la the Philadelphia Experiment, or Project Rainbow. My one complaint with this book is the shipping schedule. This is the first issue of RASL to come out in 2009. Trying to remember what happened in a book whose last issue came out over five months ago is a lot to ask. I know Smith likes to take his time on this stuff, and I can respect that, but c’mon. What else is he working on that could make RASL, a black and white comic of standard length, take so long to get out?

Kick Ass #7
The more I read from Mark Millar’s latest soon-to-be-a-shitty-movie-comic, the less I like. Big Daddy and Hit Girl are Ruby Ridge holdovers who set themselves up to fail, and Red Flame is even more of a douche. Kick-Ass the character is still entertaining, but the honeymoon’s over as far as the series is concerned. Gratuitous violence and nonstop profanity by themselves do not a good story make, as Millar has proven with Kick Ass.

Wolverine # 73
Wait… Seventy-three? Where’s #72, the conclusion to “Old Man Logan?” In an effort to milk its current movie for all it’s worth, the Powers that Be at Marvel decided to push Wolverine #73 out a month early, as it’s a stand-alone story that would be a good jumping on point for the three people in the U.S. who actually liked the new Wolverine movie and were motivated by it to buy the latest comic. Lame.

What’s even more lame is the fact that I really, really liked this issue. Adam Kubert’s back on Wolverine! Even if it’s just for one issue, Adam Kubert’s back on Wolverine! And Jason Aaron’s writing! This is, in my opinion, a dream-team pairing for this title. Although their collective story was only half of the issue, it was well worth the $2.99 I threw down for this issue. I particularly loved the content of the Aaron story, an almost satirical look at how absurdly popular and in-demand Wolverine is in the Marvel Universe. And Adam Kubert’s back on Wolverine! The second half of the book, by Daniel Way and Tommy Lee Edwards, was shit. Something about a biker that looks like John Goodman, and his traitorous son. Hopefully this won’t be the ongoing story once “Old Man Logan” wraps up.

Green Arrow-Black Canary #20

Since his resurrection several years ago at the hands of the dubious Kevin Smith, I’ve absolutely adored Green Arrow. Olliver Queen is cocky, pretentious, womanizing, pig-headed, egotistical, arrogant, and painfully flawed. AKA, me if I could be a superhero. The series had been consistently well-written since its relaunch, and included great writing stints by Brad Meltzer, Judd Winick, and even Kevin Smith (arguably the only decent thing Smith’s done since “Mallrats”).

That said, I’m probably going to have to drop Green Arrow-Black Canary soon. Since Winick left the title, the book’s been on the highway to cancellation hell. Worst of all, the current writer’s just casually destroying the Emerald City sandbox that Winick and company spent years building up. He had a psychotic homemaker kill Brick, for God’s sake. Gah! This issue sucked. I hated it. Moving on.

Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3

What a lousy miniseries. Tony Daniel, stick with the penciling in the future. I gave you the benefit of the doubt, since you penciled Morrison’s amazing Batman run over the past few years. I’d hoped against hope that some of that Morrison-y goodness had rubbed off on you. But lo. Battle for the Cowl has been nothing but an amazing waste of money. Dick’s Batman. Damien’s Robin. That was easy enough to figure out from the end of R.I.P. The entire Battle for the Cowl event has been a colossal waste of time, with no memorable moments or redeeming factors whatsoever. I never thought I’d read a Batman story that made me yearn for “Hush” until I’d read Battle for the Cowl. Now Tommy Elliot doesn’t seem so bad in comparison.

Oh well, Morrison’s back soon with Batman and Robin #1! And Winick’s back on Batman (which will be great as long as he doesn’t try to bring Dick’s parents back from the dead or something)!

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1910
I have no idea what just happened or who most of these people are, and I love it. Alan Moore has once again thrown the reader into his Steampunk dystopian version of England, this time in 1910. As before, Moore’s England serves as a meeting ground for any and all characters of English literature from past to present. As with previous volumes, this current incarnation of the League is made up of both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Some survived the Martian invasion, some showed up in Moore’s Black Dossier, some are new to the world. But the great thing is, all (and I do mean absolutely every one) of the characters in League can be traced back to their origins in English literature. The context this gives Moore’s work is staggering. Not only is this great as a stand-alone work, but it becomes even better as the reader delves into the history of these characters. Work like this really challenges the reader to read between the lines and work to find out the full story. I loved it with the previous volumes of League, I loved it with Morrison’s Batman, and I love it with this new installment of League. I can’t wait for issue two.

Best comic of the past two weeks: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1910.
Worst comic of the past two weeks: Tied between Green Arrow-Black Canary #20 and Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3.

What did you guys think? Did I miss anything great? Am I totally off-base? Anything I should keep an eye out for?

Saturday, May 9, 2009

President Obama's White House Correspondents Dinner Address

Love him or hate him, you've gotta admit that having a well-spoken, articulate president is a wonderful thing.

Part I:




Part II:



This just in: Fox News has confirmed that roasts, ribbing, and teasing usually lead to socialism. More news as it develops.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Comics I Read this this Week (May 6, 2009)

Pickings were pretty slim this week, with only one regularly-pulled title (Agents of Atlas) waiting for me in my file and one new release that looked vaguely interesting. Luckily, the good gentlemen at Bellingham’s Comic Place saved a couple of Saturday’s Free Comic Book Day issues for me, as I didn’t manage to actually show up to the event until it was almost over. So without further adieu, here are my thoughts on this week’s pulls:

The Avengers, FCBD special issue

It’s hard to complain about anything written by Brian Michael Bendis. The guy could turn the Yellow Pages into a captivating read. A free comic by Bendis featuring all-new content written especially for FCBD is a pretty sweet deal. It’s not only a fun read (a simple plot about stealing a sword from an ice giant) with typical Bendis dialogue and wit, it’s a great jumping-on point for new readers. This issue, narrated by Spider-Man, features both the New Avengers (the good guys) and the Dark Avengers (the bad guys) as they are forced to team up and deal with a dietal snowman with a Napoleon complex. It provides new readers with a rundown of who’s who and the major plot lines concerning the teams, and it does so in a way that doesn’t make established readers feel like they’re wasting their time with filler. And a cameo by Thor certainly didn’t hurt things either. I’m still holding out for a Bendis-penned Sentry/Thor epic throw-down to see who’s the toughest long-haired blond dude in the Marvel Universe.

Blackest Night, FCBD special issue


This issue, while really good, is just one of many (MANY) other issues leading into “Blackest Night,” DC’s latest mini-event series which kicks off in July. Actually, come to think of it, wasn’t there a DC comic from last year’s FCBD that featured a “Blackest Night” buildup? Something about finding the black battery within the corpse of the Antimonitor? Oh well. Like I said, this comic is leading into this summer’s “Blackest Night” storyline, a (hopefully) epic storyline featuring the Green Lantern Corps as well as seven other color-coded, ringed intergalactic super groups as they vie to be the last ring-slingers standing. Or something like that. Each color ring represents a part of the emotional spectrum and has its own unique properties (although, as CBR’s Chad Nevett pointed out, two of the “emotions,” willpower and death, aren’t really emotions). This issue took a look at what the ranks of the heretofore unseen black lanterns, the Death Lanterns, could look like. Namely, dead heroes like Batman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, etc. reanimated and fighting as zombies. I’m eager to read “Blackest Night” when it does finally kick off in July, but christ. Enough with the teasers, already. The countdown to this series has been going on an annoyingly long time.

New Mutants #1



Okay, I’ll admit it. I broke one of my own comic book rules and bought the first issue of “New Mutants.” Not because I was ever a fan of the original New Mutants team (they were a bit before my time), but because I’d read somewhere that this issue featured the return of one of my all-time favorite characters, Professor Xavier’s bastard son and ultra-powerful schizophrenic, Legion. Sadly, while Legion did in fact appear, he did so only barely. Generally speaking, I tend to avoid books like these that try to cash in on fan-favorite lineups and eras and which focus more on nostalgic kitchiness by using established names (I’m talking about you, “Titans”) or retro uniforms to try and pull fans in. This new New Mutants team, comprised of the original New Mutants of 20-plus years ago (and therefore not really new in any sense whatsoever) is likeable for the most part, but pretty useless.
Tangent time: The whole premise of books like these kill me. “New Mutants,” “Titans,” and all the rest were books about teams of up-and-coming superheroes, like superhero high school. New Mutants members join, they train (or sometimes die), and then they graduate into the big leagues, like the Justice League or the X-Men or something. It makes no sense whatsoever for these original class members to reunite years later just because someone was feeling nostalgic. I hate it.
I’m not sure if it’s a miniseries or slated to be something bigger. Regardless, I can’t imagine it lasting more than six issues at the most. The only even remotely interesting aspect of this book is Legion. But the way this book is shaping up, I doubt writer Zeb Wells will even bother trying to explain how a character that died thirty years in the past is suddenly back alive and in the present day without his father, the world’s most powerful telepath, even noticing. I see this one ending in flames.

Agents of Atlas #4




“Agents of Atlas” is quickly becoming one of my favorite ongoing Marvel books. Everything about the book, from the characters to the pacing to the strange, sci-fi espionage feel is dead on. The Agents of Atlas are a motley collection of Silver Age characters from the Atlas days, reunited in a shiny flying saucer and pretending to be bad guys while actually saving the day on a regular basis. There’s a very Morrison-esque feel about these characters. They are the same characters from the 50s, there’s no denying that. But at the same time, they’ve been modernized and rejuvenated. The Asian FBI agent is now the defacto leader of the Yellow Claw terrorist syndicate, and is secretly trying to use his newfound power to change the world for the better. The interplanetary colonist with the magic headband is now a withdrawn guy named Bob who is much more powerful now but also much less human. The talking gorilla with a drinking problem and the robot killing machine with elongating arms are now… a talking gorilla with a drinking problem and a robot killing machine with elongating arms (if it ain’t broke...).
The plot is fast-paced and compelling, with flashbacks almost reminiscent of vintage Johnny Quest episodes. Writer Jeff Parker is doing a great job with weaving exposition, forward momentum and mandatory “Dark Reign” shit into a flowing, coherent, engaging read.
Best Comic of the Week: Agents of Atlas #4
Worst Comic of the Week: New Mutants #1
What did you guys think about this week's selections? Did I miss any gems out there? I heard the new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen came out, did anyone pick up a copy?

Monday, May 4, 2009

Star Wars Day

"Happy Star Wars Day!" read the text from a friend this morning.

"What?" I wrote back.

"May the 4th be with you!" he replied.

And then I groaned and groaned.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Week in Review

After just four posts, I'm already slacking off on posting. Sorry about that. It's been a busy week and several days, though. After barely scraping by with little or no work from January to April, I've suddenly got more jobs than I know what to do with. Which is great. I'm actually going to have to resign my post as master wiener vendor at the BP refinery in Blaine after the end of the week. I'm replacing it with a sweet flower shop delivery job three days a week and a cashier gig at Home Depot that may or may not extend beyond the summer, depending on the economy apparently.

In my defense I have been writing a bit this week, although it's mostly been in defense of the Flaming Lips, on the Shawnee News-Star's blog page. My friend Jason tipped me off to a thread from some fundamentalists about how awful the Lips were as ambassadors to Oklahoma. I respectfully disagreed over the course of several posts and sent them home crying to Cheney. Then they made a few weak attempts to fight back (I'm a FANatic, apparently). I put together a few response posts, but all of a sudden nothing I post seems to show up on the blog. I suspect foul play. Oh well, their brows were pretty well-beaten anyhow. Here's the link though, if anyone's interested. It's worth a few chuckles. http://news-starextra.com/blog/?p=444

There have been quite a few other highlights to the past week or two. Kristen and I went to Dirty Dan Days in Fairhaven, a two-day festival held in the honor of Fairhaven founder Dirty Dan Harris. We participated in the chowder tasting contest and suffered only minor burns. (In an effort to make the festival entirely green this year, organizers at the festival replaced plastic sampling cups with cups made from corn. Fun fact about corn cups; the melting point is substantially lower than that of plastic. Also, instead of just melting away, the cups melted from the bottom up, fusing material together as they went and creating a molten hot miniature volcano of chowdery goodness. Apparently no one saw that coming.) We also got to see the world's only annual piano race.

Saturday there was a parade downtown called Procession of the Species. It's an annual excuse for kids, adults and stoned biology majors to dress up in homemade animal costumes and march through the lower downtown area. My favorite was a father-son team dressed as dung beetles, complete with a giant paper mache ball of poo. I'll try to post some pictures later.

I think that's all the highlights of the past several days. I bought some comics this week and plan on doing regular reviews of the series I keep up with, starting within the next day or two. Kristen's visiting friends and family in Oklahoma as of tomorrow, so I'll have at least a little more time to write.