08/18/2011 · 2:27 PM

Neal Adams super-science. Dark Horse Presents. “And nobody listened.”

Dark Horse Presents once again. Does anyone care? I ask that out of sincerity rather than snark or rhetoric. Does anyone really care? Or, maybe “care” is the wrong word to place in that question. Maybe “like” fits better? Does anyone like this newly relaunched, anthology comic?

I only ask because most reaction seems either non existent or “meh.” Granted, I don’t read every blog or bit of comics criticism, but from the usual circles I follow I see little to no comment, and if comment appears it’s of the “meh” type. The most detailed comment my ears have stumbled upon sounded something like, “it’s a showcase of a bunch of once great creators doing mediocre stuff.” Not the most flattering critique.

Not that any of this upsets me or even remotely keeps me up at night (trust me, I ❤ sleep) because I follow the crowd in this case and really only offer the “meh” comment. It’s a “meh” kind of comic book. Frank Miller brightened the picture and gave DHP #1 some sort of flare and Chaykin’s Marked Man looks great, but the story so far does nothing for me. Corben, same case. I’m clueless as to what the fuck Paul Chadwick does in Concrete. The “new” talent feels like filler except for Carla Speed McNeil and Patrick Alexander. And Neal Adams…yeah.

I’m all for the concept of Dark Horse Presents, or really just the concept of anthology in general. I like short stories, and I like the idea of artists, new and old, telling random stories they see fit. Of the few anthologies I’ve read though, the case never works. I’ve read a few, though. Mainstream ones at that. Maybe you cool kids know where to find the good shit and can set me straight. I don’t know.

Point being, Dark Horse Presents could bring real energy to the medium via new talent and old school class acts, but the comic falls flat by way of its wonk content and finds itself largely overlooked. Again, overlooked from where I’m standing. DHP stood significant once. The anthology ushered in a new publisher and presented notable works like Miller’s Sin City and Byrne’s Next Men. 157 issues were published over the span of 14 years, and, through hindsight, DHP seemed to pump variety into the industry. Like a little blip where surely something interesting could be found. Now, it wafts about like the comic’s current line up of talent. There’s more of a connection between the artists and the comic than just sharing the same page. Both seem out of their era, yet oddly present hope for a desired quality or artistic push.

Neal Adams, as much as I respect this man, symbolizes such an idea more than anyone else.

Adams integrated advertising illustration with four color pulp and transformed the expectation of super hero visuals. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. I’ve had zero experience in the field of Neal Adams up until this year. His work affects me more through the pieces of criticism I read or medium lookbacks I hear on podcasts than actual comic books. Fucked up, maybe, but let’s face it, I’m 19. Neal Adams – the prime, industry breaking Neal Adams – came way before my time, and I only have so much money for comics.  Cut me some fucking slack. Still, I understand his place in comics lore. I understand, from a second hand account, what Neal Adams did. It’s not necessarily why I respect him, though.

My respect derives from Adams’ recent work, actually, as well as the man’s scientific reputation. We’re all aware of Neal Adams’ personal beliefs – the expanding Earth theory -, and we’re all aware that Batman: Odyssey is bat-shit crazy. Most now mourn Adams because of these choices in expression, but I don’t know, I see something fascinating and even respectable here. Here’s a man, a man who draws better than most, using comics completely for personal expression, as art is intended, rather than sloshing about in useless plots like most industry veterans seem to do these days (DC Retroactive, anyone?). This guy does what he wants and plays by no rule other than his own. This guy took Batman, in the current era of DC editoral comics, and made it completely his own. Neal Adams remains an artist – an honest to God artist and auteur producing content when most vets fade away.

Maybe I shouldn’t praise someone, especially a storyteller of all people, for having a voice – that shit should come standard – but, and maybe this speaks of our time, voice  has become more and more limited. Not every comic book or film for that matter presents an identity. Most forms of narrative are more common to follow the formula rather than an artist’s vision. The world finds fuel in product, and our commercial arts suffer. Voice, whenever present, deserves the recognition. At least a few points.

Especially when said voice shouts to the world, “planet Earth is expanding!” Takes balls to host an opinion most deem insane.

And this is where we arrive. Dark Horse Presents, volume 2, #2. The second installment of Neal Adams’ Blood. This 8-pager sums up the new era Neal Adams.

Here’s a base description:

-There’s a guy named Blood.
-He comes from an ancient source of alien power.
-This power known as the “animae,” which is basically a symbiote, attaches to selected humans and provides them with universal knowledge.
-Throughout time, the animae links itself to numerous people.
-Linked people have visions of a great oncoming threat and said people warn the human race
-Human reaction to warning is summed up by one caption – “And nobody listened.”

Then, at some point in this extended flashback, a Jesus stand-in instructs the Knights Templar on the notion of change. The comic then ends.

No grand points to take away from this. Another crazy Neal Adams comic with little narrative value. Except…guy with knowledge tries to warn the world and “nobody” listens…where have I heard this before?  Oh. Someone got self-aware. Blood chapter 2 is the Neal Adams reaction comic. Rather than ignore his reputation and the criticism he receives, Adams turns it around and fires back at us. The tone of this comic exemplifies a feeling of “I know something grand and world changing, but you and your ignorance prohibit anything outside the accepted norm.” If you could pin it down to a theme, Blood chapter 2 syncs well with “humanity finds comfort in conformity.” I feel the pseudo-Jesus speech says much.

Choose not to kill me? It would hardly matter. It’s a small thing not to kill me. At best, you will be stepping outside your machine, your premade place, for merely an instant of time. Everything you do after that decision will carry you back into the machine. You will be consigned to an obscurity of sameness. Men will know nothing of you.

To become an un-same, to make a change, an impact on history, you must find a path, a way of being that does not follow your preordained way. Only change brings new. How could you possibly learn to step out of your machine?

Does Adams, by way of his beliefs, feels he’s making an impact on history, or is that simply an exaggeration for sake of story? I mean, why use the Jesus image? It could be entirely for story purposes. A sense of symbolism. Or, maybe it says a bit more about this artist. There’s also the idea of men, men who conform, existing within what Adams calls “the machine,” and Adams, by way of the possible Jesus analog, suggests he’s outside or even above “the machine.”

It’s a loaded 8-pager, but as a narrative it fails. Adams tends to make the story’s message overbearing or “preachy” while allowing the actual plot, the fictional element, to drop into the background like it’s unimportant and almost in the way. The story really isn’t even the focus. The comic just reads like someone shouting at you. It’s an interesting way to execute a story, but it doesn’t work.

I still enjoy it, though. I’m a guy for which style overbears execution, and Blood chapter 2 is the poster child of such attitude. Even so, it’s only one section of the 80 page Dark Horse Presents, and I’m most likely alone in the enjoyment. As Adams puts it, nobody is listening. Listening to Blood or Dark Horse Presents. While both subjects could light a fire under the industry’s ass, execution is poor and holds back any attempt at game changing or award worthy quality. Once upon a time, Adams and DHP could do such a thing. Today, both Adams and DHP are revamped versions of themselves, laced with bits that sound tasty in passing, but when actually read pack no punch.

DHP’s only 2 issues in. Things could change. Maybe Brian Wood and The Massive can stir things up. Here’s hoping.

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

08/12/2011 · 2:30 AM

The TW Review – Marc Spector: producer, maniac, pimp

Yeah, let’s do this again.

For those who read the previous “TW Review” post, I teased of two reviews. Not happening. I had too much to say about the subject below, and honestly I can come back to the other book at another time. Carry on.

Moon Knight #3
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Artists: Alex Maleev, Matt Wilson, Cory Petit

Marc Spector wanders between many faces. That’s the character. He exemplifies the “super hero” who lacks the skill of decision making as well as the shell trying to morph its inner contents. Moon Knight gives home to any reader struggling with the concept of identity. Any poor sap unsure of what direction he or she wants to go in can relate to the Macabre Moon Knight, especially those less than satisfied with who they actually are.

Which, really, should strike a chord with us all.

Brian Michael Bendis snapped the reigns on the agent of jet and silver three months ago, taking over a character whose seen more than a fair share of failed creative attempts. Which has been a shame. Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz crafted some wonderful comics with this character, and ever since Marvel has only published sludge for Moon Knight to star in. I’d argue the presence of some favorable bits in Charlie Huston’s run 0f 2006, but really Marvel, and the numerous creators involved, have only degraded Moon Knight’s status from subject of prestigious work to pulp joke.

The Bendis/Maleev direction appears willing to return Moon Knight to some sort of pedestal. The new found title sits ready to reclaim the glory of last decade’s Daredevil run. A book concerned with drama, street level focus, and character study. The Bendis/Maleev comic seems ready to further develop Marc Spector rather than play him as a poor man’s Batman.

It’s odd that I am only now discussing or reviewing this book. Besides Greg Bergas, I’m probably the most vocal Moon Knight guy online. I’m unsure what that says about me, that you know, Moon Knight is my peak of vocality , but so be it. Months before the release of Bendis/Maleev Moon Knight you, doubtfully, couldn’t shut me up. The news came as a blitzkrieg. The potential of Marvel Comics shined bright and friendly once again. My old stacks of MK comics found new attention. Hell, I even made big plans for this blog in the department of content.

I was all over this book and ready to read. Then it came out.

So why the clam up? The first issue gave me nothing new. Every bit of plot and concept that Marvel PR tossed to the media made it into the first issue yet nothing else. I knew going in that Marc Spector now possessed three new identities, and this concept turned out to be the big “reveal” of the series premiere. The cliffhanger shot or the pace setting issue Bendis holds such a reputation for failed terribly in my eyes.

To be fair, Bendis provided warning in the book’s prior months of marketing. I forget the exact quote, but he spoke out saying most comics give their all in the first issue, and after that they sort of trail off and no one ever talks about them again. A point which stands as totally correct. This era of comics revolves around first issue buzz. No one shows concern for issue #7 or discusses series on issue-to-issue protocol. A mission to bring back to style the issue-to-issue narrative felt like a bold one – another reason why I was so stoked for this new comic.

Still, a certain vibe was attained with the actual reading. Seeing the not-so-new, new first issue in print quelled my excitement. I understood the writer’s need not to blow the load out of the gate, but I would have liked some sort of tease or battle cry rather than a lame “yeah, you know.” It’s always nice to stand up and clap when you’re the audience, but instead Moon Knight #1 conveyed a feeling of “well, I guess we have to get this into the actual comic so it matters, huh?”.

I enjoyed #1 fair enough, but it never made me shout with glee. In my storm of reading though, I’ve caught up on the new Bendis/Maleev project. I now emote glee.

So, yeah, that’s all context for the next two paragraphs or so of review. Oh well. Issue #3!

Bendis showcases how well he can write the character in this issue. Like most Bendis comics, the plot doesn’t stretch far but that’s OK. Instead, Bendis uses extended moments to document Spector’s interactions while also setting up a supporting cast. This comic is a good example of the term we know as “decompression.” Not that it’s really decompressed, necessarily. Plot movement falls short, but the comic never wastes any time – which seems to be the main idea of “decompression.” No, instead Bendis uses decompressed story telling the way Ellis and Hitch intended it. Extended moments shine light on intimate details and highlight character ticks we will want to know. The comic gives us a close look at the newly reformed Marc Spector a.k.a. Moon Knight.

Wolverine, Spider-man, and Captain America certainly work within Spector’s newly forged system of multiple personalities, but remember, Spector’s working the west coast and strutting his stuff as a TV producer. The man has a day job, and Bendis uses the day job as a backdrop to further explore Spector’s psyche.  Issue #3 opens with a scene cast straight from Tarantino’s True Romance with Spector whizzing his way up the Californian coastline in a convertible.  On the way, Maleev makes point to detail the character’s wardrobe, and Bendis creates a scene of flirtation between Spector and one Maya Lopez (whom Spector spent the night with). The comic rolls along until Spector arrives on the set of his big, new television show. Words are shared with his assistant, and we are even privy in Spector’s work day as he actually shows concern for producing a well-crafted production. Then things turn dark. Bendis writes a flashback to show Spector’s hiring of an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Purpose? Sidekick or partner of some kind. To fully trust a partner though, Spector pushes this agent through an unnatural test. Spector tortures the man while dressed as the less than kind Bullseye. Why? To see if this potential partner spills any beans on his possible employer. The scene ends, and the ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. speaks, “man, how crazy are you?”.

The issue revolves completely around the concept of identity, or more specifically the different kinds of roles we play in our everyday lives. While that is familiarly a Brubaker theme, Bendis knows how to make it his own with his portrayal of character. Spector works as a Hollywood hotshot, but that includes many things. In this case, television producer equals working man, pimp (as in ladies man not the traditional definition), and maniac. Spector becomes Bendis’s filter for Hollywood stereotype. He represents the ideas of corporate art we all dream of. The rock star playboy comes out with Maya. The power hungry, coked-up suit plays when the lights are turned down. In the middle, a working man presents passion for his project.

Boom, boom, and boom. The issue rolls out each identity, each person, very well by way of smooth pacing. Each segment just flows right into the next.

It’s a solid way to keep to the character’s core while also providing some sense of relevancy to our world. In the day and age of super hero movies, it makes a lot of sense for a super hero to comment on Hollywood. There’s also that matter of Bendis currently developing his own television series. I’d like to think Spector’s time as a TV producer provides some sort of personal expression of Bendis’s new found experiences.  Art reflecting life seems appropriate in this situation, especially if Bendis currently suffers his own identity crisis. I’m afraid only he knows that.

Of course, the separation of roles works just as well for the fictional character as it does the real world. Oddly enough, the three roles presented in this issue match up with Spector’s original trio of masks. The pimp, the playboy totally belongs to Spector’s Steven Grant persona – the millionaire, Bruce Wayne-type who wore the hot blonde on his arm. The working man goes to taxi driver Jake Lockley, and the maniac is right up the alley of Marc Spector the loose cannon mercenary.

What Bendis has done is taken Spector’s original three personae and multiplied it by two. There are three heroes, and there are three Marc Spectors. Just like us who work within one name yet act like different people within different situations, Spector now experiences the same. While he may appear slightly more stable, Spector is in all honesty more fucked up than ever. Doubt me? The dude holds 6 personalities to his name.

And this is the guy with the head of Ultron, working the case of the West Coast Kingpin. Bendis has me by the nuts.

Leave a comment

Filed under Moon Knight, The TW Review

Tagged as , , ,

08/11/2011 · 3:13 PM

Peter Bagge on the age old Single Issue vs. OGN debate

“I myself vastly prefer comic books. I like working in that format. There’s something real cozy about it. You can digest a comic in one sitting. It’s easy for an artist to conceptualize it in one piece. I like the more casual feel of the comic book. It’s unpretentious.”

“A graphic novel takes on an air of self-importance. And I hate going through the embarrassment of asking your famous friends to contribute blurbs and pull quotes. All this log-rolling and high-falutin’ self-congratulation. A comic book is like vaudeville as opposed to the graphic novel’s Broadway. If I had my druthers it’s the only thing I would do.”

– Shrinking Alternatives, The Comics Journal #263, Oct/Nov 2004

A quote filled with simple statements rather than the poetry we all enjoy reading, but solid simple statements that only encourage my head into a nod of agreement.  Not that I detest the graphic novel format. It’s a fine format, and many artists have accomplished wonderful feats through it. But as Bagge states, the good old, floppy comic book is unpretentious nor self-important. Such a quality reminds me of what comics are all about – artwork that is what it is. Comics books are proud to be comic books.

Of course, Bagge has worked in the graphic novel format since. Vertigo released Other Lives last year. Bagge obviously holds no grudge against the format, but neither has he turned his back on the single issue. Hate Annual #9 dropped in April of this year. 32 pages of comic book.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as ,

08/08/2011 · 5:31 AM

The TW Review – If Spider-man could finally get his shit together …

I feel the sudden urge to write random, short reviews of new(ish) comic books.

When in all reality there exists a more than sufficient amount of review material on the weekly paper chase of the direct market, I in this instance lack concern and will contribute. Mark me up with the majority of comic book bloggery! I shall write quick hit segments that few will read and fewer will remember beyond this day of “publishing.”

This past week consisted of my mission to catch up on the monthly fodder, and I feel I should produce at least something with the probably lack luster thoughts and opinions I now possess.

So, yeah, here’s some bullshit I spent a night typing …

The Amazing Spider-man #666 – Spider-Island Prologue
Writer: Dan “the excited” Slott, Artists: Stefano Caselli, Marte Gracia, Joe Caramagna

I’m a huge (not literally) Spider-man fan, in case you didn’t know. This particular fictional figure really was my first point of interest in comics. As we all begin, we’re in it for the 2-D gladiators and their excursions.  Spider-man was and still remains my dude, and there’s been plenty of, I hate to say “discussion” but I guess, discussion on the character lately – there’s a film reboot on the way and Glenn Beck suddenly gives a fuck what color the kid from Queens is. My own personal spider-sense tingles from all this talk and a new found enthusiasm for the web head boils inside me. The time is now. Let’s see what Peter Parker’s up to these days in his pulpy home of  ‘The Amazing Spider-man.’

Dan Slott writes the exact kind of comics I yearn to stay away from. Stupid recesses on why such fictional things are cool, along with useless plot updates, seem to be this scribes money making characteristic. Every time I’ve read his Spider-man, the book devolves into some mess of, “hey, let’s see what The Thing is up to! You know why? Cause Spider-man KNOWS The Thing!”.  Just stupid shit like that. He’s the type of writer who invests a little too much in the fictional world he’s left to curate a.k.a. the purest example of a fan writer. This results in a constant parade of subplot catch up.

I’m sure the dude really is nice and all sorts of fun to drink with and I totally understand the need to incorporate the supporting cast in a title such as ‘The Amazing Spider-man,’ but Jesus, God I don’t give a fuck what the reason is for Peter’s costume change between his time with the new found Future Foundation and The Avengers. I’m sure that was a run on sentence, but it’s how I going to express the point.

OK, now that I’m finished with my poor attempt at sounding like Tucker Stone, who’s a great writer by the way, let me break down and review the issue how I normally would.

The first few pages satisfy me, surprisingly. One of my biggest beefs  as a “fan” of the Spider-man character lays in Marvel’s inability to allow Peter Parker to grow up. His story, along with the core of the Spider-concept, stands most potent in the years of youth. Ditko and Lee engineered this hormonal mess of hero as a Shakespearean observation, and his saga works throughout all time as well as in the culture change and teenage uprising of the 1960s. Youth is important to the character, but I guess the fanboy connection I possess wants me to witness a changing or aging Peter Parker. I carry this urge to watch a fictional being learn and grow as if he were real rather than living a trap of repetition. Peter’s always fucking up, losing his job, not getting laid, or letting someone die. He so lacks efficiency. Again, the core, I know, but you can only read so many stories about a fuck up. You know why? Because at some point you learn this dude is always going to fuck up, and that grows so old so fast. I’d rather not read.

Slott progresses Peter Parker for a few pages, though. Right in this issue.  Peter’s recent deal is that he’s sitting comfortably with a new, fancy science research job, the gig he’s always wanted since implied way back when in 1963. Along with the gig, Parker keeps the company of a new lady friend, acts as a member of two super-teams, and kicks ass as a solo crime fighter.  This Peter Parker represents the efficient, responsible character that Marvel has potential to publish. Granted, the conflict of fucking up is lost, but maybe a responsible, non-fuck up Spider-man would encourage a little more creativity in the House of Ideas? It could pull Peter Parker in a new, interesting direction. And, for a few pages, that direction wafts hopefully before my beady, spider-loving eyes until Dan Slott progresses to suddenly make me not want such a thing.

We the readers understand perfectly well that Spider-man jams efficient, but Slott feels the need to shove it down our throats. The expected subplot, continuity parade storms on by with Slott leading the damn thing as King Same-and-Stuck. The pages flip on by. J. Jonah Jameson shouts his concern and damns the arachnid. Norah Winters, cast member and friend of Peter’s, has a douche bag boyfriend who’s secretly a villain with a goblin persuasion. Aunt May still lives. Flash “the venom” Thomspon stops by because he lives in New York. Betty Brant uses a cell phone. The Avengers play cards only after the Future Foundation hit the wardrobe. Spider-man fights in a dojo for his daily workout.

Slott literally shows us every fucking thing Peter Parker now does as well as showing us everything his cast does. And he doesn’t just show us, he takes an entire issue to show us these bland explanations continuity nerds eat up. God help me.

The issue eventually finds an end where it manages to introduce this “event” known as Spider-Island. The idea? The Jackal, spider-villain known for the infamous “Clone Saga,” desires to clone once more but this time create an entire “island of spiders!” Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about this concept. Part of me says, “repetitive” and “why care,” but I hate to blow off a concept before it’s really used. I believe there’s potential in an “island of spiders.” We will see, I suppose.

The artwork is wonderful, though. Caselli captures a great sense of motion in this issue. Images feel kinetic, and Spider-man appears truly super as he swings across the landscape. The line work appears clean and distinct, and the figures drawn convey a real sense of acting. Along with the fresh colors provided by Gracia, I found the visual aspect of this issue quite satisfying.

Will I continue with Spider-Island? I must enjoy torture, because I might. Might. I’m still interested in how this concept finds use by the creative team, and I am experiencing a new found interest in Spider-man. So, yeah, I’ll go hang out with the only dude crying over the demise of Wizard, and we’ll discuss how much we hate these hero comics and how they ignore what want even though we continue to purchase them.

Spider-Island Part 2 will, most likely, be mine.

Batman: Knight of Vengeance #2
Writer: Brian Azzarello, Artists: Eduardo Risso, Patricia Mulvihill, and some dude named Robbins

Now I can type with a positive tap.

Azzarello and Risso impressed me with 100 Bullets by not only its striking narrative but its master craft. That comic book, ladies and gentlemen, hits every fucking note, and it exemplifies a collaboration where both sides truly contribute to the world building. Azzarello brought the language and tone while Risso defined the style and flow. The case remains the same on this Batman comic that, I have to keep telling myself, is an event tie-in.

Most artists portray some sort of style, and that style usually manages to label that artist’s drawings. Like, you know, John Romita Jr’s New York City stands clearly distinct from Alex Maleev’s New York City. Each artist, by way of style, possesses their own and belongs to their own artistic sphere. Risso really pulls that idea to another level where his style not just stands for “Eduardo Risso” but rather a “Risso Universe.” I get the feeling that Risso’s drawings all exist on the same plane. Not many artists communicate this idea to me. Plenty of artists have distinct styles and define looks of certain objects or figures, but only Risso strings his depictions across one common field of existence. How he does this, I could honestly make no case. Maybe it has something to do with his attention to style, whether it be people’s dress or the styling of his settings, but digging into art that far lays beyond me. Simply said, I can’t help but wander into this comic and feel right back at home in the world of 100 Bullets.

Call me stupid, but that’s how I connect to this comic. It makes sense to me, though. 100 Bullets encourages you to wonder what lies beyond its gutters, and in my wondering I stumble upon an alternate version of Gotham City.

I love how Azzarello, when on his game, tells his stories. While most comic scribes today worry about sufficient word count, Azzarello comes off as a minimalist. I mean, flipping through this issue, I guess there are the standard number of word balloons, but the content of said word balloons express far from standard.  His dialogue acts the opposite of most comic dialogue. It’s not slow or exposition influenced but rather comes off as self-existent. What the fuck does that mean? OK, most dialogue feels like its meant to be read, like somehow the dialogue itself is self-aware and knows its part of a story. Azzarello’s dialogue makes the reader feel like he or she is a true fly on the wall. The characters know what’s what, and that’s all that matters as they act out their parts. As a reader, you truly watch and piece the story together by what you see and “hear” rather than being fed everything.

A grand example of such writing resides in Azzarello’s characterization of one Thomas Wayne. Not once have we witnessed a flash back nor has Wayne directly addressed us, but from observing character interactions and the simple fact of a Bat costume we understand Thomas Wayne as an angry old man with family issues and strong memories of failure. And it’s all we need.

For its premise of alternate Earth Batman, Azzarello and Risso knock it out the park. It remains unfinished and could lose steam, but the team has gone above and beyond. Their Gotham sits clearly distinct along with it inhabitants. The comic feels more like a goddamn Elseworlds than some event tie-in. Oh, and with the addition of this issue’s cliffhanger, I can safely say I actually feel the fear and conflict of this story. Something feels at stake, and it’s refreshing for a DC cape comic.

…

Next: Another Batman comic and a character everyone loathes. 

Leave a comment

Filed under The TW Review

Tagged as , , , , , ,

08/04/2011 · 1:01 AM

Savage Dragon. Read it.

As Joe Keatinge points out, Savage Dragon is the comic book you all want.

Consistent creator? Spontaneous, episodic adventure? Big sequences? Real consequences? Commentary? Experimentation? Artist connection? African American protagonist?

Check, Check, Check, Check, Check, Check, Check, and CHECK!

Shame on you for not paying attention.

Erik Larsen’s  pet project means many things to me, but it first and foremost represents an artist’s love of comic books and super hero convention. Larsen’s passion for comics hinges freely open. Just a short stint following his Twitter account and you’ll see the interest and opinion he broadcasts. Twitter is the man’s personal soap box, and by following him you become subject to his care and interest in sequential story. When there’s big news floating around or controversial developments, you can always expect at least a few tweets from Mr. Larsen. Twitter’s a recent development, though. Long before the invention of social media Larsen and a few other hot talents ditched their secure jobs to pursue an unfiltered vision of comics. Image Comics was the biggest risk of its day. If it bombed, the men attempting were surely out a job and possibly blacklisted. A lot rode on the simple desire to create without limits. As the story goes though, Image boomed and took its founders to new levels of fame, but think back to the start once more. Larsen risked it all just to create comics the way he desired. That’s big, and once he became the subject of Image’s success he could have done anything. Larsen had the freedom. His next comic book project could have been a cosmic romantic comedy staring ape squids for all I know, but at the end of the day Larsen created a super hero centric title. It was obviously the genre he wanted to work in. That chance and choice, sir, shows a strong love.

So why write about Savage Dragon? Other than holding my heart as my favorite comic book, I feel Savage Dragon lacks discussion from both casual readers and the critical community. The critics damn it as weak and laugh at its existence, while the mass readership ignores it to pursue the corporate icons. An unfair shun, if you ask me. Savage Dragon may read as quaint and simple when cast a quick glance, but really Dragon is rocking some levels. The content and context make this comic a rare and special work in today’s market, but in true hypocritical fashion moaning, sobbing comic book fans roll their eyes at its presence.

As I point out on a recent episode of The Chemical Box, there are hardly any (maybe none) ongoing comic book series working issue to issue. Marvel and DC possess long running, high numbered series – even though they renumber every month – but most of those series rely on 4 or 5 issue story arcs or chapters. These chapters usually work as smaller stories within the long narrative, and they could honestly be removed from the ongoing series and be sold as finite stories. In fact, they are. These finite chapters traditionally see some form of repackaging before they are sold in trade paper backs as individual stories. In most cases, transitioning creative teams or the need to spice up product completely destroys the concept of  long narrative.

An ongoing series like The Amazing Spider-man constantly bears witness to small stories. The years of “Brand New Day” brought forth different artists and writers every three issues, providing a constant inconsistency. These practices question a reader. Am I really reading the same story and the same character’s same narrative as I have been for 15 years? Really, no. Consider story arcs and creative swings a fucking reboot. You might as well. Comics are now written to serve the Hellboy model, but even the Hellboy model works with a solid, consistent creative vision. The ongoing narrative of Marvel and DC heroes is dead.

Savage Dragon keeps the narrative tradition of comics alive. It’s run for 18 years under the same creative vision, from a writer/artist no less, and hardly ever works its narrative through labeled story arcs. Savage Dragon is THE issue-to-issue comic. Never does it lull mid-arc but rather offer high points each and every issue. Every issue tells a complete tale while still belonging to a larger saga. Again, the ideal comic book everyone so wants.

But, yeah, I’ll just quit with the “you’re a hypocrite” act and get to it. There was a cool scene in the latest issue of Savage Dragon, issue #171 (actually #172 will be the latest as you read this as it hits comic stores the day I post this blog post – good timing, right?). I wish to write a few lines on this scene I so dug.

Thunder-Head a.k.a. Kevin Gorelick sits upon his dusty, worn couch as a youngster playing a video game. In storms his father a.k.a. long time Dragon villain Skullface and Larsen provides the audience with a face filled visual. A line of dialogue is bellowed. “Do your homework.”

Young Kevin proclaims that homework is unnecessary, especially in a world where his father is a “bad ass” and homework is not required to pursue bad-assery. Skullface looses his cool and lectures his son on his own terrible life. Skullface wants the best for his son, not a cheap life as a crook. Through persistence, Kevin promises his father to work hard and stay out of trouble.

Years pass.

Skullface lay deceased, and we see Kevin attending to his grave site. There’s an anger in Kevin. Through monologue, he reports of his father’s poor job as a parent yet announces the difficultly of living without his father. Kevin states that these are tough times and that there are “not a lot of opportunities for a guy that looks like” him a.k.a. guys who have a blue, skeletal face. Kevin persists to honor the promise made to his father, though. He says, “I guess you’re still looking out for me” as he walks away from his father’s grave.

Two pages later, Kevin types away at his formal office job when a young woman reports he is being “let go.” Kevin becomes upset and is escorted away by security guards. Soon we see Kevin pursuing his role as Thunder-Head. He’s communicating with the organized crime unit the Vicious Circle. Kevin breaks his promise and by the end of the issue combats with the book’s own protagonist, Malcolm Dragon.

Ok, so maybe it reads just like another, soap opera fueled origin of a super villain. You know, daddy wasn’t there (to change my underwear…) and all that jazz. Really, though, it’s not. In comics, the family aspect can spell out the coming of evil, but in this case Larsen reverses or twists the circumstance of family as motivation. Unlike the usual parent of a evil, Skullface cares. Granted, Kevin makes note in the grave scene that it was hard living with his father, but that could mean a number of things. I mean, it’s hard living with my mom, but that’s just because of her to tendency to annoy me – not poor parenting. From what we see of Kevin and Skullface’s relationship, things seem normal and well. Skulface looks out for his boy and encourages him to do well.

It’s then that the sub plot acts as expectation shifter rather than convention. Larsen, like Tarantino, poses Kevin’s story just right so that it plays with the audience. While reading, we expect Skullface to beat young Kevin when he enters the room, but instead he lectures. While reading, the flash forward instills pre-thoughts of criminal Kevin while it really depicts a white collar, office working citizen. Our guesses as to where the plot is leading land false. It’s not until Larsen takes away the respectable job that he folds to convention and portrays the orthodox, crime happy style.The play on the audience involves more than expectation tease, though. By showing this oddball circumstance of a character becoming a villain, Larsen suddenly brings an extra dimension to the usual 2-D comic book antagonist.  Most comic book baddies pertain to little motivation or explanation. They are simply bad to be bad, or because the story dictates them as so. If anything, a usual villain comes packaged with some line of vengeance or goal of world domination for a chosen idea of society. Not here. Kevin wants to be good and has every inspiration to be. The character, though, eventually loses sight and drifts away. The element of falling makes the character a bit more interesting, and Larsen’s choice of such shows his willingness to experiment with hero genre cliches.

For what Savage Dragon is – an analog version of 1960s/1970s Marvel – this move resembles perfect, “oh, of course” sense. Larsen’s book takes great pride in bending and breaking the cliches of corporate hero comics. The narrative always goes after the elements Marvel and DC will not touch, and it does what most readers won’t expect the Big 2 to do. Kevin a.k.a. Thunder-Head is only another classic Savage Dragon example.

I don’t wish to dress Savage Dragon as another super hero comment book, though. I find no problem in stories that simply choose to comment on the comics medium or super heroes, but for the sake of addressing those who do find error in such thing I’d like to point out that Larsen’s use of Kevin is a very real world, social comment. Most crime in our world does not derive from a soul of pure evil or sadistic drive. Most crime is survival based. Hurricane Katrina stands as the perfect example. Looting of retail shops made all the headlines as the flood waters climbed and climbed, but no where among any of those looters were thoughts of evil. The looters looted to survive. Whether food topped the list of stolen items or television sets, the looting became a necessary mean. Food nourishes while TVs provide black market cash. Either way, people need both results to make it.

As Kevin comments, times are tough. The character losing his job and turning to robbery represents many in America right now. People are making rash moves to make ends meat. Even Kevin’s extra incentive to join the way of crime speaks toward a survival instinct. The Vicious Circle mention their new mission as being one to bring Kevin’s father back from the dead, and as you recall Kevin announces how hard it is to live without his father. In some way, Skullface’s absence harms Kevin or inhibits his survival. Bringing back his father could only make it better for Kevin. At least, that’s the thought.

So, yeah. I just typed all of that, 1800 fucking words, to discuss one subplot in one issue of Savage Dragon. It may read as quaint, which I argue is apart of the book’s aesthetic charm, but goddamn, there’s something about Erik Larsen’s 1990s-born Image Comic. Read an issue sometime, and don’t even tell me the comic you ideally want doesn’t exist. You obviously ain’t looking.

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

08/01/2011 · 10:49 PM

the chemical box – episode 009 – it’s a box social!

A new Chemical Box Podcast, hosted by Joey Aulisio, Chris Johnson, Just Jean, and myself, is available. Here are the details…

the whole gang returns for this week’s episode where they discuss such topics as the crankcast, the flaws of the modern workforce, new idw artist editions (john romita, will eisner, wally wood), joe madureira’s upcoming run on the avenging spider-man, cable reborn, brian k. vaughan & fiona staples new series saga, becky cloonan drawing a macgyver comic, marvel’s season one, the dc relaunch & women’s rights in comics, jason aaron & marc silvestri on the incredible hulk, more fear itself vs. flashpoint talk, jonathan hickman’s upcoming creator owned work, legendary comics, and much more.

music by frank ocean
You can listen by clicking here, or you can download the show, in iTunes, here.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

07/27/2011 · 5:01 AM

A Gold, Holo-Foil Heart – McFarlane’s Spider-man #1

1st all-new collector’s item issue! The legend of the arachknight! Arachknight? Yes, I am looking back to the year 1990 because before Spawn and the boom of Image Comics Todd McFarlane debuted his  chops as a comic book writer on a certain Marvel Comics character.

The book infamously known as Spider-man #1 holds a certain place in American comic book lore. Some remember it for its ridiculous amount of collector bribing, variant editions while others recognize it simply as a poor, confused example of the medium. All of that aside though, Spider-man #1 channeled a zeitgeist excitement felt by the industry at that period. The book fell right in line with Liefeld’s New Mutant’s and Lee’s X-Men. It was a comic book on the edge, presenting unorthodox artwork and design. Spider-man looked new and different, panels knew no bounds, and the impossible seemed possible once again in a super-hero comic. Nearly everyone had to own a copy and every company needed a copycat, McFarlane-esque artist.

Deep down, though, past the 2.5 million copies sold, the holo-foil, scratch-and-sniff covers, and the rock star attitude lay an artist looking for a break. McFarlane at this time was still relatively new to the comics industry. He was coming off his two year run on The Amazing Spider-man with writer David Michelinie and nothing else really to his name. Granted, it was an impactful run from both a plot standpoint as well as an aesthetic mark, but still, a two year run is nothing in an industry where Jack Kirby penciled numerous titles per month. There was much to prove for this young artist. Thus, after a few short talks with editor Jim Salicrup, McFarlane’s own title appeared in the web-slinger’s line of funny books. A twenty-some page pamphlet where he could stretch his legs and push his ability.

 

Now, let me just say, Spider-man #1 does, in some regards, deserve the criticism it receives. It’s a comic book so short of plot it’s laughable. The story, if one could call it that, depicts Spider-man web-slinging through the streets of New York along with a scene of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson flirting in cute couple fashion. At some point, the villain The Lizard is brought in to rough up random street thugs.These events, under the hands of craftsman, could work as a fine first issue, but the problem is the drive and tie of these events. There really isn’t any. These events feel like randomly disbursed thoughts throughout a comic book, and they’re overwritten with corny caption boxes of narration – a technique that only results in great or terrible quality with no inbetween. No theme is present, no greater purpose exists, and the dialogue would make a twelve year-old version of yourself laugh.

It’s a pretty awful script, but McFarlane manages to take away some of the bad.

“I don’t profess to be a writer, but I do think I can tell a story. What this means is that most of the issues will rely heavily on the artistic side. It will also allow me to draw who I want when I want, so I can get wound up artistically and be even more enthusiastic while I am doing the work.”

Continue on.

“My writing will expand and get better as the months go by, but I will strive to present Spider-man in a fashion not seen before, and thus be able to justify the question of why a fifth Spider-man book.”

–          Todd McFarlane, Text page in Spider-man #1

Could he be anymore clear? If I had just read Spider-man #1, the comic, by itself, I would have put it down with very little to say, but after reading the afterward text page, I suddenly found a lot in this comic. This is a book that doesn’t pretend to be anything bigger than it is. It’s not Dark Knight Returns, and McFarlane knows and admits this! Instead, it’s Spider-man #1, and McFarlane clearly states his intention is to make Spider-man look cool and basically nothing else.

I’m pretty sure he accomplishes this.

The contents of the issue, even now, are visually striking. McFarlane’s vision of Spider-man, even to this day, stands unique with edge. His powerful splash pages send elbows to your face and panel layouts never slow down to anything resembling a nine-panel grid.  It is a cool looking comic book, and at the time the artwork was a game changer in the market of hero books.

Not that it stops there, though. If anything, that praise is the usual praise for an artist like McFarlane or really any of the Image guys. No, McFarlane accomplishes something else with his artwork. Rather than characterizing his cast by usual means of situational development or dialogue, McFarlane takes the John Woo approach and depicts his characters through their body language and physical action. Take a look at any Todd McFarlane Spider-man drawing and admire the way he positions the character in a very acrobatic, gawky way. Without a beat of speech, you should understand who McFarlane’s Spider-man is; a masked hero who swings through the New York concrete jungle, hangs upside down, and performs daring flips and acrobatic feats to catch criminals.

The awkward twists in the body posture even depict Peter Parker’s wise guy persona. The liberal crouching and skin tight costume provide a sense that Spider-man is unlike the usual super-hero. That instead, he is some sort of punk rock warrior. A man not following the traditional super-hero protocol, but rather cracking jokes on the crime scene, running from the law, and receiving the hate of New York City.

The weird, almost disturbing poses even speak to a primitiveness of the character. Traditionally, comic artists focus on the human aspect when they draw Spider-man; a young guy in tights trying to make a difference.  When Spider-man clings to a wall in a McFarlane comic, something animalistic seeps from the hero. The spider element becomes a bit more vital. The character becomes inherently a little darker. The popping veins and big, bug eyes communicate an idea of torture. A reader understands Spider-man’s guilt, determination, and origin point.

The artwork says a lot, surprisingly, and when it’s combined with the comic’s own idea of self-awareness, I think it actually makes Spider-man a rather interesting comic instead of a bad one. If anything, this book is much more personal than the gimmick it’s made out to be. McFarlane did as he pleased with this comic, and the book provided the young artist an opportunity to express his creative needs. It’s the comic McFarlane always wanted to do. An a-list character at an a-game publisher and he was the sole creative force behind it. McFarlane’s Spider-man really is McFarlane’s Spider-man. In some ways, I find it possible to believe that this comic may have started the creator-owned conversation for Todd. McFarlane experienced a taste of control by doing this book, and I believe that as the years past that sense of control only grew harder and harder to give up. The man yearned to own what he drew and draw what he owned, but Marvel Comics could not harbor such desires as they had, and still do, a business run. Still,  I now like to think that Spider-man, in some way, was owned by McFarlane. His artwork defined the character for a period of time, and for a period a time the character was all his in a title he wrote and drew.

In some form, Spider-man #1 was the first Image Comic: bold, unorthodox, creator-controlled.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

07/25/2011 · 2:48 PM

the chemical box – episode 008 – death via committee

A new Chemical Box Podcast, hosted by Joey Aulisio and myself, is available. Here are the details…

in this week’s episode joey and alec discuss the current state and uncertain future of vertigo comics, our anticipation and concerns about grant morrison and rags morales’ upcoming run on action comics, episode 48.1 of the excellent wait what? podcast, the death of spider-man storyline (ultimate spider-man #155-160) by brian michael bendis and mark bagley, the amazing spider-man teaser trailer, new avengers #9-13 by brian michael bendis with howard chaykin and mike deodato, avengers #13-14 by brian michael bendis with chris bachalo and john romita jr., our love is real by sam humphries and steven sanders, and supergirl #65 by kelly sue deconnick and chriscross.

music by animals as leaders

You can listen by clicking here, or you can download the show, in iTunes, here.

Leave a comment

Filed under The Chemical Box

Tagged as , , , , ,

07/20/2011 · 2:57 PM

MellowHype – Brain/Loaded – BlackenedWhite

Odd Future, the LA based rap group, have been that “thing” this summer. That point of discussion we all seem somehow involved with. That pop culture blip defining our memories of this time period. That event we all have an opinion of. Odd Future is everywhere right now. They’ve hit that must talk, controversial, internet fueled, talent-obsessed fame that any up and coming artist dreams about. The popularity of the group is alive and well, and their words matter like no one else. Summer 2011 is their time.

I’m of the mindset though that this attention and favor for Odd Future will exceed the Summer of 2011, but I’m not sure it’s a common thought amidst the populace.  With the debut of Tyler, the Creator’s Yonkers, I perceived the common reception of it to be something of a new musical fad. I sat within a college radio station as indie rock kids turned up their computer speakers, and right there – right fucking there –  I got the feeling that people were seeing this as the new “thing.” But not a new thing in terms of longevity. Just a new thing for the month. Just another exploitation show with a nifty beat. You know, it would just be this violent splash of weird to wake people up, but within months the weird surface would grow old and then fade away like any superficial, catchy sound we hear in music.

I felt people would just overlook this music.

And that has been the case. While Tyler, the Creator has been a massive success, and the other members of Odd Future prep their own project debuts, I feel most people may view OF as some sort of freak show or lucky break that will die away. Most seem to simply view their music as loud and vulgar as they miss the point and doubt there’s room to dig deeper.  Tyler’s proven you can dig deeper, though. Goblin, his second album, dropped months ago , and I still find myself sucked into his lyrics. The weird and outrageous are still a part of the aesthetic, but unlike most popular music there’s more below the surface of triceratops threesomes and rape jokes.  The man’s going after the big, personal issues under a partially transgressive aesthetic. Even then, I don’t think that one sentence really covers it.

I’ve also enjoyed the guest appearances of other OF members on Tyler’s albums, but the physics and situation of Odd Future and Tyler seem similar to those of any other music group who tries to section itself into solo acts. One guy usually takes the whole cake. You can blame the usual group failing; that a band is defined by the lead singer with the goofy haircut or the guitarist with the alcohol problem. He with the image holds the band’s image; therefore, he holds the band’s potential and “talent.” It’s like that scene in Sid and Nancy as Gary Oldman’s Sid Vicious barters his role in the band because Nancy isn’t allowed on tour. Nancy says, “The Sex Pistols aren’t shit without Sid,” and she is partially correct. Vicious held tight the band’s identity.

For Odd Future, Tyler seems to be standing in that oh so infamous position. The dude is the breakout star and carries all of the attention as well as defines the idea of Odd Future by way of his language, style, and approach. I feel the chance of people accepting and expressing excitement for other non-Tyler, OF projects slim, and I even doubted myself  to dig into other Odd Future projects. Why? Tyler’s work is just too cool and engrossing; I doubt anyone follows that up so soon.

they said a piece of my ambition’s ambitious

Last Tuesday, MellowHype dropped their album BlackenedWhite, and I found myself with a new anthem to blare. MellowHype is a duo group consisting of Odd Future’s Hodgy Beats and Left Brain; BlackenedWhite was previously available via the OF website, but this new release presents a remastered version while also shining some new attention on MellowHype in the post time of Tyler’s massive success.

Yeah, you better believe Odd Future’s here for the long haul.

This album sounds like a true anthem, to me. While Tyler’s music grabbed everyone by the throat, Bastard and Goblin were more about a young man exorcising demons through rhythm and rhyme. Both albums have pieces that inspire thoughts of, “Odd Future’s coming for you,” but I have to say that BlackenedWhite hits upon this idea in clearer, more determined fashion. I’d say most of this album is very, very good. Every song sports a combination of beats that alone are worth praising, and Hodgy, in the company of his companion Left Brain, brings the music to another sphere through his lyrics. I really like Tyler, but after listening to BlackenedWhite I honestly feel Hodgy may be OF’s secret weapon. The dude’s poetic and takes the transgressive element Tyler inspired to the next level. He mixes the weird and absurd into metaphors complicated enough to keep you busy for the day, and his flow holds such distinction.

The best of BlackenedWhite are the tracks Brain and Loaded, though. Over top sick Daft Punk/Tron inspired sound, Hodgy along with guests Domo Genesis and Mike G lay it down that Odd Future is here and the best.

You can quote me on my sentence nigga, catalog this
Odd Future wolves, ain’t some acid artists
A bunch of massive artists, hang up, I had to call this
We mosh through streets like a pack of walrus
So when we come around them niggas had to ball fists

In the middle of Brain‘s opening verse, Hodgy addresses the more than common doubt set upon Odd Future. He clears the mindset that OF is just some lucky success. They’re not “acid artists,” which I take to be musicians who poison or eat away at pop culture, but rather “massive artists” with big plans. They’re also loud and not ashamed to be so, and they’re not afraid to fight to do as they please.

Then Brain spills into its hook:

Man, when it came to school, I got bad grades
Now, when it came to the law, I didn’t know how to behave
My nigga, my, my nigga but with music, music, music
I’m on the honor roll, honor roll, honor roll
With music, music, music
I’m on the honor roll, honor roll, we on a roll

Hodgy may suck at school and have trouble finding place in society, but the dude knows music. He has the brain for it, and his brain is set on music.

Phone book flow, this some shit you’ll never rip off
Shitting on you niggas, I’m a level past piss off
Risk all to get all, I’m all in

…

Aiming for success and won’t fall for nothing less than that
Wolf Gang shit, got all my niggas repping that
If we ain’t it yet, somebody show me where the best is at

Domo Genesis provides these lyrics to continue the thought flow Hodgy has established. What Odd Future does is on another level. He dares you to try and rip it off, and encourages someone to find something better than them. I also dig the line “risk all to get all, I’m all in.” The guys of Odd Future dropped out of school to pursue music, and this line echoes that and the point that Odd Future, as a group, isn’t clowning around. They want this big time.

Loaded deals heavily in drug references to create the image of MellowHype selling “drugs” or more literally selling awesome shit a.k.a. their music. It’s a song that falls under the usual hip-hop portrayal of confidence, but the song works well in the context of the Odd Future story. MellowHype, or more general Odd Future, are the dudes to go to when you want the good stuff.

Mike G, in the song’s final verse, lays out these lines:

They ain’t learn? Hatin’ niggas won’t make your chain bigger
You’re comedy to me and crowds flee when your shit’s on
You get fake applause like a TV sitcom 

Hate all you want, but in the end it will do nothing for you except make you look stupid.  These lyrics work on two levels. While they speak for Mike G himself, these lines work well for Odd Future in general. The group has had much hate thrown at them.  The vulgar content has attracted the attention of concerned critics as well as the everyday hater for just being so big. It’s just a nice, final say. Shut up. You look stupid. We’re doing our thing.

man it’s Golden

So how do I wrap this? I’ll just basically say that to anyone who considered Odd Future a one trick pony, that Tyler, the Creator was the only bit worth paying attention to, you’re wrong. I’m wrong. BlackenedWhite proves there’s more variety and thought in the Odd Future catalog than one would initially believe. It’s an album that speaks for the group’s musical talents by way of its sound and sub textual content. It’s simply another good, solid album from the Odd Future line, and that simple fact – that OF can produce a follow up worthy of Tyler’s quality – sells the point that Odd Future has it in them.

I’m thinking it’s time we become used to Odd Future. I think they’ll be here for awhile.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , ,

07/18/2011 · 5:35 PM

king of the comeback pt. 2

So, yeah. My blog presence has lacked over the past few months, but I’m here to tell you that that is all going to change.

To begin, I found myself frustrated with writing. Things I desired to complete weren’t being completed, and the articles being completed were just poor. I felt the frustration you usually feel when you know a specific word in your mind but cannot, for some mysterious reason, speak it. Writing was becoming torturous to a degree. That may sound harsh or over dramatic, but honestly, I think I was being driven crazy by it.

So, I walked away to take an extended break. I figured I should enjoy my break from school rather than force myself in front of a keyboard. This would explain my initial absence.

Time passed, and I suddenly felt the urge to find a writing project. But not this blog. I don’t know, it just didn’t come off as what I wanted to do. Not at the time. So I jumped into newspaper writing with West Virginia University’s student newspaper, The Daily Athenaeum. With an Arts and Entertainment section, I assumed I could still write about comics or, to a larger degree, pop culture.  Stupid me didn’t comprehend the local aspect of the newspaper, and the comics writing I wanted to do, or the comics culture news stories I wanted to tell, would not work.

So, I went looking again. I needed to find an outlet with readers, and I needed to write about comics for that outlet. I knew! Popmatters.com

Popmatters is a packed pop culture site containing the types of critical pieces I desire to read, and they have a comics section I knew I could write for. I originally applied for the website last summer, but, understandably, I was rejected. A year later, I found myself with a writer’s position for PM’s comics blog. I. Was. Thrilled. Finally, I could write about comics, the way I wanted, on a playing field with an extended audience.

The excitement for writing began to boil and ideas came to. I felt this was it.

Now this no longer seems to be the case. I could spill the beans on the situation and be all post-empire, as it seems to be the “it” behavior these days, but I’m not sure I should. Part of me says, “go for it,” but the other half says, “just be polite and professional.” Honestly, if you want the idea, just skim back to a previous post on this very blog. You’ll get (part of) the point.

Popmatters provided me with one thing, though. The energy and ideas. The thrill of an actual writing gig kicked my head into gear, and I still need a way to utilize this new found energy. So, I’m revamping this blog to “publish” and to continue my writing development.

For those whom don’t remember, I once hosted a solo podcast. Teenage Wasteland. The show existed for two solid years, and it’s presence was very consistent with it’s weekly schedule. For two years I had a solid creative outlet. Granted, a podcast does not top the chart of creativity, but still, the show made me create in some way, and the weekly goal forced my mind into a constant idea mode. I felt good for those two years. A creative release was being met.

Then the show went to shit as the weekly schedule fell apart, and my creative release met a certain frustration. Teenage Wasteland ended. Since then, I’ve been struggling to find my new consistent creative outlet/project. For the first month or so of its existence, this blog was kind of it, but then again, I met frustration, and yeah, the story I told above happened. More time spent not creating or releasing anything.

That needs to end. I’m the creative type; I feel the constant need to produce. I’m getting back on the horse. Expect more Alec Berry on the web. For now, I will not search for the big audience. I’m better off here where I can control things.  I’m better off right here where I can train in secret for the eventual “attack.” This blog, for the foreseeable future, will update every Wednesday. That’s one of my new goals. Another is the comeback of The Chemical Box podcast I do with Joey Aulisio.

A podcast and a blog. Two things I’ve spent the past 2 and a half years focused on, coming out at once, consistently.  I feel creative once again. No one can hold me back.

So, to kick of this comeback tour, Joey and I give you episode 007 of the Chemical Box. We discuss Joe Casey’s Butcher Baker, Bendis’ Powers, and Flashpoint. Listen here. Or iTunes.

Stop back here on Wednesday as well for a new blog post will debut. MellowHype – Brain/Loaded – BlackenedWhite

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized