Oh shit, this guy still exists?  Yeah, I missed the last couple of weeks due to a fantastically dumb-ass rock tour, but that didn’t prevent me from tossing more money than necessary towards the largely embarrassing and inexcusable obsession that is comic books.  I might go back and hit the books that came out on the 11th and 18th at some point, but for now let’s focus on last week.  Here’s what I bought and read on Wednesday the 25th of July, 2007.

THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST #7
By Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker, and about fifteen different artists 

THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST deserves its sterling comics-blogger rep, for sure, but there’s one immediately noticeable and rather irksome problem with issue #7.  Why exactly does a stand-alone issue need three different fill-in artists, anyway?  This book suffers from a jarring visual shift about 14 pages in, when Khari Evans and Victor Olazaba, the third of three art teams, take the reins.  The first two sections fit together almost seamlessly, somehow, but the work of Evans and Olazaba stands out to the point of distraction.  Their drawings aren’t bad, but they definitely don’t flow with the first two-thirds of the book.

Art matters aside, here’s another fine issue for a consistently top-notch series.  The flashback tale of the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay, the first and last female Iron Fist, continues with the combination of knowing humor and no-nonsense, pulpy action that has quickly become the book’s staple.  Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction reveal a bit more of the mythology they’re building up for the character without even remotely skimping on the face-kicking martial arts fun.  Thus far they’ve succeeded at creating an endlessly fun comic that’s also got at least a bit of epic depth to it.  Like the best superhero comics, Iron Fist not only knows that it’s basically junk culture, it proudly embraces that heritage and carves out something that’s both smart yet dumb, and immediately familiar yet still distinctive.  Now, perhaps a feminist reading would find fault with the writers having Wu Ao-Shi abandon the Heavenly City for some poor fisherman guy, but forcing politics upon such an unabashedly id-stroking book misses the point entirely.  This issue succeeds not just as a brief palate cleanser before the next upcoming arc, but also as its own creative entity. 

THE INCREDIBLE HULK #108
By Greg Pak, Leonard Kirk, and Scott Hanna

There are some nice character moments here, and although nice character moments are often what lift random summer blockbusters into the realm of genuinely good cinema, they still feel a little disappointing when squeezed into the supposedly all-smashing World War Hulk.  I can see why Pak felt it necessary to recap Hulk’s relationships with both Rick Jones and Miek the Unhived so thoroughly, the former for newer readers who aren’t familiar with Hulk’s old teenage buddy, and the latter for people like me who haven’t read Planet Hulk.  Hammering home the parallels between the two also helps to point out how Miek is more than just some alien bruiser bug looking for some revenge.  Still, almost the whole issue is devoted to flashbacks, and at the end the dynamic between the three characters has not changed at all.  Jones still exists to sooth the Hulk, Miek still exists to incite him, and the Hulk, well, he barely even figures into the issue at all.  I know Pak is using the Hulk’s monthly series to focus on supporting characters, while saving the bulk of the action for the WWH mini, but that strategy doesn’t prevent THE INCREDIBLE HULK #108 from feeling a bit too much like a placeholder.

BATMAN #666
By Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert, and Jesse Delperdang.

I don’t understand how I could’ve been disappointed with a comic that features dueling Batmen who have both sold their souls to the devil. It’s true, though, this comic is so much better on the second reading.  At first it felt far too rushed and nonsensical, like big chunks of the narrative had been cut out in order to fit the story into 22 pages.  That’s one of the more common complaints directed towards Morrison, but one that I’ve almost never agreed with.  And sure, it may not be a mark of a great superhero comic if it takes a couple readings to comprehend.  Still, this issue isn’t the huge mess I initially thought it was, and in fact sets up a pretty fascinating possible future for DC’s co-flagship character.

I feel comfortable calling Damian Wayne, the son of Batman and Talia al Ghul, a great character.  For someone nicknamed the Dark Knight Bruce Wayne has always been so perfectly, unassailably good, as morally outstanding as Superman, even, despite all the savage beat-downs.  Yeah, there’s some potential for fascism there, but in the end you can expect Batman to embody whatever best represents the contemporary mores of society.  Damian, though, was born out of the conflict of good and evil, was raised to be bad, and has essentially corrupted himself for eternity in order to defend what he believes is right while he still can.  He’s a Batman who cuts corners, to the point where he even sold his soul to the devil in order to uphold his father’s legacy.  He’s maintaining the original Batman’s end results while resorting to baser means.  It’s both an interesting and believable take on the Batman concept, and one that I wouldn’t mind seeing explored further in the future.

BLUE BEETLE #17
By John Rogers and Rafael Albuquerque

About five people buy this book, which is a shame, because it’s one of the more reliably fun comics around today.  Comic fans generally don’t care about fun anymore, it seems.  Add in Albuquerque’s cartoonish (and mostly wonderful) art and a new teenaged Beetle and you’ve got one guaranteed commercial bummer on your hands.  I don’t know who your typical superhero reader is, but he certainly seems to be a dumb-ass.   

New Beetle Jamie Reyes’ development as a hero continues, as he learns he can’t save ‘em all, and then remembers that fisticuffs and laser-beams aren’t always the best way to win a fight.  Of course that should be kinda obvious when you’re fighting a dude that’s basically a massive storm-cloud (no, not Hollywood Galactus), but cut the kid some slack.  A brief two-page aside reminds us that this new Beetle does have a supporting cast, but it feels a bit random and perfunctory, existing mostly just to remind readers of last month’s romance with Traci 13 and then to hint at a similar encroaching entanglement between Reyes’ best friends (no, I can’t remember their names off the top of my head.  Paco and Pebbles?  Peaches?  What’s her name again?)  BLUE BEETLE’s kinda like that; all the dots are laid out and are fun and fine on their own but they don’t always connect in the most logical or rational of matters.  John Rogers is great with dialogue and characterization, but, as seen with the slightly disjointed pacing of #17, and last issue’s jumbled plot, his basic story-telling is not quite as assured or refined as it could be.  Still, BLUE BEETLE is one of the most consistently entertaining superhero books on the market, and will hopefully stick around long enough to really hit its stride. 

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #2
By Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz

And yet another fun series about teenaged heroes learning how not to completely suck.  Parker’s non-continuity book about the original X-Men back in their high school days starts its first extended story-line with a bit of a misstep.  Parker is a genuinely funny writer, perhaps the best humor guy at Marvel right now, but the jokes in this issue tend to miss more than they hit.  And I think the 500 or so pages of DC SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT has burned me out on the notion of humans fighting giant dinosaurs on lost, mist-enshrouded Pacific islands.  Or maybe it’s just that I don’t read this book for action or cliffhangers, but for the humor and the flashback to that breezy old Marvel Manner that’s hard to come by as of late.  This issue puts more of an emphasis upon the former, which is probably a good idea, as it prevents the book from becoming too trapped in nostalgia.  Still, that nostalgia is a big selling point for the comic, and it’s missed when it’s not as prevalent as usual.  

Posted by Garrett Martin on 31 Jul 2007 at 08:28 am

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The ongoing debate over whether or not children are lemons has escalated in recent days. Ronald Marquez of Phoenix, Arizona, firmly entrenched in the “children are lemons” camp died because of his beliefs. Local Arizona news stations reported yesterday that police found Marquez “allegedly performing [an] exorcism” on his 3-year-old granddaughter, and had to taser him to get him to stop choking the girl. The taser attack proved fatal. Police believe it was an exorcism because the little girl’s mother was “naked and clutching a religious icon and was covered in blood,” though honestly I think that’s circumstantial at best. The truth, I’m afraid, may be much more lemony.

Did Marquez believe his granddaughter was a lemon? Investigators claim that Marquez was “trying to squeeze or extract demons from the child,” which is even more worrying if you consider the likely possibility that the “d” in “demons” is an unfortunate typo.

And what of these police that resorted to lethal force to end the toddler-juicing? I think it’s clear that they were believers in the Not Lemons Doctrine, likely bolstered by recent Youtube videos claiming to prove that children and lemons are incompatible.

Will we ever know the truth? No. Maybe. I don’t know.

Posted by Mat on 30 Jul 2007 at 04:22 pm

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Anyone who has been reading my posts here or in my blog knows of my affinity for the nerd-arts. This much is common knowledge. Well as a giant nerd I am dying a little inside on account of the fact that I am currently not in lovely downtown San Diego kicking it with my fellow freaks at the coolest fucking thing ever. In my quest to quell the sadness (and try to forget that Kindercore comic artists Travis “Foxy Brown” Fox and the Eisner Award nominated Josh Cotter are currently trolling the convention floor) I thought I would post some of the pictures and announcements that have been piping through this great series of tubes we call home.

First there was the unveiling of the Iron Man Mark I armour which looks amazing - Blurry pics can be found at the always excellent Toys Are Evil Blog!! There has also been a slight update to the official site, some footage was shown (write up at Super Hero Hype), and Samuel L. Jackson has been confirmed as a cast member though no word on if he will indeed play the Ultimate Universe version of Nick Fury. I am sure more news will be revealed on Saturday and hopefully we will see some of that footage online so those of us not able to make the Con might bask in a little glory as well.

Empire Magazine also has Iron Man on the cover (click to watch it grow):

Super Hero Hype has the story on the full cast of the upcoming Watchmen movie

If you want to see the Marvel toys you won’t be able to find because they are convention exclusives go HERE.

The US Postal Service (not the one with the guy from Death Cab, the other Postal Service) unveiled Marvel stamps.

And tons of other stuff happened that I can’t find pictures or links for and even more will happen today and tomorrow (like the Lost - oh how I miss thee - panel). I will post more cool crud as I find it but I think it is time to power down the nerd machine and head back into the trenches of the working world.

Until next time - Excelsior!! Sorry Stan!

If you want to look for more crap like this check out:
Toys are Evil, Super Hero Hype, Marvel’s news section and a little thing called Google.

Posted by ryan on 27 Jul 2007 at 01:40 pm

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HB: Okay, dudes. We shouldn’t apologize on here, but we do have two movies at home we haven’t watched yet because somebody has had to spend all his time embroidering and can’t watch movies with subtitles. Sheesh. So, if you’re ever longing for lengthy analysis of classic films you feel very guilty for not having seen (or proud for having seen–I just think that’s less likely, you lowbrow rabble), one great place you can go is The Criterion Contraption, a blog by Matthew Dessem that he’s been running for several years while he attempts to watch every movie in the Criterion Collection (DVDs, not laserdiscs). Matthew focuses nicely on a lot of visual elements, complete with lots of stills from the movies, as well as history and where they fall in terms of importance and influence. Also whether or not he likes them. The thing is, he’s only up to #72 (at last posting). And the Collection is at or around #410 (probably skipping a few, as they’re nerds and like to save special numbers for special movies, and also probably because it’s complicated to get the rights to put these things out, and so even if they’ve planned that something will be, say, #218, it might take a while to get it or whatnot). So chances are that he’s either going to clone himself a la Multiplicity or die before he finishes it–which would be sad. Still, like all great plans involving lists, it is ambitious, and we respect that.

It also points up the role of the Criterion Collection as a modern canon, one that’s both bigger and quirkier than most other lists. Some of the quirkiness is dependent upon rights, again, and also probably the people who work there. If you have a big Beastie Boys fan in your office, you’re going to get things like this released, quirking up the canon you’re creating. Their selection of foreign film is particularly good and deep, and their focus on directors is welcome, even when one of those directors is Michael Bay,* because others of them are Dreyer** and Tati and Powell. I’m not saying that I watch everything on every Criterion DVD I buy, but I do buy the DVDs because that stuff is there. They’re kind of like the Norton Critical Editions of the DVD world. If you have to write a paper, or you’re curious, or you finish reading/watching the work of art and have nothing else to do, there’s more for you to explore.

They also prove that graphic design sells. It does to me. Some of their movies, like The Element of Crime, which I’ve seen and really disliked, can have such appealing covers that you want to buy the disc, even if you know you don’t like the movie, let alone if you just think you wouldn’t like it or don’t know anything about it. It’s incredible that this can pry $40-some out of one’s wallet, or come close to doing so, but a great DVD cover can sell even better than a great book cover can. Criterion’s covers for their American and French films from the 1930s and 1940s are some of their best, like Children of Paradise, Boudou Saved from Drowning, and Heaven Can Wait.*** Almost every cover seems to come out of an understanding of the film it embraces (and I later discovered after writing this post, how true that is from Criterion’s own excellent blog, which has a great post from a graphic designer on how he got to the end on two covers), which kind of encapsulates the appeal of the whole collection: it’s a desire for things that are beautiful both inside and out, and, especially, for a set of them. It’s made for the compulsive aesthete. So how many of them do you have?

* I secretly still like Michael Bay a little bit, but NOT this movie.

** We haven’t seen any Dreyer yet, but where else are you gonna get it, right?

*** Jared points out that this last one was painted by Caitlin Kuhwald, an excellent artist by whom we have a couple of paintings. Also that you can buy the cover art painting from her website.

Posted by teambrown on 26 Jul 2007 at 03:26 pm

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There is a wide, wide array of amateur conspiracy theory documentaries available online to anyone willing to get through the cheesy editing and the melodramatic background music. By far the most convincing and terrifying one I’ve seen yet was made by a mysterious figure known only as Maddox and posted on a mysterious site known only as The Best Page in the Universe. This video was originally posted on April 1st, 2007, the beginning of the pagan calendar. Coincidence?!

Posted by Mat on 26 Jul 2007 at 02:23 pm

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…and I am really excited for the Iron Man movie!! May ‘08 WOOHOO!!

Click the picture to see the rest and then read more at Marvel.com

Posted by ryan on 24 Jul 2007 at 12:54 pm

2 Comments »

Disclaimer: Yes I know that this is the “WORDS” section and that we do in fact have a “VIDEO” section but since I haven’t had time to discuss the issue with Dan I didn’t want to post what amounts to a Presidential endorsement from Kindercore until we had a chance to toss the issue around.

So anyway… I personally became disenchanted with Hillary quite a while ago and have recently grown skeptical of Obama’s weak stance on the environment and health care. Kucinich is amazing but since we live in the land of Larry the Cable Guy his candidacy serves only to keep vital issues on the table.

So… I find that more and more I am supporting Edwards - he is strong on the environment and health care, he remembers that New Orleans used to actually be a city and has shown a drive to address issues that effect those who need help the most. I do take issue with his support for civil unions over marriage for all sentient humans but I was pleased to see his wife (who is pretty fucking killer in her own right) Elizabeth stand up and say she supports equal rights for all - no matter where they prefer to put their private parts.

Anyway… that was a way too long way of setting up this video which the Edwards campaign aired on CNN tonight during the CNN/YouTube debates. If you have paid any attention to politics in the past year you know about Edwards’ $400 hair cut and the sideshow it inspired among those who would have us take our eyes off the ball.

Here is John’s rather effective and biting response:

Posted by ryan on 23 Jul 2007 at 09:24 pm

1 Comment »

Some of you may have noticed the influx of spam posts in our forums and comments sections. Amazing.

Seriously, some Russians (or more likely some Russian robots - make of decomissioned Cold War ICBM parts no doubt) have taken to posting hardcore porn videos in the Kindercore Forums. For real. Close up anal penetration videos in forums on indie pop, the environment and politics - could they not at least have the decency to start a new forum section designated for close up anal penetration videos? I mean I am sure that some of you might be looking for that sort of thing and I imagine you would appreciate knowing where to look instead of being ambushed in an inappropriate forum.

Have some decency Russian robots! Announce your porn, don’t spring it on us when we are looking for information on how to reduce our carbon footprint or where to see the latest Kindercore combo performing live.

Anyway, we are on it - playing a low stakes game of Whack-A-Mole with Russian Robots - WOO HOO!!

Posted by ryan on 23 Jul 2007 at 02:01 pm

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What won’t a short attention span and some loose guidelines isolate?

I gave up before you asked.

Here’s what I found instead!

So I searched images.google.com for “fire animated gif” cuz I wanted some cheesy fire for something stupid that I didn’t even end up making cuz I got distracted with this.

My first stop landed me the above gem and a combination of words previously thought only to occur under laboratory conditions: awesome fire animated powerpoint slide(!!!!!11!)
So if any of you poor bastards reading this ever have to assemble a PowerPoint™ presentation, use this guy’s slides, err, backgrounds cuz they’re just the thing to shock-and-awe yr coworkers or something to revitalize yr mfn, miserable-ass, PowerPoint™-presentation-makin existence (geez, I can’t believe I hang out with you).

In teh next diagram we see that the southern hemisphere and/but most especially Florida and other such weird-ass jerk-water places generally south of here are reponsible for global warming because they’re on fire. Again.

Other accounts suggest that Kurt Russell started teh blaze attempting to kill a-the Thing™ and thus he owns the fire. Representatives for both Michael McDonald and Billy Joel independently asserted that whoever keeps a fire, regardless of which party may or may not have started it, owns it. Kenny Loggins was unavailable for comment. Furthur debate is encouraged.

After that I just sat there for a while, staring at the screen, writing the above paragraphs.

When I came to…

This site is weird as hell.
It made my eyelids loud.

And there really couldn’t be anything more after that.

The internets are over.

Posted by Bob on 23 Jul 2007 at 07:23 am

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As the recently birthday-ed Christa T. mentioned in a comment on here I do have a couple of other blogs beside this one. However, that’s far from a problem. I like having them. Problems do arise, however, when I have an idea for something and can’t decide where to put it. What goes where? I think I’m going to start making specific lists. When I get an idea, before I write one word, I’m going to be like a lil’ editor and “assign” that story to a specific blog.

So what that means is the Cocaine story goes here.

OK, if you’ve ever heard me talk about it then you know how much I hate both cocaine and cocaine culture. (The line that actor Steve Coogan says in 24 Hour Party People about cocaine being a “suits drug; a destroyer of talent” is my sentiment exactly. Of course in the movie Coogan, playing Factory Records founder/owner Tony Wilson, proceeds in short order to have a years long cocaine binge. But, whatever, he was still correct in his original assessment.)

I’ve lived in Athens a long time. During this time I’ve seen cocaine come and go in fashion and for the last few years it’s been back rather hard.

Ever been in a room full of people coked up? It’s like being at the epicenter of a jittery, sweaty, self-aggrandized and impotent human earthquake. You can always tell when people are coked up, too. At least I can. Most of the time.

I went to a party last night (Saturday July 21, 2007) and some kid starts talking to me and says he’s seen me around.He tells me he’s just moved to Athens. Then he asks me if all I do is drink (which is, of course, not all I do as in “all I ever do is drink” but what he meant was , um, “what else do you do for recreation that involves messing with your body’s chemistry”). I told him that earlier I had taken some aspirin and occasionally throw some Icy/Hot on my back.

He tells me he’s trying to get some people to all go in on buying some coke. That’s when I just go off, completely calm of course, and tell this kid who is dressed in a black t-shirt, ponytail and lip ring that cocaine is a Studio 54, yuppie, disco asshole drug and I can’t stand to be around it or anyone doing it. He’s all like “different strokes for different folks, man” and that’s when I pretty much tell him to stroke himself elsewhere.

Note to everyone: there’s always a chance that this guy was a narc and I just became an unwitting spokesperson for the local D.A.R.E. program. Who knows? Keep in mind that when a stranger starts randomly talking to you about the purchase of hard drugs the best thing you can do is walk away. Rule of thumb: never, never, never talk to a stranger in any way that would make it sound like you’re interested in buying any of his goods. Ever. Period.

On the flip side (do any of you remember what a flip side is? MP3s ain’t got ‘em. if you need help feel free to send an inquiry to gordon.lamb@kindercore.com and I’ll set you straight) I also don’t care one iota what drugs you wanna take. I’m pretty much for the legalization of all drugs . That’s not the point of this. Legal issues aside, cocaine is still a drug for sleazeballs ,con-men, gangsters, disco dancers and yuppies.

And if you still think that drug choice is simply a matter of cultural difference then all I can say is that this is a case where intolerance is a total plus in my book.

Happy Sunday, everybody.

Posted by admin on 22 Jul 2007 at 02:38 pm

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