Comics = Art

An interesting debate took place over at the San Diego comic book convention over whether comic books should be perceived as literature/art. It's unfortunate that this medium has long suffered while other mediums have flourished and are now considered as artistic and worthy of analysis and critique, such as popular music and cinema. Still, it also must be said that comic books are not nearly as profitable as most other forms of entertainment.

I think it's likely that video games will be seen as art before comic books, despite the fact that video games been around for a significantly shorter period of time. This raises the interesting question of whether or not profits (and therefore, to a large degree, interest on the part of the general public) has a drastic effect on the speed at which a new entertainment medium becomes accepted as "art." And thinking about that makes my head hurt a little bit.

Dr. Faustus meets the Marvel Universe

Our longtime reader will recall that comic books hold a special place in the heart of several Stain Club wrtiers, even when discussing sports. And, it is my firm belief that the Comic Book industry has recently experienced a bit of a renaissance, with both of the big publishers (Marvel and DC) putting out consistently high quality material.

My personal favorite group of comic book heroes are the Uncanny X-men, who I reported on previously for those looking for a doorway into comics.

Now, the X-books (as the group of X-Men comics are oftentimes collectively called) are publishing a 17 part story running through the back of the primary X-men titles titled "Endangered Species." The story focuses on the scientist X-men Beast (pictured here) as he searches for a way to cure the fact that mutants are dying out, and in fact number less than two thousand after recent events in the Marvel Universe (it's a long story, trust me).

In the first part of this story, Beast asks for help from several unlikely sources, notably prominent thinkers and scientists in the superhero community. It has yet to be revealed whether Beast's Faustian deal will pay off, but it did get me thinking about the character in general. The X-Man Beast is a scientist before a superhero, but always before he has chosen morality over science in his experiments and efforts. Still, a character called "Dark Beast" (pictured above) from an alternate world (hey, it's comic books, you just gotta roll with these things) was a near Dr. Mengele in his experiments on humans and mutants. (For a wonderful encounter between the two Beasts, and a bonus allusion to Edgar Allen Poe, check here.) It makes you wonder how far the real Beast would actually go in a quest for knowledge.

So, while I am excited to see how the story pans out, I do not think we've seen Beast struggling enough with this issue in the months leading up to it. Part of the problem with this may be that Beast is a part of the Astonishing X-Men team, who spend a lot of time out in space, and ignore the goings-on in the other X-Men comics. Long ago, when Beast was trying to cure the Legacy Virus, he was at wits end trying to solve the problem, and I felt that it was tackled sufficiently in many X-Men comic books (including the issue of X-Men Unlimited referenced above), and when the sacrifice of a mutant life became the only means of releasing Beast's cure, he was ready to, at least temporarily shelve the project (as is detailed here. UncannyX-Men.net is a beautiful site, by the way. God bless 'em.)

The question for me is not how far will Beast go, as the answer is likely however far Mike Carey (the story's writer) needs him to tell a good story. I'm more interested in how Beast has progressed to this point. Some hint of his frustration is given in the Endangered Species one-shot comic book, but it's not enough. Has Beast's own decreasing connection with humanity led him to a desperate attempt to save mutants? I understand that science is largely his drive, but what propels him to find the cure beyond that?

Dear reader, expect more comic-related fun posts in the neat future.

And, on a seperate note on the site in general, we're going to be trying to branch out here at Stain Club. I realize it's almost ludicrous to see a serious post about Iraq followed by one about comic books, but as you can tell, our writers are interested in a multitude of things. I'm tempted to ask what the best approach to solving this is (creating seperate links for Comic Books, Phillies, Politics, etc.? similar to what we have now, but more in-depth) but I'm frightened that no one would respond, and that would be quite sad.

6.20 Link Dump

Today, I am going to start posting links that I find interesting throughout the day. Call it a little lazy, but not everything I find needs a paragraph of explanation and it will at the very least get us some more posts on the Stain Club as they have been lagging as of late. Plus, any chance to use the word, dump, in the title of a blog or a label is a chance I will take over and over again.

--One more reason to watch Scrubs if you haven't: The ridiculous dance sequences, most of which I probably borrow from whenever I am drunk.

--SportsCenter Audition tapes by recent retiree Bob Barker and Milk Hater Ron Burgundy.

--Recall in Austin Powers 3 (I know it's from a while back) that Fat Bastard went on the Jared Subway diet to lose some serious poundage that resulted in lots of sagging skin. Well, this is a lot more gross with a lot and a lot more sag.

--As a serious Star Wars nerd, I loved the Robot Chicken's mockery/homage to the entire saga. Seth Green is a genius when it comes to this kind of humor.

--More nerd stuff as D. Page recently informed of a major switch in the Spidey franchise as Marvel will be churning out Amazing Spider-Man three times a month while the other side titles will be canceled. Here's the interview with Steve Wacker concerning the decision to do so.

Watchmen, the Movie

First, I want to apologize to our ten readers for my absence, I had intermittent internet access over the past few weeks. Anyhow lucky for you I'm back.

Several months ago rumors cropped up about a film version of Alan
Moore's graphic novel Watchmen. Those rumors have recently been confirmed, and Director Zack Snyder (300) was chosen for the adaptation. Other adaptations of Alan Moore's works include The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and V for Vendetta. While League tanked, V for Vendetta was fairly well received, which begs the question: how will one of the most critically acclaimed novels fair on the big screen? It's important to note that this is not the first time Watchmen has begun pre-production; the first script for a film adaptation was completed in 1988. While turning Watchmen into a movie production at that point in time would have likely proved disastrous, cinematic production with the help of computer technology has improved drastically since that time.

Personally, I would much rather have seen Watchmen as an HBO miniseries. The graphic novel seems too long for a single film, and with the adaptation (and hopeful success) of Garth Ennis's Preacher as an HBO miniseries, Watchmen would likely be on a short list for comic television adaptations. On another funnier note, only a few months before I'd heard Watchmen was being adapted for film, I read that a rock opera version of Watchmen was being written by David Bowie.

Finally, a few casting possibilities have begun to surface. The first was for Keanu Reeves to play Dr. Manhattan. I suppose choosing an emotionless hack to play essentially the same character is a good fit. Secondly is Jude Law to play Ozymandias. Maybe it's his snooty English accent, but it sure makes him sound like he could play the smartest man on the planet with an ambiguous sexual orientation.

After all this I hope I don't find myself regretting the rejection of David Bowie's rock opera.

Test Shot of Rorschach

The Night is Mine

It’s not easy to say “What Would Jesus Do?” and attempt to live your life by that mantra. It’s an honorable thing. Love thy neighbor. Treat others as you would want them to treat you. Do good unto others and ye shall be rewarded. All of it is wonderful.

Unfortunately, we live in America. Our economy is capitalism. You gotta watch your own ass here. You gotta be one step ahead of the competition, all the while watching you back for attempted knifings. If you can live by the Jesus code, you have my support and blessings. Christianity is a beautiful thing. However, I have a new man I’m trying to live by. Now, I wouldn’t translate this code to a work situation, or family relations, but it applies to how you deal with romantic relationships. Think of this code: What Would Bruce Wayne Do?

Bruce Wayne, for those of you who live in a cave (one without bats, obviously) is a superhero. He fights crime as The Batman. The night is his. He will scare the shit out of you. He will get the information out of you. He will solve everything. However, unless you’re planning on becoming a vigilante or you’re a detective, Batman isn’t much good to you. His other ego, Bruce Wayne, is.

Let’s consider this: Bruce Wayne spends most of his nights solving crimes, sticking it to the baddies, and generally pressing down on the BPAS as hard as he can. This means he’s too tired to do a whole lot during the day. Thus, he goes through his “job” as lackadaisical playboy without appearing very concerned or interested. This approach may not get you very far in the workplace. After all, Bruce Wayne is a billionaire, and you, I’m assuming, are not. So then, what good is it? Glad you asked.

Extend that lackadaisical approach to your social life that Bruce Wayne does to his. Who cares what you’re doing. Who cares if you can’t get a date. Bruce Wayne doesn’t care. He cancels dates to kick ass. Maybe you should be doing this, too. Instead of getting hung up on a girl, go buy this and do some ass-kicking of your own.

The point is, in the grossness of our modern world, nonchalance is winning in the dating arena. The old school tactics of buying flowers for dates and harping on your significant other’s every wish are over, if they ever worked in the first place. You’ve got to act like you’re busy. For Bruce Wayne, it’s not an act. He is busy. He’s making sure that Two-Face isn’t about to kill your family. You, on the other hand, probably don’t have quite as serious a commitment. That doesn’t matter. The person on the other end of the line doesn’t need to know that for you “busy” translates into a six-pack of Miller Light and Death Wish II.

Harness the Bruce Wayne playboy-style for your own needs, watch your strength grow, and the night will be yours, too.

Unintentional Comedy

The Sports Guy knows about this topic. He even came up with a scale for it. It can come up at any time, anywhere, any place. Something happens that seems so innocent/naive that our silly, twisted minds turn it into something we find in the gutter. I, for one, fully embrace unintentional comedy and the chuckles it leaves me (and my friends) with.

So if you don't know what I mean by this, check out this link to these comic book panels that, back in the day, had no idea how many sexual vernacular/euphemisms would arise so many decades later. Of course, Batman and Robin make several appearances, but Lois Lane's antics should have been number one.

Captain Fallout

The hoopla over Marvel's recent push on the BPAS continues, with hilarious news items such as this one. Well, Marvel, you've caught the mainstream media's eye, so how are you going to top yourselves this time, because I have to assume that's your goal.

In Stain Club related news, those of you looking for some Philadelphia Phillies glory will be happy to know that I'm going huge over the next several days given some time off to relax, and can expect plenty more wonderful Phillies vs. Opponents articles.

Spidey's Back...in Black

In addition to the Marvel news recently announced by my comrade D. Page, we are officialy less two months away from the release of Spider-Man 3. I myself have been a Spidey fan all my life and from the looks of these two previews I will leave with you, this movie is going to be EPIC. I will go as far to say that it could rival the Lord of the Rings trilogy when you take all three movies together, but that is just my personal opinion because I have a bias towards super-heroes, especially the old web-head. I'm sure the nerd-lingers of the world will be up in arms, spewing venom from their laptops in their mommies' basements if they ever get wind of that remark.

I leave you with the seven minute clip that NBC aired during Heroes as well as the new trailer with a special scene at the end of someone who will have a huge part in the movie. Enjoy.

Seven Minute Clip


New Trailer

Marvel Goes Big

A short while ago, Snacksy the Kid posted about the end of Marvel's huge Civil War storyline. However, given what has come out this week, we were all missing a big part of the story. I don't want to ruin it for anyone so be forewarned that spoilers follow with the link, but basically, Marvel went huge. Here's hoping they can stick to something; this shouldn't get retconned in five years if it's going to mean anything. I'll be watching, Marvel.

Out with the old, in with the new

Marvel Comics’ big event, Civil War, finally came to a close yesterday with issue number seven of the miniseries. The series was originally supposed to end in November, but, as is the case with numerous other marvel comics, the series took on a jokely schedule. However, Civil War has finally concluded. The series essentially told the story of a government initiative to register all vigilantes. This initiative was spearheaded by Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man. However, a number of heroes would not comply and were in turn jailed. The group of dissenters was led by Captain America, and the fighting ensued.

For those of you who haven’t read the final issue I’ll keep this review spoiler free. The series, overall, was well written, which can be expected by Mark Millar, who’s done several other terrific series for Marvel, including Ultimates and Ultimate X-men. However, and this applies particularly to issue 7, the series was extremely predictable. I don’t read more than four series a month and even I could see half of what was coming towards the end of the Civil War. Regardless of the series’ predictability, Civil War has changed the direction of the mainstream Marvel universe. I expect that many of the popular series will be given a kick start in light of Civil War’s aftermath. All in all I recommend the series to both serious and casual readers of Marvel comics.

20 comics that can change your life

I read an interesting article on nerve.com about twenty comics that can change your life. Of the twenty on the list I’m ashamed to say I’ve only read three, nevertheless, I would agree that they are worthy of being on the twenty. I’m happy to say that Planetary was on the list, furthering my claim to Warren Ellis’s tip. I was however surprised at some of the comics that didn’t make the list, for example Watchmen. Some might argue that it did indeed change comic writing but not anyone’s life. Personally it was the first comic I read and kinda got me hooked, so I would put it on the list. Anyhow take a look and post your comments.

Planetary

It’s been a while since we talked comics here at Stainclub, so here goes my plug on Planetary. Planetary is a self contained “mega-series” comic created by writer Warren Ellis and artist John Cassady. The series ran 27 issues before coming to the end. The story follows the adventures of three “super heroes” who run an investigation team known as Planetary. The sole purpose of this team is to uncover the secret history and conspiracies of the twentieth century. While the plot line is outstanding, it’s Ellis’s use of pop culture imagery that makes the series exceptional. Characters analogous to Superman, the Hulk, Constantine, the Fantastic Four, and more are figures sited throughout the series; as well as plots inspired by Japanese monster stories, Hong Kong action movies, and mid 20th century Sci Fi movies. The reason I’m encouraging readership of this series so hard is simply because it’s one of the best. Even if you aren’t a regular comic fan you will be entertained.

Best of the Best

Newsarama has recently posted their best of 2006. There's plenty of good comic book and graphic novel material in there, from mainstream to indie.

Spiderman vs. Superman

Check out this interview with Joe Quesada (Marvel Comic books editor-in-chief) about the lack of relevance of Superman in the modern world, and how Marvel's advantage over DC is their character base. He makes an interesting argument about Superman's popularity waning, but I think one advantage Superman specifically has over most Marvel heroes is hope. Superman is an ideal, and I think even in cynical modern times, a lot of people still like to believe in a better way, and that way is Superman. Kevin Smith wrote an interesting article about how Superman, being the ultimate immigrant and finding success, is the absolute embodiment of the American dream, and while I think Quesada's points are interesting, he misses this a little. He also uses a rather involved Elvis vs. The Beatles analogy which is worth reading.

Intro to the X

Here's a new reader's guide to X-Men comics. I recommend Astonishing X-Men myself. It's the best X-book on the market right now (with X-Factor a close second) and overall Whedon's run will probably go down as one of the best runs on X-Men ever.

On Indie Comics

hey everybody. first post, glad i can contribute to this fine feathered blog.

after a good five years of not reading comics at all, i was drawn in by Marvel's superior marketing department. in short, they put the first 13 or so issues of Ultimate Spider-man on the internet for free, then teased me with spoilers that Mary-Jane might die, and before i knew it, i was buying Ultimate Spider-man, Ultimate X-men, and the Ultimates. after starting with these mainstream titles, i determined that i wanted to begin my serious comic book education. i read all the norms, your V for Vendetta, your Watchmen, your DKR, and they were all great. as time went on, i began to "know stuff" about the medium.
however, it was not until this year that i tried to apply myself to the next level of comic book knowledge: the indie comic. while books like Watchmen, are, regrettably, not known to the general populace, they are extremely well known in the comic book world. Alan Moore is almost universally seen as a genius. A reason his books are so well known, and so well received, both by the comic book masses and the American populace (Watchmen isn't known, yet, but Moore wrote V, the League of Extraoridnary Gentlemen, and From Hell, much better than the movie screenwriters at that), is that his best known tales are conventional super-hero stories. Watchmen has very clear archtypical characters, the superman, the perfectly evolved man, the vigilante, and so on. V has the classic outlaw anti-hero. The League is essentially the JLA of Victorian-era fiction. I loved this styles of stories, but I figured that if I was truly going to have a broad knowledge of comic books, I would have to start reading the indie books, the ones that no one outside of comics knows about, the ones that are very often about "normal" life.
i took recommendations from the guys at the local comic book shoppe, and they pointed me towards Daniel Clowes' David Boring. the entire point of the book is supposed to be extraordinary stuffed framed in the normal (his last name is BORING!). i've read it, but still don't understand it, so i'm not going to review it. this post is my last recording before my adventure into snooty indie comics. i'll inevitably read stuff that will be compared to david lynch movies, or post-modern otymological theory. David Boring itself is described as being Beckett-esque on the back. so i'm off to read indie comics. here's to hope it's still fun. i'll come back every now and then, undoubtedly with a new pair of horn-rimmed glasses or argyle socks, and let you know how it is.

toodles, - drox.

(toodles isn't going to be my sign-off, but it will be it until i can think of a permanent one)

Preachin'

Here's an interview about a show coming to HBO sometime in 2008 based on an irreverent, grotesque, and utterly wonderful comic book series from a couple years ago called Preacher. If you think the Kevin Smith film Dogma sent the Catholics into a rage, just wait till this hits.

Daredevil

Daredevil is one of the absolute best comic books on the market right now. I’ve never read a lot of Brubaker’s work, but he’s doing a decent job over on Uncanny X-Men, and Daredevil was highly recommended to me. I’ve never really been a fan of the character before, but none of that matters. Once you read Brubaker’s Daredevil, you’ll be converted. Even if you don’t like the character, even if you don’t like comics, even if you don’t like reading, hell, even if you don’t like being alive, you’ll enjoy this stuff. And if you don’t read comic books, go out and by yourself a copy of Watchmen and get with the program.

Superhero Baseball

S.Q. Hagglepuss posted something the other day here about superheroes and baseball, and it didn't make a whole lot of sense, but it got me thinking about the comical idea of thinking about what superheroes certain baseball players would be. Ridiculous and nonsensical? Absolutely. Here's a couple examples.

Greg Maddux = Batman: Greg Maddux is always thinking and planning his next move, just like the Dark Knight detective. And Batman doesn't really have any genuine powers, and Greg Maddux's 86 mph four-seamer can't exactly be considered superhuman. Maddux lives on the edge of the strike zone, and Batman lives on the edge of the night. Yes.

Ricky Henderson = The Flash. Two speedsters, one scarlet, one a former Oakland A.

Derek Jeter = Captain America. Two guys always trying to find a way to win. The only difference is that Captain America works for the people, and Derek Jeter works for Satan.

Bronson Arroyo = Dazzler. Self-explanatory if you know who these two people are.

Johnny Damon = Two-Face. Traitorous bastard.

Albert Pujols = Superman. Both deserve respect and strike fear in their opponents. I'm sure there's a balding pitcher with poor lifetime stats against Fat Albert. I'm kind of hoping it's John Smoltz. And following this:

David Eckstein = Robin. The best sidekicks of all time.

Chase Utley = Green Lantern. Green Lantern derives his power from having the strongest will, and if you've seen Chase Utley gunning for second base on a pop-up on the odd chance the fielder drops the ball, you can tell he's a hero.

Barry Bonds = Booster Gold. Funny if you know who Booster Gold is.

Randy Johnson = Mr. Fantastic. Who has a bigger unit than Mr. Fantastic?

More of this idiocy to come later, maybe. Maybe not.