Trusty Plinko Stick - Better Living Through Junk Culture

I am Superman and I can do anything.

2013-05-22T18:39:00.000-04:00

As an avowed and proud Superman fan, I feel bad that I didn't post anything about the Man of Steel on April 18th, the 75th anniversary of the release of Action Comics #1. But even if this is off by an entire month (and some change), I'm still doing this in a less-belated manner than DC Comics, which isn't celebrating the occasion until June 12th, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.

(Not to knock entirely on DC for that decision, seeing how Action Comics #1 was cover dated June 1938 and it's really tedious explaining that whole cover date / street date thing to people who don't already know the difference and likely don't care. Plus, Man of Steel is released later that week, and your average international multimedia conglomerate like Time-Warner sure does love some cross-platform synergy. But still, it would've killed them to send a card?)

Anyway.

It's kind of hard to explain the place that Superman occupies in my headspace. He's one of my favorite superheroes, sure (occupying a plateau with Batman, and the original Captain Marvel), though calling him one of my favorite fictional characters, regardless of genre or medium, is probably more accurate. But that's not to say I read, watch, play, and/or collect everything he appears in or on, because let's face it, there's a whole lot of bad Superman material out there (the N64 game, for instance, which is the rare case of the internet understating how bad something is).

But I can overlook that because I look at Superman as more than just a character (which is helpful during the periods when you find the comics mostly unreadable*). Superman, to me, is an ideal to be aspired to and embraced. None of us can fly, change the course of rivers, or get someone else (whether robot, Batman, or JFK) to impersonate us when we need to be in the same place at the same time as our alter ego, but we can still attempt to live up to that ideal.

Whether you're the Last Son of Krypton or Joe Shmoe from Idaho, you're born with certain abilities, gifts, attributes... whatever you want to call them. And sometimes people around you need help in ways both large and small. You want to be like Superman? Use what you've been given to help out the best way that you can because you can, because it's the right thing to do.

The cape, the powers, the secret identity drama? That's all just window dressing. What Superman is really about is basic human kindness (however ironic that may be given that he is neither basic nor human). And that's not even just something we can aspire to, but something we can actually achieve.

That's why Superman is important to me, why I consider him a favorite even when I'm not actively following his adventures, why I can usually be found wearing something with his insignia on it every single day (usually my watch, though I do own / have owned plenty of shirts, hats, wallets, and other accoutrements through the years).

I don't believe a man can fly, but that doesn't mean we can't achieve the ideal in our own ways.

*Um, kind of like right now. Sorry, Kal.

Doctor Who and the Suspiciously-Vital-to-the-Plot Supporting Characters

2013-05-19T18:37:00.001-04:00

I think I'm ready for a regeneration on Doctor Who. Maybe in the Doctor himself (though I like Smith alright), but definitely in the showrunner. I think Steven Moffat was one of the strongest writers (arguably the strongest) in the early goings of the show's revival under Russell T. Davies. But since taking over the show himself, I worry that he represents the sorts of problems that arise when you put someone who is too big of a fan into the big chair.

Being the caretaker of a long-running, ongoing serial narrative is a tricky task. Add nothing to the story, and you do no better than mark time until the next caretaker comes along. Add too much, and you risk angering or even driving away creators and audience alike. There is a very careful balance that needs to be achieved, and neither the faint of heart nor would-be auteurs need apply. And as is clear from the bulk of his work, Moffat definitely considers himself an auteur - and credit where it's due, he certainly has the resume to back that up. However, I think his well-documented Who megafandom has robbed him of some of the perspective that would make him a better caretaker of the franchise.

Compare Moffat's run to Davies, the companion characters each created in particular. Davies famously (or infamously, depending on your POV) created the first obviously canonical love interest in the history of the series; Jo, Sarah Jane, Romana, and maybe even Nyssa were always hinted at, of course, but it was never directly stated on screen; and the TV movie's Dr. Grace Holloway wasn't around long enough to seem like anything more than a one-story flirtation. With Rose Tyler, though, it's made very clear that she and the Doctor are deeply in luuuuurrrve (even if it takes a few years after her departure to really say it say it). But it can be argued that that change in the series norm was made to set the tone for the different needs of the modern audience, and it only served to bring to the fore what we always knew was going on in the background with Jo, Sarah Jane, et al. The rest of Davies's companions? Buddies for the Doctor, people for him to relate to, even act as a de facto family. Different types of companions for a different series (much less running and screaming, and far fewer sprained ankles), ones that added new wrinkles to the established dynamic, but still recognizably Who. Russell T. Davies really knew how to innovate with - but still respect - the established toy box.

Now look at Moffat's companions. Two "impossible" girls who were not brought along because they seemed like fun traveling companions, but because they were Important Mysteries To Be Solved. A man who was the most patient, loving, and loyal being in the history of Earth, and a man whose love was strong enough to somehow survive being erased from time. And, of course, a woman so impossibly cheeky, uber-competent, and all-knowing that she had to end up being not just the Doctor's love interest, but the Doctor's kinda-sorta (but still somehow legally binding?) wife and the one person who knows every single secret in the show's history that she managed to learn them off camera because reasons.

In my eyes, the Davies companions are characters, but the Moffat companions are the Mary Sue-est of Mary Sues. Maybe not in the direct-author-avatar sense, but they're all so Extraordinary In Every Way, Important To Every Plot, and the Knowers Of All That Which Needs To Be Known. Just look at Clara's fate as seen in "The Name of the Doctor," in which (and I'll try to be vague here) she is shown to be not only important to this story, but Important To Every Doctor Who Story Ever. No wonder Moffat insists that the show "has always been about the companions." He really, really, really loves HIS companions!

And that's not to say they're bad characters; the Doctor - Amy - Rory grouping, for instance, is one of my favorite Doctor/companion teams in the show's history (even if I don't like every story they're in, I love how the characters interact). But Moffat overestimates their importance, I think, and his desire to leave his mark on the show's long history betrays a desire to highlight his own creations at the expense of the overall narrative (and some of the theories I'm seeing for the season finale's Big Reveal don't do anything to disprove this to me). His mark is looking more like a big, messy thumbprint as time goes on.

And this is to say nothing of his seeming desire to make EVERYTHING about the show into fairy tale (never thought I'd call a Cybermen story "twee," but I've done so TWICE under his watch). And the recurring trend of introducing major plot threads only to sideline them ("She's the impossible girl!" "Why?" "Because she is, hey look a Russian submarine.") or ignore them completely (the whole exploding TARDIS thing from Series 5). But the Mary Sues (or Larry Stus)... they're what's at the heart of my problems with the series since the Moffat era began, and what's dimming my enthusiasm as time goes on.

Look, Steven Moffat is a talented writer and producer, and there have been plenty of episodes I've enjoyed since he took the reins from Russell T. Davies (hell, most of the first half of this season was a lot of fun, particularly the Dalek Asylum, dinosaurs in space, and cubes/UNIT episodes). And the performances from the cast have generally been pretty good. But it's the overall direction of the show that is getting me down, and has in my opinion gotten too far away from what I'm looking for in A Good Doctor Who Story. I won't be wandering away from the show any time soon, but I can't help but think I should be looking forward to November's 50th anniversary with unbridled enthusiasm, not mild curiosity and a dread that this, too, will miss the mark by a wide margin.

State of the Pull List 2013 Addendum (Foolish Oversight, Really): Bandette

2013-04-29T18:34:00.000-04:00

I'm a little ashamed of myself that I forgot to mention Bandette when I wrote up the indie section of my State of the Pull List post the other day, because if I'm being completely honest, it might be my favorite ongoing comic right now. However, I still don't read a lot of books digitally... I'll pony up for a few if Comixology is running a 99 cent sale on something I really want to read (All of Alan Davis's JLA: The Nail for under $3? Yes, definitely, thank you.), and I'll download free stuff from time to time (Marvel's #1 promotion as a recent example), but Bandette is the only created-for-digital-release comic I'm reading at the moment.* Comics are still, for the most part, physical objects for me, and out of sight is sometimes still sadly out of mind.

Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover, I hope you can forgive me for such a foolish oversight, and I hope you win all the Eisners you're nominated for and even those that you were not. For instance, I figure with such a strong BeDe influence, there's an argument to be made that this qualifies for Best Presentation of Foreign Material.

If you read Tobin's recent-ish blog series about his favorite female characters in literature (and you should), you'll know that Bandette here is basically the character he was born to write... she's a thief, she's a little bit detectivey, she has a light and easy-going manner but is super-capable and talented and can definitely bring it when she needs, she has strong and varied cast of associates (basically her own Baker Street Irregulars, her "Urchins"), and a complex moral code (she'll employ her talents for the good of society, for the good of her Urchins, for the good of her pocketbook... or just because it's fun). Coover's artwork is the perfect accompaniment to the story and the character. You can often tell as much about Bandette and the characters that occupy her world by how they dress, how the move, and by their facial expressions as you can by what Tobin is having them say. Everybody here feels unique, both in relation to each other and to other comics characters.

This book has style in every sense of the word. It reads and looks much differently than pretty much everything else out there right now. If you're not reading this, that's a problem you need to fix ASAP. Get yourself over to Monkeybrain Comics and learn how you can fix you own foolish oversight.

*Though this is likely to change now thanks to Art & Franco's Aw Yeah Comics! has started.

Looking to buy a Fisher Price record player, a 5th Anniversary TMNT Leonardo figure, or some GURPS books? Go to eBay and buy mine!

2013-04-29T11:51:00.001-04:00

I'm just sayin'. There's gotta be one of you out there who wants some hipster cred for having an old school FP portable turntable, right?

Auctions end tonight (4/29) around 6 or so EST, so hop to it!

Boston

2013-04-16T18:37:00.000-04:00

As over-memed as this famous WW2-era British poster has become in the past few years, it is good sentiment to keep in mind, and a reminder that we must carry on in the face of tragedy and the loss of human life, no matter the scope or reach.

My wife was in Boston with some friends from work for the Red Sox game yesterday, and was on the route congratulating runners as they ran the last mile or two for the finish. They didn't see, hear, or feel anything as it happened, and were able to get out of the city safely, if confusedly since the police weren't saying a whole lot as they were urging people off the streets and overtaxed cell & wireless service made it hard to get info as it happened. We also knew a guy who was running in the marathon, but luckily he had finished prior to the bombing and he and his family were out of harm's way by the time it happened.

These stories ended happily. Others did not, and my deepest sympathies go out to everyone affected in any way, whether that involves a loss of life, health, or even just a sense of safety.

I think we'd do well to keep the lessons taught to us by our friends across the pond at the time when this poster was more than just a clever decorating or easily-Photoshopped internet trend, but a mandate of open defiance to those who would try to keep them down. It's become a cliche to say "if we change, they (whomever they end up being) win," but some cliches have a whole lot of truth at the center of them. The perpetrators of these heinous acts will face justice, definitely in this world and hopefully in any others that may exist (depending on whatever cosmology you, they, and/or the universe subscribes to), but the biggest slap in the face we can give them is to go about our lives as unaltered as possible. We will not forget this, of course, but we will keep calm, and we will carry on.

State of the Pull List 2013

2013-04-14T20:44:00.000-04:00

I've decided to take stock of what I'm reading regularly these days. This is probably more for my benefit than anyone else's, but I figured I'd share the list and the reasoning behind some decisions anyway.

DC
Reading - Batman Incorporated, Legends of the Dark Knight (monthlies); All Star Western, Superman Family Adventures (trades)

Dropped in (roughly) the past year (or at least since the New 52 relaunch) - Animal Man, Aquaman, Batman, Demon Knights, Supergirl, Worlds' Finest (well, just about to be dropped)

Going to give a shot in the future - Adventures of Superman (especially since dropping the Card story), Wonder Woman (at least the first trade), Action Comics (ditto... Morrison reads better in chunks, anyway), The Green Team (creative team and weirdness of concept earns a look), The Movement (ditto)

Thoughts - I've been pretty solidly a DC guy since about 1988 or '89, around the time a then-friend pretty much forced a John Byrne Superman book into my hand and said "you need to read this, Marvel Zombie." So the fact that I'm down to reading just two regular DC monthly books feels very weird for me. And of those two, one is ending soon, and the other is a continuity-free Batman book completely removed from the rest of the company's storytelling universe. I'm not staunchly opposed to the New 52 (well, aside from they're doing to ~~Captain Marvel~~ Shazam... and Superman's costume), and in fact have quite liked some of what has come out of the relaunch. But between some glacial pacing (Animal Man, Demon Knights, Worlds' Finest) and seemingly endless cycles of crossovers (everything else), I've lost a lot of interest in what they're doing over there these days. I'm willing to be wowed, of course, and I'm happy they're doing some of these non-continuity digital-first projects for old timers like me, but for the most part, they're not exciting me much these days.

Marvel
Reading - Hawkeye, Daredevil, Captain Marvel, Avengers Assemble, FF, Fearless Defenders (monthlies); Amazing Spider-Man, Indestructible Hulk (trades... or I plan to with Hulk, anyway)

Dropped in the past year - Fantastic Four, Young Avengers, Indestructible Hulk (this one so I could switch over to trades)

Going to give a shot in the future - Avengers, All New X-Men (both in collected form)

Thoughts - So obviously since I've been a big DC guy since middle school, I haven't been as big a Marvel fan. I read my share, of course, but it's Coke and Pepsi or Elvis and the Beatles... you can like both, but you always have a preference, and a switch like this is very much like going from, I dunno, Blue Hawaii to Rubber Soul. Marvel is rocking my comics loving world right now, and I think a lot of it is because it seems like they are taking more chances on smaller, quirkier books with distinct authorial and artistic voices and giving them the opportunities they need to thrive. Captain Marvel, for instance, looks and reads like no other book on the market right now (whether featuring a female or male lead character), and like no other Marvel book in at least the past 10-15 years, either. Hawkeye is just barely a superhero book, more like a 70s buddy cop / heist-gone-bad character piece. Over 20 issues in, Mark Waid is still turning in Daredevil scripts that reflect and respect the character's past but have helped break the streak of "we must all ape what Miller and Bendis did" stories that haunted him for so long.

I also think it's funny that so many of my favorite Marvel books are coming from either Matt Fraction or Kelly Sue DeConnick. That's one hell of a talented household right there.

Other
Reading - Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time (currently) and the TNG crossover Assimilation2 (recently completed), Garfield, Snarked! (recently completed) (monthlies); Adventure Time (trades)

Dropped in the past year - Hypernaturals (plan on switching to trades), The Black Beetle (ditto), Saga

Going to give a shot in the future - ???

Thoughts - Non Marvel and DC books are so wide-ranging in reach, scope, and availability it's hard to talk about them as one category, but for some reason I don't plan on letting that stop me. First and foremost, Boom Studios is absolutely killing it with All Ages books that are actually appealing to all ages. Roger Langridge's Snarked! is about as clever and funny a comic book as has come down the pike in a while, and familiarity with the works of Lewis Carroll was helpful but by no means necessary (which is good, because I am sadly underread in Carroll!). And Adventure Time is that rarest of licensed books, that which is as consistently good as the source material from which it spawned. IDW's Doctor Who projects are inconsistent, but a.) Doctor Who comics are always inconsistent in quality; and b.) if I'm being honest, so is the show. The Star Trek crossover was awkward and sloooooooooooooooow at times (3-4 issues of ready room discussions, while maybe consistent with some of the lesser episodes of TNG, was kinda painful), but the fanboy in me was so happy to see it happening that I was able to forgive a lot. And Prisoners of Time has been a fun era-by-era take so far (the Troughton issue was especially good) and I'm looking forward to seeing where that goes.

As for the drops, Hypernaturals was fun sci-fi superheroics, but Abnett & Lanning read better in chunks. Francesco Francovilla's artwork on the Black Beetle mini-series is gorgeous enough that it needs a nice, sturdy place on my shelf, hence the decision to switch there. And Saga, well, it's good, I can see why people like it, and Fiona Staples is killing it on the art, but for whatever reason it just wasn't my cuppa.

Random Final Thought
I know, I'm really underread on indies at the moment. Make some recommendations!

The past is fading away faster than my ability to keep up with it (RIP Roger Ebert, Carmine Infantino, Annette Funicello)

2013-04-08T21:47:00.000-04:00

Roger Ebert was one of the first people (along with his former co-host and Gene Siskel) who ever taught me to look at entertainment with a critical eye, and that the ideas of "art" and "mass appeal" (however those can be defined) did not have to be mutually exclusive. The man certainly appreciated and championed a great number of sophisticated, so-called "high brow" films, but he also clearly enjoyed his share of big spectacle popcorn flicks, too. If the film was well-made, thoughtful, had something to say, and said it smartly, there was room for it in the Ebert pantheon no matter the intended audience.

And let's be honest, the stuff he hated... well, that was usually just as much fun to read about (maybe even more fun to read about) than the stuff he enjoyed.

I didn't always agree with Roger Ebert's opinions, but I always found them well-defined and argued with passion. More than just a great film critic, he was a brilliant writer.

Pretty sure I first encountered Carmine Infantino's artwork in the pages of Marvel's Star Wars comic, and if I'm being honest, I wasn't much of a fan at the time. Sure, I knew who everyone was supposed to be, but everybody looked just off-model enough that it all looked kinda weird. Later on, though, I began to discover his DC work, at first through his return to The Flash in the marathon-length trial story, and then through reprints of his Silver Age work on the character, and on Batman as well. The cover above, for instance, is one of my favorites of that entire era. The bizarre scenario, the cover asking the reader to solve the mystery, the tie-in to the then-current Batmania craze, the go-go checks... yeah, that's just about perfect. The man had an incredible eye for design (just look at Flash's Rogues Gallery!) and in an industry known for people often aping others' styles, Infantino's work always had a unique quality that identified it as purely and entirely his own.

Annette Funicello was a piece of living Americana thanks to The Mickey Mouse Club and the Beach Party movies, maybe more so than a lot of other similarly iconic mid-20th century media figures since not only was she known for two such different franchises (similarly benign though they were), but, well, she just seemed so darn nice, too. But, again, if I'm being honest, before I knew her for any of those things, I knew her as the Skippy peanut butter pitchwoman. I ate a lot of peanut butter as a kid (um, yeah... as a kid), and often Skippy. Because, well, she just seemed so darn nice, you know?

The above clip is obviously not a peanut butter commercial, but the opening song to one of Disney's Merlin Jones movies with Tommy Kirk, The Monkey's Uncle. It's one of my favorite songs from any Disney film ever, live or animated, and it's one of my very favorite Beach Boys songs, too. Annette's a huge factor in both of those decisions.

Pretty Sketchy: From Thanagar With Love (and a Mace)

2013-04-01T21:35:00.000-04:00

Hawkgirl "pencil study" sketch by Tess Fowler, purchased from her Etsy shop in Fall 2012. Tess's description called this piece "simple." I thought it was anything but.

Making Comics the Veronica Mars Way?

2013-03-26T18:57:00.000-04:00

Last week on his Tumblr, Nick Spencer shared his plans for the Supergirl run he was supposed to write but didn't get to because everything got all New 52'ed. Basically, Kara was going to end up leading a de facto team made up of other young heroes like the Batgirl (Steph), Robin (Damian), Blue Beetle (Jaime), Static, and others (as seen in the unused Amy Reeder Justice League #1-esque cover above). The hope was that it might lead to a new Young Justice down the line. And here's the thing... this sounds awesome. I don't want to say it sounds better than the comics we ended up getting instead, but it certainly sounds more in line with my particular sensibilities. And given that Spencer wrote what I think is the best Jimmy Olsen story of at least the past 30-40 years, I'm pretty confident he'd have brought the good here, too.

So, of course, I started dreaming up scenarios in which these comics could (or did) happen. Most involved breaking the currently known laws of physics, and at least one followed the plotline of Misery a little more closely than is healthy. But then I remembered Veronica Mars.

Unless you've been in a coma or, you know, just don't care, you probably know that Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas is going to at last make the long-dreamed-of series-continuing/ending movie thanks to a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign that raised it's $2 million goal in less than a day. This has made a lot of people very happy, because yay more Veronica, but it has also made a lot of other people very angry because a major studio managed to get a project funded via an outlet that ideally should be used by smaller, less Global Multimedia Conglomerate Monolithy creators to make their ideas a reality. While I certainly understand that latter sentiment and wonder how it will change the entire crowdsourcing model for good or ill... yay, more Veronica!

But if said Global Multimedia Conglomerate Monolith could make one of their dreamed of projects a reality by going directly to the fans who want to see it, couldn't they do it again? What's to stop DC from saying "You want to see Nick Spencer's Supergirl, more Steph Brown Batgirl by Bryan Q. Miller, some Ted Kord Blue Beetle stories, comics set pre-Flashpoint/pre-COIE/pre-anything? If enough of you pony up enough up front to make it profitable, we'll put it out." Or Marvel could source funding for, say, Essential editions of Master of Kung Fu, Micronauts, Rom, Shogun Warriors, or whatever... donate enough to re-secure the character rights, produce the book, and turn a profit, and it's all yours.

I'm not saying I think this is going to happen, nor do I necessarily think it should - sooner or later, diminishing returns will kick in and you'll get people begging for your support to reprint and complete Sonic Disruptors or something - but thanks to Rob Thomas and company, that cat's out of the bag and at the very least the possibility exists. Maybe that's a good thing.

And it certainly cuts down on the possibility of me smashing John Rogers's legs with a sledge hammer so he'll stop thinking about escape and just write me more Blue Beetle stories, dammit. That has to be a plus.

So let's make the most of this be-YOO-tee-ful day...

2013-03-20T18:17:00.000-04:00

Fred Rogers would've been 85 today. No, scratch that. Fred Rogers should have been 85 today. Fred Rogers should be all the ages. Fred Rogers should be immortal. I suppose, thanks to having done his program for a few decades, he is after a fashion, but it takes some real doing to find airings on the schedule now. My own son is past the man's intended audience age bracket (and, sadly, would loudly tell you so himself given the chance), but still, it's just always nice to know that Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is out there somewhere, ready to gently (but always honestly) help explain the world and emotions and life itself to pre-school aged kids. Heck, it's nice to get that every now and then as an adult, too. I like checking back in on Fred's TV address and surrounding environs, and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, and Someplace Else, and Westwood, and and and...it's relaxing, it's reassuring.

There are people out there who don't like Mister Rogers (the program or the man), who find the shows slow, or insipid, or even phony. I always feel bad for those people, and wonder just how cynical and ugly their lives must be to bring them to such a point. But I try to understand and accept them, because that's what Mister Rogers would probably do, and most likely with a smile.

I never met the man (which I am surprisingly regretful about), but he and his TV show played such an important part of my childhood that I still can't help but consider him a friend and, yes, neighbor, and he is and always will be missed.

And I'm pretty sure he's at least partly responsible for my lifelong appreciation of cardigan sweaters and comfortable footwear, but that's neither here nor there.

Thtand back, muthkateerths!

2013-03-18T18:07:00.000-04:00

Some days are just Duck Amuck days.

Just thinking out loud here.

2013-03-03T20:34:00.000-05:00

I remembered the other day that, after the reception Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character got from audiences in the wake of The Dark Knight Rises, DC was interested in adding John Blake to the Batman comics.

And, well, it looks like there's probably a job opening up in Gotham pretty soon.

I have no evidence to back this up of course, and as Siskoid pointed out in the comments the other day, some folks think it might actually open up the possibilities of bringing Steph Brown or Cassie Cain into the New 52 at last. Now that I'd actually prefer (not that I'm opposed to seeing Blake come into the comics, either, as he was one of the few things I really liked about that movie), but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Pretty Sketchy: Girl of Steel, Pants of Hot

2013-03-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

The 70s-era, hot pants-attired Supergirl was drawn by Bill Walko, creator of the web comic The Hero Business, and picked up at Rhode Island Comic Con in November 2012. Bill was super nice and we bonded a little over the fact that it was probably Ramona Fradon's cover depiction of a pouty Supergirl on the cover of Super Friends #37 that instilled a lifelong appreciation for the Girl of Steel (especially in this costume) in us both.

Boy Wonder

2013-02-27T23:30:00.000-05:00

(This started as something I posted in a thread over on The Comic Forums. And it has SPOILERS for Batman Incorporated #8. So if this seems familiar somehow or reveals information you've managed to somehow avoid until now, well, you know why.)

Damn it, Morrison. Right in the feels.

Jason Todd's death happened when I was 12, and even then it felt like a gimmick (with that call-in vote, how could it not?). Damien's death could easily be seen as being equally gimmicky - not to mention easily reversible, given his grampa Ras-al-Ghul's predilection for a nice reviving Lazarus Pit soak - but I give Morrison more credit than that, since this does feel like the culmination, or at least the set up of the culmination, of the story he's been telling since Batman and Son.

We've seen real growth in Damien in that time, from Morrison and others (I loved how Bryan Q. Miller used him the Steph Brown Batgirl book, for instance, which is one of the first places I remember seeing him starting to occasionally act like an actual kid), and going from stone cold killer to a kid pleading for his parents to stop fighting, and who legitimately believed his mother wouldn't let him get killed, well, that's a hell of an arc. It's also a powerful underscoring of the fact that Batman's world will always be tragic.

It's a sad ending for a great character (no matter if it's certain, probable, or even just potential), but - and this can't be stated enough - it serves the story because it is an event that happens in the story, not the point of the story. But for once, I kinda wish it could be gimmicky. Gimmicky is easier to undo. I like the kid, and I don't want this to stick. If it does, I hope we at least see how this affects everyone in Batman's world. Batman and Nightwing will be obvious places to see this (Nightwing especially... oh, man, I loved reading Dick and Damien together, and they had such a great final stand together here) , and Batgirl, too, but how about even Worlds' Finest? Damien and Helena met and bonded a few issues back, seeing as how they're half-siblings a universe removed. She has already lost so much... how will this hit her?

And, of course, this makes me wish we had Stephanie Brown still around all the more. She was the one who was actually teaching Damian to be a kid, and they had a very complex relationship.

Damian was, in all likelihood, created with a definitive end point in mind. While I can't say he was my favorite Robin (that would be Tim), he was a great character, and I hope that in death he continues to serve stories to come as well as he did in life.

I joked with Amber Benson on the Tweets about James Joyce yesterday afternoon.

2013-02-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

So yeah, that was pretty rad.

When what came before wasn't much better.

2013-02-26T22:05:00.000-05:00

So like a lot of people on the inter-ma-nets (if the inter-ma-nets are to be believed), I haven't been entirely happy with DC's whole New 52 initiative. Don't get me wrong, some of it's quite good - Batman Incorporated picked up nicely where the previous series left off, the characterizations of (and camaraderie between) Power Girl and Huntress in Worlds' Finest have made that a fun "buddy" book, and what I've read of All Star Western has been compelling if weirdly lacking in the "Western" department. What I do take issue with tends to fall into four categories:

Change for change's sake alone;
Writing that equates shock value with plot development;
Incredibly ugly costume designs; and
Padded storyline after family-of-titles-wide crossover after padded storyline after...

The latter has been a real problem for me, killing my interest in five books that I was a big supporter of right out of the gates: Batman, Aquaman, Animal Man, Supergirl, and Demon Knights. I genuinely enjoyed each of those books, but the lack of momentum and/or reliance on huge crossover storytelling just killed my interest. My pull list is now down to just two regular DC books: Batman Incorporated and Worlds' Finest. I'm getting three DC monthlies total once you figure in the continuity-free Legends of the Dark Knight. I'm reading All Star Western in trades.

All that being said, as many problems as I have with the New 52, I don't know that I want the pre-Flashpoint DCU back, either.

From at least Identity Crisis (though maybe a little further back than that) onward through Flashpoint, the folks at DC did a damn fine job of breaking a lot of their best toys. Batman makes a satellite and killer robots that go rogue; the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League characters are systematically dismantled, evilfied, or killed; Bronze age JLA stories are given one creepy retcon after another; Wonder Woman kills; Superman spends two years in real world publishing time pretty much not being Superman; the Marvel Family is sullied, evilfied, split, and given their superheroic pinkslips; Wally West takes a backseat to his kids and, later, his back-from-the-dead mentor... I could go on and on, but you get the point.

So when I heard about the reboot/relaunch/re-whatever, I was actually excited. I welcomed it. A chance to clear the table and start fresh wasn't just a good idea, but a necessary one. And the fact that I don't like a lot what they did with that restart doesn't in any way change my opinion that it was needed. Sure, I'd like to enjoy more of the new stuff, but I can take solace in 2 things.

First, a DC Universe that sadly lacks characters like the Dibnys is at least a DC Universe in which nothing bad has happened to them.

Second, just as before Flashpoint, there are still places to get a DC Universe that is closer to one I can enjoy, thanks to the various cartoons and, thankfully, that third DC book still on my pull list, Legends of the Dark Knight. The list of creative talent is impressive, the stories are short, free from continuity, and most of the characters, situations, and designs that had gone away are back on the table. It's fantastic. Read it.

(I'm hoping to similarly enjoy Adventures of Superman, at least once they're past that Orson Scott Card material. Bring on that Jeff Parker story!)

Long story short (WAY too late), change isn't always good, but sometimes it's still necessary, and we need to deal with that.

THUMP, THUMP - Is this thing on?

2013-02-24T15:12:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it's possible that reports of this blog's death (my own reports, as it turns out) may have been exaggerated. I've had some ideas, and I have the time to occasionally explore, and I may experiment with that.
Not sure how frequently that will happen, when it will even start, or if there's anyone still out there see / hear / experience them, but so be it. This was always more for me than anyone else, so why change that now?

Also trying to see if I want to keep the old posts accessible or make this a completely clean start. I don't know yet, we'll see.

Suggestions, as always, are appreciated.

Thanks, that was fun.

2012-08-01T18:51:00.000-04:00

As is probably obvious to everyone, I think Trusty Plinko Stick has pretty much run its course. And for something I started as a lark to make myself write a little more frequently, one that I figured wouldn't last a year, a few months shy of 8 years is a pretty good run.

But family, work, grad school, life in general... everything's been busier and crazier than ever the past year or two, and I just haven't had the time, energy, or even the inclination to amp things up again (not that this was ever especially amped, but you get the idea). Plus, a lot of the other folks who came into the comics bloggyverse around the same time I did have long since wandered off to other locales, often using their blogs as stepping stones to other opportunities (and good for them, I say). The latter never really happened for me, but a.) I didn't really pursue that; and b.) my interests tend to lie elsewhere anyway. And, if I'm being honest, I probably overstayed my welcome by about 2 to 3 years, but what can I say, I like to hang on to a good time for as long as I can.

The internet will never completely be rid of me, of course. I'll still be lurking in the comments threads of the blogs I still follow, and I sporadically post on Tumblr:

comics & pop culture stuff on Better Living Through Junk Culture
library/archives-related material on From the Archives of a Library Padawan
more-or-less daily Captain Marvel/Marvel Family images and posts on Shazam-A-Day

And I can also be found on Twitter (@billdoughty for personal stuff, @librarypadawan for work-related things). If you're so inclined, please feel free to follow my ramblings at any of those locales.

Thanks to those bloggers who have inspired and encouraged me (Joanna, Mikester, and Dorian especially, but there are many others too numerous to list here; chances are if you think you're one of them, you are), and most especially thanks to those of you who have read these little screeds of mine for any length of time through the years. It's always nice to know I haven't just been screaming (or typing) into the wind all this time.

As always, Mayberry says thanks and happy motoring.

Bill D.

- 30 -

TRUSTY PLINKO STICK WAS TYPED IN FRONT OF A LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE.

Avengers vs X-Men is probably better than it should be and that's perfectly okay.

2012-05-13T19:11:00.000-04:00

The dull, joyless slog of Infinite Crisis killed my interest in following event comics on a monthly basis, and the heavy-handedness and/or missed opportunities of Civil War, Secret Invasion, and the like led me to pretty much giving up on them in collected form, too. But the now-running Avengers Vs. X-Men series... I dunno, man, maybe I was still on a high from the Avengers movie, maybe the word of mouth was interesting me, I'm not sure, but a few weeks in I decided I had to cave and check it out. And now I'm caught up with issues 0 through 3 and the first part of the Vs. spin-off that just showcases specific fights, and I'm pretty much in.

I think what I like best about this is that even though I do think the story is good, and I like the ideological stand-off between Captain America and Cyclops in this (and that neither is handling things as well as they probably could or should), what I actually respect the most is the unabashed way in which the company is admitting that this story is all about This One Story and the Fight That Drives It. No awkward political overlays, no BS attempts to "change the Marvel Universe forever" that everyone knows will never take... it's just "let's get our coolest toys out of the box and make 'em fight." Sometimes that's not such a bad thing. It's certainly the main reason why most Marvel fans of my generation still enjoy the original Secret Wars even though it is, at heart, a pretty thin story. But it was big, it was fun, and it didn't take itself too seriously despite the stakes.

WAY too many tie-ins, though. No way am I picking up every single Avengers or X-Men title just see the smaller story tributaries. I might pick a few up in trade if I hear specific ones are good, but we'll see.

So yeah, AvX. Who knew?

How does 200 pages of comics for the low, low price of Free Ninety-Free sound?

2012-05-10T18:23:00.000-04:00

So the fine folks at Action Lab, publishers of such diverse bits of comic bookery as the superhero series Fracture, horror one-shot Snowed In, time travel/slice of life graphic novella Back in the Day, and the multiple Eisner-nominated all ages series Princeless have released Action Lab Confidential, a 200+ page anthology chock full of preview material for their existing and upcoming books. It's available for download over at their site - and a few other digital comics outlets I forget right now, so if you have a favorite, check there - for zero dollars and zero cents. Not one shekel. Cheap as free! How do you beat that? I've met a lot of these folks, and they're good people making comics because they love comics, plain and simple. Support a good cause - fun comics for a wide variety of audiences. It'll cost you nothing but your time.

Cartoon Crushes: Earth's Mightiest Edition

2012-05-01T10:15:00.001-04:00

I've thought the Wasp was a fun character ever since I first discovered her in the early 80s in the pages of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (my introduction to the Marvel Universe beyond the occasional issue of Spider-Man, FF, or Captain America I'd pick up before that point), but the version of her that appears on Disney XD's Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes cartoon has me completely swoony. Spunky, determined, funny, tough as nails when she needs to be... sure, she sometimes seems flighty (appropriate, maybe, given her powers and size), but she's clearly smarter than she lets on and serious when she needs to be. It's easy to see why even a stick-in-the-mud like Hank Pym likes having her around.

The wings, funky antennae, and only-in-cartoons hairstyle sure don't hurt, either. Add in some hip glasses and a cardigan and...

But maybe I've said too much.

I went to Boston Comic Con and all I got was these pics (and a bunch of other stuff)

2012-04-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in Wednesday's Pretty Sketchy post, I went to Boston Comic Con last weekend. I've been wanting to go for a few years now, but every year something always managed to conflict. This year was wide open for me, though, so I was finally able to attend, and while I've missed getting to watch it grow, it was still impressive to see that it has become a pretty big show. Not New York or San Diego big, mind you, but a lot bigger than I was expecting. And since I was only able to go on Saturday, it was pretty crowded, too. And I had my son with me, who tends to tire out early on. But we still managed to get a good two hours in before he descended into a full whine, and considering his previous record at one of these was maybe 30 minutes, I'm taking the win. So we didn't get to see everything, but we saw quite a bit and enjoyed what we did. Here are some highlights:

The line ahead of us to get in:

And behind (which wrapped quite a ways around the building!):

Captain the Kiddo waits in line:

Mr. T and Blade:

Aquaman and Mera:

Robin, Black Bat (Betty Felon herself), Spoiler, and Raven:

Rule 63 11th Doctor and TARDIS:

Another 11th Doctor and Carl Sagan (had to shake that guy's hand):

The awesomely friendly and talented Stephanie Buscema (from whom I bought this awesome Batgirl print):

Katie Cook, from whom we bought 4 different mini-paintings (so yes, more Pretty Sketchy posts to come there):

Our swag for the day:

Wish I could've gotten more pictures, but the opportunities weren't always there. But a lot of great things to see - Ghostbusters, 501st Legion folk, awesome artwork and displays, and a lot more really great cosplay than I was honestly expecting. Nose around the con's Facebook page and check it out. A lot of people really did themselves up well.

In all, a good show, and I'm looking forward to going back next year. And it looks like Rhode Island will finally be getting a con of its own come November, which is also pretty exciting. Are there too many now? Maybe, but so long as we start getting a few more within a reasonable travel distance, I'm perfectly okay with that.

Pretty Sketchy: Sometimes even the fish give Aquaman crap.

2012-04-25T12:16:00.000-04:00

The 8th issue of DC's excellent new Aquaman series by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis came out today, so what better time to share this Katie Cook watercolor mini-painting I picked up at this past weekend's excellent (if crowded) Boston Comic Con?

R.I.P. Dick Clark

2012-04-19T23:15:00.000-04:00

If I'm being completely honest, I associate Dick Clark more with TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes and the Pyramids of varying denominations more than I do with American Bandstand. I'm not ignorant of AB, nor of its legendary place in American pop culture, but I was never really into dance shows or Top 40. But regardless of all that, Dick Clark was a true American cultural icon for decades, and one I always enjoyed watching no matter what particular cathode rays he happened to be riding into my den. A heartfelt R.I.P. to the man who will always be America's oldest teenager, and a guy who was never afraid to let his dipthong dip in public.

Their Readers Wrote - Dave Cockrum in Amazing Spider-Man #12

2012-04-15T00:07:00.000-04:00

I was looking through the "40 Years of the Amazing Spider-Man" CD-ROM set tonight and was reading one of my favorite early issues of the Stan Lee / Steve Ditko run, issue #12, cover dated May 1964, "Unmasked by Dr. Octopus!," when I noticed this letter in the back:

Well, it seems Mr. Dave Cockrum of Fort Collins, Colorado, had an eye for snappy comic book costume design from a young age! Kinda hard not to see the influence of Ditko's designs for Electro, Spidey, and others in Cockrum's later Legion of Super-Heroes and X-Men work, now that I think about it.

Letter columns of the early Marvel Age are gold, my friends.