* Happy New Year, everyone. The Missus and I have kicked off 2009 by being as horribly sick as we’ve ever been. Interestingly, this was also how we kicked off 2000. I don’t know what it is about that damn ball dropping that it always has to land squarely on our immune systems.
* Before my life became a David Cronenberg movie, I wrote some things about event comics that kicked off a lengthy discussion in the comment thread by a galaxy of blogospheric stars, including Tucker Stone, Tim O’Neil, Tom Spurgeon, Marc-Oliver Frisch, Sean B., Matthew Perpetua, Ben Morse, Shaggy Erwin, Jon Hastings, Kiel Phegley, and Bruce Baugh. It was still going as of this morning, so pop in and see what you think. O’Neil and Dick Hyacinth have related thoughts at their own blogs.
* If you’re like me and you think Abhay Khosla’s be-boppin’ and scattin’ impedes rather than enhances his criticism, you’ll really appreciate Tom Spurgeon’s holiday interview with him–once you get past the opening answer, the schtick largely evaporates and leaves behind insightful commentary about a wide variety of comics. I particularly liked what he said about whether superhero fans “deserve” being taken advantage of. And even when he’s saying things I disagree with, like praising Civil War for being a bona fide “universe breaker” event comic–which is true, but it broke it in bad ways–he’s still on to something.
* Speaking of Tom (and over the holidays, when aren’t we? dude keeps the comics blogosphere alive singlehandedly between Christmas and New Year’s), here’s some shelf porn strait outta the Spurgecave.
* The gross thing about both Fox’s attempted derailment of Warner Bros.’ Watchmen movie and Tribune’s apparent scuttling of Drawn & Quarterly’s Walt & Skeezix collection of old Gasoline Alley strips (the original post is MIA) is how transparently little either has to do with what benefits the work, the audience, or the original creators.
* Jon Hastings, action-movie philosopher, tackles The Spirit.
* Tentacle update part one: More sessy drawings of girls, hair, and suction cups from Becky Cloonan.
* Tentacle update part two: Monster Brains presents a gallery of preserved cephalopods.
* Finally, get it before Lionsgate yanks it: the trailer for Crank 2: High Voltage. This is a real movie.
I don’t know a lot of the material Abhay is talking about in his interview with Tom (as a “blogospheric star” I now feel I have earned the right to use first names only) and don’t agree on some other stuff, but there’s a of stuff I think he’s right on about and he articulated how I feel about the frustrating contempt so many people these days seem to have for fanboys perfectly.
Bravo.
I’m like you, when it comes to Abhay’s reviews, anyway. I do think he should be waterboarded just on general principles, which is probably where you and I differ. We’re never going to agree on the effectiveness of the bastinado, I realize that now.
Crank is one of my favorite bad movies in recent memory. I don’t see how a sequel with Corey Hart can be any worse/awesomer. (Just kidding, I know it’s actualy Corey Feldman. (No, just messing with you. (Probably.)))
The Natural History Museum has that room filled with odd, alien-looking creatures all over the walls like a massive 5th grade science project just before the giant whale room and the last time I was there with Sam, I got this deeply eerie feeling that THIS was a room where a visiting undercover alien would one day stumble upon and seeing his brothers pinned to walls and freeze-dried, he’d decide it’s time to murder us all.
The cephalopods reminded me of that.