(I’m trying to think of a good title to stick with for these little round-up posts I do from time to time. I really like “Comix-and-match,” but what if, as in this current case, it’s not all about comics? Oh, who am I kidding–it’s always all about comics for me.)
Due to rising controversy, Princess Diana will no longer be appearing in an upcoming arc of X-Statix, the superhero/pop-culture satire by Pete Milligan and Mike Allred. Oh well. I thought it was a funny idea, but then I’ve never felt particularly attached to the princess, and have learned the hard way (during a disastrous “musical tribute” sketch I was a part of back in college) that the people who liked her will fucking tear you to pieces if they think you’re insulting her in some way.
Speaking of things that matter more if you live in Great Britain, Big Sunny D doesn’t like the new Blur single, “Crazy Beat.” I’ll up the ante by saying their entire new album just plain sucks. Granted, their last, heretofore most difficult album, 13, was an acquired taste that I managed to acquire, but I can’t see that happening with Think Tank, a self-indulgent aimless mess with a couple of tossed-off pop-chart sops thrown in to drive sales. The current single’s an example of the latter. Anyway, may I reiterate how good Big Sunny D is?
Bill Sherman notes that The Big Shocking Ending Of The Current Arc In Mark Waid’s Brilliant But Tragically Cancelled Run On The Fantastic Four (TM) stands no chance of actually lasting. Indeed, it’d stand not chance of actually lasting even if Waid hadn’t been booted from the book. Without giving things away too much, let’s just say major changes to a main character’s appearance do not last in comics, ever. It’s a lazy way to “make an impact,” and ultimately, who cares?
Gary Groth is back, with an excerpt from an upcoming essay tearing into the lack of critical standards in comics and the world in general. As always, he’s worth reading, because like any grumpy old socialist, he wants the best for the masses, even though they don’t deserve it, the morons. Seriously, it’s a pretty smart piece. I’m sure I’ll talk about it some more when I read the full version.
(One funny little note: Mainstream superhero comics actually do have a vociferous contingent of critics who aren’t afraid to say negative things–creators themselves! Peter David, Erik Larsen, Micah Wright, Bill Jemas, etc. etc., savage so many creators and books so often that it’s actually pretty unbelievable. Of course, sending rambling grammatically poor emails to news sites about why the Epic editors didn’t treat you with the respect a star of your magnitude should be afforded is probably not what Gary had in mind. Basically, all those guys, like them or not, talk shit about business decisions they don’t like and have no real critical background or standards to speak of. I guess it’s better than unchallenged boosterism, though.)
NeilAlien has some brief snarky things to say about Dirk Deppey’s latest anti-superhero rant, which I sort of had an opposing take on here. NeilAlien fights the good fight, man.
Finally, James Lileks (in the middle of a pretty long Bleat) says something I and several other people I know have been saying for a while: Stephen King is the late 20th century’s Charles Dickens. Yes, I like Stephen King. I consider rreading The Stand the equivalent of getting a doctorate in Post-Apocalyptic Arts. Which will lead me to my next post… (stay tuned…)