November Highlights
November is a lot of preparations and trying to find some downtime.
Reading For The Times
Rod Serling is probably one face I’m never going to forget any time soon. And it’s not just because of the Twilight Zone. But the biography comic by Koren Shadmi and Humanoids really captures what made this man an icon in popular culture. One thing I’m taking away from this is how the problems affecting modern TV were around since the beginning. Like how IPs and contracts are more like real estate brokering.
As for how it affected Rod… This was a guy who hustled his way to success but it came with a LOT of stress. Turns out that the end of the Depression Era still came with a lot of dangerous jobs to stay under city roofs. Rod was one of the lucky ones to survive a few jobs aimed at war veterans. Meanwhile going to new locations to stay in entertainment came with stresses meant to relieve a few. Including an insight about how living the “high life” might have a different meaning than people think.
Then there’s The Killer, the source material for that Netflix movie. It was good to reread some stuff since I forgot about some details and it really helped a post. But I have to tell ya, most of it so… boring. I get that’s the point, no glamourizing crimes. But you can only take so much of it. Thankfully the movie avoided most of those pitfalls.
So the rest of my Hoopla borrows are equal parts opening to new experiences or securing great reads from DC. The Bonus Borrows have some good stuff besides the Twilight Man. Like the last volume of Powers, having read only the original omnibus from its first publisher, I found this finale to be a great one. It wraps up the entire saga nicely giving one of its main characters Christian Walker the best arc resolution. Sure there were a couple of things that I got a little annoyed by with Brian M. Bendis’ writing but the presentation that comes with an emotional payoff was heartfelt.
Because that wasn’t in a few other borrows like Marvel-Verse: Captain Marvel (at least its back end) or Zatanna and the House of Secrets. Between awkward dialogue and cliche ridden subplots that feel shoehorned in, I just couldn’t enjoy them. Let alone the straightforward Geronimo Stilton book that are adapted from a TV show. As somebody who likes the surprise of a good mystery, the overly simplistic structure and fast-paced style just feels off. I know that it’s for kids, but this doesn’t feel like something I want to play with a kid. From what other people say, they’re pretty lazy adaptations.
Compare that to Gou Tanabe’s adaptation of At The Mountains of Madness. The artwork gives off a cold and indifferent atmosphere as scientists discover things that would throw mainstream science off its axis.
If I wanted simple fun times The Smurfs, Dance Class, and The Sisters filled those a lot better. Just because something’s aimed at kids, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the little things you relate with. But the one I enjoyed the most was Asterix. That level of comedy with strategic gags and the lived in background elements is real engaging. Of course if we’re going to talk about stuff for fun Zero’s Journey has to be brought up for how little dialogue can tell a story. Plus, A Gentle Noble’s Vacation makes the isekai stuff more relaxing rather than indulging in power fantasies.
Not that seeing Batman without the strings of corporate politics is a bad thing. Seeing the world’s greatest detective take on a bizarre case with gadgets just as spectacular as the grotesque, regenerating mutants is one thing. But the character dynamics with a familiar cast make this feel like an adventure with someone who genuinely enjoys Batman. If you look at how his detective lingo clashes with the Joker’s funny man antics in Deadly Duo. It all screams that Image Co-Founder and Top Cow founder Marc Silvestri is a Batman fan.
Same (I guess) with Static: Up All Night. No continuity strings here, just an empathetic story of its title character interacting with his universe after his first breakup. One where Virgil gets plenty of reflections off of characters when it comes to secret identities, responsibilities, and the need to get away from that when available. It feels like a step in a long journey has been taken and it gets a little easier despite still being on a rocky road.
Getting to really feel for characters or have a fresh perspective is great too. Assassin’s Creed Dynasty doesn’t have much in the way of getting to know the assassin here, but the performances and loyalties that go into the politics of legendary figures is pretty interesting. Unlike Shy Ninja that can’t tell when it wants to indulge in cliches or not, it at least gives sympathetic characters an element of power fantasies to overcome their anxieties. Something that’s at the heart of two Tokyopop Manga: Dead Company that deals with how death game survivors use their experiences for profit and holding onto their humanity, and The Fox & Little Tanuki about how henge yokai have to readjust their worldviews after suffering prejudices by exploring vulnerability.
But maybe what sticks to me the most are people dealing with internal struggles and their relationships with coping mechanisms. Weeaboo is all about how expressing yourself can be at odds with just about everything. Everybody’s got so much going on, it can be hard to connect with something and someone you love. Utown feels like struggles manifest between burnout and holding onto what gives you strength to keep going. Only to find out that holding onto those coping mechanisms might be what holds you back. Knee Deep goes into how that need for surviving today obscures your real problems. Finally Season of the Bruja goes into how despite all of the tragedies and the echoes of offenses to someone’s identity, people have to make peace with it rather than fight a battle where powerful figures use them as pawns.
Right now I’m hoping that Aquaman: Andromeda is a good read because Ram V is a writer who I’ve become a big fan of. Elfquest Stargazer’s Hunt is another thing.
Crypto, AR, and Glitches
After a lot of waiting I received my comic End of the World Pizza. The one that comes packaged with AR games. Needless to say as a first-of-its-kind comic it has a few bumpy features. Does that mean it’s not worth the ten dollars I saved by buying an NFT to exchange for that discount?
Not if you’re looking for a straightforward story. End of the World Pizza is one of those games that looks like it’s aiming for let’s players and theorists. The kind of people who are looking for layers beyond the surface. You know to make reactions and guess what they just looked at. Why else would you find indecipherable text in a section labeled “Lore”? It’s those kind of games that want to drive people to Rob Shield’s products because they’re so interactive, ARGs without going into the real world! But since I am neither Markiplier or MatPat, I’ll just have to tell you myself…
In another post.
I Do Not Fear The Walking Dead!
Over my Thanksgiving vacation I got to read a few long series. While I finally got myself through the drags of the 80s Doctor Strange Omnibus, I needed a palette cleanser. Thankfully GlobalComix came through with the Compendiums of Invincible. Sure I already had them in my Kindle, and to be fair Kindle is a huge improvement with the panel movement. But at least with GlobalComix, I know subscription money will be going to Image (and hopefully Skybound and Robert Kirkman).
I also read another Kirkman created series, some pretty dull series called the Walking Dead. Or at least it was dull at first. If anybody said Negan is just a repeat of the Governor, they don’t know freakin’ fuqua’s! I have to confess that I thought the Walking Dead was kind of boring for the most part. Kind of overrated in the early days if I’m honest.
Now before any of those people who put the Walking Dead in those high places grab your pitchforks, hear me out. I have read comics with good stories where I don’t remember the names of some characters. One of the Walking Dead’s strengths was making characters memorable. I will always remember you both Glenn and Dale. It’s what made their deaths so tragic. You grow to know these characters and losing them comes with a hollow feeling. It makes you empathize with who they leave behind.
But at the same time, everybody can feel like they’re the same. Even the Governor feels like a cookie cutter tyrant with the same goals as the survivors. Everybody feels sorry for themselves with no points of authentic levity. So when Negan shows up with an actual personality, I got more invested. Partly because that was when the art started to tell by showing rather than just move around with talking heads. Negan definitely presented a lot of tension when he was around. But… eventually even Negan became too much where my eyes started to get tired. Thankfully he made the Whisperers better to deal with. Frankly Pamela and the Commonwealth were what really kept my attention.
I guess I’m more scared of the cult of civilization and the fear of not having anybody in my corner. Especially if it’s because of mistakes that could have been avoided by looking for little wonders amid insanity. Hence why Invincible and Fire Power hold higher places in Robert Kirkman’s bibliography than the Walking Dead ever will. Maybe it’s just because I want to believe there’s more to life than suddenly losing it. But that’s just me.
Having Fun Is Way More Important
Hence why I’m now even more focused on Hack/Slash omnibuses on GlobalComix. But does that make me one of those dorks who are in it for the Easter Eggs and crossover appearances? Not really, they’re just a quirk of how absurd it all is; a grunge rock wearing hunter of Slashers? How can you not have fun with it along with moments of character?
Same with my devotion to Bad Idea. Not only did I pick up Inebrio Horsefeathers with some good laughs about a drunk platypus, but I finally got my long awaited hardcover of Bad Idea’s guerrilla marketing, the Hero Trade. Now I just have to wait for the rest of my Kickstarter Bad Ideas because I backed the latest Save Now. I know that this stuff takes a while to get rolling, my own comic The Wire Fence is coming to stores on December 6th. It’s a month and a week late, especially since my box of copies might not be coming with me to the Lehigh Valley Comic Con table this Saturday. But hey, they sold out physically on CEX’s website and the digital version will be available on Omnibus if you don’t feel like ordering from CEX’s website. It’s a bumpy road, but I feel like it’s worth it.
Gutternaut Posts
On my website, I’ve got a lot of things brought to the front. Not least of which is sticking my Doom Force post to the front. Apparently people really like to see parodies of 90s comic caricatures be the entertaining kind of stupid.
I’ve gotten my usual reviews from Mad Cave and then some. True to form, my highest ranked one is Voyage de Gourmet tying with Paper Planes for a perfect score. But a close second is in Skeeters. Plus thanks to being on David Pepose’s email address book, I got to continue reviewing The Devil That Wears My Face. Otherwise I would have to wait a longer time to review the album like Exorcists Never Die, a flip in exorcism perspectives.
But I gotta confess Charred Remains needed more time to bake. Yet another one I didn’t have the guts to share on the socials. Because unlike the above, I could feel the potential but kept getting writer’s block from on how to make it sound interesting. I had to use ChatGPT, not to write the review, but to point me in the right direction of presentation. Let it never be said that AI isn’t a useful tool when you hit a wall and you can’t work up the enthusiasm.
Like how much fun writing the Team Fortress 2 Comics post was. But in hindsight, I might not be getting high in the SEO scores. And I went to great lengths to presenting it as over-the-top and irreverent as SAXTON HALE!
Frankly I’m wondering if my adaptation review of The Killer will get noticed.
I really put a lot into how todays comic market is dependent on the speculator market and how that needs to change.
Future: Selling My Comic’s Merch & More
So with a convention at my last year in Pennsylvania coming up. I gotta plan things out. My Mad Cave reviews will definitely be up there, looking forward to the day I can review Attaboy because I bought the original Etsy comic before Mad Cave picked it up and I loved every second. Plus now that my comic’s out, I can probably make a signing appearance at my LCS. I wonder if they allow merchandise to be sold on there, especially since I now have a Venmo account.
I might have to seriously consider following The Wire Fence up with more issues. Maybe a few more one-shots, kind of like how those Kid Slapshot series I reviewed for Keenspot or how Coffin Comics does Lady Death. Only because I’m not sure I’ll have the budget for a four-issue mini-series. People want to see more and they’ll get more, but I’m going to have to pace myself first.
And I’m keeping myself busy with a lot of other things. End of the World Pizza, revisiting Hero Trade, Aquaman: Andromeda, Sandman Mystery Theatre, 80,000 Hours, and a certification for a high paying day job.
Thanks for your continued and have a happy holiday season.