| Ill-conceived 5 AM post |
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| 05:06am 22/07/2008 |
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I just barreled through a not insignificantly long writing session, being the most productive I've been in ages, and I feel like I should be tired, but I'm not, so I'm posting here.
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Even though the beginning of Halloween season proper isn't for almost a month and a half, I've found myself in the mood for horror. Television isn't sating me. A&E is not showing episodes of Paranormal State frequently enough for my liking, so I went to get a horror movie at the video store.
I wanted to find something new, and I wanted to find something good.
And call me picky, but I also wanted to find something that wasn't torture porn, a slasher flick, zombies, something with a monster covered in unconvincing prosthetics, or a remake of an Asian film I've already seen. This REALLY narrowed the options.
Mostly, I just wanted a good ghost story. It might not surprise you that I'm slightly obsessed with good ghost stories. And it seems like there would be more set to film, just because a GOOD ghost story is rarely going to require fancy special effects or costumes. Bad costumes and over-reliance on special effects is basically ruining horror movies. Everyone is consumed with "WHAT DO THE MONSTER LOOK LIKE," not realizing that when you see it, everything will be ruined. (Not always, obviously. But you recognize the principle I'm addressing here.)
Anyway, it was looking pretty grim, but I happened to find a little Spanish film called The Orphanage that looks to be basically exactly what I was looking for. The bad news is, it was the only one, so what will I get when I go back? I can only rent the same movie so many times.
I haven't watched it yet, since I was writing. I'm tempted to watch it now, but it's after 5 am AND THAT WOULD BE ILL-ADVISED.
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I feel as if I wrote a hundred e-mails today. I'm trying to organize the new Hector book. If it goes off the way it is supposed to, you guys are in for a treat (or a trick! That is a hint to content.)
Hmm. Okay, accepting questions about the new book.........NOW.
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Man, what is this?
SUPERMAN AND BATMAN VS. VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES #1-2
Written by Kevin VanHook
Art and cover by Tom Mandrake
A man is killed by a mysterious creature - his body drained of blood. A woman is savagely attacked by a ferocious beast - her jugular ripped out. Bat wings flutter across the moon and the howl of a wolf echoes through the streets, for the creatures of the night have risen from the grave, and humanity's only salvation is the combined might of The Last Son of Krypton and The Dark Knight Detective. Blood will run red when Superman and Batman face off against vampires and werewolves for the fate of the entire DCU!
Issue #1 on sale October 15 * Issue #2 on sale October 29 * 1 and 2 of 6 * 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
They should just hire me to do a Transilvane comic instead. I will do it for free.
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Okay, I think that's it. I should go to bed, basically. It is 5:30 AM. |
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Read 6 - Post |
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| Ill-conceived Saturday post |
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| 04:16pm 19/07/2008 |
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You know I hate to post on the weekend, but today's the only time I've had for a while with some free time and extended internet access, so there you have it.
First, a thing; admittedly a thing you might have already seen on Nate's blog, but a thing nonetheless:
Those of you who have been paying attention will know what this is.
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Second, this is a week replete with great books shipping. The last two weeks have been something of a dry spot (save the new issue of Comic Foundry hitting and being great, as always), but this is kind of insane. I've mentioned before how I wish they would spread these things out a little bit, but this is kind of ridiculous:
LIBERTY COMICS A CBLDF BENEFIT BOOK (ONE SHOT) (MR)
APOCALIPSTIX VOL 1 GN (RES)
NOCTURNALS CARNIVAL OF BEASTS (ONE SHOT)
ZOT TP VOL 01 COMP BLACK & WHITE STORIES 1987 TO 1
SCUD THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN THE WHOLE SHEBANG TP
MEATHAUS SOS TP (C: 0-1-2)
MINI MARVELS TP VOL 01 ROCK PAPER SCISSORS DIGEST
I've already talked about these books, so I hope you were paying attention, because here they are.
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Part the third, in which Benito answers your answers (re: this post):
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) facekickery:
I really don't buy enough comics to have a use for Previews. The only one I still get monthly, regrettably, is Invincible. I wish I could get more, but it gets to be kind of expensive after a while.
This is terrible. Basically the only way this answer could be worse is if you switched out "Invincible" for, say, "Mighty Avengers." Ten demerits.
jodycody:
I look through every page.
I've also tried to get others to do the same...meh. They all rely on word of mouth, and never seem to realize I was the mouth.
I know exactly where you're coming from.
changingshades:
I only look at previews when I have an excess of money, which hasn't been true for months. Generally I'm up to date on the creators I follow, so it doesn't matter. And if I miss something,I usually hear about it within a week or 2 of it coming out.
This probably works out okay for you, because I would wager not insubstantial money that the "creators you follow" are Bendis, Brubaker, and Johns. It's not hard to get what you want when your favorite pizza comes from Pasta Pizza Hut, I guess.
johgo:
This guy right here buys and reads Previews. Incase you can't see through my computer monitor, I was pointing at Jody's post. I never buy previews and never use the codes. My LCS probably(Most likely) wouldn't even remember the shit I'd ask them to get anyways. I pretty much do what ChangingShades does.
This is the kind of thing I mean when I talk about not liking comics retailers. Why would a retailer turn down a guaranteed sale? If you came up and asked for a book, why wouldn't they order it for you? That is the worst customer service, and counter to basically every retail rule. Does your LCS not have a computer? It takes about 30 seconds to place a reorder on Diamond's website. You don't even need the order code, just the title. Or part of the title. Some letters in the title. If this continues to be a problem, I have some links for you: here or here.
the_werle:
Buying Previews would feel like buying a menu to me, its a catalog. You don't pay for catalogues!
Your retailer pays for that catalog. Those things are heavy, too. Freight on those books is immense. And it's not like buying a menu, unless a menu is completely 100% overhauled every month. Some retailers offer a discount on Previews for subscription customers; many offer them for free. Do you know your store's policy?
In another simile, routinely looking through previews would be like hanging out on a new car lot all the time. There's no point in taunting myself with nice things I can't afford.
How's GTA 4? Pretty good? Guitar Hero: Aerosmith: The Tour: The Game?
arhapsodyinbob:
I read the Marvel supplement first so I can get the cussing out of the way.
Hahahah. Oh, Bob.
I like to be aware of the stuff that's out there. I also like to look at the other crap that's in it. If not for previews I might not know what my favorite cartoon characters look like in sexy poses and lingere.
You are aware of Previews' intrinsic value, yes.
chrispiers:
I read comics news and talk to friends and colleagues in comics so I usually know what's coming out and ask my shop to pre-order such titles for me and they always have.
I read more comics news than pretty much anyone I know, and yet I never know exactly what's coming out from, say, Oni or Top Shelf or Fantagraphics or myriad other "back half" publishers until I'm holding the catalog in my hand. Obviously the premiere publishers put their solicitations online; do you have a source for smaller publishers that I don't know, or do you not concern yourself with them? (Not snark; I am sincerely asking.)
aalgar:
The idea that you have to PAY for a CATALOGUE strikes me as PROFOUNDLY RETARDED, so no. I don't look at it anymore.
Again, your retailer pays for it. Each copy costs them $3.25, plus the significant expense of shipping cases of heavy catalogs. That's a modestly hefty expense for you to expect your retailer to eat, especially considering the fairly dreary atmosphere surrounding the direct market.
I mean, fair enough and all; I'm just saying there's a reason you have to pay for it at some stores.
doctor12am:
Sure, 90 to 95% of it is stuff that I'll never buy or read, but I think it's really important to know what's out there, and I've come to realize over the last three years that no matter how much internet "news" reading I do, I'm never getting the full picture.
*ding*
illtiki:
P.S. Glad to have met you at Heroes, brother.
Great meeting you, too, Herc. Thanks again for the book.
(This part has nothing to do with Previews.)
deforgeo:
I never buy Previews. I'm curious as to why you think it's important to pick up for a buyer?
Well, Mike, I'm glad you asked. And honestly, given your tastes and predilections when it comes to comics, I'm a little surprised that you don't see the value in it. Previews is literally the only way to know exactly what's coming into comics shops. The internet doesn't cover everything; the internet CAN'T cover everything, honestly. I would love to be able to tell you about every book that's hitting shelves; hell, I'd love to be able to tell you about every GOOD book, which decreases the load quite a bit. But I can't. I don't cover everything interesting or good in my Previews posts, I only cover the stuff I find it within my relatively meager budget to buy. I skip a lot of stuff that I think you personally would find very interesting. But again, maybe there's some site you and Piers go to that covers everything and I just don't know about it.
I don't really have any problem knowing what's coming out with the internet, and I have the benefit of basically being spoiled by a store in my city that has a wide selection of everything I'd want to buy (The Beguiling), including stuff not available in Previews so I rarely ever have to specially order things
Unfortunately, Mike, the sad fact is, not everyone has the luxury of access to one of the best retailers in North America. But, and I guarantee you this, even at a great store like The Beguiling, your retailer would appreciate knowing for sure what he should order and how many. A retailer can't know for sure unless his or her regular customers tell him/her via pre-orders. Especially since many publishers print their books basically to order, the retailer's pre-ordering process is a very risky venture. A retailer has no idea how many books to order without solid pre-orders from customers: order too many, and they're stuck with a shelf full of books that may not be returnable; they eat that expense. Order too few, a book goes out of print, they've lost customers or potential customers, possibly to the internet, possibly to another comic shop, possibly to Borders.
Additionally, think of this: let's presume you're a regular customer at your store. You have a subscription account, whatever. You want, let's say, Meathaus SOS (shipping this week). You did not pre-order it, because, hey, eff Previews, amirite? So your retailer did not order an additional copy for you because you didn't ask for one. So you snag the copy off the shelf, and suddenly there's no copy for the casual reader who walked in off the street. Bad for the customer, bad for the retailer, bad for the publisher. But, I mean, I guess you got your book, so...great, right?
This person:
I refuse to purchase the catalog and I fill out an order form in the store. My store has a little table set up and a stack of photocopied order forms for people who don't want to purchase the catalog. I do it every month.
This might be a decent alternative for those of you who are so prissy about buying a catalog. Worth asking your retailer about, anyway. I guarantee you that any retailer worth a shit is going to appreciate you reading Previews and ordering accordingly rather than not.
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Okay, I think that covers everything. Sorry if I didn't reply to one of your answers. That probably just means I either agreed with you or felt I had covered the territory already.
Regardless of how uninformed your opinion on comics or Previews is, I probably still love you anyway.
(Not AAlgar. Sorry.)
Ciao, ragazzi. |
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Read 17 - Post |
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| Comics shipping on Thursday throws everything off |
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| 12:43am 10/07/2008 |
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People who know me know that one of my favorite things in the world is Jones Soda.
As a result, I find this thread to be amazingly awesome.
Warning: some images are gross and some are not work safe; most are hilarious.
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Also, this is happening:
HELLBOY: IN THE CHAPEL OF MOLOCH
Mike Mignola (W/A) and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Oct 29
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
One-shot
On the heels of the second Hellboy feature film, legendary artist and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola returns to the drawing table for this standalone adventure of the world’s greatest paranormal detective!
Hellboy investigates an ancient chapel in Eastern Europe where an artist compelled by something more sinister than any muse has sequestered himself to complete his “life’s work.”
First Mignola-drawn Hellboy comic since 2005!
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And now:
BENITO ASKS YOU SOMETHING
This question is open to anyone reading who is a comics reader of any kind. I am really curious as to your answers, so I hope anyone who has an answer is inclined to respond. That said, here is the question:
I feel that one of the most important tools to being a responsible (so to speak) comics fan, reader, and consumer is the Previews catalog. Yes, to be fair, it is a giant phone book sized mess of crap and sub-quality garbage for the most part, but it is the one catalog that contains everything being offered by the only comics distributor in America with any weight whatsoever, and the only way to be fully apprised of what's coming out and when. So, I ask you, gentle reader, who among you buys/reads/looks at the Previews catalog? |
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Read 26 - Post |
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| 2kNate begins in earnest |
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| 03:59pm 02/07/2008 |
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And in true Nate fashion, it begins six months late.
(Just kidding. It's totally not Nate's fault this time.)
Anyway, Brit #7 ships today, Nate's first issue on his run on the book. It's got a great Ryan Ottley cover and features a guest appearance by Invincible.
It looks like this:
And this site has some preview pages.
Some of Nate's best work yet starts here, so check it out. |
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Read 3 - Post |
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| Benito Hate Previews, August 2008 edition |
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| 12:41am 27/06/2008 |
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But first: of course I left some people out that I ran into at Heroes. I knew I would, and I hope there are no hurt feelings. Sorry, Joel Carrol, Jeremy Dale, Nate Lovett, others who I'm probably still forgetting now. Sorry.
But I was extremely remiss to forget to mention meeting with the fine representatives of Oni Press, Randy Jarrell and Cor(e)y the marketing guy whose last name I can't remember or find on your website (sorry^2). They were both fine people to meet and talk to, and Oni is without doubt one of the finest publishers out there today. You should be reading more of their books. Also, if you ever wander haplessly onto the Bendis Board, you can always count on Randy having reasonable opinions, like an oasis in a desert of illiteracy.
ALSO
The real best thing to come out of Heroes Con was this:
THEY GOT MIXED UP.
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Now, the main event:
( Benito Hate Previews for August 2008 )
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Okay, good night, now. |
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Read 12 - Post |
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| In which Benito talks about Heroes Con |
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| 10:14pm 25/06/2008 |
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So I got back from Heroes Con the other night. And now I'm going to tell you about it.
This post is somewhat image heavy, so you know what that means.
( Everything good is behind the cut. ) |
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Read 33 - Post |
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| It's Heroes time! |
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| 11:54pm 18/06/2008 |
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So tomorrow is the day that I pile into a giant-sized industrial van with Robert, Nate, J. Valbert Staples (of the Cambridge Stapleses), Val's beard girlfriend, and a European, and we all drive off to Charlotte, NC, for Heroes Con.
I will probably spend a large portion of the show at Robert's booth, which will be AA-302. Please, please, please, if you are going to be at the show, come see me and say hi. I want to meet BenBoers, Goons, my LJ peeps, lurkers, everybody. If you don't see me at the booth, assume I am stalking Brian Lee O'Malley and look for me in a surreptitious location around his booth.
I will have copies of Atom Eve and probably some Hector Plasms that I can sell under the table when Robert's not looking if you first buy a copy of the Complete Invincible Library vol. 1. I will not have Bully Pulpits, so don't ask, plz.
But, yes, please, please, come and see me and Nate and Robert and Val and everybody.
Hope to see you there!
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P.S. Popgun was nominated for a Harvey.
I know that doesn't count as me being nominated for something, but, hey, maybe my curse is broken. |
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Read 7 - Post |
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| Something is fishy here, Piers Morgan |
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| 12:39am 18/06/2008 |
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So I decided to watch the premiere of America's Got Talent tonight instead of People with Knives Swearing at Each Other, and I was struck by something that I can only hope will also strike people in the legitimate (and illegitimate) entertainment press:
America's Got Talent, a show that is allegedly a "reality-based" talent search, is straight plagiarizing its sister show, Britain's Got Talent.
I wouldn't know this except for the fact that EVERYONE KNOWS WHO PAUL POTTS IS. Dude's appearance (and ultimate win) on Britain's Got Talent was (as the sticker on his CD describes--a CD I bought for my mother, by the way) a "YOUTUBE PHENOMENON." His performance was written up in Time Magazine. HE SANG FOR THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND.
So when a meek, overweight dude who has a vanilla sales job weeps on stage and says he's going to sing opera to the incredulity of the judges and then SINGS THE SAME EFFING SONG to almost the EXACT SAME REACTION from the judges (one of whom is the same dude--Piers Morgan! A judge on both shows, who somehow manages to FORGET to mention the incredible similarity!), who talk about how he's going to win the entire competition, I can only assume that the fix is in.
I mean, SERIOUSLY. I mean, I got suspicious when, as with Britain's Got Talent, they brought out a preschool age girl to sing, but at least she sang "Somewhere Out There" instead of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." I mean, maybe their marching orders got obscured in a fax or something, but at least it was slightly different.
Go, tabloid reporters, go! Sniff out this rat! |
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Read 2 - Post |
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| 02:25am 17/06/2008 |
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I wish I could negative see The Love Guru.
I mean, like, not only would I not see it, but through negative seeing it, someone else who saw it would unsee it, and it would subtract from its box office gross.
That thing with Mike Myers' head on a kid body makes me want to throw up more than anything since those inexplicable live action drag sequences in Tom Goes to the Mayor.
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I will not buy this comic, but this cover is awesome:
"Bees. My god."
( However, DC has some rad stuff in the forthcoming Previews. )
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( Here are some comics coming out this week. )
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Also: Master of Dance is a terrible show.
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P.S. OMG |
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Read 5 - Post |
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| 03:03am 13/06/2008 |
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If you need more convincing about Cameron Stewart's Apocalipstix, here is a FIFTY PAGE PREVIEW.
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A great new comic from John Campbell.
That sound you hear is sobs of empathy.
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A fantastic new one from Kate Beaton.
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Since I totally just realized that it is next week:
HEROES ROLL CALL
Who is totally going to Heroes? I am totally going. Look for me. I demand to see every one of you in person. I will almost undoubtedly be at Robert Kirkman's booth for a large portion of the show.
COME FIND ME
BUT FIRST TELL ME IF YOU'RE COMING
I'LL HOLLA |
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Read 25 - Post |
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| Hey, guys. |
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| 10:58pm 09/06/2008 |
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I sort of fell off the map there for a while, like when Nate has a deadline.
I had some stuff going on, I guess.
Unrelatedly, man, Veronica Mars is a bitchin show.
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( This week is kind of a rad week for comics. )
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As alluded to above, Invincible #50 ships this week. Those of you who are Invincible fans should be well pleased.
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The new Newsarama looks so much like the new CBR, I usually find myself forgetting which one I'm reading in the middle of an article.
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Nate did some promos for a new show.
The show will air; the promos will not. Check them out anyway.
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I am helplessly addicted to room escape/point and click adventure games.
One of my favorite ones is called Daymare Town. The art/animation is great and it has a wonderfully creepy, ominous vibe to it overall. I love it, and I was waiting anxiously for a sequel.
Fortunately, one came out. Daymare Town 2. It is just as fun and challenging as, but quite a bit different from, the original.
Check them out. (Also, if you get stuck, I can give hints.)
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Although I have spent years blindly buying every one of his books, despite the fact that they make me progressively angrier with each one that is released, I think Monster Zoo might be the last TenNapel book I get.
I mean, I've come to expect certain themes in his books (one of which I saw expertly summed up in a little tacked-on message at the end of a fairly racist e-mail forward: "Remember: the only two people who ever willingly gave their lives for you are Jesus Christ and a US Marine."), and these themes are represented in this book (though, to be fair, the Jesus Juice index is at an all time low in this book, with a single elliptical reference to a "creator" being the only real religious element; however, this means the Marine-wankery is at an all-time high), but the thing that drives me crazy is the over-reliance on farts.
FARTS.
Halfway through the book, I flipped to the back cover, knowing what I would find. When farting and pooping became no longer just "jokes" but important plot elements in the book, I said to myself, "Oh, he must be intending this book for children." Sure enough, there on the back: "All-Ages Adventure."
When the lazy fat smelly coward sidekick who spends the whole book farting and asking to sit down accidentally shits himself and throws his soiled underwear into the face of an elderly racial caricature, I said, "I don't care how awesome it is that a walrus' ass just ate a tiger. This book is terrible."
Additionally, the book should probably not be called Monster Zoo, but instead, "Hey, Please Option Me."
Is it as bad as Black Cherry? I dunno. Is it terrible? Yes. Does it make me want to stop giving Fox News Comics TenNapel's books the benefit of the doubt? Basically, yeah.
Sorry. I tried.
Also, ask Nate about the time TenNapel excoriated him for drawing him some fan art.
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I think that's all I've got for today. Sorry I don't really have anything funny this time around. Hopefully I'll have some weird-food-related stories with which to regale you soon. |
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Read 8 - Post |
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| Nnnnnngggghhhhhh |
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| 01:30am 27/05/2008 |
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Who wants to spot me $265?
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Read 10 - Post |
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| Ichi ni san shi go go GO |
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| 01:29am 25/05/2008 |
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I imagine if you took an elevator up to heaven and ate some food off of God's plate, all other food you ate after returning to earth would taste as ashes.
That's how I feel all other movies will seem after seeing the best movie of the summer all time:
Ashes.
The world's biggest badass:
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Read 7 - Post |
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| Comics FROM THE FUTURE |
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| 02:04am 20/05/2008 |
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DC and Image have posted their solicitations for August. I imagine Marvel's will be up tomorrow. But a few things first.
Oh my god. How can this be so exciting and sad at the same time?
ALL STAR SUPERMAN #12
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Frank Quitely & Jamie Grant
Cover by Frank Quitely
The Man of Steel has faced twelve super-challenges. Now, as Lex Luthor’s brilliant, criminal machinations come together, what fate awaits the doomed Superman? This is the final, dramatic chapter of the incredible, award-winning 12-issue run of ALL STAR SUPERMAN by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant " don’t miss it!
On sale August 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
( More boring comics stuff under the cut. )
( Image stuff here. )
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( Comics hitting this week. )
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RIP Comic Relief's Rory Root. |
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Read 9 - Post |
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| New obsession. |
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| 01:48am 19/05/2008 |
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I know it puts me like five years behind that sweaty fat girl whose buttcrack shows when she sits in the aisle at Borders, but:
Death Note.
Chris Piers talked about the live action movie recently, and it was like a switch went off in my head. I had seen one episode from somewhere in the middle at Nate's house, been comPLETEly confused, but utterly impressed at the sharpness of the writing. So when Chris mentioned it, my brain went ballistic.
I started by watching the first five episodes of the anime, each one of which is awesome. But I decided I'd rather read the manga all the way through and then get back to the anime and then maybe the movies. So I grabbed the first four (of twelve) volumes, and I've already torn through them. Somebody wire me 64 bucks so I can buy the last eight. Then I'll lock myself inside my room with them and not come out until I look like this:
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Read 7 - Post |
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| Also |
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| 02:09am 16/05/2008 |
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Apparently that actress that played that actress in the cheerleader costume in Death Proof is playing Ramona Flowers.
Hmm.
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Also also:
I am briefly re-obsessed with Marvel Super Hero Squad.
I saw some discussion online about the new Marvel Mighty Muggs vinyl blah blah, and as much as I might eventually like a Thing or Thor, being back on the Hasbro page just reminded me of Super Hero Squad.
And they're making more. And they just get more and more insane.
I know I've mentioned weird ones like Apocalypse or the Punisher/Ghost Rider/Elektra Lives Again/Spider-Man four pack, but they just keep piling them on.
Captain America-costumed Punisher and Deadpool
( More adorable violence under the cut. )
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Also I wish I could make comics just materialize in my house, because I've been sick and all I really want to read is Marvel Adventures Avengers, and I don't have all the digests. Mostly I'm obsessed with the idea of a Hulk who is basically a giant rage-filled baby who can be calmed by cartoons and who shouts things like, "Earth just want to be friends!"
I need more Hulk like that.
Speaking of Marvel Adventures, here's a cool animated promo movie they made to promote the line. Czech it on out. |
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Read 10 - Post |
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