Tagged: ComicMix

Being A Sport, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • March 17, 2008

You might not have realized it, but this is the time of year when more Americans engage in more illegal activity than just about any other. Nope; it’s not drunk driving or tax cheating, it’s March Madness… and the crime is called gambling.

Studies suggest March Madness is the high school student’s portal to gambling. On-the-job productivity plummets. An estimated $2.4 billion dollars will be put on the line against the law, some of it with organized crime – which wouldn’t be the case if it were legal, unless you are like me and you consider bankers to be their own strain of organized crime.

I’ll admit, I don’t get it. I don’t have the gambling gene (or maybe I’m just too cheap), and I’m at best a second-tier sports fan. I follow hockey and I follow the Iditarod because being a hockey fan isn’t as weird as it used to be. I follow the Chicago Cubs because as a native northside Chicagoan I am compelled to do so. Much like Yankee fans, we believe that there’s some issue of “sports” involved with the team. And that’s pretty much it. My lifetime contribution to sports-related at-risk financial endeavors is zilch.

But I am a comics fan and a student of our culture. So I wonder, with all this interest in sports and all this money changing hands, why hasn’t there been a successful sports-themed comic book series?

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Not-Quite-Random Video: The Muppets Do ‘Danny Boy’

  • News
  • March 16, 2008

So there I was, sitting around LunaCon today, wondering when Jameson’s Irish Whiskey became the universal drink of science-fiction fans.

When ComicMix VP Glenn Hauman informed me that Saint Patrick’s Day had been officially moved to today’s date for 2008 instead of March 17, I’ll admit that I was a bit skeptical.

"Sure," I told him, "and Christmas is now in July. I’ll have you know I associate with a very dedicated, hard-drinking, allegedly Irish crew, so I would know about this sort of thing. You’ve clearly been drinking too much of that home-brewed booze sold by the costumed Klingon in room 424."

I stand corrected.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day, folks.

 

 

 

Sex and the Citizens, by John Ostrander

  • News
  • March 13, 2008

 

There are those of you out there who don’t regard politics as necessarily pop culture. And then there are those of us born in Chicago.

When you get down to it, is there anything more politically entertaining than a sex scandal? It appeals to our prurient interest; we get to be “shocked, shocked that this sort of thing is going on” while, at the same time, seeking out the really juicy details. They’re death to a politician’s career all around the world except, of course, in France where the lack of a mistress may be cause for impeachment.

The latest sex scandal, of course, is New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer’s consorting with prostitutes and paying big money to do it. He spent more money for two hours with one “escort” than a lot of us make in a month. (“Shocked, shocked.”) That loses him sympathy points right there, especially with a recession going on. Bill Clinton got his jollies for free from an intern but Spitzer paid big bucks via bank transfer, supposedly to keep from leaving a paper trail. That worked real good, didn’t it, Gov?

You know, of course, that as I write this there has to be a big hunt going on right now for that call girl, Kristen, named as the woman Spitzer spent over four grand for about two hours worth of whoopee. Whatever newspaper or book or magazine publisher that finds her had better have a checkbook because I guarantee she’ll have an agent by then because, damn it, the details she knows are the ones we all really want to hear. She sold her body to a privileged few for some big bucks; she won’t sell the story that everyone wants to hear for chump change. She’s a businesswoman; one high priced call girl in a TV interview called herself a “hofessional.” I like a woman who has a way with. . . words.

 

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Review: Jughead’s Double Digest #138

So there I was, at Midtown Comics, one of New York City’s better-racked shops, trying to find something my wife was looking for. That’s the only way you could get me into a comics shop on a Tuesday, the day before the new stuff is put on the shelves. Since I was there, I looked at everything else as well… and came across [[[Jughead’s Double Digest #138]]], a beneath-the-radar book that some will find of note.

This is the issue before the beginning of their latest “new-look” story, this time drawn by my pals Joe Staton and Al Milgrom, so I gave it a second glance. Above the logo, in type too small to be visible in the reproduction I cribbed from Archie’s website, is the phrase “Collectors (sic) Issue Featuring Jughead #1, 1949.” The cover art promised a story where the 2008 Jughead meets up with his 1949 counterpart. The one who only owned one shirt.

Unless you’ve been scouring the ComicMix comments sections lately, it is possible you are unaware that the Archie line is one of the best-selling newsstand comics ventures of our time. In fact, since their digests are available at most supermarket checkouts, they provide an unparalleled portal into the world of comics. Because their content appeals to readers of all sexes and age groups, they appeal to a group Marvel and DC barely acknowledge: the younger reader.

I should point out that Archie is also the last of the publishing houses still controlled by the family of its original owners. That comes across quite clearly in their editorial content, which is quite respectful of its roots.

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MegaCon ’08: Adrian Pasdar Talks ‘Heroes’

  • News
  • March 10, 2008

adrian-pasdar-7134605If MegaCon 2008 is any indication, anime fans are also huge Heroes fan. I was front and center among the 600-person crowd at Saturday’s Adrian Pasdar Q&A, thanks to ComicMix friend Jimmy Palmiotti, who moderated the discussion with the Heroes actor.

When asked, "If you could take anyone’s powers on the show what would it be?" Pasdar smiled and said that very question has been brought up many times among the cast and they all came up with the same answer: If you want invisibility as a power, then you’re a pervert. 

Pasdar said he’s very happy with only having the ability to fly, especially since his favorite comic character is the Silver Surfer. However, he wouldn’t mind having invisibility, too. According to Pasdar, his son asked him once how he can be a crime fighter with only the ability to fly, explaining, "What happens when you get to where you are going, and you don’t have a gun or a badge?" The question later turned up in the show as part of a conversation between Pasdar’s character, Nathan Petrelli, and his brother, Peter.

Pasdar added that his "dark side" would’ve enjoyed the role of series villain Sylar, though.

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Hope versus Fear, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • March 10, 2008
 
You don’t have to have read superhero comics for any great length of time before you get the message: perseverance plus righteousness will defeat the enemy every time. Despite the “maturation” of commercial comic books, this essential message remains at the core of the superhero concept.
 
Turn on your television set and listen to our government’s message. If you disagree with their policies, you don’t understand the fact that there are monsters trying to get us. If we don’t torture anybody we like, we will have another 9-11. If we don’t wiretap anybody we like, we will have another 9-11. If we don’t give AT&T and Verizon a pass on their illegal activities, we will have another 9-11. If we speak out against the Iraq War, we don’t support our troops and therefore we will have another 9-11.
 
To justify this, they point to incidents that are massively exaggerated or outright lies. That gas attack on the New York subway system? It was bullshit. The attempt to blow up Fort Dix? That was, quite literally, a pissed off pizza delivery guy and a couple of his friends from the Mack Sennett lot. In Florida, the government busted seven childish wannabees for conspiring with “Al Qaeda” (actually, with undercover agents) in an attempt to blow up Sears Tower in Chicago – it seems that one of the seven was briefly employed there. Our evidence that they were master terrorists? They had been bopping around in public wearing homemade military uniforms and turbans, and they asked an undercover agent for boots (they supplied shoe sizes), machine guns and $50,000 in cash. Even idiots can pose a threat, but busting these clowns doesn’t justify waterboarding or preemptive military strikes.
 
Yes, we have real enemies out there and we need to deal with them in an effective manner. I’m not to trivializing it in the least by saying the threat requires police actions: detective work, and fairly routine detective work at that. The type the FBI has found fairly effective these past many decades. Abandoning everything that makes America America is not effective; it is surrender.
 

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ComicMix at MegaCon ’08

  • News
  • March 9, 2008

Anyone who thought that MegaCon was a small secondary gathering of Florida area comics and fantasy/anime fans could not have been more mistaken.  I was one of about 30,000 people at the Orange County Convention Center (that figure does not include artists, writers and exhibitors).

To give you an idea of what the scene was like, there was even a huge line of people still waiting to get in an hour before the show closed Friday night.

Friday, I was lucky enough to get in early with the exhibitor crowd thanks to ComicMix friend and top-notch retailer Jamie Graham of Chicago’s Graham Gracker Comics and was able to get in on the pre-show activity.  Anime played a HUGE part in MegaCon this year, with not only hundreds of fans dressed as their favorite characters, but displays of everything from DVDs to popular Japanese snacks — including the unoffical treat of anime fans, Pocky. There was even someone who dressed as the snack.

Comics played their part in MegaCon as well, with appearances that ranged from creators such as Darwyn Cooke, Dick Giordano, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, David Finch and Mark Waid to some of the most innovative and revolutionary indie and webcomic publishers in the scene.

Pop culture was represented by guests that spanned over four decades, ranging from John Provost (Timmy from Lassie) to Adrian Pasdar (Nick Petrelli from Heroes).

There’s a small photo gallery after the jump, and we have an interview with Heroes star Pasdar hitting ComicMix this week.

Oh, and special thanks to new MegaCon owner Beth Widera! (more…)

The Science of Comics: Batman’s Gliding

  • News
  • March 8, 2008

The Dark Knight is overlooking the city from the ledge of a towering skyscraper when he spies a violent crime occurring in the streets below. Without even the hint of a pause, he jumps off the top of the building and uses his his outstretched cape to swoop down onto the crowd of evil-doers.

That familiar scene has been one of the staples of comic books for which readers have long suspended disbelief. But maybe fiction isn’t too far from reality. Could this be done? The ComicMix mythbusters say yes!

How, you ask? Well, just watch this footage of a mountain wingsuit. Substitute the gothic architecture of Gotham City for the mountains, and you have one impressive, bat-shaped figure ready to glide down from the night sky and strike fear into the hearts of a superstitious, cowardly lot of criminals.

ComicMix Radio: Mark Evanier Knows Jack

One of the best surprises in the stores this week was Mark Evanier’s long-awaited Kirby: King Of Comics biography of Jack Kirby, which is the latest step in his longtime association with the King. Mark gives us the story behind the book in an excerpt from an interview you can read on Monday here at ComicMix, plus:

— Wizard #200 – confusing? We set you straight!

— Marvel sells out and DC reduces prices

—  NY ComicCon’s Guest List grows

— Stan Lee recreates some old magic

—  Not to be outdone, there’s a brand new trivia question and another chance to grab an exclusive Graham Crackers Comics variant by e-mailing us at: podcast [at] comicmix.com

Kirby Sez Don’t Ask – Just Press The Button

 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-1435903 or RSS!

 

Still The One, by Martha Thomases

  • News
  • March 8, 2008
 
uncle-logo-1-9378389Last week, I pulled a muscle in my back.  This event, though rare, is not unknown; my back will hurt me every other year or so.  I should know the steps by now – hideous, agonizing pain, worse than any other person ever born has ever endured (because it’s happening to me), rest and recuperations, which includes excruciating guilt about suspending my workouts while the muscle recovers.  In a week or so, the pain will be gone and I’ll forget about it until the next time.
 
For now, though, I can’t sit down or stand up without an up-close-and-personal insight into how the muscles along the spine interact.  And every twinge reminds me that I’m no longer eleven years old.
 
For many people, an adult child, monthly condo payments, and the occasional hot flash might be enough to convince them that they were mature adults.  To me, these are just distractions from my real life.
 
In many ways, being an adult today is like the fantasyland I imagined as a child.  There are comic book stores, full of current comics, amazing toys and books about my favorite old television shows.  A few blocks from the comic book store, there’s a costume shop that’s open all year round, not just at Halloween.  There are candy stores, bookstores, bagel shops and playgrounds all over the place.  In a few weeks, it will be spring and I can roller-blade again.
 

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