A Few Random Things

I finally got a bicycle so now traveling around the city is a lot easier and a lot more fun. On first glance I was starting to assume that no one in Obihiro was locking their bike, but in fact the wheels of the front tire is locked up. Too bad someone could just pick up your light-ass bike and carry it to their apartment. Just saying.

Still, I have a nice little black bike with a little basket and a light generator (which all bikes seems to have) and is adorable. Unfortunately, I have to keep it in my room but it doesn't take all that much room. Soon my knowledge of Obihiro will be a lot batter and maybe I'll find a few more cool places.

I just had possibly the most delicious curry I've ever eaten at a place call Soup Curry Waruw... or maybe it was called Soup Curry Maruw. Now I didn't know what Soup Curry (or Curry Soup) would be like but it was absolutely wonderful. It was full of big chunks of delicious veggies and a chicken breast and rice of the side. Now I've never had curry soup before but I wasn't sure how to eat it. Curry by definition is a sauce, but you can make a sauce into a soup. Anyway, it was basically a flavourful soup with a side of rice. So I poured the soup on the rice and ate them together. In retrospect they can probably be eaten separately but they taste good together too.
The restuarant itself is a hole in the wall (though for all I know it's a part of a franchise) and looks a little rundown but it has a cozy feel to it. I also like the fact that reggae music is being played in the background, the place has a whole Hawaiian tiki look and they serve curry. A little confusing. They also have a couple of vintage Great Mazinger-type toys. Also like many small restaurants there's manga lying around waiting to be read (though I have no idea why none of there places have anything from the cooking manga genre. What the hell?

I finished reading Young Avengers Vol. 1 and my opinion of it hadn't changed. It didn't help that it was sort of obvious where the ending was heading, though I could easily see further volumes being better reads. This had a good artist and an OK writer but something didn't click.

I also am halfway through Day of Vengeance, which is one of the four mini-series that lead into the Infinite Crisis book. Unfortunately before the titular story begins there's a three-part Superman story that leads into the story that's just God-awful. Awful art but Ian Churchill (he doesn't even strike me as someone who should be drawing Superman) and a terrible script by Judd Winick. I was told this guy was a good writer but this was painful. It was an unbelievably generic story that feels over twenty years old (in a bad way) opening with a early Alan Moore wannabe type feel, then a generic Eclipso possesses Superman story (I'm positive that they've done that many times, yet they act like it's the first.) and then it's just a boring Super-battle. In fact the way Captain Marvel beats evil Superman was already done much better in Kingdom Come.

The actual story is kind of fun and the art is OK. But it also didn't click. Still the author does something I appreciate, which is taking B-level characters and making them interesting. I have a soft spot for B-level characters because their status quo is less fixed. I don't care what you do to Superman but he'll always get his status quo back. However, you can do anything you want with Detective Chimp.

Actually Detective Chimp is made into a fun character here: a talking Chimpanzee with only the ability to talk, heightened intelligence and eternal youth. Basically, he's an asshole detective in a Sherlock Holmes hat (deerstalker) who wears an "Everybody Sucks but Me" shirt. I also like Ragman who can borrow the strength of all of the people he punished for their sins, so it's like he's powered by purgatory and the souls in his costume work off their karmic debt. It's a really cool idea in my opinion.

The plot sounds fun but I'm not that into it yet: the most powerful character in the DCU (the Spectre AKA God's Wraith incarnate) is tricked into wiping out all of the magic users and the only people to opposed him that haven't been spanked or killed by the Spectre is a ragtag group (one of those things) of random magic types... and Captain Marvel, and Marvel is in the middle of getting his teeth knocked out. I'll have to wait till it finishes to pass final judgment but I have to say this is a fun story, but nothing special.

Also Justiniano art's good but it doesn't fit here. His art is good but when I read it I get the impression that these aren't the characters that he was meant to draw, except maybe Nightshade. Seeing the way he draws Nightshade, I get the impression that he should be drawing Birds of Prey. It really seems he was meant to draw when in tight clothes doing martial arts.

Also, I've been listening to I Love Movies radio podcasts. I can't promise that you'll like it (though I'm sure Darcy will) but generally obscure comedians (and Patton Oswalt on one show) and host Doug Benson. Mostly it's just talking about movie but there are times that are just very funny, though exact moments don't come to mind. So that's what I've been up to.

I Feel Like Talking About Comics

Can you pay phone bills at convenience stores in Canada? Because you can in Japan apparently. And since this was my first phone bill it's taken me aback a little (and I sincerely don't know if it can be done in North America). Just think, in the middle of the night, you get the munchies, so you head over to a 7-11 for a peach-flavoured kit-kat bar, some Wild Turkey and pay your Internet bill all at once. Nifty.

Not much happening here. I helped some guy beat House of the Dead II with all of my loose 100 yen coins (about 8-9 dollars worth). A little kid watched on and while I have no idea what he was saying, he seemed amazed by everything that was going on. I only got rookie, but that's because I allowed the continue to hit zero half way through. And I shot a guy who wasn't a zommbie so that didn't help.

My Mom wants to visit me in Japan some time, but I don't know when she's coming or what she'd do. Too my knowledge, winter is Hokkaido's big season because of the mountains used for skiing and I really don't know if the sakura bloom up here in Spring (I believe one student told me they bloom later here than anywhere else, but I don't know when that would be) so I really don't know what there is for my parents to do here.


I've been reading the comics that have been sent to me (and I at my KD) and have finished Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3, which might have been better in one sitting than one chapter a night (but still, I want it to last a while) and is a little disappointing, though mostly because all of the big surprises were ruined for me before I picked it up. Still, there are some great moments (Wolverine spends much of the story mentally regressed into his 12 year-old pansy self) and some interesting developments (the real secret behind Cyclops' optic blasts are revealed), but too much of it is setting up for the forth and final story arc. And since I'm not too into X-Men in Space stories, I'm not looking forward to that one too much.

Nonetheless, I'm definitely gonna get it because while I'm not all that interested in X-Men in Space, I want to know what the Hell's going on with Emma Frost and I want to know where Cassandra Nova's (Xavier's creepy and positively evil twin sister) consciousness went. I guess my biggest problem with this is that instead of a proper ending, it ends on a cliffhanger and I wanted at least a little bit of closure before blasting headlong into the next story. This story is clearly too attached to this next story and I really want to read the next one simply to clear up that one important plot point. Frankly, I don't even care is Colossus is destined to bust up a planet.

Right now, I'm in the middle of the first volume of Young Avengers, one of Marvel's most critically acclaimed series. It was created by veteran TV writer Allan Heinberg (The OC, Sex in the City, Grey's Anatomy and many more) and drawn rather well by Jim Cheug. It has a really good premise, a lot of critical acclaim, a good hook at the end of the first issue and a lot of potential but it's really left me cold... so far. The premise is an Avenger's themed super-group of teens shows up after the original Avengers team is decimated by one of their own. The characters look like side kicks and are all modelled after classic Avengers (Iron Lad, Asgardian, Patriot and Hulkling) but their origins and connections to the Avengers turn out to be not what anyone expects. I like the fact that Iron Lad is actually a young Kang the Conqueror and the revelation that the team was planned by the Vision before he "died," but the characters' aren't doing all that much for me. Of course, I am reviewing a book before it's finished, but at the same time, I'm just not that into it yet. Now if we're talking awesome teen super-book, I much prefer Runaways.

I also am close to being all caught up in Gantz and I always have to say that this series impresses me in terms of art, story telling and just how far the creator can go with keeping things fucked up. I do like the fact that the series feels a little less cynical in some ways, yet doesn't manage to betray it's feel. No matter what the character Kei Kurono is like, you root for him simply because of the fact that he's place in oer his head in an unfair situation. I really like the evolution of his character and where the series is heading. The best thing about this series is that whenever one question is answered it manages to raise many, many more. I love everything about this series and am constantly confused as too why no one is fighting for the rights to publish this series in North America.

I haven't read any manga that's been too impressive beyond that and I keep hoping whatever I'll read next turns out to be a nice hidden treasure (hey, it happened before with Level E... which none of you have read yet. Shame on you). I did catch up with One Piece a few month ago. I love the series still, but I have to say... END! It's been 10 years and there's no sign that they'll find the treasure. Now it doesn't feel monotonous as some series (Inu-Yasha) but I really feel that a series chronicling the characters quest for a single goal should end after 10 years, just because the fans deserve an ending. Just make sure it's satisfying and appears before people stop caring about the characters (time can do that).

As for what's happening in American comics right now... well, I'm not actually terribly interested in the death of Captain America. Not just because he'll be back, but also because I'm just exhausted of anything related to Civil War. I do like the direction for a lot of books that Civil War ignited but I don't think it was worth all of these talented creators giving readers a tired and wildly uneven (and sometimes even contradictory) final product.

I'm much more interested in seeing how 52 ends. I like 52 not only because it's well written, but it's tapping into the kind of things I love about super-hero comics: crazy ideas, the idea you can go anywhere or do anything while retaining the sense of danger and suspense. Luckily, the cast is all B-level characters so there's also a sense the things can be done with them that you can't do with the big iconic characters like Superman and Batman. Also, I really like Booster Gold, an athlete from the future who came to our time and become a super-hero simply to get popular and make money. He's always been kind of a neat character. There are other great ideas working here too: an island inhabited only by mad scientists, Booster using his knowledge of the future to stop crimes before they happen (and covering his uniform in stickers like a NASCAR car.... car) and Lex Luthor's giving ordinary people super-powers (including flight) only to turn them off at midnight on New Year's eve and watching them fall from the sky. Dick.

I'm not necessarily in favour of more weekly series on this scale, but I think that this series was certainly a success for the most part, especially considering this is the first American attempt at a weekly comics series in who knows how long. I'm very interested if all of the stories are in fact interconnected and what the 52 are.

I'd also really like to read SHAZAM!: the Monster Society of Evil, created by Bone creator Jeff Smith. there aren't enough high quality super-hero comics you can give to young readers and Jeff Smith's take on SHAZAM! is exactly the kind of book I want to see. It looks like it has the same humour that made Bone such a great read and has an old fashioned super-hero style that isn't drenched in kitsch. It's just a comic in the vein of the original series: a boy who gets to be a cool grown-up super-hero with a magic word. It's doesn't get any simpler than that.

I'm also excited about what's coming next in Heroes (not a comic, but close enough). I've been let down in ome elements of this show and have been very impressed with others. The origin of HRG (as the fans call him) episode was very impressive (though I have no idea how the crap he survived that much radiation) and was the kind of episode I wanted to see since the series began. I also liked Mohinder taking out Sylar (if just for a short bit) and am quite interested to see where that it heading. I'm just hope that the November explosion is taken care of at the end of this season, because I already want the show to move beyond that. I'm also interested to see if Hiro's father really wanted him to save face for his company or if he was just trying to protect him from "the Company."

I still don't care that much for the Petrelli family. They don't interest me that much. And Linderman's appearence was a bit disappointing (what won't you star in Malcolm MacDowell). I think my biggest beef with this series is that there's a lot of stuff I can see coming that the characters can't. Matt Parkman often strikes me as annoyingly incompetent (I'm never surprised he never made it as a detective). What I love in super-hero comics is seeing super-types doing intering, clever things with their powers. There's some of that (shooting Claire to appease Ted, Sylar telekinetically turning off his IV) but I'd like to see more of that as the series goes on. And some more subtlety. Not many people strike me as subtle on this show. Do something about that.

But now I have to wait a month to see. Crap.

Wha's Hap'nen

So what's going on in Japan right now? Not much really.

For work I was recently observed, which is never a comfortable experience. Still, it went by pretty painlessly. However, it doesn't look like my probationary period will end quite yet and I might have too wait another month or more.

Most of the students are really nice, and even the ones who are pains aren't too bad. The only real pain is this one guy who's in a much higher level than he deserves to be. He doesn't participate all that much either. It's like he's spaced out unless I'm giving him constant attention. In fact, he's one of the few cases where it might be better to have him and him alone in a class, simply because I can give him as much time to talk and stop him from nodding off.

There are students from all walks of life, but where I work seems particularly popular among older women. Most of them are pretty nice and are really interested in learning the language. But there are also people ranging from high school to their elder years. There's even one young kid from Jr. High, although he's incredibly quiet. Things, for the most part, are going pretty good on that end.

Oh, and I finally got my comics from home (and a box of KD) so now I got Astonishing X-Men, Day of Vengeance, Doom Patrol and Young Avengers to live off of for the month. I'm trying to stretch it out by reading a single chapter a night, which is almost painfully for more slowly paced books. I feel sorry for people who read certain monthly books. I was only able to find one place with English books (more than I thought, but less that was implied by my roommate). I had very little options so I just picked up the classic Heart of Darkness and Dragonball Vol. 10.

I've also been reading lots of manga, including Eyeshield 21, which is much better as a manga than an anime. I like the fact that even the series artist likes mocking the characters insane proportions (the artist points out that certain characters are ten feet tall but only during the games. I also recommend Eternal Sabbath (less generic than the title implies), My Name is Zushio (a little too hyper at times though), Mr. Fullswing (one again, sometimes a little too hyper) and Freesia.

I've been keeping up with my English TV, watching the Daily Show and Colbert Report on the Comedy Central website. I've been good with downloading everything thing else I would miss but there isn't that much I watched on TV that wasn't reruns, so I'm downloading some other shows I haven't completely watched before. I'm also renting movie from Tsutaya, the "culture convenience" store that rents movies and, interestingly enough, CDs. So if there's some J-pop you want me rip and send you I'll see what I can do.

Tsutaya actually has a really good selection of new and classic films (Darcy would be happy to know there's a silent film section), but apart from sections, it's hard to tell where to find something if you're looking for it. Now I'm just picking a few random movies that I heard were good or look like their good. Or are really old looking. Apparently, DVDs of American TV series are very popular in Japan, particularly 24. Frankly, I prefer to download my shows, so I'll probably just stick to that. Right now I have the first season of Masters of Horror downloaded and have found it mostly disappointing. I know Dario Argento can do better.

I went skiing yesterday, which was a lot of fun, and it was nice to just get out there and do something. Stil, it's been quite a while since I went skiing so it was a little choppy, though I got the basics down pretty quick. The weather on the mountain was quite crazy, ranging from very clear to completely closed in. I should also try to get my legs ready for next winter so I can ski longer without my legs feeling the strain. Still, I had a pretty good time and I was somehow able to get some rental boots for my giant feet.

I'm thinking of getting a DS (partially because Jordan nags me to get one and I'm a pretty malleable guy), but aside from Wario Ware and New Super Mario Bros., I'm not sure what to get. I hear Shonen Jump Stars is good, but will it be good as a one player. I'd like Eyeshield, but I'm tempted to wait until the next game in hopes that they add more stuff from the manga. Also, I can't read Japanese. Any ideas for games when I bite that bullet?

Anyway, I'll try to update more often (especially since I'm done those 2 back to back six day work weeks.

Phoning It In

Yep, it's a terrible post title all right, but appropriate, since I have very little too say.

I got a cell phone recently. Now I don't really like cell phones as it is, but I figured I pretty much had to get a phone while I'm here and everyone in Japan has a cell phone so....

Unfortunately, it turns out my phone has no bi-lingual option and changing the phone is a huge expensive chore. Frankly, the only thing I really wanted the phone for was the camera and now I don't know how to use it. Goddammit! *sigh*

I'm also starting to get a little bummed out, seeing as I have no friends here and there isn't much to do. I don't have a lot of money to spend right now, so I got to think about how to eat economically until the next payday and I'm still waiting for my comics to get to me.

So not much happening right now, but I thought you'd like the update.

A Serious Parlor on a Serious Earth

Hey, you want to know where I live? You want to know?

That's right. I live above GOTHAM FUCKING CITY! YEAH!

I wanted to mention this much earlier but I wanted to wait until I got a picture. I forgot I took this shortly after I got here before my camera stopped working, but I also really wanted a good night shot when the place was lit up like Vegas.

You may have guess already but Gotham city is a pachinko parlor, pachinko being an extremely popular gaming device that combines the loudness of pinball and playing requires the skill usually reserved for one-armed bandits. That's right, pachinko is all this and more too. And by more I mean less. I assume. I actually haven't played pachinko so maybe there's a subtle element that I'm missing but I don't really like any game that requires luck and luck alone. If I can't at least attempt to help the outcome in my favour than I can't see the appeal. Which is why I was really surprised that there seemed to be a whole manga magazine centered around pachinko. And not just comedies but also competition manga. How can that not get old really fast. Sigh.

Anyway, I have not actually entered Gotham City yet, so I don't know what it's like, but peering in I get an idea: pretty much like any pachinko parlor. Just rows and rows of machines. Still, I guess I should enter one to get the whole feel, but I don't think I'll like it. Still, I did see an interesting machine that was part video game and part VLT so maybe I'll soften up on the whole thing (not that I have hard feelings towards them at this point).

But the point is I live above Gotham City. I mean, think about this. I begin the last leg of my journey home with a heavy-ass bag still nervous about the whole affair. I did see a red fox in a white snowy field, which I took to be a good sign (though I'm not sure I should, since the fox is a trickster in Japanese mythology). Then I get to the place I'll be spending the next year and find that I'll be living above Gotham City. I mean, I was seriously unsure if I followed the map wrong or what. It was a truly surreal experience and a somewhat surreal country. I guess I should have broken out my copy of The Dark Knight Returns and read through it that night, but at that time I was looking for something a little more upbeat than that so I started rereading Bone.

Now make no mistake, this place has "seeing how Batman-ish we can make this place without getting in trouble" written all over it. There are flags with the Batsymbol minus the ears and pictures that feature Batman's silhouette with a pointed head (and when I can I'll get pictures of those for you too, and maybe some from inside, if they'll let me). This place is like the pachinko parlor equivalent of those action figures that you find at dollar stores that are clearly knock-offs of a much more successful character. But this is a lot more fun because it's in big lights and it's a lot less thrown together looking than a cheap toy.

Now there are a couple other things that I feel I'll just have to take pictures of and show you (just telling you would not have the same impact), but this was the one that meant the most, so I figured I may as well get this one out of the way. By the way, a warning: any sort of Gotham City joke will be old by the time I get back home so don't bother.

Now, I'm more of a Marvel zombie and am always quick to point out that while I love super-hero comics, that's not the extent of my taste. Still, this makes me feel a little giddy, just knowing that those bat wings are flashing in on this snowy winter's night.

I really wish the blog menus weren't in Japanese

I didn't think I'd be able to get back on to my blog. Well, it's been many moons since I last posted and I haven't had much time to go into detail. I guess there were a lot of weird small things that I wanted to remember for my first blog that never really stuck with me. Fewer things are around to strike me as strange then when I first came here. I don 't think it's just me getting used to the culture because I swear fewer things are talking to me. But I guess part of that is what part of town I wander into.

I promise to have some great pictures when I get a working camera (the one Dad sent with me is wonky at best), and trust me, there's some weird thing's you'll want to see.

Classes are going well though my first couple weeks where a little discouraging. I feel very confident that they're not going to fire me and that I'm getting much better as a teacher. Let me explain. Before I could teach I had to take On-The-Job training in Sapporo (a rather large city). I liked teaching but I still lacked confidence and at the end of the first three days they told me I needed another day. Then after that day they told me I'd be training more when I got back to Obihiro. Now I harbour a little resentment to the guy who told me this, but really he's a good guy. He's just the messenger is all, and I appreciate his honest and fair criticism. But it always feels so negative when he does. My roommate tells me thats just the way it is in Japan and that I shouldn't worry too much. Anyway, I feel that I'm getting better with each lesson and the students generally seem to like me. I do enjoy teaching and watching them learn, but I still need to refine my skills in the department of saying things in a concise and simple manner as possible. Not easy for a chatty cathy like myself, but I'm getting better.

I'm getting used to the food, which for the most part is noodles. Seriously, I'm eating a lot less rice than I expected. But part of that is that I didn't see rice at the grocery store (probably looking in the wrong place) and our rice cooker is really nasty dirty. I'm scared to clean it. I try to cook for myself, but only a few stir fries and a spaghettini (like thin spaghetti) dinner turned out well. I liked Tako Yaki at first but slowly I realised I liked everything about except a certain goop inside (the octopus part and the coating where great). Butadon is good (an Obihiro specialty), and I find that pretty much anything with noodles is enjoyable. Still, I will miss some of the food from back home, like decent pizza and anything with cheese (the cheese here is generally not good)

On work days I eat out (since I usually work nights) and generally get something from the food court downstairs, which is pretty OK. I also find that obento is a a somewhat decent price in the day but gets really cheap in the evening. Like 30% off stuff that's only about 6 bucks anyway. At the end of the evening you can see that there's quite a few discount stickers on them. Still, since the bento boxes have things crammed with preservatives (like, more than is legally allowed in Canada) it's better to go light on them.

At this point I am attempting to save this blog. Unfortunately, the blog site I'm on has a hiragana menu, so I might be posting this early. For that I'm sorry.

Edit: Dammit, I knew this would happen.

Anyhoo, I guess this post will end prematurely and I'll have a post with much juicier details than lunch sometime within the next few days.

Other Writers I Like

With the last post I mentioned the name of writers I liked who also happened to be the biggest names in comics right now. I'm continuing that list and admittedly most of the other names are also big names in comics whom I really like.

Brian K Vaughan
Most Famous Works: Y - The Last Man, Runaways, Pride of Baghdad, Ex Machina
Claims to Fame: Not much beyond quality storytelling. He did escape the stigma of being confused with Brian Michael Bendis. That's what you get for being a bald American writer named Brian.
Big Mistakes: None yet, but I do find some of the pop culture references in his works distracting in that they can really derail a conversation and it feels like Brian's mentioning stuff he's personally interested in.
Style: I can't really describe him as having a single particular style, though he works very well with the serial format. He's great at both creating cliffhangers and hinting at things to come in future stories so that even if the current story doesn't press all the right buttons, the next one looks promising. Vaughan is wise enough to keep things unpredictable, yet logical. There are lots of series that are well written but has plot twists that one can see a mile a way, but Vaughan manages to surprise with every story. He's also really good at coming up with premises for series. Y - The Last Man examines the age old hypothetical question "what if I was the last male on Earth" and examines how women have learned to survive in the face of the end of mankind (so to speak). Runaways is a subversive teen hero book about rebellious youth warring with their super-villain parents. Ex Machina is about a super-hero who can speak to machines who ends up giving up crime fighting to do greater good as the new mayor of New York City. Brian K Vaughan takes already great ideas and does a very good job exploring the possibilities within the series. His characters are also usually pretty likeable, which always makes a series better.
Most Recent Works: He's finishing up his run on Runaways and is finishing Ex Machina and Y - the Last Man. I really don't know what he's planning beyond that.

Kurt Busiek
Most Famous Works: Marvels, Astro City, Conan, Superman, Thunderbolts
Claims to Fame: Showing readers that powerfully emotional and human stories can be told with classic super-heroes. Plus, he made the Avengers and Conan popular again, and catching readers completely off guard with the surprise ending to Thunderbolts #1.
Big Mistakes: He's had quite a few forgettable stories and created some very forgettable characters (Triathalon and Silverclaw). Also, the epic Kang Dynasty had as many flaws as it had strengths.
Style: His style of writing is old fashioned in an age of meta-storying that has become popular in the post modern era. Most of his super-hero stuff is classic hero versus villain storytelling, though he does it quite well. When he's on the right book he can really bring out the best in the heroes and villains. In Thunderbolts, a series about a group of villains pretnding to be heroes as part of a world domination plot, become quickly likeable and there is a pleasure in seeing these selfish villains reluctantly learning what it means to be a hero. His best stuff, however, are his slice of life stories that take place within a super-hero filled world. The best examples of this are Marvels, in which a reporter chronicles the Marvel universe in through the Golden and Silver Ages, and Astro City which focuses on what it is like living in a city full of heroes and villains. His stories are often quite poignant and rather than trying to make the world "realistic" (which was popular at the time), he's more concerned with having believable characters in a crazy and unbelieveable world. Recently, however, he has expanded into sword and sorcery type books like Conan and Aquaman, which he is doing a great job on, bringing an epic feel to books I never thought I'd care about.
Most Recent Works: Superman, Aquaman, Astro City: the Dark Age

Warren Ellis
Most Famous Work: Transmetropolitan, The Authority, Planetary, Fell, Desolation Jones
Claims to Fame: Bringing the edge back to super-hero comics and sci-fi in general, though sometimes that can be a bit of a mixed blessing. He also manages to explain sci-fi concepts in manners that are both clever and carry the illusion of pluasiblity.
Big Mistakes: I wouldn't call him mistakes, per se, but even Warren admits that some of the early books he wrote for Marvel are not that good.
Style: Warren Ellis is what I would call a cynical optimist. Or maybe an optimistic cynic. It's like what Morgan Freeman's character says in the movie Se7en: 'Ernest Hemingway once wrote, "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part'. Warren Ellis' work shows just how horrible, hypocritical, and humanity can be and how incredibly unfair the world can be, but he also often shows that there is beauty in the world, sometimes hidden even in the mundane and that there are at least a few good things humanity can accomplish. And he also tends to show that there are causes worth fighting for, but no one says you have to fight fairly for them. It doesn't mean that the means justify the ends all the time. It just depends on the means and the ends. He is primarily a sci-fi writer, though he has written mysteries and a few fantasies as well. As I said before, he's very good at constructing and explaining the sci-fi elements in his works, but what really impresses me is that he is able to explain these things while retaining the sense of mystery and wonder that would often be lost or dulled by explaination. He's also known for his absolutely wicked sense of humour (he's known for offing characters in warped and bizarre ways) as well as a strong sense of justice that most of his characters have.
Most Recent Works: Nextwave, newuniversal, Fell.

Next time, if I don't come up with a better idea for an article, I'll probably introduce some of my favourite artists, who, in this case, while popular, are not quite the huge megastars (for the most part) that these writers are.

Styles upon Styles

I was thinking of doing a blog entry on comic books that would make great video games (since we started playing Ultimate Alliance for the Wii) but talking with Nathan of Sunday and last night about comics and writers that we like and ones that he hasn't tried yet made me feel like properly introducing the writers and artists that I really like. Now they're not all perfect, but they all have something that makes them unique and capable of telling great stories. So here's my list of today's top writers.

Alan Moore
Most Famous Works: The Watchmen, Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, Promethea, From Hell
Claims to Fame: He rewrote the book on comic storytelling and ignited the "British Invasion" in which DC comics started staking out great English-speaking European writers to work for DC (and those writers ended up becoming superstars in their own right) and became one of the most respected comic writers of all time.
Big Mistakes: Not a lot really, although dealing with DC after he said he wouldn't ended up biting him in the ass. He and Frank Miller, unfortunately did unintentionally usher in the "grim
n gritty" fad in comic, which both writers sort of regret. See Moore was writing a lot of very dark super-hero books that poked holes in the usually optimistic genre and a lot of other series tried to do the same thing. Unfortunately most of these imitators were missing the heart, the intelligence and the interesting characters that made his books great.
Style: Though many of the writer on the list can be quite versatile, Alan Moore is among the most. He gained popularity through his dark super-hero-related books in which cliches and concepts that were taken for granted are scrutinized, as is the act of being a super-hero. He also explores themes of power (and those who wield it), political philosophy and human nature and how super-humanity would be effected by these things (and vice versa). A lot of his super-books also have recurring mystical themes as well Many involve protagonists who die (or are "destroyed" in a more metaphorical fashion) and come back like a phoenix from the ashes, having to relearn who they are and what they are capable of. Lessons often take story arc and culminate in a big threat were the character must show what he/she has learned. Though his hero-related books grab the most attention, he has also written quiet subtle books like Birth Caul and A Small Killing that tell the kind of stories nobody else tells in comics. One of the most famous examples of this is when he fell away from the mainstream and started writing the meticulously researched From Hell, which tells of the Jack the Ripper murders and the supposed conspiracy surrounding them. Interestingly much of the series starts building up a strong case for it and the final issue seems to imply a case against both the existence of a conspiracy and exploiting such tragedies (the way he has done through the series). In the nineties and 2000's he's almost turned his back on writing dark hero books and has focused on more classic and pulp style hero books. His made his return to mainstream comics with Supreme in which he writes his version of Superman, not having to worry about editorial interference with his vision of an Icon. He made an even bigger splash with ABC (America's Best Comics) where he writes action/adventure books in an attempt to lead by example that there are great new things to do with the pulp/hero genre. With this he mixes both retro and contemporary styles in a fashion where you can tell silly and serious stories at the same time. ABC allowed him to do comedy, drama, adventure and tell all kinds of fun stories. Unfortunately a bad deal with DC caused him to leave ABC though he has given the OK for DC to have certain characters to have new stories, the only exception being League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (which he took with him).
Most Recent Works: His latest works include the final book he's done for DC and the last League book publish by DC: the Black Dossier. He also published a long in the works project called Lost Girls, a story that proves that pornography can be art.

Neil Gaiman
Most Famous Works: Sandman, The Books of Magic, 1602
Claims to Fame: One of the biggest names to come out of the British Invasion, Neil Gaiman was one of the first writers to get his own American ongoing series with a complete ending, rather than having the series go on until sales could no longer support it, paving the way for other ongoing series with full planned endings and the like. That book, Sandman, also was the leading book when DC launched Vertigo, it's imprint aimed at mature readers.
Big Mistakes: Gaiman's lucky in that he hasn't really made any huge mistakes and seems to have made nothing but friends in the industry and beyond. Heck there was recently a CD released centered all around him. But I guess that writing for Todd McFarlane proved to be a big mistake and they have had a pretty shitty relationship since. I don't know if his Spawn related stories are any good, but Spawn is bad in general.
Style: Gaiman's style is to tell stories in the form of epics, fairy tales and myths. In fact, most of Gaiman's stories revolve around the art of storytelling and the importance of myth and archetypes in all of their forms. That's actually what Sandman, Gaiman's most popular series, is all about. Gaiman is a fantasy writer in general and most stories include actual myths, legends and stories and often involve how they interact with contemporary society.
Most Recent Works: While he writes lots of novels he's slowed down quite a bit in his comic writing, but he still does it. His current project involves the old Jack Kirby comic The Eternals, about space gods who have forgotten who they are and are secretly living as humans waiting to be reawakened. He was also supposed to write the return of Thor but plans changed with a story called Civil War. Thor will now return at someone else's hands but Neil Gaiman's original explanations for his return may be worked in.

Grant Morrison
Most Famous Works: The Invisibles, New X-Men, JLA, Animal Man, We3
Claims to Fame: Creating comics stranger and more experimental than anyone else was doing, being one of the most innovative writers around, and re-invigorating classic characters.
Big Mistakes: Skrull Kill Krew. He's had a few misses but even his misses have something salvageable but Skrull Kill Krew was written by him and Mark Miller for beer money and it was written while they were drinking. Heavily.
Style: Grant Morrison's work has lots of counter-cultural leanings and often questions the nature of reality. With his work on Doom Patrol, he started writing the series by ear and including all the crazy ideas he could fit into it. Some stories were great, others impenetrable. Disliking the grim n gritty "realistic" direction comics were heading in and decided to go against the grain. Though he certainly wrote some dark books, it wasn't in the vein of books like Dark Knight Returns or Watchmen, but rather he followed his own style. He did play with the "realistic" approach in his first major series Animal Man in a more upbeat way: The title character wears a jacket so he has a plkace for his wallet and keys and he often has to by milk after a super-battle for his family. He is a likeable guy who has to balance his goofy super-hero life with his mundane but happy family life in the real world. A lot of his books involve reality and the thin fourth wall between creation and creator (most noticably in Animal Man). His super-hero books are also a mix of traditional super-hero wackiness (Grant doesn't shy away from the sillier ideas and in fact seems to relish in them) and some clever ideas. Grant has crazy ideas but they always end up making a strange sort of sense. He created such great ideas as the idea of mutant culture (think a cross between the flamboyant gay culture, the return to Africa movement as well as other cultures), a woman with 64 personalities that each have a super-power and the idea that Joker isn't insane, but rather supersane and isn't tied down to any one identity, philosophy or ethical code.
Most Recent Work: Currently he's writing 52 and just finished his epic Seven Soldiers of Victory which includes 7 interconnected but individual mini-series.

I'd write about more writers but I'm tired right now, so I'll probably just wait a while before writing about any more. But there are indeed more European people.

Torrent! Torrent! Torrent!

While I like Bit Torrent, I only recently decided that I should start using it to read American comics that I haven't read before or don't own. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, however, because I don't enjoy reading it off my computer the way I enjoy reading manga on my computer. I do think that might have something to do with the fact that there's a lot more detail and spaces being used than in manga. Plus there's colour. Or maybe I just haven't gotten used to it, because the only thing I've read so far is an issue of Supreme. Still, I want to take advantage of the bit torrent in order to try to find certain books, which are unavailable in Trade Paperback (my format of choice) and my never be before I die. In some cases books are considered classics but because they're so hard to find, they are unread b a large number of contemorary fans. In other cases, the company just hasn't had enough demand to reprint them or to continue reprinting them.

Miracleman (known as Marvelman) in Britain is Alan Moore's first major comics work and, along with V for Vendetta, helped him get noticed by DC comics. The basic premise is that a good-hearted and innocent hero (who was a pre-existig British character clearly modelled after Captain Marvel) finds himself in a much less innocent present. It seems he spent the past few years not knowing that he was a rather silly super-hero and that the past few years of his life were a lie. Now he's returned to find a much less innocent world and much grimmer threats. Later, Neil Gaiman took the book over and wrote a tale in which Miracleman now rules the Earth as a more benovelent leader, but Miracleman starts questioning if he's done the right thing. Though the final issue of the story was written and drawn, it was never released and it doesn't look like it will happen any time soon. A lot of the themes of this book (rebirth, power, changing the world) reappear in many of his later works, which are pretty much all reprinted. So why won't this one be reprinted any time soon.

It is currently caught in a legal entanglement where both Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane are battling in court over ownership of the character. And it really doesn't look like the issue will be cleared up any time soon, since both seemed very convinced that the character is rightfully theirs. Basically Todd bought the rights to Eclipse comics, who last had the rights to the character, not realizing that Gaiman received 30% of the character rights, who shared them with artist Mark Buckingham. Gaiman (who was one of the guest writers who did an issue of Spawn for Todd) had created a couple of characters for Spawn under the impression he had part ownership and was interested in trading full ownership for the rest of those Miracleman rights. But Todd pointed out something in the book that claimed he had full ownership rights of the aforementioned characters and, well, things went downhill from there. But if Gaiman ever wins, he promises that the character will be called Marvelman again and all of the books will be reprinted by Marvel.

Zenith also looks interesting in that it is an early work from certified genius/madman (may not actually be certified in either case) Grant Morrison. The series follows a Gen-X hero who is the son of a hippie super-hero couple. Uninterested in saving the world, Zenith is more interested in using his power to build on his pop star fame. Unfortunately, Zenith still finds himself facing threats including Lovecraftian horrors, and a Richard Branson-esque madman obsessed with super-eugenics. While it doesn't sound as inventive as his later works, it still sounds quite interesting. Plus it has art from Steve Yeowell, who is an underrated artist in my opinion and has worked with Morrison on quite a few projects, including a personal favourite of mine Sebastian O, which is like a cross between a dumb action movie and the works of Oscar Wilde. This too is caught up in some legal shenanigans, but the details on that one are a little less clear. Still, it never hurts to get a little more Grant Morrison.

Another Grant Morrison work that has gone unreprinted is considered by many to be a forgotten masterpiece. It also is noteworthy for featuring some early art by Frank Quitely, who is a rather big star at the moment. Flex Mentallo focuses on the titular character who is clearly a super-hero version of Charles Atlas. His origin is almost exactly that of "Mac" from the Charles Atlas comic ads in which a guy gets sand kicked in his face and gets revenge later when he returns with big muscles from the Charles Atlas program. Flex discovers that he is more powerful than Mac, however, as he can alter the universe by flexing his muscles, thus becoming the Man of Muscle Mystery! The mini-series focuses on Flex in different eras and is a metaphor for how comics have changed over the years and how they reflect changing eras and represent different stages of growing up. The series is considered by a modern classic, right up there with The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen. It should be noted that DC still might reprint this, as they have reprinted all of Flex Mentallo's appearences in Doom Patrol and they seem to have won the lawsuit that Charles Atlas' current owner that brought against them. Still DC seems very tight lipped about the whole thing, so they could just be waiting until all of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol run (from which Flex originated) has finished being reprinted.

These are books I'd absolutely love to fid online and wish that they somehow find themselves being published again. I suppose it's not impossible and have high hopes for Flex Mentallo. And Heck, I would have put EC comics on my list but their finally being collected into gorgeous looking Hard Covers by Gemstone comics (who are currently publishing classic Disney comics, including the Uncle Scrooge books that inspired Duck Tales). I know I saw a torrent for Miracle Man once but now it all seems lost. Still, I hope that some day I can cradle Flex Mentallo in my arms like a newborn babe and tell it I love it. Then I'll probably open the book up to the super-hero orgy in chapter 3.

The Ends

Update: I added pretty pictures and some great news: There's a really awesome trailer for Spider-Man 3 and Alan Moore will be Guest Starring on the Simpsons. I also added pretty pictures.

I really don't have a lot of things to say save for that this is my first post that didn't make it on Wednesday since I planned to update every Wednesday. I knew it would happen eventually and suspected it would happen sooner, but to be fair it isn't entirely my fault this time. Turns out that when I signed on to this blogger beta thing and then found that I couldn't access my blog until everything was ready. The price I pay for the drag-and-drop option.

Anyhoo, I've noticed that quite a few series and mini-series are actually coming to an end, so I decided to predict who it will all go down. I don't expect to be write, and for many of them I've only been following the trades, so I don't necessarily have all the information I need to make the best guesses, but I feel I have enough to take a stab.

52
How Much Longer?: The series ends this April which means it has 25 issues to go.
Premise: After the huge Infinite Crisis crossover, every DC universe series skipped a year ahead in time, allowing each series to start out fresh. DC decided to explain what happened in that missing year in a weekly year long series: each issue covers a different week within that year. The characters involved are Booster Gold (a super-glory hound from the future who decided to take Superman's place as Metropolis' big hero since Supes has gone missing), The Question (a conspiracy theorist detective), Renee Montoya (a disgraced Gotham city cop), Ralph Dibny (a former super-hero whose life's been ruined since his wife was brutally murdered), Steel (a super-hero engineer who worked hard repairing the damage from the Crisis) and Black Adam (a sometimes hero, sometimes villain who now rules his own middle Eastern country).
Goings-On: Booster Gold's been seemingly murdered (though who can tell with time travellers) thanks to his sidekick Skeets who may now be insane, Steel's daughter has joined Lex Luthor's own super-hero team, Ralph Dibny has gone off the deep end, a paradise island for mad scientists harbors a strange secrets, The Question trains Renee Montoya to become his successor, and many many other subplots are a happening.
The End?: The series has been hinting at a threat known as the 52 (the number appears in some form every issue) but what the 52 is remains a mystery. My guess is that it has been organizing the mad scientists and is manipulating Skeets. It probably also has something to do with time travel since Skeets himself is searching for time traveller Rip Hunter, who's home is full of insane scrawlings about all manner of super-activity as well as the messages "Time is Broken" and "52". With DC continuity once again changed in a big crossover, it would make sense that some entity or entity would want to take advantage of a fresh new timeline. Since all of the stories are going to intersect by the end of the book, my guess is that it has something to do with the mad science island, the crime bible (a mysterious tome that supposedly archives every crime ever), the new superheroes Batwoman and Super-Nova, the Superboy resurrection cult and pretty much every subplot the series has (which is a lot).

100 Bullets
How Much Longer?: It ends at issue 100 and it's now in it's late seventies, meaning it only has a couple years left. That seems like a while compared to the other series, but it's still barreling towards it's inevitable conclusion.
Premise: Agent Graves gives people 100 untraceable bullets and irrefutable evidenced that they've been wronged, thus giving them the chance for consequence-free revenge.
Goings-on: Well, it became apparent pretty early on in the series that there was a much bigger story and now a great deal of it has been revealed except what Grave's master plan is and the more specific details of what happened in Atlanta. It seems that America is secretly run by the Trust, an organization of 13 crime families who run America in just about every conceivable way since the 1600s. To prevent one family from becoming more powerful than the others, the Trust employs the Minutemen, 7 agents skilled in murder, deceit and espionage whose job is to police the Trust. But somewhere along the way the de facto head of the trust, Augustus Medici, convinced the others that it was time for a change and that the Minutemen where now obsolete. While they were supposed to be killed off in Atlanta, a surprising number of them survived and it has become abundantly clear that before and after the Atlanta incident it is impossible to tell whose on which side. In fact it's getting hard to say what the sides are, exactly.
The End?: One way or the other the series is going to end in a lot of bloodshed. My guess is that Agent Graves master plan will end with getting himself killed. A lot of characters seem to be willing to put their life on the line for Graves and one character seemed to know that his end was coming, as if it fit into Graves' master plan and he was still OK with that. I think whatever Graves is planning, he believes in it enough that he's willing to lay his own life on the line for society's greater good. But I doubt he'd just kill the Trust and leave America to look after itself and he doesn't seem like the type to want to take control. I think Augustus has been planning it to be this way as well and that he and Graves are actually on the same side. My guess is that Medici's son Benito will become the new head of the Trust and Augustus may also sacrifice his life in order to get his reluctant heir to want to take over. Most of the Minutemen will die (especially the more experienced and confident ones) but a few will remain. And those who do will be Benito's new Minutemen who will begin the test again, giving 100 bullets to those who need it to find out who should be Minutemen (as well as taking care of other problems)

Civil War:
How Much Longer?: Hopefully three months unless there are more delays.
The Premise: After a tragedy involving the destruction of the small mid-western town of Stamford thanks to reckless super-heroing, the moral implications of super-vigilantism come into question. Iron Man quickly gets behind the Superhuman Registration Act which would render any non-government regulated superhuman activity illegal. Before it is, characters find themselves having to pick sides and when it is passed there are two major camps: Iron Man's pro-registration side (his argument is that heroes should not be above the law and that they can accomplish more working with the law) and Captain America's anti-registration side (his argument is that superhumans should not be forced to be government agents or be forced to sacrifice their identity).
Goings-On: To beef up support for the registration, Iron Man convinces Spider-Man to reveal his secret identity on national TV. Spider-Man does so (after consulting with Aunt May and Mary Jane) and finds it biting him in the ass and finds that old friends now view him with disdain. Meanwhile Captain America plans to give members of his faction new secret identities (I can't decide which is better: Cap as a mall security guard or Hercules as an IT guy). The two sides class for the first time in the ruins of an old Stark building and Tony whips out their trump card: Thor, who was thought dead. Well, actually he still was and what they have is actually a Thor clone, that turns out too be a little hard to control as it kills the Black Goliath, which royally pisses Captain America off. Spider-Man, realizing that he's backed the wrong side prepares to defect while Tony, realizing that he'll still need more soldiers organizes a new team to neutralize the heroes, composed entirely of unreformed super-villains.
The End?: Well, if I have one problem with the crossover it's that Tony's side seems to... villainous. I would prefer it that both sides were more relatable rather than making Tony the bad guy. Anyway, my guess is that somewhere there is a villain whose adding fuel to the fire. Wolverine recently discovered that Damage Control, a company in charge of cleaning up after super-battles, may be responsible for the Stamford incident that triggered the war. Plus that murderous Thor clone stinks of evil. My guess is that Loki the chaos god has returned to life (he died at Ragnarok along with all the other Norse gods) and has decided to make things worse. Still, the Superhuman Registration Act will still be polarizing the Marvel universe with each side having to pay for their choices. There will be two Avengers team, Spider-Man will be on the run and (based on an image leaked onto the Internet) Tony Stark will be the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D., making me suspect the current director might be a villainess. Still, the Marvel universe will probably be forced to work together for the next big crossover World War Hulk.

Planetary
How Much Longer?: One issue left. Who the hell knows when it'll come out.
The Premise: A team of mystery archaeologists are trying to uncover the Earth's secret history as part of an open conspiracy while matching wits with a deadly group of ex-nazi scientists who have powers not unlike the Fantastic Four... only deadlier. the team is made up of Elijah Snow, the 106 year-old leader with cold powers, Jakita Wagner, a beautiful amazon, and the Drummer, who can talk to machines and can sense information.
Goings-On: Planetary was able to defeat most of the 4, but only the leader remains, as well as a friend turned foe. Also, it turns out the Drummer is a being of pure information.
The End?: The good guys are going to get what they want: access to the secret history of the world and the ability to give that information to the people. But what those big secrets are I can hardly imagine. I'm stumped as to how will this end beyond the obvious good guys win stuff. But Warren Ellis is always more original than that. So my guess is that we'll get a glimpse into the world that Planetary leaves behind now that there are now big plots to exploit the wonderfully strange secrets of the world. I also think that Snow may shock the other characters by giving the last villain mercy since he has much to offer the world despite his selfish evil. I'm guessing that mostly because the rest of Planetary felt a little let down by Snow's somewhat amoral handling of the four's seemingly unstoppable Thing-like member which cause a bit of a rift in the team.

Y - The Last Man:
How Much Longer?: Nine more issues left to go.
The Premise: A man with the unlikely name of Yorick Brown and the helper monkey he's training (named Ampersand) are the only living male mammals on the face of the Earth. All of the other suddenly, at around the same time, coughed up blood and died. Now Yorick finds himself traveling across the Earth with a government agent named 355 and geneticist Dr. Mann in order to find out why Yorick and Ampersand are the only survivors of the plague.
Goings-On: I actually haven't been keeping up with this one but I'd be able to make a better guess when the eighth trade finally comes out. Last I remember the main character was heading to Japan, but I'm pretty sure he's left by now in the monthly books. Also the books recently told the cause of the plague and the reason for it. The reason for Yorick's survival was released much earlier. Also, Yorick still has to find his girlfriend Beth, who's somewhere in Europe.
The End?: Someone might die but I doubt it's going to be Yorick. Frankly, I'd like a happy ending for everyone but I doubt that's going to happen. But I bet that while not everyone's ending will be peachy keen, the Earth will be able to produce new humans again.

Frankly, I'm not the best at predicting and there is some stuff being telegraphed from a mile away but with some stuff, I have a good feeling that I'm right. Especially 100 Bullets.

Four Colour Crap

I really don't have much to talk about this week (or most weeks) but since I'm always singing the praises of sequential art, I thought I'd point out some of the most awful comics of all time. Now there are certainly a lot of crappy comics, but I want to go beyond your Spawns and your Youngbloods to show you something that goes beyond regular bad. These books are like the "Plan 9 from Outer Space" of comics.

Dracula: Drawn by talented artist Tony Tallarico when he was in a serious slump, Dracula is about the adventures of a guy who looks like a cross between the Phantom and Batman but with a much more hideous costume than either of them. Dracula's real name is Al U. Card (*groan*) and has radar powers derived from a bat-serum that was supposed to cure his brain damage. It apparently didn't work, because then he dressed up in purple and red and called himself Dracula despite not being a vampire, or Dracula or even sucking blood. Come to think of it, Dracula did not have radar. I'm really confused by this guy's code name. Also unlike Batman's intimidating sharp pointy ears, Dracula's ears look soft, round, fuzzy and kinda cute. Seriously, I'm not an expert in fashion but not only is this one of the worst super-hero outfits I've ever seen (and that's saying a lot), it has possibly the worst use of colour I've ever seen. Uninteresting fact: Tony Tallarico later created a much uglier looking super-hero named Frankenstein.


NFL SuperPro: For some reason Marvel and the NFL decided to team up to create a comic book. It was terrible. It focuses on a football player who receives a career-ending injury while saving a little girl. He later gets dosed in chemicals which, thanks to a combination of fire and "ultra-rare NFL Souvenirs", give him superpowers. He then proceeds to fight football themed villains, including Instant Replay and Quick Kick (a football player turned ninja). Suddenly, everything that occurs in Eyeshield 21 seems plausible and sobering. Superpro's secret identity is that of a football journalist, which, much like Superman, allows him to hear about football disasters before anyone else so that he can avert them. Finally a football reporter who isn't afraid to do something to fight football corruption, unlike those yellow football journalists.

It seems odd that there are so many football obsessed villains out there. Do baseball players and curlers have to deal with this kind of shit? Frankly, if I was about to sack a quarterback and then a guy in a blimp shot laser rays at a guy whose team colours don't match any player on the field, I might take a month off. Heck, I might take the season off. But if I became aware that this sort of thing was happening every week, I would not hesitate to quit the game and look for another non-laser ray sport to play professionally. Assuming there is such a sport.

Skrull Kill Krew: This is probably the only super-group to have a neo-Nazi on the team. The series' origins go way back to Fantastic Four #2 where Mr. Fantastic hypnotizes invading skrulls into thinking they're cows. Well, Mr. F might be a genius, but he wasn't smart enough to prevent the cows from getting milked and slaughtered into skrull burgers. The milk issue was dealt with in a rather dark and clever before this, but the skrull burgers were eaten by some random people, who now have super powers and can see Skrull posing as humans. Not only that, but these people now have an intense and irrational hatred of Skrulls and travel around the country murdering Skrulls.

This series was actually created by visionary Grant Morrison and the popular Mark Millar. Though they are currently some of comics' most beloved writers, they created this dog right before Morrison hit it big and a five years before Millar did. Millar admits that they did most of the plotting while drinking heavily and is pretty embarrassed by it. In fact, the writers did a lot of things just to see what Marvel comics would let them get away with (which was a surprising amount). Still, the series was originally going to be called the Skrull Kill Kult (in reference to the popular and controversial Thrill Kill Kult), but the all ages Marvel didn't like the idea about a series that revolved around a Kult. Oddly, they took no issue with Skrull Killing.

Bad as it is, I do like the first issue cover, pictured above.

Brother Power, The Geek: The next two series I have a soft spot for, despite having never read them. Part of it is that the series premise is so quirky, that it would be possible to make them into really fun series with a good creative team and a good mind set. The other thing is that I think that the creator of both series wanted to say something about the hippie/youth culture of the time. The problem was the writer (Captain America creator Joe Simon) and editors were way to out of touch.

This two-issue series focused on a human-sized rag doll brought to life in a freak occurrence and who is trying to understand humanity in a Stranger in a Strange Land sort of way. He gets involved with Hippie Land and there's all sorts of attempts at social commentary, but it's really apparent that the creators don't know what a hippy is or where they come from. According to artist Carmine Infantino, Superman editor Mort Weisinger really hated the hippy subculture and didn't like how sympathetically the hippies were portrayed. He petitioned to have the series cancelled, but it's hard to tell if that was what ended the series. It was probably just the piss poor sales. The series ended with Brother Power being launched into space as order by governor Ronald Reagan!

Prez: The other series by Joe Simon that tried to connect with the current youth culture and completely misses the mark. This one focuses on Prez Rickards: the first teen president! Seems that he fixes all the clocks in his hometown, which somehow gets him on the fast track to the presidency after the age of eligibility is lowered for whatever reason. After that he fights vampires, undead generals and "Boss Smiley", an evil political boss with a smiley face for a head. A lot of this book was expanding on ideas that were hinted at in Brother Power and was also apparently inspired by the hippy flick Wild in the Streets, which I haven't seen. Ask Darcy about it.

It also did poorly but had two more issues than Brother Power and... well, that's really all it had going for it.

I still think that the previously mentioned series have more potential to be a good comic than the others, as long as an appropriate can be found. Critically acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman actually did stories for both characters: he turned Brother Power into a doll elemental in a Swamp Thing annual and wrote a great Prez story in Sandman in which we get to see how America would have been different if there really was a noble, clever, incorruptible soul in the white House. Frankly, I have a soft spot for most bad comics because I always feel that any crappy premise has the potential to be a great story as long as it's given great creators and the right angle. Except Superpro. I mean, football ninja? Fuck!

I'm Trick or Beat

What my rather forced pun-based title is trying to say is that I'm sort of tired of Halloween related stuff. It probably has something to do with the fact that me and Aiden had a little horror movie marathon over the weekend. I find that I obsess over the horror genre for most of the month of October, then I usually get kinda depressed afterwards (horror can be a pretty negative genre) and usually spend most of November watching upbeat comedies (Steve Martin's the Jerk is always a pick-me-up) . But nonetheless I love a good horror story when I'm in the mood for it.

Frankly, I was very tempted to purchase a $64 hardcover of Weird Science which collected the first twenty issues of the classic '50's anthology series from EC comics, a company known for it's incredibly edgy story-telling that inspired countless writers and film-makers. Surprisingly, the book is being released by Gemstone, a company that publishes almost exclusively Disney-related material. I have to applaud Gemstone for their fine treatment of the material: the book itself is quite handsome, the coloring has been cleaned up and for each book they've gotten a HUGE name to do a forward for the books. Well, not all of the books. Weird Science has a foreword by George Lucas, Crime SuspenStories will have a foreword by Steven Spielberg and Tales from the Crypt will have a foreword by John Carpenter. Now I guess I'm making to much of a big deal out of famous creators saying that an acclaimed comic is cool but I just appreciate that these lauded creators are giving thanks to the comics that inspired them. Maybe I'm just looking for more people to legitimize my favourite medium.

My one problem is that the first volume of Vault of Horror has a foreword by Goosebumps creator RL Stine. Really? Don't get me wrong, I read his Goosebumps books in elementary school and enjoyed them at the time, but he's really not that great of a writer. I guess he's still popular, and I have no problem with him thanking those comics for inspiring him, but shouldn't someone... better do a foreword there?

Still, as I've stated I've never even read an EC comic yet of seen enough bits and pieces of the books as well as pastiches and homages to fall in love with the books and their tragic history. But it's sort of like talking about how Citizen Kane is the greatest film of all time without having seen it, but have seen countless references to it and documentaries about it. I really should get this book but... $64! Geez. Looks like you're on my Christmas list.

Anyhoo, Aiden and I watched some horror flicks over the weekend to sate our horror lust and while most of the movies floundered (despite being famous) they were fun.

The first one we watched was Cube Zero, the prequel to the clever (though imperfect) Canadian sci-fi horror film Cube. For those of you who don't know, the premise of Cube is that people wake up finding themselves in a cube with doors on each side that leads to a similar room (though some of them are trapped). There is no food or water, but there is a pattern to the cubes that hint at an exit. Cube Zero tries to do some interesting things, but ultimately fails. The biggest problem is the unbelievably silly villain who is essentially (as Aiden pointed out) the same bad guy from Last Action Hero. It really feels like a relatively good Cube prequel is being interrupted by a really bad episode of Lexx (and keep in mind I like Lexx). I do like how it ties into the first film, but it really wasn't worth the movie. The first one worked better because we are given very little information about what the Cube is and the viewers only have the characters' theories and their own to work with, while this film just tells you how and why the Cube is. Disappointing.

Friday the 13th was pretty funny, but that wasn't really what they were going for. Don't get me wrong, there are parts of this movie that are scary, but I just don't like the characters enough to want them to win. Also, Ralph, the local loony who tells the kids there all doomed is hilarious and really should have appeared in the movie more. "You're all doomed... DOOMED!" I don't think the film makers intended him to be as funny as I found him but I still think the writers wanted us to laugh at him a little. On the negative side, we see Kevin Bacon's ass and various guys dressed as nevernudes. If you're gay and you're looking for a healthy mix of horror, titillation and Ralph, then I highly recommend it. Still, the final battle is a bit silly and drags on due to the fact that the Last Girl is constantly given chances to either finish off or further subdue the killer but she doesn't take them. The pattern goes like this: girl is chased and cornered by killer, girl finds something to beat the crap out of the killer who drops the weapon, doubles over and seems to be temporarily knocked out or stunned or something, girl runs away some where else with no real plan. This happens like three times and it gets pretty tiring.

Hellraiser was also rather disappointing, especially because I liked the only book I read by Clive Barker. Said book was The Thief of Always and when I read it it quickly became obvious that the book was aimed at younger readers, but I still enjoyed the book quite a bit. Hellraiser, however, is just sort of boring. It's about some jerk named Frank who opens a portal to the afterlife in a run down house and finds himself facing grotesque divine torture at the hands of the Cenobites (not to be confused with Cinnabites, which are a delicious cinnamon treat). Later, Frank's brother moves in with his ice cold wife who secretly had an affair with Frank. A twist of fate has Frank partially resurrected and he convinces his Sister-in-Law to seduce poor idiots so she can take them home and Frank can kill them and drink their blood, which will give him more flesh. Unfortunately, because this is Britain, any scene of passion in this movie is about as sexy as a luke warm fish. Any scene where people are kissing was about as sexy as church. Characters talk about sex but when I look at them I can imagine it being anything by dry, cold and uninteresting. I mean, for a film about pleasure and pain they could have tried to spice it up a bit. And I'm not even asking the characters to be attractive. I just need to believe that these characters would fuck each other.

Finally, we watched Land of the Dead, which was easily the best movie of the four that me and Aiden watched. A lot of Dead fans didn't like this movie but I thought it was a great way to end the franchise, even if the characters weren't all that deep this time around (I can't speak for Day of the Dead, which I have yet to see) but I like the story and it is surprisingly the most upbeat of them. I actually like the fact that the zombies have evolved and have become tool users and in a way shows that the zombies are actually close to becoming human. Sure that might take some of the scariness out of the zombie concepts, but it makes the film more interesting over all. The humans aren't that interesting this time around but there is a lot of great moments. There's a scene in which a character is given a choice between being shot and becoming a zombie and I found it interesting that he chose the zombie, wanting to know "how the other half lives". Not nearly as good as Dawn of the Dead, but still pretty good.

Well, most of the films weren't great, but being able to laugh derisively at them with a friend made it much more enjoyable.

Japan in the Ass

In the event that there is someone who has not been told, I will be spending my next year in Japan, teaching English as a second language with NOVA.

Well, I'm going to Japan for a year provided I get all of my documents in order before this upcoming Tuesday. I know I shouldn't worry and that everything will probably be OK, but I'm a worrier. I worried about this much before getting ready for the interview and now I feel worry again. Worry!

Anyhoo, I got some stuff done today: I was told that I should be getting my passport in two to three business days, which makes me less worried (since I forgot that I could ask them to hurry up for about thirty dollars) but Dad (as my guarantor) said he hadn't recieved a phone call about it yet and that he should have if it was sent out. Worry.

Later I got my set of original transcripts from my university. I also got six more passport photos, when it would have been much cheaper to get 8 when I got the actual photos for my passport. I was out in the rain so when I got to the photo place, my hair was all wet and the resulting picture looked like I had a really greasy comb-over. Yuck!

Frankly, this kind of stuff is driving me mad because I end up second guessing every move I make and am just not sure if I'm doing it all correctly. I'm already planning to spend all of tomorrow filling out all of the documents and double checking to make sure I have everything I need. Worry.

But I am still looking forward to Japan with great enthusiasm. I just know that I'll be able to do a good job on this and that I'll be able to thrive in the culture despite the language gap. I'm not saying it will be easy, but I've had the experience (albeit long ago) of living in a non-English speaking country for a length of time. And frankly, I just need a change in my life and a chance to do some real fulfilling work.

In many ways I'm not sure what to expect when I get there, but I'm told it's pretty easy to buy English literature at a book store and I'm planning to get the Internet (and a computer) for my room on the first few days before (hopefully) my work begins. I know that if I didn't then it would just bug the Hell out of my parents simply becuase I'd be even harder to get a hold of.

I will be living with two other teachers so I won't have to worry too much about being alone. Still, I have know idea if I'll be able to stand these people (or vice versa), but it's probably than living alone. I just think I'd end up becoming a creepy introvert or something. I still have no idea where I'll be living tonight, but frankly, I think I'd be happy anywhere, hot or cold. My parents are already talking about visiting me next Christmas. It would be pretty easy for my sister if she's still going to be staying in New Zealand.

The hours look interesting as well and look like they will range from 4 to 8 hours days on different days of the week (of course, that's just based on an example schedule) and the days I'll get off will most likely be in the middle of the week, which should make things interesting. It was also hinted that I'll probably doing a lot of karaoke as it's common for emp-loyees to hit the bars and go to parties together. Frankly, I think there's no better way to socialize than to massacre songs together while wasted. It's a real bonding experience. Frankly, I've never been involved with work that really allowed me to really get to know my co-workers, so I think I'll appreciate that.

I still don't know quite what to expect when I get there but I highly doubt any culture shock since I'm very much used to being in different cultures and am a lot more mature than when I started (imagine being a "picky eater" type kid when you're living in another country). I really feel like I'm going to be involved with something important to me and that I can finally make the next big step in my life.

Holy Alliance!

The more I hear about the upcoming Marvel: Ultimate Alliance game, the more I like. It looks like it's going to be a lot more polished than the previous X-Men Legends games. Don't get me wrong, those games were a lot of fun, but I had a few issues with them, and usually towards the end of each area, I found myself bored (especially in the first game, since there were only a few locations), though the boss battles were usually pretty good. Now, I'm not expecting Ultimate Alliance to be perfect, but I am expecting it to be a lot of fun.

Now, I'm not good at describing play mechanics like Jordan is, but I'm excited about the use of the Wii-mote to fight and use super-powers, but I'm still not sure what to expect exactly from the Wii-mote. The descriptions sort of paint a picture but I'm so use to classic controllers that I can't imagine it as feeling natural. Still, based on how great the DS is I'm optimistic.

I also appreciate that the "costumes" you can get for your characters not only give you different stats but also different characters. For example, if you have Captain America, one of his costumes is the U.S.Agent, Cap's less-than-stable replacement. With Thor, you can get a Beta Ray Bill "costume" so you can fight as Thor's oddly-named, hideous rival/ally. Hopefully they'll be a few more costume choices this time. The last X-Men game was good but I was very disappointed when they didn't include Jim Lee's X-Men costumes (which were popular with fans and appeared in the 90's X-Men cartoon) but they had hideous costumes that look like they belong to action figures that don't exist. Night Attack Wolverine indeed. My only real costume-related beef is that this game is clearly taking place in the classic Marvel universe, yet Thor is wearing his admittedly cool ultimate costume. I have less of an issue with using the Ultimate Nick Fury (which seems very likely) because he's just Samuel L Jackson with an eyepatch and therefore awesome.

Now all twenty playable characters have not been revealed yet, but I already take issue with Blade and Elektra being playable characters. Maybe if they were unlockable, but I'd rather they used Daredevil and Black Widow rather than a couple of untrustworthy murderers who don't really belong on any main stream super-team. Aside from that, however, it sounds like a great line-up. Still, I'm curious about the notable exception of the Hulk from the initial line-up, which makes me suspect the Hulk might be a major plot point within the game (a boss/unlockable character maybe?) or at the very least will play a large role.

Another element I like is that the game features not only a huge cast of characters (about 140 characters in all) but also all kinds of classic Marvel locations such as Hell, Murderworld, Castle Doom, SHIELD Helicarrier and the Skrull Homeworld (to name a few). Now, as I said, in the X-Men games, some of the levels started to look a like, but in this game it's so all over the Marvel map that I can't help getting excited.

Still, while I know perhaps too much about what's happening in this game already, I'm still guessing what characters will show up and what locations will be visited to give me a geekgasm. So I decided to write about some stuff I really want to see in either this game or the eventual sequel.

Heroes:
Union Jack: If the team were to hit Britain, I'd sure like to see them team up with this badass spy. In all honesty, I mostly like him for the costume, but he's a much cooler British hero than Captain Britain.

Runaways (right): This reluctant super-team is composed of teens (and one pre-teen) who discover that their well-to-do parents are actually all murderous super-villains and they team up to stop them. Unfortunately they have few resources, limited powers and gifts they barely understand and live in LA, far away from the super-hero mecca that is New York City. Since the series is heading in a road trip direction they could easily end up anywhere in the Marvel universe.

Marvel's Western Heroes: I wouldn't be surprised if there was time traveling in the next game and a quick stop in the West might be a fun excuse to showcase the Lone Ranger-esque Western super-heroes that were popular in the fifties.

She-Hulk: She's easily one of my favourite Marvel character's right now, mostly because she has the funniest series and is one of the most level-headed characters. Basically, she's the Hulk's cousin who gained his power set after a blood transfusion only Bruce Banner could give. But she doesn't have his terrible mindless rages (well... usually) and uses her hero-ness to be one of the nation's most famous and beloved lawyers. Unfortunately, she became poison to her firm when the opposition was able to point out that saving the world (and thus, her jury) could be a form of jury tampering. She was then hired by the firm that got her fired and must now try cases without her fabulous green bod. Now she works on cases involving super-human law.

Man-Thing (left): Not a hero, really, but neither is it a villain. It was, however, ordered to be the guardian of the nexus of all realities. Pretty big role for a creature that isn't really sentient. The Man-Thing is a big swamp monster who is empathic and who only reflects the emotions of any sentient creature it encounters. So if any creature is aggressive towards it or afraid of it, it attacks and becomes very corrosive. I always kind of liked Man-Thing, but I'm not sure why beyond the interesting character design.


Villains:
Kang the Conqueror (right): He's one of the most dangerous villains in the Marvel universe thanks to his time traveling. He's already conqueror the future, but is now bored and wants to conquer it in the time of heroes, where he faces the most opposition, just to show he can. He actually succeeded in the clever but overly-long Kang Dynasty story-arc but checking out all of the future's possibilities and preparing for every eventuality. He loses only because he is betrayed by his son.

The Kingpin: He looks like a fat-ass, but he's not. What looks like fat is actually almost all muscle, making him a physical match for even some of the super-powered heroes. But his real strength is his Machiavellian machinations and his tenacity. He's the runs all the crime in New York (and beyond) and though he's been taken out many times, he always finds a way to get his position back. He's also known for tricking super-heroes into beating the crap out of his competition. It's incredibly hard to make anything stick to the Kingpin no matter how much the evidence piles up. Plus, he has some quality henchmen (Elektra, Bullseye and Typhoid Mary) as opposed to the usual dumbass henchman most villains seem to have.

Thanos: When you need a villain bigger than Dr. Doom, you turn to Thanos. A mad titan from another world (populated by space gods) who worships death. Basically, his big plot is just to kill lots and lots of people to impress Death (who's a chick) until she reciprocates his love. He also constantly hunts for the Infinity Gems, which make whoever collects them all pretty all powerful. He did it once before and killed half the universe and almost all of the Marvel heroes. The universe got better.

The Taskmaster: Born with photographic reflexes (he can copy pretty much any athletic skill or maneuver he sees, including martial arts) the Taskmaster can beat most super-heroes in physical combat after collecting all kinds of martial arts just by watching. But what he prefers to do is stay out of the way and teach other villains how to fight. Still, he's a guy who only gets tougher to beat the longer you fight him.



Locales:
Wakanda: It's essentially techno-Africa. This African nation was the most technologically advanced long before any other nation, thanks largely to the vibranium mines across the country. And because of that, it's constantly under attack from villains and various greedy interests.

The Negative Zone: A crazy alien dimension that's filled to the brim with evil, violence and floating land masses.

Monster Isle: Really speaks for itself. Basically, before Stan Lee got into super-heroes Marvel was publishing almost nothing but sci-fi/horror stories with monsters in 'em. Most of these stories take place in the current Marvel universe, but to explain where they went, Marvel created a crazy island where most of those Monsters lurk. An entire level of monsters with a 12 for tall minimum? Sounds fun to me.

The Raft/The Vault/Negative Zone Prison: any one of these three jails would be cool to visit. And if it's to stop a jail break, then the creators could have fun sending an army of lame villain cannon fodder (with some really tough villains mixed in) rather than the usual faceless henchman. A fun idea for a very tough level.

Well, that's just my little wish list for the series, but so far, things are shaping up to be pretty good. Too bad for Jordan since that means that I'll be unloading all sorts of pointless comics trivia on him for each new character or area we face.