Thoughts on Aurora

As a self-proclaimed geek, today’s news really hit home.

The nerdiest of the nerdy go to the midnight shows. I’ve gone to hundreds. There’s a sense of camaraderie that comes with standing in line with strangers in costumes for hours, all of you there for the same reason: the shared experience of awesome. Normally, I hate it when some asshole even chews loudly in a theatre… but at midnight showings of geek-related awesome, I am friends with every single person in that theater. Everyone of them are MY people.

The fact that some mentally fucked up douche fuck decided that that venue was the time and place to express his fucked up mind at the expense of others’ lives has me mad. Livid, even. Because this guy just shit in church.  This guy needed serious fucking help and, rather than seek it out, this guy had a bad day and decided to share it with every fanboy – every giddy and excited hopeful in that theater, of whom I call ‘brother’ – and ruined something beautiful.

And that is just un-fucking-acceptable.

Not one of those people today deserved what happened. Not. One. I don’t care if they were terrible people in their real lives.  At that moment, on this night, every one of them was a fucking saint.  Because they were geeks.  And I loved them for it.

I’m of the mind that, if you wanna go crazy? Go nuts!  Have a ball! Blow your brains out and dance the dead man shuffle. Go right ahead. Just leave the rest of us OUT OF IT!
Last I checked, the Golden Rule is: “Do Not Shit on Someone Else’s Shoes”.
(yeah yeah, “Do-Unto-Others” blah blah; my variation sounds better.)

This guy did something terrible. And he did it to us.

Hulk. Smash.

Thus endeth the rant.

-21 July 2012

When the lights go down in Aurora

This was written by a friend and fellow geek whose opinion I hold in high regard.  What follows is one of many voices that are speaking out in regards to last night’s terrible events in Aurora, Colorado where a man opened fire on an audience of movie-goers at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises.

I’ve been struggling with what to say about this senseless tragedy – what it means; how I feel about it; my concerns; and, most importantly, the age old question that can never be answered… why?

The geek community is my community.  I call it “my” community because I am a proud, card-carrying member.  Being a member of this community means that no matter who you are or what level of geek you ascribe to, you and I will always be friends.  On some basic level, we agree to the basic tenants that cool things are, indeed, very cool and that it is our duty to love them.  So, to hear that someone desecrated the most holy altar of the Geek makes me… well… I don’t have words for how it makes me.  Luckily, Mr. Jared Rasic has the wherewithal to say what’s on my mind.  So, without further ado, I give the floor over to him…

http://www.tsweekly.com/the-lights-go-down-in-aurora.html

“The lights go down in Aurora

-by Jared Rasic

It’s all over the news now and the internet. The President has made a special address and showings of The Dark Knight Rises are being cancelled across the country. The talking heads on Fox, CNN, MSNBC and all the rest are foregoing moments of peace and silence in order to find something, anything, to blame. People are scared, angry and in shock about something so senseless and it’s hard to just let the answers be something as unexplainable as mental illness, so we’re hanging on to every word, waiting to find something other than a 24 year-old man named James E. Holmes to focus our feelings of impotent rage at.

FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt speculates that Holmes was someone with a “dark, Trekkie-like fantasy world” that got the best of him. My extreme left-leaning friends think this is a sign to start banning guns across the board, while my extreme right-leaning friends think if everyone in that packed theater had a concealed weapon, then less lives would have been taken. I’ve seen conservative Christians blame violence in movies warping our minds and bringing us back to the days where we watched men be torn apart by lions, live and in stereo. I’ve read about Holmes’ parents, reaching out to all the lives their son destroyed, wondering where their little boy went and how this mass murderer took his place. I’ve even seen the blame land squarely on Twinkies, for clouding our minds with poison that leaves us empty and hollow like a zombie.

Before looking for something to blame, some reason for Holmes’ killing spree, I couldn’t stop thinking about the victims. They were my people. Film geeks of the highest order, dressed up and excited to be some of the first people in the country to see The Dark Knight Rises. All they wanted from yesterday was to let the lights dim and be transported away into a world where heroes never give up and there’s always someone to catch you right before you fall. They went to the safest place on Earth and died there. You see, the theater is my church, films are my gospels and directors are my apostles. Last night, a man desecrated my church (our church) with smoke, violence and bloodshed. And make no mistake, this is going to change how we view movies in public from now on. Whether it be pat downs, metal detectors or just no more midnight screenings: something is going to change. Just like it did after Columbine.

Every time some sick and crazy individual does something horrible that shocks the nation and brings the media together (however briefly) in a shared attack on something, whether it be violent video games, gory movies or controversial music, we come closer to shutting down that church forever. Whenever fear becomes the controller in the decision making process, the heroes get further and further away, and we’re left with no one to save you from the fall. All we’re left with are the “what if’s” and the “we can’t”s, any sort of validation for our open-ended fear. For every villain out there, I strongly believe there’s a hero, and the more we let the villains make the rules, the more we let our heroes die, disappear and slip away from us. So maybe this time, just this once, we can try a little less hard to find a place to lay all this blame and anger and fear. Maybe this time we can mourn those lost, share in our grief and then look to the sky for signs of heroes.”

- 20 July 2012

(This article and its opinions are those of Jared Rasic; used without permission so I hope he doesn’t mind)

 

All-New!

Hey everybody. Remember me? I used to write a blog about comic books. Then I went on vacation far, far away from where they didn’t sell comic books. And since I’m still behind the curve on the whole digital comics sensation currently sweeping the charts, I got a little lost.

But that’s what happens with real life: You get busy. Needless to say, I took a little while getting back into comics. I caught up a little bit and here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

….

………

Y’see….
I love comics. I love that I sometimes hate comics. I love how I change my mind about how I feel about what’s going on in comics all the time. I like that I have friends in the comic community. I respect them and what they do.

But I also hate that I love comics. Because its so easy to be disappointed. Some days I shake my head and wonder, why do I do this to myself? Why do I subject myself to this weekly misery? Financially, it’s a cash sink I can’t afford. Critically, not much of what I spend my money on is very enjoyable.

But then there’s some stuff I like. Some stuff that blows my mind. Some stories that make me cry or make me laugh or make me think. And that’s what entertainment is all about, right? Being entertained? Those stories that stand out are like bright and shining stars among the cold, black emptiness of space. They give me hope. Hope that comics are as powerful a media as I think they are. A purely unfiltered representation of all of our human experiences. Comics as what they always have been: Awesome.

Because comics are awesome! They really are. They can do so much that other art-forms can’t. That’s pretty amazing.

I’ve been reading comics a very, very, very long time. Sometimes I don’t want to read them anymore. Sometimes things get so dismally bad in comics that its as if all the beauty is sucked right out of it. That it’s just a giant cesspool of terrible plot devices, god-awful dialogue, and Rob Liefeld.

And yet, I’m hooked through the bag on comics. I need more. I must want needs have. This is what an addictive personality looks like. I crave stories. Let me be entertained! I hafta gotta have it. Gimme gimme gimme.

So come on. Give me all ya got, you crazy comic book creators. I can take it. I promise.

I can take a reboot to the ass.

Event Fatigue is my bitch.

Re-imagining is the new imagination!

THIS WARN YOU!

I’ll pay by the exclamation point and suffer your terrible continuity errors over-and-over-and-over again… Just so long as I can live in a world where I can walk into any 7-11 and read about a guy in a cape beating the crap out of another guy.

Or a zombie movie that doesn’t end.

Or a memoir about how your father was secretly gay.

Or about a teenager who crawls around like a spider.

Or a space cowboy

Or a girl who kills mobsters

Or a Man who can Fly

Or any other story you can think of that might be interesting.

Just make it good….

…. Or I’m going to stop supporting you.

It’s that simple. They say that the power of the consumer is in his dollar. I believe this to be true. I can’t support a habit of $2.99 x New 52 every three months. I just can’t. So I have to be meticulous about what I read, what I try out, what I’m going to spend my hard-earned dough on.

Coming up with a new fancy logo or bringing back titles that went the way of the dodo back in ’96 is a guarantee that you will not be getting my money. Guaranteed. Think about that for a second. I’ll wait. Your desperate grabs at my nostalgia are a pretty lame bet too (Transformers will never be as cool as they were when I was 7. Stop trying to make me believe otherwise).

I want to spend money on stories. Who wouldn’t? But if its no good, I’m out. Sorry. What makes a book something I’ll buy? Overall, my criteria is easy: I want the stories I read to be good. I want the monthly comics I read to be intriguing, engaging, fascinating, and interesting… Not just something that keeps the lights on until the parent company can make a terrible movie to recoup its annual losses. Not just something that makes me wonder, “When are they going to fix that?” I want something good to read…. Not just the same old boy-meets-girl-meets-bionic-armed-robot-lizard-cyborg-ninja-vs-cowboys-vs-alien-nation-in-a-half-shell. Got it?

I want to read some good comics. So get to it.

’nuff said.

Dan Tabayoyon
March 7, 2012

Long, long ago…

This missive comes at you late this week. What can I say? I suck. I have no excuse save one… Star Wars: The Old Republic. This time-sink cleverly disguised as an MMO is a cruel, cruel mistress. So, in honor of all things that happened long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away, this week’s entry is all about Star Wars comics.

Back in the day, the Mighty Marvel Bullpen struck a deal to produce a comic adaptation of the beloved phenomenon called Star Wars. Printed in large, prestige format magazines, Marvel gave us Star Wars in comic book form. As a kid, it was as large as seeing the movie at the tender age of five. It left an indelible impression on my mind as it did for millions of kids from my generation. It also made me an outcast from all my other Star Wars-loving-but-non-comic-reading friends because the Marvel adaptation was adapted from an earlier cut of the film that had scenes not found in the theatrical release. No one believed me that a fur-draped Jabba the Hutt harassed a scruffy nerfherder named Han Solo before he and his ragtag crew of misfits could flee Tattooine. No one wanted to hear about Luke’s run-in with with buddy Dax before he flies off to join the rebellion. These scenes weren’t in the movie so they weren’t canon. I was left feeling like I had imagined the whole thing. Years later, George Lucas saw fit to release one of his bajillion versions of the film that showed these exact scenes, digitally inserted into the film!

That’s right. Years before any reboot or renaming the film to “A New Hope” or re-sucking your money dry again, Marvel put those scenes in a comic book. They are some of the coolest comics to own, read, and geek out over and they’re still relatively available for reasonable prices, so go and find them and give them a read.

When Dark Horse Comics acquired the rights to publish Star Wars-related material, they flooded the market with a bajillion titles. Of them, several series stick out as being thoroughly enjoyable. Three of particular note include:

SW: Tales – Tales was the Dark Horse Presents version of Star Wars stories. Each month, one-and-done stories unfolded of familiar characters and completely random single stories of characters we’d never heard of before. Not all of it was great but the few that are really are. Wanna know what Han was doing in those years before he met up with an old man and a farm kid to go save the galaxy? Curious about who would win in a fight between Darth Maul and Darth Vader? Care to listen in on what makes Anakin tick? Read Tales.

SW: Empire – Another anthology style book, each arc was broken into no more than three issues. Some of my favorite Star Wars related stories take place in this series. A particular favorite was one about an Imperial Officer who questions his loyalty to the Empire and ponders finding and joining the rebels… Until a group of rebel x-wings attack the orbital space station – a veritable
Death Star”- and his best friend dies, fueling his determination and desire to crush the rebellion at any cost. Empire showed us the other side of the story we already know by heart and, for that reason, it’s worth checking out.

Tag & Blink – Speaking of the other side of the story, Tag & Blink is the Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead of the Star Wars universe. Their story weaves between the lines in a series of comical misadventures. Worth it for a laugh as well as pure geek joy at the metatheatricality of it all.

Other worthy Star Wars-related books include Dark Empire, Legacy, and Knights of the Old Republic. The Boba Fett mini series are also good, but that surprises no one.

There’s no doubt that Dark Horse and it’s team of Star Wars über-geeks are faithful to the spirit of the Star Wars universe; capable of allowing the Star Wars Universe to give breathing room to new talent and new and interesting stories. They’re keeping the fire lit for millions of other Star Wars geeks like myself. If you are a fan, or even if you are the type of fan that is burned out from being a fan, do yourself a favor and get revitalized with some damn fine comics from this company.

That’s it for this week I will be leaving town for a few weeks as I head off to Mexico where they don’t believe in comic book stores (That’s a lie. I have no idea if there are any stores in Mexico. If you know of one in the Manzanillo neighborhood, drop a line and let me know). Needless to say, there will be no reviews for the next couple weeks until I get back whereupon I’m sure I’ll have plenty of catching up to do. Stay tuned, True Believers.

See you soon,
Dan

Rust, Criminal, and X-Statix, OH MY!

Sorry for the late post this week. Part of that was having Finals this week. The other part is not so nice.

The problem with doing a blog like this is that sometimes there’s a lull in books that interest me. Yes, there’s always something coming out but not everything that comes out impresses me. This week was one of those weeks where nothing sounded good. Nothing surprised me. Nothing made me stand up and go, “Wow, that wasawesome!!“

My biggest complaint this week was the seemingly weak turnout from the major publishers. DC’s New 52 has turned into the biggest disappointments in my comic book reading history. With the exception of a few good books, almost all of the New 52 has been culled from my pull list. And every Marvel book I read feels like no one over there takes any of this seriously anymore. Not that you could ever take people who dress in funny costumes and punch bad guys in the face seriously. But every title I read this week seemed as if incongruent storytelling indicative of the old skool Marvel style was back in full swing.

So, as always I turn to the recent trade paperbacks and hardcover collections for some sense of quality. This week, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips released “The Last of the Innocent” from their ongoing “Criminal” series. This story takes Archie and his pals from Riverdale and turns them on their head in a bizarre and macabre twist. It’s a premise so simple you wish you’d thought of it. Read it. It’s amazing.

Next up is Royden Lepp’s “Rust” volume 1. Beautifully drawn and seeped in sepia tones, “Rust” is a story of a small town farm trying to make ends meet following the Robot War. What’s that?, you ask. Robot War, you say? Yes. Robot War. Imagine that the super pseudo science of WWII made robot infantry to fight its battles. Giant man-killing mechs roam the forests looking for humans to destroy. Now imagine what the world would look like 20 years later as mankind tries to adjust to the simple life in the new world. Pretty great story, actually. Here’s hoping volume 2 comes out soon and the book doesn’t fade into obscurity. Of course, by this writing I’ve discovered that Fox has bought the property in hopes of making a movie out of it which generally means the doom of such independent books. Le sigh.

Last but not least, Peter Milligan and Mike Allred released the “X-Statix” omnibus today and it’s brilliant. For those who missed this pop art phenomenon criticizing celebrity-isms long before “The Boys” took a stab at it, I highly recommend this title. Allred’s crazy Charles Burns-esque depictions of mutant superstars marketed at a mall-teen audience is surreal and relentless. The omnibus collects all the issues of X-Force, X-Statix, and Dead Girl in one big bright shiny book. The hefty price tag on the Marvel Omnibus collections are rarely worth the price of admission, but this one’s an exception.

That’s it for this week. Hopefully next week there’ll be a new crop of comics ready to take my imagination and run with it. See you soon.

-Dan

Diamond is rough

If you want to ensure a copy of your favorite comic book, then be sure to pre-order through your local comic book shop. The retailers are the bread and butter of this industry. While digital format is an excellent option for those of you out there who don’t have a local comic book shop, it’s the retailer who is the main pipeline for your comic reading. This particular niche market and its business is supported by your local retailer. The last few remaining comic book retailers are generally mom-and-pop stores run by people who love this business. If you love comics, make sure you visit your favorite one often. This industry strives on pre-orders, so get your copies and special orders through the Diamond Distributers’ Monthly Previews Catalog. It has all the cool stuff you want months in advance before it comes out. The catalog is also available online so check it out.

This sounds like a great pitch, doesn’t it? It’s because it’s 100% true. Most importantly, however, is this:

If support your local comic shop, be sure to contact Diamond Distributers directly when your store doesn’t have the copy of the comic you ordered. When your store tells you that the books are going to be late this week or your book didn’t come in like it was supposed to this week, that’s Diamond Distributors fucking up.

For those of you unfamiliar with Diamond, let me introduce you. Diamond is the distribution company monopolizing the pop culture market. If it’s cool and it’s geek-related, Diamond distributes it to retail businesses. When comic creators and publishers want to get their work out to their readers, it’s from Diamond that they buy their ad space. Diamond is the proverbial Cerberus to the Gateway of Geek Heaven.

And they suck. Just like you’d imagine a giant multi-billion dollar corporate monopoly would.

Every week, for months on end, my favorite store tells me that the reason my pre-ordered comic book didn’t come in this week is because Diamond shorted them copies. Or that they sold out because Diamond didnt give them enough (even though they ordered enough). That means, even though the retailer specifically ordered an item that I requested, the Almighty Diamond decided not to give it to either of us. Why? Who knows? Try calling them to find out. Go ahead, I dare you.

I have a legitimate question for all comic creators out there. Feel free to chime in at any time. If you are a comic creator and you want people to read your stuff, then wouldn’t it make sense that you or your respective publisher would make sure that the company distributing your books is doing a precise and quality job? It is, after all, your product they’re distributing. And yet -every week: delays, missing issues, unfilled orders, etc. Sometimes, books or issues or items I’ve ordered never even show up. I’m still waiting on Witch Doctor #3 and Aquaman #1 (both were shortages that “have been delayed in shipping” with no reason as to why they haven’t shown up yet).

Think of it this way, major publishers… That’s profit you’ll never see. Maybe that’s covered in your profit-loss margin but it makes sense to me that if you want to see the most return on your product, wouldn’t you want to lessen that profit-loss margin just a teensy weensy hair more? And creators… if sales on your book sag, you’re out of work. Doesn’t every unit count? Wouldnt you want to make sure the most people got to read or look at your stuff so you could keep telling stories and earning a living?

Look, the views and opinions expressed here may not necessarily reflect the views of the parent company or it’s subsidiaries etc, etc but I think that Diamond needs to get its shit together. Most importantly, I would like the option of choosing another distributor if the one I have isn’t providing the right level of service. Yes, I’m looking at you, Diamond. How can I not? You’re the only one in the fucking room.

There needs to be a break in this monopoly. And I am begging the major distributors: demand a distributor that meets your standards or cut the middle man out completely and ship direct.

C’mon Marvel… I dare you… Knock the guy off the hill. You have the greatest DVD distribution house in the world looking out for you now. Use them! Disney money could go a long way to providing an alternative to Diamond Distributors, thereby cutting out the middle man and increasing profits all around.

Makes sense? Am I full of shit? Write some comments below and we’ll chat.

Thus endeth the rant.

———

Comics this week were pretty lackluster to be perfectly honest. November is a month with five delivery days, so the end of the month is generally pretty slow. Plus we just finished event season for Marvel and DC so there’s nothing really exciting going on right now. Check back next week when DEFENDERS #1 comes out (yay!!!). Other than that, the were no big “wow” books this week. FF is good. So is DAREDEVIL. For shits and giggles, I caught up with Uncanny X-Force in trade paperback and single issues from #1 to present. Thats good too…. but only because I’m a huge old skool X-Men geek.

That’s it. See you next week.

-Dan

Reviews for this week

There are no reviews for this week. It’s Thanksgiving. Put your comics away and talk with the people around you. They have stories too.

Cheers,
Dan

PS, IDW’s PARKER: absolute “Martini” edition is fricking sweet! Darwin Cooke is a God.