A Longwinded Comics Diatribe, Continued

Today’s post is a continuation (of sorts) from yesterday’s rant about the state of comics, and my feelings on typical fan reaction to books. I’d like to pick up now with my own feelings on the independent press, then segue back to the overall point (yes, these things do have a point!) I was trying to make yesterday. (The Cliffs Notes version of that point being, “comics are good if you read good comics.”)

Anyway, on to the Indie press. These days, I’m reading just as many Independent comics as I do books from the larger publishers. Here are three of my favorites:

Eric Powell’s The Goon is my all-time, absolute, pull no punches favorite comic book ever published.

Period. The End. See you later.

If you’re a fan of horror, or comedy, or drama, or noir, then Goon is the comic for you. Eric Powell writes and beautifully draws one of the most unique books out there today. And, since I don’t feel like simply repeating what I’ve already written about this great book (and, because, let’s face it folks, I’m a shill) you can check out a review of The Goon I wrote a while back for Comics Bulletin, right here.

Go ahead, check it out. I’ll wait.

Oh, and for you hardcore Indie fans, I know Goon is published by Dark Horse Comics these days, but it started out as a self-published, non-superhero book in a market where those two things typically scream failure. And now, it’s just been announced that Goon will be a CGI feature film! Woo-Hoo!

Second on my list is Richard Moore’s incredibly funny and heartfelt series, Boneyard. This little gem is published by NBM Publishing. Check this book out, folks. It’s that little black and white comic that could. The writing is top notch and the dialogue is witty and laugh-out-loud funny. Oh, and the art is great, too. (Note: While there's no harsh language, the art tends to be a bit risqué, so the book is for a teenage and up crowd.)

And, my third pick is John Kovalic’s wonderfully humorous Dork Tower. This comic strip (that’s right, strip) skewers everything readers (and, obviously, writers) of this blog know and love! An avid gamer himself, Kovalic has created a comic strip for gamers and fanpeople about gamers and fanpeople.

[Nathaniel's note: You might recognize John Kovalic's artwork from games including Apples to Apples and Munchkin. Ah, how much smaller the world just became!]

Other Indie favorites include Silent Devil’s Dracula vs. King Arthur and Terry Moore’s Echo and Dave Sim’s Cerebus and Jason Henderson’s Sword of Dracula and Peter David’s Fallen Angel, and on and on and on it goes.

By checking out some of the Indies, I found creators like Los Bros Hernandez and their magnificent Love and Rockets, and Mike Mignola’s (now) universally popular Hellboy. I also happened upon a little book called Sandman, by Neil Gaiman, published by Vertigo, which is an imprint of DC Comics.

Now, when I got into comics, Sandman was one of those must-read titles that most people suggested I check out immediately. So, I bought the first trade (a collection of single-issue comics, also referred to as trade paperbacks, or TPBs) and I have to say...

It was OK.

I wasn’t immediately hooked, and since I’m fickle, I didn’t bother with any of the subsequent trades. Flash forward to last year. Now, by that point, I had read everything that Neil Gaiman had ever written (my favorite writing of his is the excellent short story collection entitled Angels and Visitations, and later reprinted in paperback as Smoke and Mirrors). In any case, I decided that it was high time to revisit Sandman.

And, wow, am I glad I did. After those first couple of issues, this series...became.

Neil Gaiman The Storyteller hit his stride and took over the series, finding his voice and creating something magical.

If you’re new to the comics medium, and looking for a place to start, look no further than this series. Sandman elevated the medium to a literary form, and it is something to which all comics creators should aspire. If you take anything away from this little blog, please let it be that you check out Sandman if you haven’t already.

It will improve your opinion of graphic novels and comic books, regardless of how you already feel about them.

Anyway, all this talk of independent titles brings me to another comics-typical insanity that really annoys me—the “war” between the Mainstream Super Hero Fanboys and the Indie Intelligentsia.

The Wizard Subscribers and the Comics Journal Crowd.

What a stupid, stupid waste of time.

I’m sorry, but comics are comics. It’s all the same medium. Sure, Watchmen is on a different planet than, say, Heroes Reborn, but Watchmen is on a different planet than 99% of everything else that’s ever been written, drawn, and made into a comic.

And if you’re into Peter Bagge or Alex Robinson and you hate Brian Michael Bendis, well, good for you because Peter Bagge and Alex Robinson rock, but Bendis is still a terrific writer.

Bendis was one of the first guys that I read when I got into comics, actually. It was his utilization of "real life" dialogue in his books that got me to realize that comics are something completely different and better than I could have ever imagined. (More on Bendis some other time, by the way—I am an unabashed Bendis fanatic, and will at some point write a lengthy post about his body of work.)

So, to wrap this, um, well...hmm, what’d I call it before? Oh, yeah! To wrap up this longwinded, ranting fanboy diatribe, I’ll say this. I’m a comics fan. And that means more than simply being a Marvel Zombie or a member of the DC Nation or a lonely survivor out on Indies Island.

Being a comics fan means being a fan of the medium, and being PROUD of the medium. And for me, that usually means reading the latest Liberty Meadows right before I dive into Secret Invasion. For you, I’m sure it’s different.

And that’s a good thing.

Ours is a hobby that’s been met with much scorn and derision, but the few of us in the club, well...we get it. Unfortunately, the angry (and sweaty!) ranting fanboy is the image that 99% of “civilians” have of us. Even when crowds at the San Diego ComiCon are very clearly NOT all fanboy, it will always be the 300 pound guy dressed up as Wonder Woman (because it’s ironic!) that will make the local news.

So, here’s to us. The Fanboys and Fangirls, whatever you may read.

A Longwinded Comics Diatribe

As you know by now, I’m a full-fledged comics dork, a tried-and-true Wednesday trooper, and as such, I have developed a great affection for the medium. Having said that, as a comics person, my only real contact with other comics people comes most often at my LCS (local comics shop). And, to be incredibly blunt, I usually walk out wanting to punch at least three different people each and every Wednesday.

And it’s not even the comics-typical, "Who's Stronger, Hulk or Thing?"-type arguments at the shop that get me riled up. Those are kinda cool and nerdy and completely an escapist fantasy during lunch hour from a job that’s likely soul-sucking and evil.

And I get that. And I appreciate that. And I can live with that. What I can’t stand—and I mean, I really, really can’t stand—are the gamers! (Is he joking? Yes, of course he’s joking! We love gamers here!)

No, no, what I truly can’t stand are the fanboys who rave and rant and go into longwinded diatribes about what (Insert Comics Company Name Here) should be doing. And how, if (Comics-Typical Fanboy A) were the (writer/editor/Grand Poohbah of Poohsville) at that company, he would fire everyone and change everything.

Yeah, that’ll work. Fantastic business model. Fire everyone, burn everything. That’s how real businesses do their work and make their profits, and don’t go out of business immediately.

If you don’t agree with the direction of a book, don’t buy the stupid thing. If you don’t like the art because the artist “can’t draw,” well, then, draw your own comic or don’t buy the book drawn by the guy who “can’t draw.” But don’t say everything sucks, and if you were in charge, everything wouldn’t suck. Because it most definitely would.

Suck, that is.

What we can do, and should do as responsible fanpeople, is intelligently and openly discuss why we like and dislike certain books. For example, I just can’t seem to be able to get into a lot of what DC Comics is doing right now. I feel like the world is too far-reaching and complex for me to pick up any book off the rack and follow it and enjoy it.

Now, I’ve only been reading comics for a few years mind you, so I’m not terribly familiar with some of the more obscure characters and back stories that tend to pop up in the DC Universe (or, as us cool kids call it, the DCU). So, do I get on a soap box and scream that Dan Didio (DC’s Editor in Chief) must be fired? Do I rant about how DC should completely change course because I’m not 100% into everything they do?

No!

Because that would be stupid and crazy...and kinda mean, actually. Dan Didio seems like a very nice person. I’m just not into a lot of the books that his company is putting out right now. So, instead of following every single Final Crisis tie-in, I read what I enjoy. (And for those not familiar with the current comics landscape, Final Crisis is a mini-series that is the main event in the DC Universe right now, and it’s written by the incredibly talented Grant Morrison)

So, instead of following that huge cross over, I read other, non-crossover-y stuff. I love All Star Superman, and All Star Batman (I know, I know. It’s not “our” Batman, right? Forget that. It’s an entertaining story and Jim Lee’s art is incredible).

I’m really into the new House of Mystery series over in the Vertigo line, and I am happily (if, at times a bit confusedly) following Grant Morrison’s Batman RIP. Paul Dini’s (of Batman: The Animated Series fame) Detective Comics run has been stellar, and Steve Niles’ (writer and co-creator of 30 Days of Night) underappreciated Simon Dark needs some serious fan lovin’.

So what if Final Crisis doesn’t do it for me? DC is still putting out some pretty cool books.

And that’s the point I’m trying to make. Just because you don’t like something a publisher produces doesn’t mean you should hate the publisher, or stop reading other books by that publisher. I get that it can be frustrating sometimes to walk into the LCS and not see anything from the Big Two (Marvel and DC) that strikes your fancy. It’s happened to me many times.

Actually, the very first time it happened, I force-fed myself a small pile of books that I just wasn’t into, for the simple reason that I didn’t want to come away empty handed. And I told myself that I’d never do it again. So, the next time I walked into the shop and didn’t see any new releases by the Big Two that I was into, I checked out some of the Indies (that’s “Independent Comics,” kiddies).

And tomorrow, I'll post my thoughts on some of the Indies that I love. Oh, and I'll also go through a few of my favorite Grant Morrison books, since this post seems to bash him a bit. (Really, though, I'm a big Morrison fan!)

Progress Quest: A computer game so easy, even the dead could play it

Are you bored? Do you have a few minutes (or hours) to kill? Do you just need a very brief distraction? Could you use a laugh right about now?

Good. Download Progress Quest.

Progress Quest is a tiny little fantasy roleplaying game that ANYONE can play, and you don't really need to like fantasy or roleplaying at all to enjoy it (though previous exposure greatly enhances the experience). You can literally spend five seconds playing this game and still make progress. I kid you not.

Check out the Info page for Progress Quest (skip the "Back story" section if it gives you a headache), then proceed to the Download page. May you make great progress!

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER: I promise you that nothing bad that I know of will happen to your computer because of downloading Progress Quest, but I don't take any responsibility if something does happen. Progress Quest may contain minor references to certain mildly objectionable things. Those are not my fault, either.

"Weird Al" Yankovic: Three decades of listening and laughing

"Weird Al" Yankovic is not the kind of musical artist you'll often find on mainstream radio, but he's hardly obscure. Al started out submitting his own amusing songs to Dr. Demento in the 70s, and has since released numerous albums, appeared in person and in voice in TV shows and movies, had multiple specials on MTV and VH-1, and otherwise been a very visible presence in America... if you're looking in the right places.

"Weird Al" parodies the songs and styles of all manner of artists, including Queen, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Eminem, and many, many more. He sings excerpts of popular songs from artists such as Twisted Sister, Phil Collins, Vanilla Ice, Nine Inch Nails, the Beastie Boys, and 50 Cent, and transforms them into polka medleys. He also sings a great deal of his own original material that's often just too... well, weird to be a parody of anyone or anything else.

Some people don't consider parody artists to have much talent beyond just being able to make people laugh, but you might be surprised by just how talented Al and his band are. Though Al's voice is rather distinctive, his versatility shines through in his ability to closely mimick the vocal styles of the artists he parodies; furthermore, the instrumental music of his parodies are often so similar to the original version that you might at first be led to believe you're listening to Billy Joel or Nirvana instead of "Weird Al."

Just as some people prefer certain eras of an artist's or group's music (ex: "I prefer the Rolling Stones' music from the 60s"), it's very easy to only like certain eras of Al's music, largely for the same reasons that some people prefer 70s music to 80s music. As the times change, so does Al's music and the artists he parodies.

Additionally, you might notice that his more recent albums have been gradually more liberal with the kinds of topics he sings about; his work has always been solidly PG, but it's been pushing the envelope over the past several years, which is somewhat understandable if he's making fun of mainstream media such as The Jerry Springer Show.

I have to admit that listening to "Weird Al" has exposed me to a lot of music that I'd otherwise never have heard of. I've impressed (or possibly horrified) my friends by being able to sing along with the chorus of songs that, given my taste in music, I should clearly not be listening to, all thanks to Al's polka medleys. I've heard parodies that I liked enough to seek out and listen to the original versions, and I got hooked on those as well.

Of course, some people will harbor violent rage toward Al to the grave because he parodied their favorite and most sacred song. It's not like he killed your puppy, folks; please just skip the song and listen to the next one. In fact, your favorite song was almost certainly approved by the artist for parody, so "Weird Al" isn't entirely to blame.

Though his music is the focal point of his career, Al has had a lot of time on both the big screen and on the... well, actually, given these newfangled widescreen plasma TVs, I guess I can't just say "small screen" anymore. Anywidget, perhaps you've seen "Weird Al" in the cult classic film UHF, or singing the opening song of the movie Spy Hard, or in a series of Al-TV specials on MTV and VH-1, or in his very own Weird Al Show that ran for about a year before being canceled.

If you pop over to the official "Weird Al" Yankovic website, you can download one of his original songs for free, and also indulge in the fun and interesting things over there. (The FAQ page provided a lot of the information you just read; it's excessively informative!)

Finally, here's a sampling of a mere three songs (music videos, actually) that I feel are a good representation of Al's work throughout the years (though these three are by no means "comprehensive" or "definitive" or necessarily "the best"). These are even better if you've seen the original music videos, I might add. Enjoy, but be aware that these videos may briefly contain shirtless men and references to bubble wrap.

"I Love Rocky Road," from the album "Weird Al" Yankovic; a parody of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" by The Arrows:



"Bedrock Anthem," from the album Alapalooza; a parody of "Under the Bridge" and "Give It Away" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers:



"White and Nerdy," from the album Straight Outta Lynwood; a parody of "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire featuring Krayzie Bone: