The 40 Years of Comics Project - Weekend Edition

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In an effort to not make me hate writing completely, I think my weekend comics will be blogged this way. Just a short note and some thoughts I had on each one.

Day 2419 - Generation Gone #1 by Ales Kot and Andre Lima Araujo. A cool concept, which I've come to expect from Mx. Kot. They are a writer that wears their Grant Morrison influence on their sleeve. Like me with Marillion or Ween. 3 hackers steal some code that causes structural changes in their bodies and gives them superpowers. And they're angry young people.

Day 2420 - Porn Star Fantasies #7 by Xenia Blue, Crystal Gold, Paradise, and Chuck Bordell. This series reprints the fictional stories that are back-ups in the "True Stories of Adult Film Stars" series. I don't know how much of the "True Stories" series is actually true. I like to think that most of it is, if embellished for creative reasons somewhat. The biographical pieces, almost to a fault, tell the stories of women who really like sex, but are told that it's not okay for young women to like sex. And then they discover the porn industry and their own power. I'm sure there's some shady as fuck stuff that is left out, but the takeaway is that, if true, each of these women entered this industry not because they were abused or broken, but because they were people who loved sex in a world that told them that women shouldn't.

Though maybe I'm being a bit too optimistic in that reading.

Onward.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2418: Archie Giant Series Magazine #175, September 1970

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I'm in a minority, I think, when I profess my love for the Archie Giant Series Magazine series. Granted, it stopped being quite so giant by the end of its run, and common understanding is that it was a bit of a dumping ground for stories not deemed quite good enough for the main titles.

But it also gives, at least in this early anthology iteration of the title, a nice, median-range overview of what Archie, as a company and as a character, was attempting during a time of pretty intense civil unrest. This era of Archie tends to skirt the really troubling issues, but every now and again we'll get a glimpse of one of the writers or artists offering a subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) critique of current events. If I'm to be honest, it's very often a critique with a bit of a sneer, but, as with Marvel in the 60s, you've got a bunch of guys who are rapidly approaching middle age trying to write as if they're the heppest, coolest cats on the block, Daddio. As someone well past that approach, I recognize that I do not, and cannot, speak like the young people of today. And this is a good thing 😏

What we can never fault any Archie comic for is the quality of its art, however. Archie Comics are the creme de la creme when it comes to cultivating a house style. That's not to say that there aren't differences between the various extremely-talented artists who've graced Archie's pages, but when you're establishing a brand with a highly visual component, visual recognition is key. You need to be able to identify Archie Andrews in any media, by any artist, and immediately associate him with the brand.

That's given me an idea for a rare non-40 Years post. I'll try not to forget.

Onward.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2417: Vixen Wars #3, 1993

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I know, I know. But after yesterday's superlative read, I wanted to bounce right over to the other side of the spectrum and read something truly, truly bad. As I noted in my previous review of this series, Vixen Wars is truly, truly bad.

Now, I'm trying to be a more positive person, so let's find some good things about the story. First, and foremost, the narrative features a society that has switched completely to non-lethal weaponry. In this issue, the action of which was pretty nonsensical, it's only the men who wield lethal bullets in their guns.

So that's one thing.

The cover is pretty nice, too. The most notable thing about Vixen Wars is its early feature of the work of Georges Jeanty. I honestly don't know how Mr. Jeanty feels about this early work, but the quality of some (only some) of the draftsmanship on the book points to the more notable, and mature, works that have come from a very talented artist.

I can't quite peg the political stance of the book. While women are in charge, they still all dress like they're on Playboy TV. The women champion non-lethal conflict, while the men are still cast as uncaring killers. Are non-lethal weapons good, or is the comic arguing that only final solution offering weapons can properly assert power?

Honestly, I don't think I care. I've got two more issues of the series, so I think they'll be on the upcoming docket. With comics that are bad, I sometimes just want to read them to get them out of the way. Trouble is I'd have to dedicate a ridiculous amount of time to the bad comics I have from the 90s, and it might just kill my love for the hobby. Variation it is then.

Onward.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2416: M.O.M.: Mother of Madness, July 2021

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 Late by a day. A less than auspicious beginning to Year 8, I agree.

Whatever.

M.O.M.: Mother of Madness is one of the coolest, smartest, beautifulest (?) comics I've read in fucking ages. The brainchild of Emilia "Khaleesi" Clarke, ably assisted by Marguerite Bennett and Leila Leiz.

Given that this book deals very explicitly with the male gaze, I feel slightly bad mentioning off the top how gorgeous this book is. Like, seriously a beautiful comic. I'm a fan of J.H. Williams III, and the way that he fuses different styles of art in his panels and layouts. Ms. Leiz has a similar approach, though very much her own style. From Connor-esque cuteness to Ashley Wood levels of scratchiness, the books visual aesthetic matches perfectly the narrative that it complements.

This is a story about a woman who, through absolutely no fault of her own, gains superpowers that are triggered (word used purposefully) by the aspects of her self for which she has been criticized. When fearful, she gains super hearing. When sad and crying, she gains super healing. There's a lot of fourth wall breaking in the story, and this is a comic that is utterly, utterly self aware. "You sat through 22 Marvel movies. You can give me 5 pages" says our focal character as she is giving us some pretty heavy back story. Through this self-awareness, we can see the vital and driven message that the creators are directing us toward. It's not subtle. The pages are peppered, uncomfortably, with off-hand remarks from male-identifying people in the story. Horrible remarks. Despicable things to say, and to do. I felt that one of the most depressing things about this comic is that it's set about 25 years in the future, and toxic masculinity seems to be alive and well.

But M.O.M. isn't going to stand for it.

Oh, and for more woman-y goodness, as far as I can tell the entire book, from editorial on down, was done by female-identifying people. It shows. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but when you've got a comic like this, or Womanthology, it shows. There's a different, wonderful quality to the creation.

I'm late to this game, as the series came out last year. There's two more issues, I'm going to get them this week. Honestly, if you enjoyed Bitch Planet, this comic is the next one to read.

Onward.

Well, Now What?

 It's pretty easy to slip into the habit of not writing. I hadn't considered that. I am still reading everything, but the writing is coming harder these days. Gotta do something about these hands.

That said, I've entered a song competition through our national broadcaster, the CBC. Voting closes tomorrow, but if you're able, I'd surely appreciate a click. Just follow the link and it should either take you to my page, or to the search page, where you can look for Tom Miller from Alberta. The song is called "Don't Walk on the Grass," written about my job meter reading many years ago.

I appreciate any and all support.

https://www.cbc.ca/music/searchlight/#/vote/tom_miller

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2270: The First Kingdom #6, 1977

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 I have definitely, definitely, complained on this blog about misleading covers on comics. Sadly, today's is one. Tundran and Fara, seen so joyously holding hands and hunting on the cover, never meet in the interior of the issue. Fara's life, post-slavery (oh, yeah, she's enslaved and leads a revolt and then escapes last issue), is taken up with the old hunter Nator, who is banished after Darkemoor is slain. He hitches his star to her wagon and trains and befriends her. Though the passage of time is not always well-delineated in the series, I think by the end of this issue, she's about 11 or 12. You'll notice that even from the cover, Mr. Katz has started changing her design, especially in light of how she was depicted on the previous cover. While Tundran retains his muscled build, Fara's is fading into the lithe form of the vast majority of women in the series. This is not to say that they're not still strong warriors, only that the "ideal" that Katz shoots for in his depictions is more influenced by the thin female forms of the 70s than by what an actual hunter/warrior maiden might actually look like.

However, far more intriguing is the delving back into the past of Terog and Himemet's lives. Definitely more of a science fiction bent, and some really intriguing clues dropped as to the origins of the Transgods of Helleas Voran. There's an introductory piece by Mark Evanier in this issue, and he notes that, in creating such rich and complex worlds, few writers manage to do so "without pillaging other creators' universes." He goes on to say that Katz actually has, and I think I'd have to agree. I don't see any reflections of other epics, fictional or not, aside from the very broad strokes of there being gods, and a godly realm, and a hell realm, though with the aforementioned clues in this issue, I'm starting to question if those realms, and those gods, are actually what I think they are. And then there's the mysterious references to "the experiment" throughout the issue. There's something deep and interesting going on here. I'm happy to be experiencing it.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2269: The First Kingdom #5, 1976

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 "The Children of the Tamra." The Tamra, if I'm understanding context, is what the people of this era call Earth, so in naming Tundran and Fara (whose birth is chronicled this issue, and who is the reincarnation of the goddess Selowan) so, we're being given yet another clue as to the importance of these two characters. You'll also see a seated figure up there between the two children - this is the Oracle, who has shown up since the first issue and given some dire predictions about Tundran's life. Poor kid.

I have to say, these kids are ripped. Not just on the cover, but as we witness their development through the issue, they're in super-great shape. As is, literally, everyone in the series. Perhaps it's as a result of the harsh environment in which they live, but there doesn't look like there's the opportunity, or genetic predisposition I suppose, to grow...softer. This is a hard world full of hard people. That said, both children were born of great love, so beneath the chiseled exteriors must dwell some gentler emotion.

I'm going to step lightly into a dodgy subject now. I want to offer some thoughts on Mr. Katz's depictions of nude and semi-nude children in this issue. I noted in a previous post that the majority of the people in this series are bare with the exception of tiny, tiny codpieces. In introducing characters who are minors, I wondered how Mr. Katz would handle the nudity. Turns out, he handles it just the same way he handles the nudity of everyone involved. It's there because of the environment and that's it. Not for titillation but for narrative consistency. What's quite wonderful about these depictions is that there's really not that much difference between the pre-pubescent forms of Tundran and Fara - perhaps some slight deviations due to biological sex, but in their abilities and their early development, they're just kids. I'm curious to see if, as the two mature, if they err more toward the typical representations of male and female in the rest of the series. Males seem to be muscular and developed, while women are slender and lithe, with little muscle definition. I think to take away Fara's more muscular design simply because she goes through puberty would be a shame. If she's to be a companion for Tundran (and I think that's where things are heading), then let her keep her warrior physique as he tries to regain his kingdom.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2268: The First Kingdom #4, 1976

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Book four completes the introductory parts of The First Kingdom, introducing what Mr. Katz himself calls the hero of the series, Tundran. Though I came to enjoy Darkenmoor's story, it seems he is a precursor, and that his son, born in tragic circumstances, will be the focal character for the remaining 20 books of the epic.

The other interesting aspect added in today's comic is a dash of science fiction, as we are given the origins of Darkenmoor's mutant companion Terog and his love Himemet. Their story cements the idea that this is a post-apocalyptic Earth, as the two mutants start out life as human-looking creatures from another galaxy who head to Earth to try to stop the imminent nuclear holocaust. They don't quite make it, and then are exposed to radiation that turns them to their current, diminutive (and long-lived?) forms. I'm curious to see if the science fiction aspect becomes more prominent as the series unfolds, though I only have up to issue 8, so I'm going to have to do some hunting soon.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2267: The First Kingdom #3, 1975

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And finally we see the founding of Darkenmoor's "Gan," the major city of the First Kingdom. I find it amusing that the technological level is probably about Iron Age but no one wears any clothes. I'm considering that it could be that the temperature is constantly so warm that they don't need clothes, and that there's no nudity taboo in the culture. Or that Katz just like drawing (and who doesn't?) naked people. It reminds me very much of Mike Grell's work on The Warlord, and that series explicitly notes the temperature of Skataris. Perhaps with this being technically a post-apocalyptic setting, the ambient radiation adds to the temperature. It certainly is meant to have mutated many, if not all, of the animals in the world, and some of the people.

One character I'm finding both confusing and annoying is an old prophet who just keeps showing up and dropping cryptic hints about Darkenmoor's son and then disappearing. I'm just not sure where he came from - he's one of the few characters that we haven't really been given even a little bit of background. I'm banking on time traveller.

We also get our first major death, maybe, in today's issue. Nedlaya, Darkenmoor's mortal love, despairingly throws herself from a cliff after finding out about the hunter's immortal love, Selowan. I say maybe because there's never a body recovered, and somehow Darkenmoor needs to sire an heir and Nedlaya was the primary candidate for Queen and Mother that we've seen thus far.

Katz produced this series, to begin with, 2 issues per year. And he leaves us on cliffhangers, which is a strange choice for such a spaced-out publication schedule. I think I'd have made each issue self-contained. Trying to keep the momentum of a cliffhanger over 6 months would be difficult, and, aside from Darkenmoor and Selowan, the characters are fairly thinly-scripted, so there's not a lot of investment there yet either. This is another of those series that, I think, works better as a whole rather than as a serial.

More to follow.

Further Reading and Related Links

An interview with Mr. Katz from a few years back. Some insight into the series and its finale.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2266: The First Kingdom #2, 1975

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 I read the first issue of this sprawling epic years ago as part of my magazine read-through. I don't think that's likely to pick up any time in the near future, and I'm curious as to where the story's heading, so let's get stuck in.

Continuing the tale of Darkenmoor the hunter as he travels across the wasted realms to found the First Kingdom, Katz's epic continues to lay out the history of the post-apocalyptic world (well, we're assuming it's post-apocalyptic - the editorials make reference to this, but there's been little evidence in the actual narrative). Today's issue gives us some history of the "Transgods" that seem to rule over this world. I was concerned that it was going to turn into one of those things where I'd have to try and remember a billion names, but it really doesn't appear so. There's a large-ish main cast, but not so large that I have to turn back pages and remember who each character is. The only problem is that with some of the gods the designs are very, very similar. There's differences in height, but not a lot of difference in design, even of clothing. But there's few enough of the characters that it only takes moments to sort out who we're talking about.

As much as I'm getting to know the characters, there's definitely a sense that it's not really Darkenmoor and his people we're that interested in, so much as his son, of whose future fate we get occasional glimpses and prophecies.

And then there's that format. As I noted in my previous entry I'm not a huge fan of the reliance on expositive captioning, but the editorials have pointed to the experimental nature of Katz's work. I'm trying to embrace that.

More to follow.

Further Reading or Related Links

The First Kingdom puts me in mind of Marvel's awesome Weirdworld.

And, this venerable series still has a web presence! 

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2265: Skull #6, 1972

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Yet more EC-inspired creepiness in today's issue. The story actually reminds me a lot of Lovecraft's "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward," albeit with a bit more sex and violence. It's a full-issue story, written by Tom Veitch and illustrated by Greg Irons and Richard Corben. Mr. Veitch originally came to my attention as the writer of Animal Man after Peter Milligan's follow-up to Morrison's glorious run. His work on the title, incredibly ably assisted by Steve Dillon, is sadly amongst the more forgettable parts of the series. That said, it's been ages since I've read it, so perhaps it would read better now that I have some idea of where Mr. Veitch cut his teeth. I'd be ecstatic to see some underground influence in his tale of Buddy Baker returning to the life of a stunt man.

As for the story, the more I think about it, the more it really is Charles Dexter Ward's story. A warlock in the past figures out a way to inhabit his ancestor in the future in order to continue his arcane researches. Inbetween we have the unfortunate story of the woman who is impregnated by the warlock and who, at least on the surface, serves simply as a device to carry the story forward. There is a nice little twist at the end, however,  that redeems her somewhat.

----------------------------------------

In the couple of months I've been away, I've continued reading for the project, making my way through my "A" publishers. I'll continue on with that tomorrow, having exhausted my new pile of undergrounds.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2264: Mr. Natural #3, 1977

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Though he's considered the founder of the underground comix movement, I don't really enjoy R. Crumb's comics all that much. He's been rightly called out for his violent and misogynistic portrayals of women in his work, as well as his use of ethnic caricature, well into a time when he should have know that such things were not particularly acceptable.

Mr. Natural is a pretty OK character, an old Hippie trying to find the peace and cosmic tranquility promised by that generation. In today's issue, his quest for enlightenment causes him to be placed in an asylum, and that's actually the last we see of the titular hero. The next few pages are made up of slimy magazine editors trying to get the story on Mr. Natural and how this icon of the 60s ended up locked up in the 70s.

Some of the reading I did on Shamanism way back when points to the idea that, in tribal societies, the shaman often lives apart from the rest of the tribe, and evinces behaviours that we, in our spiritually-vacant scientific way, would label as schizophrenic. To this end, whenever I pass someone on the street who is obviously living in both our world and another one that only they can see, I tend to listen, just in case I glean a pearl of wisdom from them. We treat our extreme neuroatypical people like they're diseased, rather than touched by something that we cannot understand completely. These are the sorts of things I was thinking about while reading this comic. Mr. Natural is committed by his old friend Flaky Foont who, by the 70s, has moved on from enlightenment seeking and into the secular reactionary period of the late 70s and 1980s. The Hippie stuff didn't make its way back around until the 90s, when I was in high school.

This is, of course, not to say that when someone is suffering from a mental state that is dangerous to themselves and others that we shouldn't take some steps to keep everyone from harm. But perhaps we ought to be listening to what they're saying and not simply taking it as the ramblings of a diseased mind.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2263: Slow Death #2, 1970

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 I really love Dave Sheridan's work. He illustrates the first tale in this issue and, if I'm to be completely honest, it's the way he illustrates naked women that really gets me. They're just really well...rendered.

As with yesterday's Skull, this issue, and perhaps series, takes a good deal of inspiration from the old EC horror comics. I continue to be amazed at the influence that this relatively short-lived run of horror comics has had on the industry even to this day. Amazed, but not surprised. I've read enough of them to know that, literally, they're some of the best comics to have been produced in the West, despite their subject matter which might not sit well for all readers. Apparently it did sit well for the creators of these underground comix.

Further to that, the undergrounds themselves are hugely influential, highlighted in R. Crumb's dubious recognition as an American artistic icon. For my own education, then, I wonder if it behooves me to find out what it was that was influencing the writers of the old ECs. I've tried going back and reading some of the venerable newspaper strips of the time, but they don't really do much for me. It could be that the comics of 100 years ago don't speak to me the way they did to the artists they influenced, I guess.

Of course, I ought to mention Richard Corben, or Gore, whose story in this issue contains his trademark large boobs and disgusting revenants. A neat little horror tale that looks a little too close to home if I think about it hard enough.

More to follow.

Further Reading and Related Links

 As I was searching for links, I found out that Mr. Corben died in December of last year (2020). As if it wasn't a bad enough time. Check out his official website, the digital ghost that lingers from his passing.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2262: Skull #5, 1972

 For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

  When I picked this comic up, I had no idea that it was a collection of adaptations of Lovecraft's tales. Though I'm having a bit of a tough time with old HPL these days, given that his work is just brimming over with disgusting racism, but it's undeniable the influence he's had on writers and artists in the 100 or so years that his work has been in publication. And, in the fifty or so years since this comic was published, the ways we think about, and recognize, racism have become much more sophisticated.

That said, not many of the gross parts of Lovecraft's stories, ideologically speaking, show up in this comic. In fact, they're all pretty excellent adaptations, the Larry Todd "Shadow Out of the Abyss," an adaptation of "The Shadow Out of Time," is definitely the stand out. I've always liked that story. It also turns out that, potentially, the previous issue of this series is the first appearance of Cthulhu in a comic book. That basically immediately shoots it to the top of the hunt list. Always a good feeling.

For those, like myself, who may be wrestling with Lovecraft's racism, here's one way of doing it. I find such attitudes thoroughly repugnant, so when I read one of his stories, because it is undeniable that there is something brilliant and incredible about them, the layer of racism actually ads a level of horror for me. Rather than simply being scared or titillated by the actual events of the story, the added inflection of racism, when it becomes apparent, makes the stories even more horrifying. The excellent Internet critic hbomberguy does some cool stuff with Lovecraft, including talking about being queer and liking HPL's work. In the final analysis, he suggests also that it would thoroughly piss off the old racist to know that we're reading and talking about his work the way we are. And that's what racists deserve.

More to follow.

Further Reading and Related Links

Check out the rest of hbomberguy's stuff on YouTube.

Unsurprisingly, Lovecraft shows up quite a bit in my writing. Shocking, I know. 

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2261: Rip Off Comix #1, 1977

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I've had some thoughts on anthology comics over the years. They often simply don't work, owing to an uneven quality of story, or a poor choice of mixture. Dark Horse Presents is the only one I can think of that had a successful run. Most others, like the excellent Oni Double Feature lasted less than a year, despite having luminaries like Neil Gaiman, Paul Dini, and Kevin Smith writing for them.

The thing is, many underground comix are anthologies, and they don't seem to suffer from the same problems, as far as I can see. Yes, they tend to have short runs (because they're self-published, dontcha know?), though today's title managed to survive about 15 years. Now, it only published 31 issues in that time, but still.

So what it is that makes an underground anthology work as opposed to a ground level or mainstream anthology? I don't actually think it has too much to do with the actual art and story, not from a quality perspective, as we might think with more recent attempts at anthologies. Instead, I'd argue that it stems from a focus of perspective and context from the artists. Underground creators tend to spring from the Hippie movement, and their stories, despite their disparity, have a constancy of philosophy that makes the anthology work. Here we have creators who are not afraid to put their social ideologies right there on the page, and who are also not afraid to laugh at and critique those very philosophies. They tell us what they believe in but also that it's okay to not take these philosophies, and by dint of that any philosophies, very seriously. I think that it we all took our personal philosophies a little less seriously, the world, pandemic aside, would be in much better shape.

So much good stuff in here, but the Wonder Warthog cover with all my fave superheroes, and the story within in which he has to apply for welfare, are the standouts. The unemployment stuff covered in that story is chillingly similar to what we face these days. No wonder these comics are talking to me now.

More to follow.

Further Reading and Related Links

If you've never read the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, or The Griffith Observatory, or Wonder Warthog, head over to Rip Off Press and give them a try. You won't be disappointed. 

 

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2260: Compost Comics #1, 1973

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As Abed says at the beginning of Community season 2, "And we're back." I've decided that it's time I get back to my routines - they're very helpful for someone with ADHD, and I've let them, and my mental health, slide, for far too long. So I'm really going to try this time.

I posted a picture of this comic and some others that I bought last week on my Instagram, which I'll also be getting back to. I think I may open up a Twitter and Facebook page for the GBoC as well. And, I'd forgotten, but there's a GBoC Pinterest page too. Just gotta make sure I don't get sucked into them again.

Soooo....this was a pretty great comic. Honestly, in much the same way that the EC horror comics are, it's difficult to find an underground comic that isn't great. Sometimes they're off-putting and awful, but that's the whole point and they say what they want to say, and what they mean to say, without too much obfuscation.

Also, the comic says "Vegetarians Only" on the cover, so I was wooed immediately. Published in 1973 (a year before my own advent), the comic deals with the Hippie movement pretty much full on. Though often associated with the previous decade, the Hippies really came into their own in the wake of the Summer of Love (1969, for those of you who are very young), and spent the first few years of the 70s trying to bring about the perfect world they envisioned. Then cocaine happened, and the Hippies started on their downward journey to becoming Boomers. *sigh*

For me, the highlight (pun intended) is a Larry Todd "Dr. Atomic" story. I like the doctor. He reminds me of me, had I been a scientifically-inclined pot-head in the early years of the 70s. The rest of the pieces are entertaining, especially the weird little alternate history tale at the end, giving us the "true origin of civilization" while still sticking, at least geographically, to the very fertile valley towhich we often assign the earliest of civilizations. Some history along with our drug-fuelled insanity.

I have to admit, I'd gotten out of comics for a bit. When Doom Patrol: Weight of Worlds and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl ended, I really couldn't find anything to interest me anymore. It happens occasionally. But I'm back in, with continuation of the absolutely brilliant The Wrong Earth and the very strange Ice Cream Man. Check them out. They're really good.

More to follow.

Further Reading and Related Links

There's not much out there about Larry Todd, one of today's artists. Here's his Wikipedia page. 

But if you're interested in what I've had to say about Underground comics, here it all is.

 

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2169: Eternal Thirst #4, 1990

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 Nazis and Vampires and Spies, oh my!

In an effort to return to semi-daily writing, I decided to return to alphabetically reading my collection, albeit alphabetical by publisher name, as that's how the collection is organized at the moment. Making my way through the A miscellaneous section has been interesting - some good stuff, some truly not good stuff. But that's how comics go, and I'd never want them to change.

Honestly, the thing that struck me most about this comic, one that tells the origin of the vampire spy on the cover at the hands of a Nazi scientist during the Second World War, is that swastika up on the cover. While I was working at the Glenbow Museum, I'd often take students on tours through our "Warriors" gallery. Amongst the swords and armour where definitely a few bits of Nazi memorabilia, and it fascinated the kids for some reason. I always tried to contextualize it for them, but sometimes kids just like things because they're not supposed to. I get it though. When I was growing up, the Nazis were a really great bad guy to have, because you could get away with doing anything to them and no one was going to complain. To a certain extent it's still the same, but now we have actual neo-Nazis on the world stage, much more in view than they used to be, and it's harder to use them as entertainment. For the kids at the museum, they haven't really connected the evil villains they might have some notion of with the violent lunatics who hijacked the American government for the last few years. Though, perhaps, that's a good thing. Leave them unburdened while we can, as the burden never leaves once you take it on.

Another interesting thing about today's comic is it features early work by Paul Pelletier, whose work on Mark Waid's Flash is amongst my favourite stories. It's cool to see where some artists and writers get their beginnings, and to see where they eventually end up.

More to follow.

Well, Now What?

A few thoughts as I approach the end of the sixth year of my project. I know I've been away a lot the last few years - honestly, it's been a pretty bad time. But we're all going through a bad time right now, and if you're reading this, like me you're at least fortunate enough to have access to the Internet to help you through what feels to me like the most stressful few years I've ever experienced. Well, on a communal level, perhaps.

I think that in stressful times we're driven by two equal but opposing forces. The one is to shutter ourselves in and ride out the storm, keeping our heads down. The other is to reach out and help each other up, keep one another from stumbling through the dark times we navigate. One of the great critiques of Capitalism, from day one, is the way in which it separates us, dehumanizes us, and makes us look out for number one. I keep seeing glimmers of the the better ways we could be. Like the poet says, "War is over, if you want it." Enough of us just have to want it. That's how change works. That's how Trump got a presidency.

Which has what, exactly, to do with a terminally-late blog about comics?

Everything, really. As writers, we take in and synthesize everything around us and then, in our work, present that synthesis publicly. Be it a 6-novel fantasy series or a three panel web comic, whatever is around us, whatever surrounds us in the Infosphere, is reflected and refracted in the work we produce. I think this is true of all work that humans do, though it may be easier to assess in artistic/creative outputs. But as far as the idea of the author goes, smarter guys than I have held forth about it. I find them pretty convincing.

And have you checked out our Infosphere recently?

(BTW, read about the Infosphere here, and about the informational entities called "Inforgs" that live in it. *sigh* I miss this kind of stuff.)

I'll add to this that I've been struggling to write due also to chronic pain. Fuck chronic pain. It sucks.

But I want to. I want to write, more than just my daily comic reviews, but so many other things, because where, oh where, if not on my own personal and maybe read by, like, 10 other people, blog, else can I write about these things? Or even talk about them?

It's more than that, though, really. It's taken me some time to crawl out from beneath the wreckage of my time in the PhD program at U of C. One of the things that's really helped me to put my head back together is realizing all of the good that came out of my time there, despite everything else. I love the language and the knowledge I have been given, the perspectives they've granted me on the world. I think that they make me a better person, in that I am so much happier with who I am now than I was, in retrospect, in the past. In it's own gross way, grad school also teaches you to have firmness of convictions that I never used to have, and definitely, definitely teaches you how to express those convictions in clear, though not always concise, terms. Witness this rambling blog post 🙄 So good came out of a time that I have for many years characterized as one of the greatest failures of my life.

And what was good that came out of that time are things that I think are worth sharing. That was why I briefly taught college, worked for the museum. The things I learned in university are things that I think have enriched my existence, and I feel like I ought to share them with anyone and everyone who hasn't had the chance, desire, or privilege, of going to university themselves. I don't think that they're ideas that ought to be confined to the forum of the university. And, to finally get to the point, I honestly think the best way for me to share these ideas is through writing about comics.

Fuck the Infosphere. Fuck what it's telling us about the shit state of the world. We make the world. We do. And if enough of us want a thing, it'll happen. I think that, perhaps, as writers it is incumbent on us to be painfully aware of the Infosphere and to write despite its contents, rather than as a result of them.

Okay. If you've sat through all that, thank you, you're a trooper. I promise that whenever I hold forth like this, I will finish off with some comics-related stuff. That's what you're here for, after all.

READ THE ORLANDO/ACO/PETRUS/BLANCO run of Midnighter and Midnighter and Apollo, now and for always some of the greatest, gayest comics I've ever read. If you've been reading my erstwhile blog, you know I love the series, the former running 12 issues, and its 6-issue follow-up. The solo series is part action movie and part queer rom-com. It's fucking great and real and sexy and so, so well written and rendered. If you're on the lookout for a queer writer of comics, Steve Orlando is worth checking out. His run on Supergirl for "Rebirth" is excellent, and he cemented himself in my heart when he co-wrote the Milk Wars crossover with Gerard Way and the Doom Patrol. The follow-up, Midnighter and Apollo is, simply put, a great romantic quest story. Just great. The series has caught enough of my attention that I'm putting together a list of Mr. Orlando's previous stuff to check out. He's a very, very good writer, and he knows how to write queer stories.

Okay. The 40 Years Project will get somewhat more on track, but not daily, for sure. But other stuff, too. More stuff. I have so many ideas and if I get them out of my head then there's space for the others.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2143: Midnighter #7, February 2016

 For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

Fucking Prometheus. I mean, it's only fitting that he show up, given that his defeat of Batman in Grant Morrison's JLA is one of the great defeats of the dark knight. Also given that Midnighter has very similar abilities to both Prometheus and Batman, this confrontation was perhaps inevitable. But how Prometheus sets our hero up is brutal. Truly, truly brutal. I loved it, and it firmly cemented Midnighter as one of the great characters in the DCU.

I know that the character of Prometheus has undergone a number of changes and shifts of identity in the years since Morrison introduced him (back in the late 90s), but this iteration of the character seemed to be the exact model that was first introduced, an anti-Batman so to speak, and I was glad to see that origin maintained. The New 52 was an interesting experiment, and it gave us some really excellent comics, but I also think it messed around too much with the origins of characters, and those origins, very often, are what define the character more than anything they go through subsequently. For instance, let's imagine that we actually knew the Midnighter's real name and origin. All of a sudden, rather than a forward-facing force for justice, Midnighter would be a backward looking character reacting to their origin. Batman, for example. To me, this would severely detract from the character. I hope we never find out. I was very much against the Wolverine: Origin series back in the day too - why do we need to know where the character came from? Isn't it what they do now, in "present time," that is important? A curious conversation. Do we need to know the origins of our heroes? If we transfer the question to our lived existence, the sad truth is that the more we know about our heroes, the less we tend to like them. People are, simply, people. But superheroes aren't always meant to be people - more often, they're meant to be legends. And the truth behind a legend is always going to be more disappointing that the legend itself. Just ask King Arthur. Or Jesus.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 2138: Midnighter #2, September 2015

For information on stopping the spread of COVID-19, and on what to do if you are quarantined, have a look at the World Health Organization site.

 

The opening of the previous issue shows someone breaking into a satellite called The God Garden (I'm convinced it's the remains of the creature the Authority dispatches in #12 of the original series) where lots of scary technology is being kept. Said tech is stolen. Today's issue features someone who has somehow acquired some of that tech, and is set to take revenge on a corporation whose negligence resulted in the death of someone she loved. The Midnighter steps in to stop her, but, as it turns out, only because he disagrees with how she's doing it, not what she's doing. And once he stops her from killing the corporate leaders, he goes on to severely injure them, and offers the tech-enhanced woman help, rather than simply incarceration.

This is a nice twist. Basically, Midnighter is a violent, gay Batman. He's awesome and charming and very, very scary. But he also has a unwavering moral compass, not often present in pseudo-sociopaths (except maybe Dexter), and, somehow, a desire to help not just those who are recipients of crime but also the perpetrators. The Authority was always a very socially-conscious comic, and it's nice to see later writers keeping that aspect of the characterization.

Also, this issue features what I think is 100% the best use of Midnighter's computer brain that lets him famously see the outcome of any fight before it's happened. Sadly, it's during an argument with his partner.

More to follow.