In which we find a statement of introduction from the Publisher/Editor/DamnFoolInCharge, and possibly an advertisement for Amazing Wrist Radios or Bicycle Windshields.
Yeah, you'll see a lot of comicbook based analogies here. I'll babble about comics, but rarely if ever new comics. The people publishing both Marvel & DC actively disdain the medium, their properties and the very concept of heroes. It may take decades to scrub them clean again, if that's even possible.
Not to say that there isn't great work being done in comics these days, but there's people who are willing to wade through the swamp to find them for you. I'm not one of them. I'm more likely to go the archeological route, and mine the past.
I'm much more likely to babble on about current movies and television. Of course, the old school comic geek has plenty to play with there. It's hard to believe the riches heaped upon us these days. There was a time when we considered the Doctor Strange tv movie to be a fairly good attempt to bring the character to life. And, don't get me wrong, it was! In its way, for the time, at least. They tried to find a distinctive take on the character, had a Marvelously funky soundtrack, and tried to take it seriously when damn few were willing. (See the Challenge Of The Superheroes for comparative reference)
Given the rare tastes we received of our comic heroes in live action, the general contempt of the money suppliers, and the arts & crafts level of effects available - it was the best we could seriously hope for. There was, of course, no way we'd ever see Doc on the big screen. If they even tried, there'd likely be literal witch hunts back in those pre-D&D demonic controversy days.
And now...
Damn. The Big Two might hate their characters and their legacies, but the movies & TV are satisfying those cravings like we could never have imagined in those days.
Sure, Warner Brothers has eschewed their characters for Elseworlds versions of them in the movies while chasing decades old notions of what makes for 'adult' comicbook entertainment, but a lot of the TV shows and Animated movies remember vague notions like Fun, Heroes and Story.
And, of course, it's not just Marvel & DC comicbook/superhero movies out there. Hell, it's not even just American movies. Have you seen Guardians yet, the 2017 Russian movie about survivors of an old Soviet era program recruited to form basically an Avengers type group, gathered by a SHIELD type group, if SamL Jackson was an Aryan babe with bright lipstick. Strictly by-the-numbers flic, nothing special in the storytelling, but fun overall, and it's always enjoyable (for me) to have that slightly different feeling that comes with movies filmed in other cultures, even when they're made for the global audience. Perhaps not as distinctly Russian in feel as Black Lightning (flying car, not electric powers), but still enough to help keep it feeling fresher for the difference.
Besides being an ancient comic book geek, scifi (sorry Mr. E) nerd, and media junkie, there's also that international element displayed above. I grew up globally, with particular focus on Asia. Not surprisingly, Hong Kong movies and Japanese cartoons were mainliners for me. It was Yuen Wo Ping that brought me to The Matrix, with his always-fun environmental destruction action scenes that were so beautifully highlighted with the 'bullet time' computer controlled camera technique. Even with Sad Keannu's pitifully weak 'I know kung-fu, but my body doesn't' scene, it was .. well ... you know. Frelling seismic cultural impact.
Too bad they stopped ripping their material from The Invisibles for those next two movies, but that's okay. By that point, Yuen Wo Ping had revolutionized action in Hollywood and my old faves were colliding into the mainstream - much like today's comicbook movies flood/stampede/avalanche/devestationofyourchoice.
Besides Comics, Movies, TV and assorted intersections, there's also likely to be ramblings on Music (currently playing: The Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene following Nina Simone - Chilly Winds Don't Blow. Give you an idea of how my playlists run?), Culture, Philosophy, the Oxford Comma, and Bitter Old Mannings.
To tell the truth though, i really have no clue what i'm going to do in a lot of respects. Do plot breakdowns and cover old comic stories? Maybe. Certainly if i find anything as outrageously cool as this early no-4th-wall madness, i'd feel mighty tempted to post the entire (short) tale. Something like that is a public service!
And, in keeping with the first post, there'll be more historic goodies from ancient publications like FOOM and Amazing World Of DC Comics. Maybe some cool bits from old convention programs. (Did you know that they used to run special comics in some of the big cons programs back in those halcyon days? Especially the NY Cons and their delightful Matt Howarth insanity (Go find Changes or a run of issues from Those Annoying Post Brothers and get yourself a late start if that name doesn't wake your blood up. And to drive the artists among you nuts - he produced all his old comics on typing paper with ball point pen? That can't be right, can it?)
Also, being a filthy old hermit, there's most likely going to be an adult warning popping on this blog soon. Not just because i read those comics, too. But also because i'm sure the world around me is going to leave me cussing here at some point. Yeah - you might get the odd rant of a political/cultural nature at times. But at least my views are my own, not those of some group that's told me what to get upset about. That's one of the nice things about being a hermit. You don't even hear most of the arguments, much less the BS version of the viewpoints that the media presents. Might do a ramble on the devolution of news with a bit of historical overview, too. It's often hard to understand things by looking from within the moment.
And then I'll tell you how Fox can make a good Fantastic Four film. Since it's apparent we're not going to get a good Superman movie before i die, it looks like they're my next hope.
Now, here's your advertisement:
Adds Class ... Looks Sharp
But they really missed out not calling the built-in pouch a Utility Pouch.
Probably because the copyright is Superman, Inc. Screw that other guy.
(Ad from ifc of Jimmy Olson #52(1961))
