Marvel: Hire Alan Moore
Nov 19I would like to sketch for you now a brief fantasy. I recognize from the outset that this fantasy probably has little to no realistic chance of actually happening. I expect the comments to be full of reasons why it cannot happen.
Still, a sketch, if you please.
Marvel should hire Alan Moore before Watchmen comes out next March.
New Trek Trailer (Bootleg)…Finally.
Nov 15My Twitter pals (holla) know that yesterday I was rabidly scouring the intertubes for a bootleg version of the new Star Trek trailer. At 5 p.m. I finally gave up, and it kinda pissed me off. How could it take a planet full of well-meaning nerds more than 12 hours to upload a shaky cameraphone vid of a highly anticipated trailer?! What’s everyone’s problem, anyway, and why don’t you all understand MY needs? Am I the asshole here? (callback)
Anyway. I found it.
On Vomiting Blood and Invading Secretly
Nov 13I get my comics sent in boxes several weeks after their release, so I always feel too far behind to even write reviews or comments. Plus, it’s almost always an exercise in pleasing myself, since there are far more people with far more time and focus than I who do a far better job of reviewing comics than I do.
Still, if just for my own edification, a few random thoughts on things I read recently.
Everybody has their own internal barometer for these sort of things, but I think the Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns one-shot represents at least a minor breaking point in my relationship with the DC Universe.
In case you missed this scintillating issue, it features a new corps of lanterns fueled by rage, and for some reason as part of using their powers, they vomit blood.
That’s right. Geoff Johns, who can be a damn decent writer when he wants to be, indulges in the logical extension of his obsession with gore and violence by creating an entire army of villains who all VOMIT BLOOD.
“Nasty” is about the only word that comes to mind, and it points out quite clearly that for the most part, modern superhero comics and myself are moving in different directions lately.
Wondering where the story went in Secret Invasion? It’s moved to Avengers: The Initiative. Their tie-in storyline about a band of low-level heroes teleporting across the country to kill sleeper cell agents reads like the ACTUAL story of how the war between humanity and the Skrulls happens. It’s everything that’s been missing from the core miniseries–y’know, like actual INVASION and BATTLE and stuff.
That’s actually all I got.
Dollhouse: Probably DOA
Nov 06Herc over at Ain’t It Cool has what can only be called the pre-mortem post-mortem on Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, which has already been doomed to certain failure by a Friday night time slot, the same night where Firefly rotted and died a quick death.
X-Files was the first thing I thought of too, and Herc has the date–1993. Do the shitholes at Fox seriously think they can turn Friday into some kind of sci-fi night again in the tradition of a move they made fifteen years ago? A move that has meaning only to about twenty people, most of which work for Fox? It’s not like when NBC owned sitcoms on Thursday; no one reminisces about “Must-See Friday” over on Fox when Mulder and Scully ruled the roost.
I can’t honestly believe that Fox wants Dollhouse to fail; I just don’t think they give a shit either way. What they probably hope for is another Firefly–drop a little cash on a token first half-season, sell a shitload of DVDs, make a cheap feature film that will probably make its money back and maybe a little profit, sell some comic books and toys and T-shirts to the nerds.
Grok The Vote: A For Reals Public Service Announcement
Nov 04I realize this has nothing to do with nerditry, and I probably don’t have to say the following to the good people who read this blog, but just so that it’s said, if only to make me feel better:
1) VOTE.
2) Be patient. Record turnouts, long lines, occasional malfunctions…anticipate these things. Expect them. Bring a book, as Chris already suggested, and relax. What you’re doing is important. It’s worth doing right.
3) Be kind. Those who work on Election Day at polling places are to me nearly saints. They have to put up with buckets of bullshit all to help us lazy fools who don’t volunteer so that the sausage gets made. Say “thank you,” a lot, and smile, and be warm and grateful. They deserve it.
That’s it.
