The Winter (Men) Of Our Discontent
Oct 06So apparently The Winter Men has been shrunk from an eight-issue mini to a five-issue mini plus a to-be-released one-shot that odds are may not even ever see a damned release, thanks to a combination of the huge delays between issues of the regular series and the combined shrugs from both the comics marketplace and DC/Wildstorm.
Which all sucks. This be good comics–smart, funny, layered as all hell. Essentially, it was a story of the Russian mob and superheroes…I think. I can’t say I understood everything that was happening, becuase it was intricate stuff to my tiny brain, but I always enjoyed it. Crusty characters interacting in unexpected ways is always a good time. I looked forward to the day when all eight issues were in hand and I could spend a few hours reading the mini in one sitting, making the connections that are sometimes impossible in the one-a-month (or even worse, the one-every-several-months) world of floppies.
Jog’s blog has a nice write-up of the series and why it’s so darn cool. I tend to agree with him–this will become one of those cult classics constantly searched for in back-issue bins for a quarter. Hell, I already saw the first few issues in a dollar bin, and I regret not picking them up just to pass on to another smart comics reader someday.
While I'm Pissed Off…
Oct 06Tom Brevoort seems to suggest that if you think the real-horrific-war meets wacky-superhero-war feature in Civil War: Front Line sucks (which I certainly do), you HATE OUR TROOPS.
Super Titties
Oct 06Y’know, I noticed the honking huge naked hooters in a random piece of Carlos Pacheo Superman art accompanying a Kurt Busiek interview on Newsarama. But I thought for sure it was just the wrong image, or a mistyped link. Near-Mint Heroes confirms that it wasn’t a mistake at all–that this was an actual piece of Superman comic book art drawn at least initially with big naked funbags.
Answer me this: How is a mainstream superhero book like Superman served by naked tits? Or even by the scantily-clad women that Pacheo sneaks into just about every issue?
I like his stuff a lot. But it’s jarring and disappointing that this very good comic being crafted in a smart, traditional way just HAS to have Lois strutting around in her panties and a tight T-shirt. Or two random love slaves for Arion, Lord of Atlantis writhing on a bed with strategically placed sheets.
Here come da judge!
Oct 05A wise writer friend predicted, after LOST’s first season, that the backlash would begin in season three – as cool as the show was and as hot as the show was, he contended that the straights couldn’t roll with the show for more than two seasons. It may well survive beyond season three, but the whining would begin at that time; and holy shit, he was right.
I’m just calling bullshit on Dahnart’s whole piece – the ongoing mystery, the waxing and waning of things that keep us wondering, that whole sine wave of a comic-style plot, is the major conceit of the show. The show is entirely about wondering what is going on and what will happen next. That’s the whole point.
It would be like complaining that you weren’t going to watch 24 any more, because, oh, those writers think they’re so clever, making every episode a single hour of rough real-time. Or complaining that Oz had too many shankings.
Somehow, soap operas have survived for decades on the same principle as LOST, only in a much suckier way – a never-ending story, where twists and turns abound, threads are dropped without explanation, only to be revived years later, to keep things moving and to keep viewers on their toes. And nobody complains.
You try it in primetime, and suddenly your writers are hacks.
Whatever, Andy. I think your Mom’s calling you to dinner and Prison Break (you know, that show where every season is about… a prison break.)
