I see your smidge of Shat, and raise you…
Jun 19…a Weird Al cover. As in, someone covering Weird Al. And it’s awesome like a hot dog.
mc chris, of Aqua Teen Hunger Force/Sealab 2021/mc chris fame, has covered Dare To Be Stupid. Why did no one think to do this sooner? Actually, it’s probably because the original was pretty much perfect and mc’s particular vocals and the super-faithful instrumental are the only real way to go.
Hit mc’s MySpace and you can download it off the player (for now) – otherwise, grab it from here.
Overheard…
Jun 18…on the way out of Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Jessica Alba’s Insane Blue Eyeliner:
Kid: “The silver guy and the flame guy are the coolest guys and that’s why I want the toys.”
Skeptical Parent: “Uhhhh…”
Urbane; Also, Sorceror Supreme
Jun 15Chris’ post about the Cabal of Convenience…excuse me, the ILLUMINATI and their impending smack-down by the Hulk really harshed my morning buzz.
You see, last night, I started reading Doctor Strange: The Oath, the recent miniseries by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin, in which the good doctor receives a well-deserved character tidying–not a revamp or reboot or anything so drastic, just a repositioning of sorts.
And man, is it great. Imagine David Niven with Peter O’Toole’s attitude and the ability to cast whacked-out spells that open portals between dimensions and shit.
Yeah, he really is that cool. It’s like, finally, someone picked up this kicked-around secondary figure from Marvel’s Silver Age and given him exactly the perfect spin. Even Strange’s supporting cast gets a goose, with the addition of Night Nurse as a cross between Scully and Nora Charles. It’s one of those stories where you’d like to sit down afterward and have a good meal with the lead characters; they’re that entertaining and well-written.
Then I think about how this Dr. Strange has nothing to do–absolutely fucking nothing–with the Strange who now occupies a fairly prominent supporting role in the modern Marvel Universe, and it just makes me sad.
Buzz officially harshed. Thanks a lot, Chris.
Black Summer
Jun 14I’ve always liked Warren Ellis enough to forgive the things he does that drive me nuts – which is to say for every prig that gleefully picks up on his “underwear pervert” term, he is still cashing in on my goodwill towards Planetary. Were we ever to meet (unlikely) it would probably start with a beer and end in a fist-fight, with both side declaring it a total success.
This time, Ellis has written Black Summer – the story itself lays things out pretty clear. In short, the most powerful member of America’s premiere team of science-heroes, comes to an uneasy conclusion – what’s the point of working to make the world a better, safer place, when the nation is complicit in an illegal war? And his solution is that the country has to be rebooted, and he will start the process by taking out the Honcho Supremo of the executive branch, a handful of right-hand men, and tells the country to ponder, get their shit together, and go back to the polls (pencil and paper this time.)
And if that isn’t a clear enough allegory, Ellis’ letter at the back of the issue makes it pretty clear that as a Mad-dog Englishman, the world today wears on him as much as anyone, and Marvel’s Civil War was perhaps a little too coy in its message. Ergo, Black Summer.
If you like Planetary, or the early Authority, or the Doctorow Power Fantasy that is Transmetropolitan, I’m going to recommend Black Summer – don’t know how far this bird will fly (for example – issue #0 alternate cover. Holy shit), but I’ll watch.
Jesus, Ellis. There are easier ways to keep your file in the active pile.
