As seemingly the only comics-connected blogger who is already sick of the letters “SDCC” and finding myself twitching whenever I see “San Diego” on my computer screen, I will make the best effort for this collection of quotes to be as San Diego-free as possible. Of course, in a few weeks I’ll probably be quoting post-SDCC-related comments, revealing myself for the hypocritical bastard that I am. In the meantime, enjoy this week’s round of quotes. One last thought to consider: Wertham as Skrull…discuss.
“Although, I have to say that when I found out that the story actually goes waaaaay back to FF#2, it began to worry me because the Skrulls in the early 60s were that wacky band of lovable intergalactic losers who just couldn’t put a workable plan together. (That was the issue where Reed Richards actually hypnotizes three captive Skrulls into thinking that they are cows who spend the next several years eating grass and passing gas until the Kree-Skrull War wakes them up. Not that Reed was much better in those early days. He completely forgot that the FF were originally attacked by four Skrulls – not three! Oops! See the Kree-Skrull War for details.)”
-KC Carlson tapping the depths of his Marvel knowledge while analyzing aspects of Marvel’s big Secret Invasion jamboree.
“In any case, a nice night on the town with a beautiful, engaging woman such as Bethany Cabe ought to address any bruised ego, right? So let’s see… where to take her? It’s New York, so the possibilities are endless. The Rainbow Room? Nah, too predictable. Famous Original Ray’s Pizza? Not fancy enough. Where to go, where to go…?
Oh, I know…
The Playboy Club.”
- Don
“On the Continent, picture-strip books take up quite a high proportion of children’s book sales and are very prominent in shop displays. But here we still tend to be a little nose-in-the-air about them.”
- Chris Brown proposing a change in U.K. educational attitudes regarding the potential value of graphic novels/comic books. Brown, a retired teacher, was commissioned by the U.K. government to compile a list of 200 new books–many of them comics–to spark the reading interest of 5 to 11-year-old boys. The list is part of a £5 million government effort.
“I happen to think full and total gay rights, wedlock included, are long overdue in this world. I also happen to think they’re inevitable and that the folks opposing them are like the George Wallace contingent of the late sixties that thought there was still a chance to return racial minorities to the rear of the bus and separate but equal water fountains…
I’ve decided not to boycott. If it makes you feel better, fine. I think the impact on Mr. Manchester will be microscopic and it might even have the opposite effect. The Hyatt is not going to have a single vacant room during the con no matter what any of us do, and the bars will be pouring as much liquor as they ever have. As a general rule of thumb, I don’t think boycotts are a good idea unless there’s a decent chance of them yielding a headline, ‘Business suffers mightily from boycott.’ If you can’t achieve that, you just reinforce the reverse: It seems to prove that the world doesn’t oppose the position you’re protesting, and that there’s no economic downside to advocating it. After the con, Mr. Manchester will not be sorry he gave that $125,000 and there might even be press reports that will suggest it’s because the anti-Proposition 8 movement isn’t as strong as some think.”
- Mark Evanier explaining why he will not be taking part in a boycott against San Diego’s Manchester Grand Hyatt, a boycott called because its owner Doug Manchester has contributed $125,000 in support of Proposition 8, an amendment (up for a vote on California’s November ballot) to ban same-sex marriage. Oh great, San Diego. So much for my San Diego-free vow…
“The splash says, ‘Here is where the story begins and this is what it’s about.’ Nowadays, if there is anything like a splash page, it’s made part of the story, and instead of being prefatory, it’s often the last page of the story. When and why did our comics become Latin sentences, where you have you to wait till the end to get to the one word necessary for understanding all the others?
Perhaps it’s because stories are now ‘arcs’ and take place over six issues instead of one. In any case, we’ve lost something valuable. Since covers nowadays often are isolated pieces of art, relatively unconnected to the story within, the absence of splash pages means that most stories have no single-image that represents them.”
- Scipio of the Absorbascon blog bemoaning the present day abandonment of the true splash page.
“It’s like watching someone wondering out loud why their Dad got mad at them for doing the Aristocrats joke at one of those VFW steak dinners.”
- Tom Spurgeon writing a damn funny line in an effort to discuss the rejected Frank Cho piece for the Hero Initiative.
“In response to the Batman TV show, which they felt demeaned the Caped Crusader by turning him into a clown, many subsequent comic book writers and cartoonists have tried to emphasize the grim, noir Batman (while keeping Robin discretely out of sight). Examples of this include the Batman stories of Denny O′Neil and Neal Adams as well as Frank Miller’s Dark Knight series. (In Miller’s version Robin is turned into a teenage girl, which to be frank might make Batman heterosexual but still has a creepy undercurrent: Lolita is not any better a model for a superhero than Death in Venice).”
- Jeet Heer analyzing the “history of the rumour that Batman and Robin are gay”. The English major in me is impressed that Heer figured out a way to fit Frank Miller in a sentence referring to works by Vladimir Nabokov and Thomas Mann. I dare Heer to fit Walker Percy into a sentence with Jeph Loeb for his next feat.
January 17th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
You mention such an amazing things right here and it is at all times pleassure to read. Hope to listen to more and be taught from you.