The Comic Book Guy.com Blog

Death Done Right in Comics

2010-06-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

I will admit to become a Scans Daily addict. Updated daily with the latest comics, dips into the past, and "context is for the week" scans, it's the perfect comic base for readers who want to see what stories they're getting into.

Why do people still read DC Comics? Because even when the writers and editors screw up, or when they pull off a mass publicity stunt like Superman's death, they can create the most beautiful and powerful stories with their characters. Case in point . . .

I wish I could post the actual page, but I have a feeling that would be copyright infringement. But, in the case the link doesn't work, a woman berates Superman for not saving her husband while he was away failing to save New Krypton. If you scroll down to the comments, everyone is united against the woman, who can't comprehend that Superman isn't trained to be a surgeon.

I feel sympathy for her. My father died from cancer, and my mother suffered the most. She turned to religion to save him, believed what his traditional family told her, but even he lost faith at the end. In other words, this woman may not comprehend that genocide just occurred, but she is nevertheless a realistic if unlikable minor character. And her words affect Superman, who is still recovering from his own losses; he was her last resort, and he failed her, even though he's not God.

The people commenting also mention that Superman by now should realize his limitations. I respect that view, but limitations mean nothing when you're facing a grieving woman, especially a desperate one. But Superman is not infallible; neither is Batman. Every failure, even if it could not be avoided, will weigh on their conscience. But they deal with it in different ways; Batman treats failure with punishment, even punishing himself if it happens, while Superman tries to understand the situation.

Why else do we read Superman? We want to see him win, but not without struggles; Batman wins more hearts because a bullet can wound him, and his sidekicks have died.

Sidenote: In the 1950s, Superman tries to convince a cynical blind girl that he is Superman, and uses his x-ray vision to find a glass shard in her cerebral cortex. Then he uses super-speed to learn medical training from books to operate on the girl and restore her sight. So in theory . . .

DC Relying on Extreme Hype?

2010-06-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

Apparently death "sells" in comics, given that in DC, Lois Lane's dad has just killed Supergirl's mom and about a million Kryptonians. Kinda ironic, because when I submitted essays for YGO Uncensored (where I met JD and Kevin), I did one editorial criticizing how the dead would quickly be revived and not stay dead. But now that I'm a venerable comics fan seeing death done horribly in mainstream comics, maybe reviving the dead and letting them live peacefully is the way to go.
The two Robins dying proves this point. Everyone I've talked to hates A Death in the Family because not only did Jason Todd's mom let him die, but it's politically incorrect and the Joker is not funny, which is pretty bad. War Games has been labelled as the ultimate "how to torture girls with a power drill" comic for the ladies applying to be Robin V. Yet these two stories are canonically important for Bat-dad.
So here's my question: if these characters didn't even "die" with the dignity due to them, may we resurrect them with stories that give them meaning?
I will go against what I said years ago and say YES, a resurrection should occur if the writer has enough brains to explain how the character came back to life.
Case in point, Stephanie Brown, the second girl Robin; Carrie Kelley was the first, and the only Robin to not get "fired" by Bruce in any context (sorry boys).

Stephanie got the worst Robin treatment possible, except for Frank Miller's rendition of Dick Grayson. She only donned the cape to punish her boyfriend, the previous Robin, wore it for 3 months, wasn't as reckless as Jason Todd, who might have killed someone, and was fired for disobeying orders. Carrie Kelley disobeyed orders, but her gambles paid off; Stephanie's didn't. Granted, Dick Grayson the first Robin got "fired" for about a year after attempting to gamble with Two-Face, but Dick became Robin again. Unlike the other Robins, Stephanie never became Batman's foster child or ward; she didn't get the good father that her biological father was.

The writers didn't stop there; they had to write War Games and have Stephanie pull off her worst gamble: starting a gang war in Gotham that blew out of control. One of the gang leaders nabbed her and tortured her with a power drill. And she died because one of the most important female characters in the Batman universe let her: Leslie Thompkins, who helped Dick Grayson recover from Two-Face's beating over a decade ago.

DC had crossed the line, just as they have crossed the line with Lian Harper. The fans knew, the writers knew, but DC didn't have to resurrect her. People are still going to read Batman, and more female vigilantes would exist in this comic universe, and the CEOs have enough money.

Yet they brought her back.

On one level, it appears as the usual Stephanie and Tim dynamic (Steph's angry, Tim is a dork sidekick, and Batman's silent); on a deeper level, Scott Dixon makes us remember why we love Stephanie; she can be "I wanna punch something" while still charming the reader.

And remember how Leslie apparently killed Stephanie? Not so according to this:

In other words, Leslie is still the same woman who comforted Bruce after his parents died and helped Dick recover from Two-Face. And she was brave enough to convince Batman that she's a criminal while saving Stephanie's life and sanity, since Batman would have never forgiven Stephanie for War Games after she recovered.

That is not to say that every resurrection works. The writers and editors matter the most here. It may seem implausible that Stephanie would just barge into the city where she almost died and accidentally let hundreds of people die, but Scott Dixon's writing helps us forget any minor quibbles.

Like bringing people back from the dead.

Thoughts on Children in the Refrigerator Syndrome

2010-05-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

This post is in response to a recent death, one of a lovable child who is now the hotbed topic for comic book fans:

Lian Harper, daughter of Arsenal (Roy Harper, the first Speedy). A little bit of background info: Lian's about ten or so, has had an actual relationship with her heroic dad and a rocky one with her villainous mother, and was left alone.

Fans have been outraged by her death on several points:

1) DC has been milking her death, having her dad relive it. The comic in the link I posted above was criticized for showing a kid suffering, even though I didn't find it that bad. That said, I loved Lian and she would've been a great crimefighter when she got older.

2) Her death wasn't written well- In stories, death has a fine line because not referring to it when people are in dangerous situations is akin to giving the protagonists immunity from anyone; on the other hand, too many people dying in a comic will lead to a cheapening. Watchmen had a lot of massacre, but no one criticizes it because Moore wrote the story with his own characters and made their deaths have meaning. One poster mentioned this:

"DC chose Lian precisely because she had a clear fanbase and was an innocent without considering WHY she had a fanbase and whether or not her death would mean anything other than another excuse for a long-established character to mope over whether or not murder is ever justified. "

3) She is one of the many superhero children who don't make it past childhood if they are acknowledged at all- Donna Troy, the former Wonder Girl, lost her son Robert and stepson due to a vengeful villain. Catwoman's daughter was given up for adoption, while apparently Black Canary's baby has fallen out of continuity.

4) Lazarus Pit- It brings people back from the dead, as long as you have a body. And one was recently used to resurrect Batwoman, so it's not like they have ceased to exist in DC continuity.

In other words, Lian was killed to get a reaction, nothing else, and the editors didn't even have the grace to make her the only superhero child to actually die. Gail Simone labels this editorial decision as "Woman in the Refrigerator" syndrome, used to refer to superhero's girlfriends who would get killed (like Stephanie Brown) or maimed for the purpose of angering male characters. Given that Jason Todd (Robin II) and Lian were killed to get a reaction, we should include sidekicks and children.

With the refrigerator full, we now have to consider what name to give it. Or, we could call it the Reaction in the Refrigerator syndrome, where something is put into the Refrigerator of Doom (shown on the left, not my picture) and left inside to stir up a reaction.

The thing will have to have the consistency of chocolate, since chocolate will harden in the fridge and become brittle, much like the characters put in there.

So we can call this syndrome the Chocolate Reaction in the Refrigerator, where a character killed will harden the readers' hearts to buying comics, and have them switch to the Internet.

The chocolate also explains the temptation of why writers go for CRR and irk the readers who want the real quality chocolate, and will lead to writers en flambes as the French say.

Moral of the story: eat a healthy dinner of good character development before heading for the fridge, because you never know what's lurking in it . . .

"Kick-Ass" Review

2010-04-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

Can an entertaining movie be made that is laced with corse profanity, brutal violence, and comical situations that in real life aren’t funny? Of course they can, only a conservative parent who grades movies on the content scale over the artistic scale would tell you otherwise. If I just described you then you can stop reading this review now, as “Kick-Ass” was not made with you in mind. Based on the comic book of the same name the story revolves around a young teen named Dave (Aaron Johnson) whose only talent involves simply existing in the world as we know it. Unpopular with girls and with no remarkable talents, he never-the-less has a heart for helping people and wonders why more people don’t do so.

Read Rest of Review Here

Under the Hood: Thoughts and Comments

2010-04-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Under the Hood was Judd Winick's story of how Jason Todd, dead for the past decade or so, came back to life as a ruthless anti-hero. And now they're going to make a movie version of it for the summer.

In general I'm against heroes coming back from the dead, with the exception of Stephanie Brown, but that's another story altogether. And even Jason's return is somewhat implausible, in the sense that surely Batman would've discovered at some point where Jason was, or Ra's al Ghul would've told his greatest foe that his daughter had Jason under her mentorship. Judd Winick was wise in leaving the story behind Jason's return for the end of the two-volume miniseries and instead focus on Batman.

Right after War Games, where Stephanie Brown "dies" and Batman calls it quits with Oracle and Leslie Thompkins, he has to deal with a vigilante called the Red Hood who's been killing drug lords and threatening mob leader Black Mask (responsible for what happened to Stephanie). When Batman finds out that the Red Hood is Jason, his biggest failure has come back to haunt him- even more so than ever when Jason urges Batman to kill the Joker so that he won't hurt anyone else.

Good points about the movie:

1) Neil Patrick Harris plays Nightwing- NPH first played the hilarious Music Meister in his titular Brave and the Bold episode. We can expect that his Nightwing will be snarky and cheerful to Batman's grim demeanor.

2) Red Hood has a great design-

Cool, menacing, and pays homage to both Batman and the original Red Hood [Mr. J before his chemical bath] (kinda like Jason reborn has two fathers: Batman and the Joker).

3) Emotion in it is real- From the clips provided, you don't need words to voice Batman's agony when he comes across Jason's body in the opening.

4) They cut out the improbable backstory considering Jason's sordid mother - who led to Jason being killed since she betrayed him to the Joker. Good riddance!

Now the low points:

1) THIS is our first introduction to animated Jason? No appearance in Brave and the Bold? I kinda want to see this bad Robin in action on the television screen before I see his death; also, contrary to what Andrea Romano said, the pre-Crisis Jason was an adorable and goofy redhead who tried his best to fill Dick's shoes.

2) No Tim Drake- Tim Drake's importance lies in the fact that he keeps Batman from going over the edge, and still providing hope that he can still have a Robin. With no successor, Batman may as well sink into lethal Dark Knight Returns angst where he's murderous and willing to use guns. Also, Tim and Jason have an interesting dynamic that greatly contrasts their individual interactions with Dick, Robin I.

That said, I'm still looking forward to this movie. About time the movie-verse got to Jason Todd; he's like the Gwen Stacy of the Bat-verse given his history.

Silence is Arsenic

2009-09-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, someone commented on my webcomic. This guy, a fellow Smack-Jeeves comic artist, wrote, "Heh heh."

Those words meant a lot to me.

When you're publishing funny comics, you're testing the waters carefully. After all, I don't find golf humor that funny, and you may not find medical jokes as hilarious as my older brother does. But the comic strip artist has to go with what works best, whether it's timing, a ridiculous image, or even the right words for a punchline.

Most of the comics that I read on SmackJeeves get comments. Few don't. But so far, I have received exactly three comments on certain strips. That, as well as email from one great fan, a negative review on the forums, and an anonymous 1-star rating comprised of the reaction I got.

The answerd may be that I'm only a beginner, that there are only a few thousand comics on Smack Jeeves, and that maybe my comic simply can't live up to what Internet viewers want. I hand-paint watercolors; everyone else uses Photoshop. I scan wherever I can find the appropriate machine; most people even have scanner-printers.

So, if one person laughed at Friday's comic, then I am thankful. Thankful that someone has taken the time to not only read my humble strip, but also to tell me what they thought. In this day and age where comic book companies exploit talent and millions take to the Internet, at least I know that I'm doing something right.

Moore Should Watch the Watchmen

2009-08-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

Continuing from the previous blog post, I believe that Alan Moore should see Watchmen. As a comic book adaptation and a comic book adaptation, it succeeds on two fronts:

1) It is faithfully adapted, all the way to the grim ending.

2) It is a good movie.

Number 2 is an obvious requirement for all film adaptations, but even Number 1 is crucial in the case of Alan Moore, because his stories are unusual, even for standard unusual fiction. Let's take a look at his bibliography:

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen- at heart, this is an adventure series with no ongoing plot. To turn this comic into a movie would require a trilogy or even a miniseries, since only three books have been released so far. And there are NO cars in 19th century literature, no matter what the adaptation claimed.

Lost Girls- an experiment with the erotic adventures of Alice, Wendy, and Dorothy in their respective books. You could only make this in Japan, to be honest, because of the subject matter involved.

V for Vendetta- a political adventure about anarchy vs fascism. The only problem with the movie was that they made complicated villains simple and created a conspiracy theory. Other than that, this was the first good Alan Moore movie, which is a plus in my book.

Swamp Thing- again, an ongoing series, this time horror with a history of bad movies. Leave it alone, or turn it into something fantastic.

To be honest, filmmakers should leave graphic novels alone (unless they plan to animate them) and work with short stories so that they can implement as much creativity as possible.

Alan Moore: A Retrospective

2009-08-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

If you ever get the chance to read Alan Moore's interviews over the years on this webpage, then you will see the evolution of an artistic intellectual into a bitter cynic about American comics and Hollywood.

Much has happened since Alan Moore first published Watchmen, a graphic novel that shows the decline of realistic vigilantes and heroes. As you can see above, it has a rather unexpected climax and one of the most unsettling resolutions in comic book history. (The only other resolution that comes close belongs to The Dark Knight.) Moore went on to recreate Jack the Ripper in From Hell, a lake monster in Swamp Thing, and 18th century lit in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (and woman).

What do all of these works have in common?

Two words: film adaptations.

Except for Watchmen, all of these movies have also been financial and intellectual flops, according to Moore and the critics. (To be fair, though, the Swamp Thing film came out before Moore was signed on to do the comic.) League especially suffers when it has Tom Sawyer driving and Mina Murray turning into a flock of bats.

Moore also does not own any of these works; they belong to DC Comics. This is, sadly, the way it goes. One thing that Moore also comments on is that Watchmen had a negative effect on American comics instead of the positive one he anticipated; instead of young artists churning out brilliant works, all the superheroes suddenly became serious, as did the already dark Vertigo comics.

I agree with Moore that a comics revolution should've happened years ago, as comics have remained the same since the 1980s. But we have a whole generation of artists that have only begun to test their potential. I'm ready to make something new, to try to be different, and to try to tell a good story.

Are you?

The Source Material- Teen Titans and its Adaptations

2009-07-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a big Teen Titans fan, although I became a bigger one when I made two trips to the library and picked up two different comics. One was a collection of several Teen Titan issues from the 1980s, called New Teen Titans. Another was a Teen Titans Go collection that was released about three years ago.
The television show is awesome in that it can have ridiculous nerd villains like Control Freak and Armageddon terrors like Trigon (who turned the world to stone and the skies red), as well as equally ridiculous and suspenseful episodes. Instead of being a direct adaptation like Watchmen, it takes the source material (NTT) and sculpts it into something different.
Take the episode "Deep Six," where the Titans team up with Aqualad to defeat Trident, who has stolen toxic waste. Now compare it to an issue of NTT where the Titans have found Trident's body and want to find out who killed him. Here are two pages from that issue:

The differences are obvious. For example, the classic Titans have secret identities, Kid Flash and Donna Troy, and multiple subplots. But we still have teenage bantering, good-natured humor, and action.

Then we have TTG, which shows the animated Titans world in comic form. I've only read three issues, but the comic is entertaining, consistent, and fun to read. Since "Deep Six" features Aqualad, why not show pages from an issue with him?

One reviewer has pointed out that these plots are mainly derived from the show, but these are only the early issues. The comic continued for two years after the show ended; TTG got the boot last year, I believe.
The sad thing is that only hardcore fans will remember this show while the critics ignore it, especially as we move into the age of computer animation. Remember the Titans, people. Watch their show!

The Tails Side- Know the Right Audience

2009-05-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

Last post was about how comics (and TV shows, and stories in general) shouldn't be scared of frightening children.
This brings up the question, though, of where you draw the line. After all, you don't want to traumatize your kids for life or make them lack empathy.
Parents should decide what their kids can read based on their children's personalities and not just on certain moral values. This worked and still works with me.
But there are some general guidelines, such as:
1) Excessive, pointless, glorified violence
2)Pointless swearing
3) Anything pointless that occurs just to give a story shock value.
We can universally agree on that as intellectuals, right?

Speaking of being age appropriate, comics have the better deal than television and movies when it comes to determining ratings because:
1) Most comics are created by individuals or two people collaborating. There are no high financial stakes, such as a million dollar budget or withdrawal of company sponsors. In other words, no CEO decides that a comic HAS to be rated PG
2) Comics are distributed to individuals, not masses. That is, a movie theater HAS to bar minors from R-rated movies. In bookstores, any kid could pick up a Mature manga and not be questioned.
3) Most comic ratings are relatively fair because comic book companies rate themselves while in the US we have the MPAA. This organization gave Ma Vie en Rose, a French movie about an eight-year old transgender boy, got an R rating even though it has no nudity, violence, sex or swearing. In comics, we have the following system:
A- All Ages
Y- Youth (7-10+)
T- Teen (13+)
OT- Older Teen (16 +)
M- Mature (18+)

The MPAA system is slightly more flexible than comics nowadays given that comic ratings are self-imposed. (We used to have the Comic Code of Authority, but it has the fangs of a flobberworm.) And with luck, maybe movies will start to rate themselves and see how people like them.

Kids like to Be Scared!

2009-04-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

I'm not joking with the title: we need to remind parents that every good story involves some sort of danger for the protagonist(s); and when kids see action, you need to put the protagonists in danger of getting killed or hurt. (This is called suspense.)
Why is this necessary? You ask. Well, in our world, brutality occurs on a daily or monthly basis. The CIA starts civil wars in Guatemala. The FBI considers Martin Luther King a communist. When we face reality, we need a fiction in which the good guys win. But if the good guys win too easily, the
Case in point: Magic School Bus Episode 16. While on a field trip to the past, a T-Rex is attacking the bus, but Ms. Frizzle easily adds humor to the situation, as do the bright colors and the blatant Jurassic Park parody. We cannot deny, however, that the kids are in danger. When Ms. Frizzle casually suggests that getting eaten is a learning experience, her students do freak out. Yet they all get out alive and unharmed, and they learn more about dinosaurs and to keep an open mind.
Second case in point: Pluto's Judgment Day. This is a twisted, sick, cartoon, but it does put us in suspense and enthrall us as the cats put Pluto in trial for his crimes. While at the same time commenting on our biases when we have to prosecute a loathed criminal, it provides an interesting dilemma that Pluto can't get out of (and doesn't escape, to be honest).
Another correlation: you need a competent, scary, and interesting villain if the story demands one. We love Ursula, dislike Syndrome, fear Jafar, and pity Frollo, but they all pose threats against the heroes.
That's why Teen Titans also functioned well against Slade, their main nemesis, because he keeps them guessing at his intentions, resembles Robin at his worst, knows how to defeat them, and can outsmart them in order to get what he wants. (Episode Apprentice: WATCH IT.) Yet they defeated them not once, but thrice, and not without a lot of effort. And the viewer watches because they want to know how five teenage heroes can defeat an adult mercenary without a conscience.
So don't worry about making your villains too scary for children. Children want suspense, they want danger- so give it to them!
. . . But only give them the best.

More thoughts on The Batman

2009-03-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Since we've done two posts in a row about Batman, I decided to write one more, this time concerning the canceled TV show.

The Batman was a queer duck to come out of Time Warner after Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Static Shock. It had a Joker with long hair, a black policeman becoming Clayface, and a Batgirl who preceded Robin.
This could've been a great masterpiece, but the TV writers didn't know how to structure a solid season. The new Barbara Gordon, now a teenager to avoid romantic tension, didn't have an important role as "freelancer". The third season finale didn't even involve her, but rather Dr. Hugo Strange and his evil computer.
During the fourth season, Robin and Harley Quinn got their premiere episodes. However, these episodes seemed to be remakes of the classic Batman series rather than the new version's creativity.
I'm not sure how Batman: Brave and The Bold will be, but I do hope that they add both creativity and awesome storytelling.

When to Call it Quits

2009-03-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

There was once a fairytale about a boy who beat gold coins out of a donkey. His evil step-brothers bought it from him. When they took out the rug-beater, though, the donkey fell down dead, having had all its coins removed. Batman as a story shouldn't be a donkey, but the whole franchise has spun into many medias since its creation in the 1930s, going from live-action slapstick to Golden Globe drama. Has the story reached its apogee, however? With The Dark Knight as a wonderful, thrilling, and depressing crime drama, future screenwriters will have a lot to live up to. Should we just finish this current Batman storyline and leave it untouched, just as we have left Gone With The Wind, How to Steal a Million, and other franchises alone?

I'm speaking from an artistic, not financial, perspective; Batman will sell once if bad, twice if okay, thrice if good, and a million times if breathtaking. But all I want is breathtaking Batman; I want the Dark Knight to surprise me, to sweep my off my feet.
Maybe we should leave that job up to Heath Ledger's image and his ghost. Let him have the last laugh on the movie screen.

As for the show, I agree with Kevin; I loved watching The Batman, but it was not Batman: The Animated Series. Kevin Michael Richardson is not Mark Hamill (both voiced the Joker on each respective show). And yet The Batman used their Joker frequently, to the point that he irked fans.

Maybe we should learn a lesson from that. And so should the film producers.

A Few Thoughts On "Batman: The Brave and the Bold"

2009-03-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

Now, contrary to what the title may suggest, this is NOT a full blown review of the current Batman series on Cartoon Network! I will say this about the show though: I don't find it NEARLY as offensive as many Batman fans do! Yes, I know it's frustrating to finally have the characters reputation as far away from the Adam West show as possible, only to have this show come along that was meant to not only look like that awful show, but to actually remind you of that show. In fact, short of not getting Adam West back to voice the caped crusader I would say this is a fairly logical continuation of the 60's show. At the same time I acknowledge why the creators took this road, and why it was ultimately the best choice. Let's face facts folks and admit that "The Batman" was not that great of a show. Granted, some of it's ideas were good (especially the re-inventing of The Penguin and Riddler), and there were even some cool action sequences.

But deep down the show never really caught our attention, and maybe the reason was because it felt like the writers were trying to recapture the magic of the Bruce Timm/Paul Dini Batman series. Well folks, let's face it: We're NEVER going to have a Batman show that good again! If we do we should consider ourselves very lucky, but I doubt anyone will capture lightening in a bottle twice. Magic like that is a rare thing, so we should appriciate what we got out of it instead of complaining about the other shows that don't have it. So the producers of this show realized that there was no way they were going to create that magic again, and decided to go in a different direction. And you know what? It works. Yeah, it's bright, color, and childish. It's got more humor in the scripts. Staple characters like Alfred, Robin, and pretty much all the standard Batman rouges are nowhere to be found. We don't even see Batman as Bruce Wayne.

They did this on purpose. They did it because they wanted to do something different. And frankly, despite the fact that CN rates this series TV-Y7 (incorrectly in my eyes) this is easily the most kid friendly Batman we've seen in years. This is the kind of Batman show I can share with my kids when I have them (at least until their old enough for the mature stuff). By holding off on all the staples of the show the creators were able to make this Batman show something different, which is interesting at the very least. Still, even though I'm a defender of this show it's not like I'm a fan of it. I can't watch it all the time because it IS silly, and because I DO prefer the more mature Batman! Well, the writers of "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" decided that they wanted to end the first season with a bang, and boy did they ever.
If you missed the two part finale don't worry: CN will, in all likelyhood, be reairing several times before the end of the month is up. The storyline involves Batman going to an alternate reality and discovering that he is the villain there, and that his arch-nemesis Joker is actually the good guy (though his identity here is Red Hood and we never see his face). So not only does the first episode open with an ambitious first part, but the second part is an ambitious finale when Batman returns home to find his evil dopplganger Owlman has destroyed his hero image. Plus his friends are now hunting him down. Oh yeah, and to top it all off, out favorite Batman villain Joker finally appears. And Batman now has to team up with his greatest enemy to save his reputation. And as you can see from this picture...

...Joker looks pretty much exactly as he did in the 60's showm, yet he still has some menace to him. I would have to say it would have been nice to have Cesar Romero voice the Joker once more here for an even better classic feel...it's a shame he's dead and all that. The reason behind this post is to not only explain to Batman fans WHY I don't think the shows lighter tone is nessicarly a bad thing, but also to excourage them to hunt down the two-parter and give the show a second chance! I doubt the rest of the show will have a scope this ambitious, but I think it would be very fan appropriate to have some of the classic villains in two-parter finales like this. It really does show that while these writers may be going for something different they are, in the end, Batman fans just like you and me. And we should be applauding their efforts rather then tearing them down.

The Ones that Got Away

2009-03-06T15:11:00.000-08:00

A few posts ago I talked about the good animated shows out there.
Now I have to come to the not-so-ones. Fortunately I have only seen a few, but my God, they had so much potential!
Here are the list of half-dead zeppelins:
1) American Dragon Jake Long- Disney at times can still produce the best and the worst ideas. We have a half-Chinese high-schooler asked to watch over America's magic-folk. The show had some interesting plot points, such as Jake's crush Rose, who has to slay him as her alter ego Huntsgirl and Mr. Long's ignorance about his son's double life, but the writers decided to rely mostly on laughs and put in plot elements that you could foresee a mile away.

Lesson learned: In a superhero show, one cannot rely entirely on laughs; and a good story matters the most. Kim Possible also suffered from this, but I digress.

2) WordGirl- This PBS heroine is Supergirl with a mental dictionary. That's why she's called WordGirl. The problem with this show is that the writers want the viewers to assume that everyone else in the show is an idiot, as they can't figure out that Becky Botsford, whose Freudian slips rival Superman's, is the same hero flying around. Also, the writers rely too much on laughs and do not care for putting our dear protagonist in real danger most of the time.
Come on. When we ask for a superhero story, we expect genuine action. If The Magic School Bus could show a dinosaur going after eight-year olds, then WordGirl should at least fight a villain who is actually dangerous.

Lesson learned: Viewers are not stupid, give us real conflicts that are resolved in a plausible way, and please do not blatantly make fun of the superheroes.

Who Watches the Ombudsmen?

2009-03-06T15:01:00.000-08:00

Kevin has pretty much summed up what I was about to say, but here's the thing about the Watchmen parody: it's not that funny unless you have read this graphic novel. And when you're an uneducated comic fan, the strip comes out melancholy, not funny.
Which is okay in this case. Normally I dislike Kurtz when he goes on a soap opera, but this parody works. And the strip that I posted above is probably the most humorous of the bunch so far.
A slightly related story: today at my school library they found Watchmen for another student, but only today, the movie's premiere. Kinda creepy, don't you think?

Kurtz To Syndicates: Grow Up

2009-03-05T22:18:00.001-08:00

Okay, so he didn't EXACTLY say that! In fact, despite what my headline might suggest, there has been no mention of the newspaper syndicates that Scott Kurtz ("PVP") so obviously hates, but his commentary has been all over this weeks absolutely brilliant spoof of "Watchmen." Here is a storyline that takes every syndicated comic strip in the newspaper, making them look a little like the Watchmen characters, and using them to rally against the hands that feed them. Dagwood Bumsted is contemplating his lousy life of spending 70 years eating sandwhiches and taking naps. He even remembers the time when he first married Blondie, and how his wealthy family disowned him for marrying below his class. Yes folks: "Blondie" was once ABOUT something! Nowadays it's just what Dagwood says: Naps and food. Heck, the comic hasn't really been about the title characters for years (she plays second fiddle to her husband now).

Charlie Brown points out that they are protecting the editors from what they fear most: Letters. This is an important part of the argument because newspapers are traditionally read by old folks. People who are, not out of touch per se, but they certainly don't like change. To take away a favorite character they are used to reading would be like amputating an arm, and most of these older folks won't put up with it. This is a brave storyline. Funny only in the sense that it's all so tradgicly true. I hope Scott gets to finish this storyline. Chances are people will be talking about this one loud and clear, and the sundicates lawyers might not like what they see. Here's hoping you make it to the end Scott. Here's hoping...

The Trick Is Not Minding

2009-02-26T20:51:00.001-08:00

So I was writing a couple of reviews for The Comic Book Guy.com when I came upon a stumbling block: I had written one of these reviews before. The problem with reviewing anything is that when you get down to it there's an awful lot of it that's just the same crap recycled. How many high school shoujo romances can you review before the task becomes tedious? How many epic fantasies can you read where the action is not epic? And (dear God) how many webcomics can you review before the creators are complaining your ruining your career? Well, I'm sorry if it's going to work out that way, but the sad truth is when your work goes public it's going to come under scrutany, and not everyone will like it...but I'm getting off topic here. Back to reviews: How does one do this for a long time and not get bored?

Well, I'm going to take a famous quote from the Oscar-winning film "Lawrence of Arabia," where the protagonist impresses people by putting out matches with his two fingers. One of his friends tries to do this and gets burnt. When he asks what the trick is Lawrence replies "the trick is not minding." The moral is, I believe, that some things are inevitable, and the trick is to just not get aroused by such inevitability. Writing reviews for certain series WILL be boring! They always are. The trick is not minding though. Once you don't mind you'd be amazed at how easy it is to continue with your daily routine.

The animated cartoon

2009-02-25T16:05:00.000-08:00

Jaya here!
Hi, everyone! I should be posting more, and I will blame no one but myself for my lack of communication with the comic book world.
First, how has the animated cartoon evolved, both in television and in the movie realm? Let's take a look at several top-notch animated films:
1) [i]Persepolis[/i]- Based on Marjane Satrapi's wonderful graphic novel, Marjane shows us her life as an Iranian teenager, first trying to outsmart conservative Iranian police and then finding her identity in Vienna. It doesn't offer any new material from the graphic novel, but the animation, combined with the story, make for a powerful, funny and bittersweet film. Every teenager should watch it.

2)[i]Wall-E[/i]- If Pixar had decided to go with a grim ending, this film would have been perfect. Despite the overly optimistic ending, this dark science fiction film with the endearing title robot and his love interest EVE.

3) [i]Kung Fu Panda [/i]- It's not going to win any awards for deep material, but [i]KFP[/i] gets kudos for giving the viewer what it promised: an action comedy film, complete with a dangerous villain, plausibility (as to how a fat panda can defeat an agile leopard), and kung fu fighting. What's there not to love?

And a possible topnotch: [i]Coraline[/i]- I haven't seen it, but I've read the book and as a Neil Gaiman fan, I can't wait to see how Edward Selick handles this plucky heroine, who discovers a much more exciting lifestyle than her own, but then has to save her parents and herself from it.

What do these films have in common? Well, people put genuine effort into the projects. Second, the directors and screenwriters knew what direction they were going in. Thirdly, these films were not made to sell toys, comics, or merchandise related to the movie. They were made to tell a story.

Now here are the good and recent animated television shows:
1) Total Drama Island- sick of reality shows, and their predictability? Well, this show makes fun of reality TV, gets away with crude humor (that for the most part is not for shock value), and also has three-dimensional characters that suffer elimination, one by one. No mercy, and no fairness. Only fun for the viewer.

2) Secret Saturdays- Much like [i]Kung Fu Panda[/i] is the perfect action comedy film, [i]Secret Saturdays[/i] is for those who miss the old animated action hero shows. Evil villain with mysterious plan? Check. Likable but imperfect protagonist? Check. Awesome fighting scenes? Check.

3) Ben 10: Alien Force- after going away from Teen Titans with Ben 10, about two cousins who bicker while fighting aliens with their grandpa, the producers decided to let Ben and Gwen grow up, unite with an old enemy, and fight more aliens. But with cool fighting sequences (you cannot go wrong with these), great storytelling and animation to make artists squeal with glee, and inspiration for aspiring sci-fi writers.

In short, here's what this happy viewer likes:
1)Good storytelling and stories.
2)No stupid humor, or at least keep it to a minimum.
3)Action sequences.
4)Three-dimensional characters.

So producers, keep this viewer happy (as she will not have time to spare for another month or so) and keep producing what she asks for.

Squidi Is On Hiatus...Again

2009-02-19T21:09:00.001-08:00

I'm not exactly sure how many times we have to go through with this, but once again Sean Howard (otherwise known as Squidi) has put his comic "A Modest Destiny" on hiatus once again. It appears he's bored with the comic...again. Now he wants to program iPhone apps. All I have to say is...this is getting boring. Really. Either finish the damn comic or stop doing it. Enjoy the following comic because it's the last you'll see for awhile. Chances are by the time we see more we'll have stopped caring about the ending (which doesn't matter, seeing as how this old comic revels who lives and dies anyway):

Some Things Should Never Have Been Attempted

2009-02-19T20:54:00.000-08:00

Though I am generally a big fan of The Simpsons I admit that I have been bogged down by the mediocrity of the show in recent years. The movie seemed to rejuvenate the writers of the show, but there was a time when the show was losing viewers...and FAST! In an attempt to gain new (possibly younger) viewers on the show, Matt Groenings company Bongo Comics made a deal with the syndicates to publish Simpsons comics in major newspapers. The result? Eh...

...not so great. This was one of the more major screw ups for the newspapers because there were several problems with the comics. First of all they were huge. We're talking close to "Calvin & Hobbes" size huge (except without the detailed artwork...these comics looked plain in comparison). So you normally had to cancel one of the comics to make room for this one (at least on Sundays, there were no weekday comics of this). Depending on which comic you decided to drop would determine how the paper was redesigned on that page. So you had to go through the painful process of selecting which comic would be missed least and then you had to pay someone to redesign a couple of pages that had been established long ago. But replacing the comic didn't faze most newspapers because they were picking up the freaking Simpsons! Surely that would cover their butts right?

Wrong!

The final problem with the comic was that it wasn't funny. And when I mean it wasn't funny I mean it was NOT freacking funny in the slightest bit! These were huge comics with lots of panels and words to read, and the strip rarely emitting any laughs. It barely evoked chuckles. I remember finding a comic of "Cathy" more humorous then "The Simpsons." My newspaper stopped carrying the comic after a few months, and in less then two years the comic was canceled and chalked up as one of those "How the heck did you screw that up?!" Strangely enough, even after this huge failure someone had the idea of trying to pitch "Futurama" as a weekly comic, but the syndicates (wisely) turned that idea down. Ironically, a weekly "Futurama" might have worked.

After all, by the time this hit the papers "Futurama" was canceled, and so fans would have flocked to read the new adventures despite their quality. One of the big hurdles with "The Simpsons" is that the show was still on TV, so there was less reason to go out of your way to read them in the Sunday paper (the same day the show airs on TV). It was an idea that should have been sucessful but failed on every imaginable level.

Is Garfield Funnier Without...Well, Garfield?

2009-02-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

This is what I've been questioning for the last year or so now. I know you all must be tired of reading the Garfield posts. Trust me; I never intended to write anything about the comic. It was interchangeable for the longest time, and I honestly felt like I would never have to say anything about it really. Maybe if it was canceled, but when was that honestly going to happen? If the strip continues without Jim Davis drawing it now chances are it will NEVER be canceled! Beattle Bailey is still around and military people can't even relate to the strip anymore. It comes from a different era and is read out of obligation and routine then for pure enjoyment. But I'm getting off topic, lets get back to Garfield. Last week was Valentines Day, and as a treat the Garfield comic strip did two things it didn't normally do.

First of all it had a week long about Jon and Liz going out on a date and being served by a waiter that normally has to serve Jon when he's with his trouble making cat. This is a good premise because it can be mined for plenty of laughs. They may not be deep laughs, but at least the laughs would be genuine. The second thing - and this is the important part - is that Garfield was strangely absent from the strip for the whole week. No explanation or anything, he was just gone. Not only that, but the strip was actually a heck of a lot more funny without him. If he had been shoved into the storyline it would have been unfunny. The writers would have to find some way to revolve the jokes around him, or let him have the last sarcastic comment, regardless how unnecessary it would have been.

This week the writers did the write thing and left the cat out of the comic...and it worked! This has got to be troubling someone up in management. On one hand your strip is bringing people in to read it for genuine pleasure once more. On the other hand, your main selling gimmick isn't the reason for this at the moment. Right now I'm not sure how this realization will effect the rest of the comic, but for now I welcome the change. Maybe a little less Garfield is just what this strip needs.

I'm Back In Black

2009-02-19T20:37:00.001-08:00

It feels good to be writing comic reviews again. More importantly, I'm having fun reading all the comics I bought but never read (helps keep you from going crazy while your unemployed). Right I now I'm debating what to review next: Arina Tanamura's latest or "Ultimate Spider-Man." Don't laugh, American comics have just as much of a right to be reviewed as the Japanese stuff. Heck, maybe I'll review a French comic I've been meaning to review for a long time.

The Comic Book Guy.com 1.0

2009-02-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know my new site is up. It's not complete, but it will be in three weeks. New material will pop up every week now though. Click on the image to visit:

Working My Way Back To You

2009-02-11T14:14:00.000-08:00

I've started uploading the redesign of The Comic Book Guy.com. It's going to be a slow process, but I intend to get through at least one letter a week.

MegaTokyo Brings Funny (Shocking huh?)

2009-01-08T00:17:00.000-08:00

I've been rightly critical of Megatokyo for the past several years. Ever since Fred Gallagher turned it into a glorified sim dating comic I haven't had much taste for it. The big problem is that reading it online is a chore, as the story moves way, way, WAY too slow for any real progress to be made! In book form it's better, but seeing as how books come out every three to four years...well, it's not that much better. That's why I want to acknowledge his most recent comic:

See, this comic funny, developes the characters, AND stands on it's own! If more of the comics were like this I would read it more.

It's Funny Cuz It's True

2009-01-07T23:58:00.001-08:00

Yeah, haven't been updating the blog. Sorry, but it's Oscar time, so my movie sites have been taking up some time. I wanted to take some time and bring up this comic, because I think you'll appreciate the irony:

Webcomics.com, the fab book, Utamaro and Shoujo Beat

2008-12-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

Webcomics.com has impressed me so far. It's a new website where beloved artists such as Scott Kurtz, Brad Guigar, Kris Straub, and Dave Kellet pitch in advice to upcoming cartoonists.
With a birthday Amazon giftcard I also got the big four's How to Make Webcomics, which is a fabulous Bible for a beginner. (That reminds me; finish a strip today.) A warning, though: it expects the reader to know what they're getting into as a full-time webcomic artist, making it a bit scary when they talk about merchandise and how to behave at conventions.
Go on to the website and see what they offer.

Okay . . . here's something for Kevin: look for Kitagawa Utamaro if you haven't already and either post or email me what you find. A hint: Japanese printmaking.

Now Shoujo Beat . . . if I could, and if there were no manga in libraries, I would get this magazine monthly.
The content is perfect; I read an issue with a fantasy manga preview, several dramas, dramedies, a Fushugi Yugi parallel, and a dark Gothic chapter concerning vampires that don't make girls look clumsy. The art, though . . . okay, a science teacher told me that he hated manga because the characters have no noses and big eyes. I disagreed, but I see where's he coming from, because only one series actually put effort into its background art (Honey and Clover) and in making the series different. The faces began to blur into each other, to be honest. I don't know what happened.
The other thing is when the editors insert a "Will so-and-so choose Mr. Generic?" at the end of each chapter. It's like listening to the cheesy 1960 Batman cliffhangers. I appreciate the editors' other comments, but silence is golden when you're reading a story.
A detailed verdict will soon follow. That said, I'm happy that this magazine has survived three years since Kevin's initial review.

Ha Ha

2008-12-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

Make no doubt about it: Despite all the controversy, despite all the complaints, despite all the people who are jealous that their comic can't be as popular or as big, at the end of the day "Penny Arcade" beings funny. This comic is a sad (but mostly true) state of our culture.

"Dragonball: Evolution" Trailer

2008-12-13T00:56:00.000-08:00

So here is the trailer for the Dragon Ball movie...the REAL trailer, not that toy manufacture one that was made for promotional sponsers! No, this is the trailer Fox is going to have in front of all the movies. My take: It's better then the last one. At least now I'm not dreading it in the same way I was when I saw the unofficial cut. Now, keep in mind, I'm still not sure this is going to be very good. I hope it is, but I think fans will need to realize that this is going to be an American take on the story, and that it will be more of an adaptation then a literal telling of Toriyama's classic. I at least have respect that they decided to start at the beginning rather then start at the Z arcs. Of course, if Fox wants to build a franchise, this decision makes perfect sense.

I'm not sure why they decided to rename the film from "Dragonball" to "Dragonball: Evolution" (which sounds like a perfect name for the sequel), but oh well. Bottom line: I hope for a good film but I'm not expecting much.

Buy Imported Manga

2008-12-03T22:11:00.000-08:00

I try not to use these blogs as excuses to shill of personal property, but seeing as how Japan cost me a lot of money I have some debts to pay off, and an easy way to pay off those debts would be if you guys could buy some stuff I'm selling on eBay:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/comicbookreviewer_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ

Mention this post and you'll get 10% off your total order.

Is A Proposal Around The Corner?

2008-11-13T03:21:00.001-08:00

Those of you who read my blog and site know that I am a fan of Garfield. You may also remember a few lengthy articles I wrote on how, by giving Jon a girlfriend in long time vet Liz Wilson, the series has improved dramatically (she's basically a new spice thrown into the mix). I suggested that if David wanted to keep the momentum going he'd have Jon propose to her, get married, and start a family. Not only would this story line take a few years to get through, but it would give Garfield new blood to mix with. I think we may be closer to that though. Let's take a look at whats been happening in the comic recently:

Garfield has become friends with Liz.
Garfield has, in his own way, given Jon his blessing to date Liz by letting him go on a few dates with her alone.
Jon is happy when he's with Liz and bored when he's not.
Jon actually mentioned to his parents that he's dating someone.

Now then, let's think about this: Jon has told his parents he's dating Liz. This is huge. Jon's family never appears in the comic strip anymore. Not only that, but they've been bugging him to get married for over thirty years now. This would be the perfect time for Jon to make a trip down to the farm and bring along life other then his pets. After a couple of weeks of high-jinks Jon's parents will, with sarcasm and a smile, approve of the new lady in his life. Chances are the sinker to the whole deal is if Grandma approves of Liz, who will then push 'Johnny Boy' to settle down. Once this happens the wheels are in motion and there's nowhere to go except forward with the proposal and wedding. This may take some time, but I look forward to seeing it all take place, bringing new life into this strip that it could really use.

Squidi Is Back

2008-11-12T05:42:00.000-08:00

Or, more importantly, Squidi has finally uploaded a new comic of his unfinished serial "A Modest Destiny: Prophecies of the Demon King." For those who don't know what "A Modest Destiny" is it's basically a sprite comic (or if you prefer pixel comic) that started out as a humorous adventure that turned into a serious fantasy. The author, whose pen name is Squidi, has changed the tone of the comic several times. The first episode was basically one long sitcom. Entertaining but mostly disposible. The second epic was also mostly a sitcom, but it refocused on developing side characters while throwing hints to an epic third act later. Episode three came along and all bets were off: Pixel backgrouds were replaced with handrawn backgrounds, characters were more fully developed, and the set up was beginning to pay off. It wasn't a complete success but, darn it, at least he was trying something new.

Sadly, only a few comics into episode 4 Squidi shut down his site, for numorous reasons I won't bother to name here. Since then he's stayed away from comics, prefering to blog about various things from politics, to religion, to video games. Most of his opinions I don't agree with, but that's besides the point (I'm sure he doesn't agree with all of mine). The point is "A Modest Destiny" is back. And while the return comic may not exactly be the grand return you'd hope for it to be, I'm looking forward to seeing the remaining comics posted and the story finally finish. Besides, regardless whether the final chapter works or not, I at least want to see Fluffy again.

Saying Goodbye

2008-11-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

Poor Opus.
Berkeley Breathed' retirement came as a big shock to me. And Opus was one of the newer strips in my Sunday paper; not only that, it was FUNNY.
Even more disheartening is an interview printed in the paper. Breathed appeared very cynical and disillusioned; it was as if he had to fight the syndicates in order to preserve his soul, but ended up losing his strength. He says that Calvin and Hobbes was the last great comic strip.
I don't believe that. Calvin and Hobbes is a classic, and it can't be replicated, but that doesn't mean that another great strip won't come along. On the Internet we have new talent emerging, albeit for more specialize audiences. We artists can't expect several hundred thousand dollars a year or millions of readers. However, we don't draw primarily for the money; we draw primarily because we WANT to.
Some of the masters have already earned a place in the world due to their work and persist to satisfy their creative urges; Scott Kurtz has produced three serials so far as well as an adventure comic; Marjane Satrapi enthralls us with stories of her childhood; Alison Bechdel completed a memoir while writing her own strip Dykes to Watch Out For. Even Craig Thompson, famous author of Blankets, plans to release another graphic novel about Persia. Maybe one of these artists will achieve what Bill Watterson couldn't.
With all due respect, Mr. Breathed, there may indeed may never be a comic like Calvin and Hobbes. But maybe there will be something even better.

The Classics

2008-10-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

My art history teacher is the coolest guy I know involved with comics. (Excepting, you, Kevin.) He knows all sorts of facts and history; so he told me to read Pogo, only with annotations.
I'm halfway through the book, and I while admit that Pogo is good, I feel two messages communicated:
1) the comic is dated
2) Walt Kelly didn't enjoy what he was drawing.

I can understand both of my feelings, because this is a post World War II comic that ended in the 1970s; in addition, Walt Kelly lost countless newspapers every day and had to draw alternate strips for a while. The FBI even investigated him based on anonymous charges.
Kelly is an example of the comic strip rut, however: now that he had portrayed himself as a cartoonist of animals, he couldn't suddenly end the strip and do something else because he no longer found it fun.
And also, where is the silliness? Gary Trudeau, Frank Cho, and Bill Watterson all in their strips have an element of playfulness; Trudeau's recent storyline ventures into the ridiculous amidst with a Palin Barbie, lazy college students, and more! Frank Cho has pig smoking cigarettes and ducks playing with dachshunds.
Then again, is there a way to escape the rut besides to end a work? Or does it persist until the cartoonist dies?
Post up your opinions, people.
Next post is a Shoujo Beat review.

Let the Fun Home Roll In!

2008-10-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder- this past week was Banned Books Week (or Banned Books month begins at my school). Libraries celebrate books that others find offensive.
Who in the comic industry has suffered (or enjoyed) this fate?
We have two banned authors: Alison Bechdel and Craig Thompson. Bechdel penned her darkly humorous memoir Fun Home while Craig Thompson dealt with maturity into an adult in Blankets.
Both books are graphic novel memoirs, like Maus and Persepolis (the movie version of which has been banned in Iran, come to think of it), involve a child/teenager growing up into an adult, and both have anatomically correct nudity.
Personally I prefer Fun Home because it has a more conclusive ending than Blankets, but I don't believe in banning books.
LONG LIVE LITERACY AND FREEDOM!

"Penny Aracde" Poos on DRM

2008-09-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

Normally the link above would link to the comic itself, but I've decided to link it to Tycho's rant as it's more appropriate. Today "Penny Arcade" finishes their three comic opus on Digital Rights Management and ends it with a bang. First off I need to ask you guys to read this comic. If you don't get what's going on at first then read it again. And a third time. By now it should be clear what's going on. If you don't get it...well, that's what God invented bloggers for. The first two panels of a three panel comic are supposed to be a set up for the punch line in the third panel. To an average user though it looks like there is no punch line, and they would only be half right. There is no punch line in technical terms, but in liberal terms PA just (as the RPGer's would say) "pwned" on DRM in a big way.

The first panel sets up the opponites: The corperate leader and the pirater. The second panel stablishes that the war is between them and that the one's that end up being hurt are the inoccent bystanders who legitimately buy their products. The third panel has Elton John singing "Candle In The Wind?" Some of you may be looking at that third panel and thinking something along the lines of "What the hell is Elton John doing in this strip? It's pointless." And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the ENTIRE point: DRM is pointless! Extremely pointless. It neither resolves anything, progresses anything, or works anything out. It's there, but it's pressence does nothing for the issue at hand. In this case the issue being that Electronic Arts wants pirates to starting buying their stuff and the pirates will spend much time trying to crack the codes because they simply don't want to.

Meanwhile the DRM is still in the third panel, taking up pointless space where a real resolution could be found if the companies would just take the time to figure out what that solution is. Make your product worth buying. Find a way to make it where stealing it would serve no ultimate purpose other than pure greed. iTunes has cut into the pirated music scheme because they found a model that made stealing the music more trouble then it was worth. And finally I want to end with a bit of advice someone once told me about managing one of my businesses: If you can't make people want to buy your product you don't have a business.

The Return of Skull The Troll

2008-09-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how I feel about the return of Skull the Troll in "PVP." Oh don;t get me wrong, I have missed the big blue lug (at least I think he's still blue; it feels like this strip hasn't been colored for years), but I was expecting something a little more epic. Some big storyline that involved the entire cast of "PVP" banding together to bring their friend back. This would have included supporting characters like Reggie, Marcy, Rob, Jase, and Stacey. Because, after all, they're Skull's friends too, so why shouldn't they help as well? The idea of Scratch imposing himself on the society and breaking Skull out in less then a week is a little anti-climatic.

I know it sounds like I'm being picky, but when you wisk away one of the series most popular (and in this case profitable) characters, then by golly the return of that character should be something epic and worth remembering. After all the "glad your back" speeches get made it's going to be business as usual, and I can't help but feel saddened this didn't mean more. Skull was taken out of the strip for four months for this!?! Please. That said, I want you to look at the panel above of Brent and Skull's reunion. That panel, that single panel of raw emotion, makes me forgive Scott for the bumbling of this story. It's not what I expected, but it ended on the note that it needed to end on to work at all: It ended with a tug on the heart.

Brief Introduction, a thought about Consumer Advice, and a commentary on PvP

2008-09-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone- I am Jaya Lakshmi, Kevin's co-reviewer. In March 2009 I will have a webcomic up for comments and entertainment. My thoughts about For Better Or For Worse are posted down below Kevin's, if you'd like to read them.

First off-

Kevin got me addicted to PvP. The recent arc involving Skull's return was a break we needed from the characters. Forgive me for saying so, but some strips failed to spark interest because there was nothing entertaining about it.

For example, I disliked the arc involving Jase's new girlfriend Bonnie. Scott decided to include her in only three strips- three strips!- and we only know that she doesn't want Jase to return to his old gamer lifestyle. At least with Jade's mother we got seven strips, all which developed her into a sympathetic if unlikable character. Bonnie disappears before we see how she ticks.
Scott has perhaps introduced too many side characters: Scratch, Kirby, Miranda, Reggie, Jade and Brent's parents, Sam Woods, and Shecky the troll. Bonnie may have broken the camel's back, and not because she fretted about his friends.

For another, the characters have become so serious that even a ridiculous strip when Brent lords over an RPG doesn't fit in with the daily occurrences. (Though the recent one with Jade and WoW made perfect sense.) We need Cole to organize another paint ball round, Francis to install a spy camera in Jade's office, or something!

I commend Scott for having Scratch seek out Skull because Scratch has retained his sense of humor amidst the chaotic wedding and honeymoon. We get some hilarious jokes (the Chimera is my favorite), more insight into the PvP fantasy world, and a chance to wonder how the rest of the gang will react to his reappearance.

Next topic:

Kevin's greatest idea when writing comic book reviews was to put up a "Consumer Advice" box. Not a rating system for age appropriate materials, but an actual description of what parents (and readers) may want to know.

In an old Pearls Before Swine series, Rat said that the newspaper comics have to remain PG-rated and clean for a universal audience. However, comic strips involving certain material would bother me if I read them right next to Pearls and Get Fuzzy. The optimal solution would have certain pages with certain comics according to content, but that practice may lead to abuses.

The best thing about the web is that usually cartoonists have one comic per site, an artist can put a warning for parents if the content is Mature. What should the newspapers do, however? Should the risque soap operas and violent adventures have a page to themselves? Should the newspapers cater towards a universal audience?

For one, I believe in separate pages based on individual newspaper ratings, or at the very least a page filled with Consumer Advice so parents know which strips to cut out for their private enjoyment.

Penny Arcade Is On The Mark (Again)

2008-09-25T01:04:00.000-07:00

A heads up: This will be more of a politcal rant then a comic rant. With that out of the way let's continue. I'm not a fan of Digital Rights Management (DRM). I think it's a cheap, underhanded, unethical abuse of power. And keep in mind, I'm not a thief. I only buy legally legitimate CD's, movies, video games, and comic books (why people can stand to read chapter after chapter of Naruto on their moniter is beyond me). It's a princible I have, I can't help it. One thing I will not stand for though is being treated like a thief before I even buy the product.

Such is the case with Electronic Art's new game "Spore," which is the subject Penny Arcade is ridiculing today. "Spore" was released with a special form of DRM that allowed a maximum of three installations per computer. I don't need to elaborate why this is bad. Just read one of the many one star reviews of the game at Amazon.com if you're not sure why this is bad. But it is. Trust me. Thankfully, PA gets the silliness of the situation, and they do what they do best: Bring on the funny.

Just for the record I have not bought "Spore," will not buy "Spore," and if I ever need a registration code to read my comics...well, at that point I'll give up the hobby. So if any of those publishing companies are reading this make a note: You have been warned.

A Destiny Put On Hold

2008-09-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

I know that many of you read this blog for views on the comic book industry, but seeing how important "Smallville" has been to the revival of the Superman mythology...well, I think it's only fair I cover it once in awhile. For those who haven't watched "Smallville" you can play catch-up by checking out the previous seven seasons on DVD (and in some cases HD-DVD and BluRay). But the show is basically a retelling of the Superman story, starting out as an action version of "Dawson's Creek" and evolving into a compelling adult drama in the veign of "Heroes" and "Lost." In fact I would say that those two shows owe a lot to "Smallville," as the creators managed to sell a prime-time fantasy series as a teen soap opera, and in turn kicked open the doors for other compelling fantasy and science fiction programming on network TV.

The previous season ended with a shocking confrontation between Lex Luther and Clark Kent. Lex has learned of Clark's alien heritage, and destroyed the ice fortress with them both inside. Oh, and Clark lost his powers...again. This is more exciting then I'm making it sound, but there were some questions fans had of the rest of the story. Seeing as how Kristin Kruek, Michael Rosenberg, and John Glover have all left the show, now only Tom Welling and Allison Mac remain as regular cast members from season one. How are they going to finish the story left off from season seven if Lex Luther isn't in it (it's been confirmed that Rosenberg will not be appearing in any episodes this season, though Kruek is planned to make five guest appearences)? I know the writers have lots of hope that this new girl, Tess, will help fill the void left by Lex. They also plan to bring in Doomsday (which will likely result in another cliffhanger).

The one thing I'm concerned about is whether or not this will be the final season. Right now there are mixed reports on whether or not this will be the last year we see Clark battling evil, and the creators have even anounced that they have two endings in mind depending on what happens. That's usually not a good sign. Well, for now I'm looking forward to seeing where this season goes. The promise of Clark leaving behind the family farm and working for the Daily Planet is a step in the right direction. And if there IS a ninth season maybe the creators will be able to convince Rosenberg to return and finish the saga with a bang! But a series final without the Lex Luther showdown would certainly be disapointing. Not to mention anti-clamatic.

The showdown of the century has been put on hold pending contract negotiations.

For Better or For Worse, For Better or For Worse...

2008-09-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

On August 31st, 2008 one of the best comic strips in syndication came to an end. After almost thirty years of laughs, tears, and a controversy here and there, Lynn Johnson decided to end her opus "For Better or For Worse." Strange how it all feels so unreal. I know that the comic strip has come under lots of controversy recently. People say it's not funny anymore. The puns are corny. The characters are too sentimental. The situations are unrealistic. And I'm saying YES! It's true, it's ALL true! And yet I love this strip. I think a lot of other people do too, even the whiners. Why else would they spend every day reading it? The series has gone off with the wedding of Elizabeth and Anthony, as well as an epilogue to what happens to most of the major characters (minor characters like Laurence and Justin don't get a mention).

While at the wedding though Lizard Breath finds out that her Grandpa Jim is in the hospital having troubles with his heart. So no sooner does she get married then she and her new husband leave for the hospital. As you can imagine none of this is very funny, just overly corny. But you know what? That's why we read the strip now. It was funny years ago, but now the style of the strip has changed. We like this change because as the characters do so does the story. It's also the only comic in the paper where the characters are the least bit interesting. Then for the final strip Iris, Jim's second wife, gives a great speech that brings the story full circle. Now what some people may be wondering is why wasn't the comic strips protagonist Elly Patterson giving this speech?

After all she was there at the beginning all the way to the end, shouldn't she say the final words? I admit it would have been nice. But ultimately that would have been too predictable...even for this series. Having Iris say the speech was a much smarter move. Not only is she (in some way) the newest character in this series, but she became an important figure in the Patterson's lives. She's now gives the advice that other characters used to give, and that privilege gives her the right to the closing speech. To top it off though there is a wonderful epilogue that shows where everyone winds up. It's a great ending to a great comic. Yes, part of me is sad that it's ending. I was hoping to watch the third generation grow up, and I was hoping Lynn could have tackled at least one more "serious" storyline (in this day and age, having teenage April get pregnant would have made the most sense).

But overall I'm happy with the story. I'm happy with the series. I'm happy it was given an ending that let it go with dignity and respect. I want to dig out all my FBOFW books right now and read them from beginning to end. And you know when Lynn releases the "complete" book collections I'll be there to buy them. This series, I consider, to be one of the epic graphic novels of our time, where the story structure is so deep it can be revisited every few years with new experiences. That's why I'm so frustrated that Lynn is reprinting some of the original strips and "Lucasfying" them. That's like admitting there's something wrong with them. There isn't...though this is a subject for a different day. For now though I say thank you Lynn for this wonderful strip throughout the years. And for better or for worse, I'll be revisiting it for many years to come.

The Ultimate Collaboration?

2008-09-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

If you love comics chances are you're a big fan of Stan "The Man" Lee. Creator of some of the most loved comics ever, responsible for being the guy to start and challenge the Comics Code of Authority, still frisky at the ripe age of 83, there is a lot to admire about Stan. That said I can't help but wonder if Stan is feeling frustrated. Recently he's known for what he did create rather then what he has been creating. Spider-Man, Daredevil, Hulk, Fantastic Four, and many of his other creations may be well loved, but they were created during the 60's and 70's. That's a long time ago. It says something that those creations are still beloved, but can you list anything he's made in the last ten years. Chances are not (though I do remember the failed experiment to make the Backstreet Boys superheros). The Powerpuff Girls are more popular then anything Stan's created recently.

That's why, as a fan, I'm excited about "Ultimo." "Ultimo" is a new series of a whole different kind. It's a collaboration between America and Japan. Considering how Japanese comics brought the art of comics back into the spotlight (as well as the black) I'm amazed it took this like for there to be an actual collaboration as opposed to an "American created manga." Well that creation is "Ultimo," written by Stan Lee and illustrated by "Shaman King" creator Hiroyuki Takei. If I were to lay the blame with Stan's recent forgotten series is that they are too eccentric for his own good. The stories may work, but the art, the pacing, and America's ever growing taste for sophitication have made the series feel outdated. And what's with the strange coloring in these series? People don't want color, they want gritty lighting that makes the series "close to black and white but not actually being black and white."

Japanese comics are different though? They survive on the mixture between the well written and the absurd art. Some of the most popular series that come from Japan are "Dragon Ball," "Naruto," "Inu Yasha," "One Piece," "Tsubasa," "Fist of the North Star," and "Sailor Moon." These comics are known for their stories and deep character development, but they are also known for their over-the-top violence and unrestrained art. "Ultimo," while still young (we've only seen the first chapter), promises to be Stan's big come back. He can write the stories he wants to write, and the Takei will draw it in a form that is accepted by people these days. In short it's the perfect match, and I can't wait to see where this goes. On a final note, doesn't "The Master" look a little familiar? Kind of like a comic book legend we all know and love?

A Brief Introduction- and a Brief Comment on Lynn Johnston

2008-09-14T05:38:00.001-07:00

Hello, all you Comic Book Guy.com fans! I am Jaya Lakshmi, co-reviewer on the website and aspiring cartoonist. If you want to read about my stories, go to pseudonymousfictionwriter.blogspot.com to see my progress at getting published (none). If you want to read my webcomic, wait till March 2009- then go to alamode.smackjeeves.com. If youwant to simply hear my thoughts on comics, stay here.

My opinion on For Better or For Worse- Lynn Johnston's decision to continue the strip as it used to look in the beginning disappointed.
Kevin nailed the exact reasons why I read the comic every day, even though everyone in my family dislikes it- Mrs. Johnston gives us characters to care about. No matter how corny the situation, no matter how unfunny the punchline, she gave us a reason to catch up on the storyline.
However, I'm a firm believer in endings. I believe that a writer should create as many stories as they can. A comic strip I'm more flexible with since a comic strip can contain several stories. However, it seems that most cartoonists put their effort into one comic or comic strip. (Exceptions such as Craig Thompson, Scott Kurtz, Marjane Satrapi, and Alison Bechdel exist, however.) Some even put their whole life into one comic, such as Charles Schulz. Some people may see it as a safety; I see it as a rut.
I understand why cartoonists end up in the creative rut. Original character designs don't occur overnight. Multiple stories may repeat themselves. Writers with single hits burn out, like Takeuchi, or get frustrated with the medium's limits, such as Bill Watterson. Not to mention how much time should be invested in art and story in order to make it a classic.
However, writers must try to escape the creative rut in order to stimulate their minds. If they can, they should challenge themselves to surpass their previous successes. Maybe the graphic novel lingering in my head will be remembered more than the comic strip going up in March. DaVinci created several memorable paintings, as Michelangelo did when he painted the Sistine Chapel and carved David. These men, as well as their predecessors and rivals, worked under commissions from nobles; many could not afford a burnout.
Kevin and I may discuss this issue then: how much time and effort should a person put into his or her artwork, be it a comic strip, a novel, or a sunken relief etched in limestone? I say as much as they can without ruining their lives, but I'm also willing to hear other opinions.

Megabomb

2008-09-13T22:46:00.001-07:00

Just to be upfront I don't have anything against Megatokyo. While I think as a webcomic it fails pretty miserably, in book collection Megatokyo can be a guilty pleasure. Plus I've met Fred and his wife Sarah and they are very vice people, so I don't want to give them too much of a hard time. I do want to point to this comic that was uploaded yesterday, as it just feels wrong. To understand why this comic rubbed me the wrong way we have to go back to the very first strip, where Fred just the artist and Rodney Caston was the writer. Back then the comic strip was produced in a four panel gag-strip format, with the last strip being the punchline. For this format Rodney was "the man," delivering funny strip after funny strip. Then the comic changed to a manga style page format, though Rodney still delivered the funny.

Then Fred bought out the franchise and the strip isn't NEARLY as funny as it used to be! I'm not going to say that's a bad thing (though I prefer funny), it's just Fred's talent comes not from writing comedy but from writing average romantic triangle stories. Occasionally he tries to write funny but it just doesn't work. This comic though especially doesn't work though because it's in the format Rodney used to write. As such it instantly brings back memories of "the old days." And not only is the comic not funny, but it comes off as a little sad. I know it was unintentional, but it is. Here's hoping Fred doesn't do this again and just sticks with what he does best. On a side note though did you know that Rodney is on the Texas ballot for Libertarian Party of Texas? He's running for Constable of Collin County, Pct 3. Holy cow!

Speaking of Game Boy...

2008-09-13T22:43:00.000-07:00

I decided to check out the archives of the Video Game Cats library, and the author did a cute little Pokemon comic that I kind of fell for. You can read the whole thing by clicking on the link above. But I personally feel this comic perfectly reflects how me and a few of my friends talk when we talk about video games and Pokemon comes into the conversation.

To Tell You The Truth I Still Like Pokemon

2008-09-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

This isn't an editorial; this is a recommendation. If you haven't read the new webcomic by Video Game Cats creater Scoot Canadia then I suggest you do. The comic is called "Super Effective," and it's basically a spoof of the classic Pokemon Game Boy games. And when I say Game Boy I'm not talking about Game Boy Advance or the Nintendo DS. I'm talking about the good old fasioned, black and white, classic Game Boy. The point of the series is to be a loving tribute to the game while pointing out it's rather, uh...shall we say interesting gameplay elements. The reason the comic works so well is that it doubles as both a spoof for people who hate Pokemon and nostalgia for fans of the franchise. The only thing I'm not sure of is how kids of the franchise today will react to this. The Pokemon games in many ways are very much the same as they were yesterday, but at the same time they are in many ways very different. I think the Mystery Dungeon games don't even resemble the original premise of the games. Still, Scoot has done some really funny stuff for VGC and I look forward to seeing the future of this promising comic.

Even The CCA Can't Ruin Everything

2008-09-13T20:02:00.000-07:00

Recently as me and a friend were reading comics together he asked me if I still read "Sonic The Hedgehog." Here's how the conversation went:

Friend: So, you still read Sonic?
Me: Well...yeah, I guess.
Friend: Why?
Me: Why not? I've got every issue, I might as well finish it.
Friend: Oh. Okay.

And that was it. It wasn't the real reason I kept up with the series but I just didn't know how to answer him at the time. Now I do. I read Sonic because the characters are real. The writing isn't always great, and there are certainly more then a few turds of a story to be found every year, but by and large the comic works. It works better now that Ian Flynn, a Sonic fan who became popular from some very weird Sonic fanfiction, is now serving as editor and writer for the book. That doesn't mean the book is perfect. It's still owned by Archie, Sega, and it still has to go through the outdated Comics Code of Authority. But read the three panels above from the latest issue. It may not make sense to someone who doesn't read the comic so let me explain to you what's going on.

While the series is about Sonic other characters do get their own storylines (Harry Potter isn't the only one that does this). Recently Knuckles has been going through a bit of a rough spell. He made a deal with the devil. His homeland was captured. He betrayed and was betrayed. His father died. All the while he was just taking it like a...well, he just took it. In the latest issue though it all comes crashing down. He hates himself. He hates what happens. He's got so many problems and he doesn't know what to do. In a later panel he'll even blame it on his girlfriend Julie-Su, and then he'll come to regret THAT! Basically he has a meltdown and all his problems spill out. And I can't think of any other kids franchise comic that allows the characters the dignity to do that.

Testing Out New Layout

2008-09-13T01:28:00.000-07:00

Thought the last design was growing on me I've changed the design so that you can now read title post, author posts, and comment. We'll see how long this lasts, but I'm liking it at the moment.

I Want The Next "Case Closed" Book NOW!!!

2008-09-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite series I've been reading is "Case Closed" from Viz Media ("Detective Conan" for my Japanese brothers and sisters). As far as ongoing serials go this is not one of the holy grails of comics. Truth be told, it's mainly a one trick pony. It's really about nothing more then a teenage detective whose been turned into a little boy and now solves murder crimes with voice changing bow ties, radar glasses, and solar powered skateboards (not kidding). It's strange, but the formula is basically this:

Someone gets murdered .
There are several possible suspects.
Conan uses his thinking skills and catches the culprit.

I guess the easiest way to describe this series is a cross between "The Hardy Boys" and "Murder She Wrote." Though it may not be known for it's twists, volume 25 in the series just gave us two twists. Two BIG twists! The first one you can see above you. Without getting too much into the circumstances, lets just say Conan and the Jr. Detective League (the weakest characters in the series I hate to admit) walked in on a shady crime and got noticed. Because of this one of the criminals tried to shoot Amy and Conan bravely protected her. Of course, now he's greatly wounded and can't help them, while the criminals are still marching onwards. Just to let you guys know the kids get away. But what to do about Conan? Well he's taken to the hospital and given an operation. They don't show whether or not he survives, but they end the book with this odd shot:

Now I want to say upfront that there is no doubt in my mind Conan's going to live. I mean, there are 50 volumes of this series printed in Japan and counting, so I doubt he's going to bite the dust so early. But what a shock of an ending. This picture above strongly suggests that Rachel knows that this little kid with the big glasses is actually Jimmy Kudo. I figured she would figure this out eventually as, unlike her father, she is not a useless idiot. But the fact that it's happened could potentially change the conflict in the series. Will Rachel still be over protective of Conan after this? Maybe not because she knows who he is. Though maybe she will seeing that she loves him so much. Will he share the story of what happened to her? Will he burden her with information that could get her killed? If he doesn't will it hurt their friendship? Either way the next volume can't get here fast enough.

What's Up With Garfield These Days?

2008-09-12T02:05:00.000-07:00

I know Garfield is a controversial strip. Well, okay not really, but it does come under scruteny because many people feel that Garfield is one of the lowest points on the funnies page. But it makes so much money that you can't touch it. Garfield will forever be kicking Odie off the table, eating food, and Jon will always be a loser. Or will he? Let's go back to "Garfield: The Movie," the fat cats theatrical debut. It was not a great movie. I liked it but I could see why people who didn't grow up with the strip would hate it. What surprised a lot of people about the movie was the fact that at the end of the movie Jon and veternarian Liz became a couple. In the fact that Jon now had an actual girlfriend. This was in stark contrast to what we've come to know in the comics. Then the producers took it a step further by having Jon propose to Liz in the sequel "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties."

This was even more in contrast to the comic strip Jon, who can't impress a girl to save his life. Well, apparently Jim Davis liked the idea behind the movie, and in a multi-comic story Jon managed to finally admit to Liz he loved her above anyone else. In response she admitted that she loved him too. So much so that she even admitted to being a bit dispointed when he didn't try to ask her out on a date on Garfield's previous checkup. Now I'm bringing this up because I have a point to make with this: Garfield, the comic, is no longer boring. At least it's not as boring as it used to be. Liz adds a new dynamic to the strip as Jon's girlfriend (I suspect the proposal will be saved for an anniversary strip). She's smart, cool, and confident (competitent?). Jon is none of these.

She can cook, she has a successful career, and she can predict when Garfield is up to something. Jon...can't. Frankly, this dynamic is INTERESTING! It's not that Liz is a better character then Jon or Garfield, but her being there has opened up many different possibilities for the strip. She shakes up the strip from it's usual routine. Kind of like how Nermal does when he makes his rare apperances. So much so that the comic suffers without her now. Jon and Garfield fall into a rut without this woman in the house, and Davis should be taking advantage of that for all it's worth. Sunday's comic I think is the perfect place to follow up on this promise. For starters I have to point out that this comic DOES represent what people hate about Garfield! This is easily a three strip joke expanded into seven by cheap photocopy techniques.

But this is also a perfect example of what Liz has become to the characters. She's become a great friend, the yang to Jon's ying, and a foil for Garfield. There's excitement when she's around them, and this strip not only points that out, it gets a decent joke about it. This is the perfect place for Jon to realize what Liz means to his life, and that it's time to finally make that commitment because of the life she breaths into his. After another two weeks of routine Jon should plan a great date night (Garfield can screw it up) and have it ending with a proposal. This will lead to a couple of storylines about planning the wedding, the wedding, and the honeymoon. Then the comic and return to non-story strips that are now interesting. A kid or two would shake things up. With this relationship Davis has made "Garfield" interesting again. A few more steps in this direction could make the strip a must read again.

You Won't See Garfield This Frisky

2008-09-12T01:52:00.000-07:00

Several months ago Scott Kurtz shook up his fans when he decided to write Skull out of the series. I don't think he ever intended to keep Skull out of the strip permanently (those Skull plushies continue to sell pretty decently I hear), but he did write a compelling reason for Skull to walk off the set. Basically he was a guardian angel of sorts to Brent, who was supposed to help guide him to a better life. Once Brent married Jade the powers-that-be decided that his job was done. The cast argued but didn't have the strenth to fight a possessed statue, so they let him go. They promised to one day find a way to bring Skull back though.

Or would they?

The uneven brick in the foundation was Skull's pet cat Scratch (think of a feline version of Stewie Griffin), whose spent most of the series trying to take over the world. Once in awhile we see glimpses that he is good, but for the most part he causes trouble. Well it looks like Scratch really DOES love Skull, and can't function really well without him! So he's taking matters into his own hands and bringing Skull back himself. I'm not sure if this was the way I was thinking Skull would come back. Personally I thought we'd be waiting a year or two before seeing him again. But this unexpected twist does show that Kurtz still has the element of surprise up his sleeve, and I look forward to see where this storyline heads.

New Design Coming

2008-09-12T01:21:00.000-07:00

Well folks, we don't even get to ten posts before I realize the design doesn't work that well. I can't show the title post. This could be a big problem when I post multiple posts in a day. Oh well, new design coming. It's a shame because I kind of like the thing with Snoopy and the typewriter.

"The Comic Book Guy.com Blog" Is Up and Running

2008-09-12T01:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome one and all! This is the grand opening of The Comic Book Guy.com Blog (but you can call it TCBG.B for short...or not). If you've been visiting my site recently you'll notice that I haven't been updating as much as I should be. With the school semester starting though updating was going to be more difficult. I therefore made the wise choice to put the site on hiatus and open a blog for updates. The site will return in January (by which time I hope to have a buffer of twenty reviews from both me and Jaya) but for now the blog is here. So enjoy the posts and don't forget to comment.

Testing

2008-09-10T00:53:00.001-07:00

The obligitory testing post.