Howdy again, how's it going?


I have a few things to tell, so sit back and listen to the stories....


MICHAEL'S FRIDAY NIGHT

After helping my kid brother with his Physics homework, we decide to hit the local Friday night bar scene.....

...which is apparently as dead as disco. After sitting on the patio, discussing stuff with my brother, a few guys I used to know from High school show up. After exchanging the usual "So what have you been up to" 's, they start asking me to go and pinch one of the other guy's nipples...

....I need a better life.

MICHAEL'S WEEKEND (REVIEWS!)

I spent a LOT of time reading this weekend. Mostly junk I've read before, but a few new graphic novels courtesy of my local library.

V FOR VENDETTA: This "post-apocalyptic" story set in a fascist London is one of Moore's earliest works, and while it lacks the full-bore symbolism and meaning of Watchmen and From Hell, it was definitely a step in that direction, and he doesn't shy away from the moral ambiguity of what he's attempting to do. However, it is David Lloyd's depiction of a claustrophobic, grey and bleak London that really allows Moore's story to rise above the level of the ordinary.

CHANNEL ZERO: I'm new to Brian Wood's work, but I definitely think it is worth reading as a focused and impassioned arguement against censorship, and the religous uber-zealots who pervert any system to their ends (I'm looking at you, Ashcroft). Pick it up.

WHY I'M NOT PICKING UP JLA/AVENGERS

Ok, this book is getting a lot of press, and there's no shortage of talk about it, good and bad.

I'm not getting it. Here's why:

1) Outdated: This does NOTHING for the modern state of comics. It is a nostalgic type of story, and even the beautiful work of George Perez can change that.
2) Continuity: Ever since the late 80s, modern continuity has throughly wrecked the idea of a "timeless" superhero comic story, and if you need proof of that, try getting that Marvel/DC mini from the mid-90s, which was trapped by it's ties to the continuity of the time (Such as the "Spider-clone", or Superman's hair, for minor examples). Kurt and George may try to make this timeless, but there's going to be some man-boy who hates it because Kyle Rayner is Green Lantern, or Hawkeye has his scar, etc., etc......
3) Thin Plot: This is the complaint I hear the most, but seriously, what do you expect from a cross over? Just looking through my collection for crossovers, here's what I've found

-Marvel v.s. DC: They fight, Amalgam's created.
-Superman/Fantastic Four: FF and Superman vs. Galactus and Cyborg
-Batman/Captain America: Bat and Cap in WWII vs The Red Skull and Joker
-Fantastic Four/Gen 13 - They fight, and team up, and something truly weird happens (at least it was funny)
-Batman/Punisher - Batman stops the Punisher from killing the Joker. Yeah, like we couldn't see that one coming.
-Silver Surfer/Green Lantern - GL and Silver Surfer vs. Thanos and Hal Jordan.

DO you see a pattern? Expecting great writing from a crossover is near impossible. Accept it and move on.

Michael
infinite_horizon@hotmail.com