April Fool's Day . . . A Few Days Late

I really glossed over April Fool's Day here, but I'd like to take this opportunity to share my favorite comics-related gag from the day, courtesy Action Figure Insider. Click the link to enjoy. Great job, guys.

Goin' APE!

A special thanks to John Parkin from the blog Robot 6 for his detailed article about this year's Alternative Press Expo at Comic Book Resources, and for including some quotes from yours truly! Not to brag, but one of my quotes was actually used as the article's headline!

If anyone is checking out my humble little blog as a result of that article, drop me a line, and I'll happily send you a complimentary copy of my first solo self-published comic, Karaoke Comics #1. Otherwise, the rest of my self-published work can be found at KaraokeFanboy Press -- and don't forget to check out my K.O. Comix buddy Brent's new dogs vs. cats apocalyptic western, Dog Town, too!

This Meets That, and Another Thing: Anticipating Johnny Monster #1

Browsing through Image Comics' upcoming releases, I read this description of Johnny Monster #1:

Johnny Monster is the world's foremost super-star monster hunter, but what the world doesn't know is that he was raised by the same monsters he's "hunting"! Now, in order to save his adoptive family... he must fight them! From the acclaimed writer of DEAR DRACULA and Necessary Evil, Johnny Monster mixes Tom Strong with Godzilla movies by way of Tarzan and the Phantom to create a compelling and different monster mash!

I'd read some press about this series before and was reminded of my excitement for it, until that critical last line soured my impression by representing everything I hate about today's conceptual summary driven society. Consider: Johnny Monster is described as a "compelling" and "different" series through comparison with four other well known stories! Honestly, the plot's description had me at "he was raised by the same monsters he's 'hunting,'" and the illusions of both Tarzan and Godzilla were evoked naturally (especially via the cover image), so I didn't need the help. I know I'm a more intuitive reader than some, but now it's to my detriment, because I'm afraid the book's uniqueness actually ends there.

Johnny Monster and the folks at Image that wrote this description aren't too blame; this "X meets Y to make Z" way of describing art has become a culture-wide phenomenon, from describing the TV show Fringe as The X-Files meets CSI to the music of Nickelback as Creed meets Three Doors Down. (Which is an ironic comparison in itself, because Creed is really just Pearl Jam meets a bullet in my friggin' head, but I digress.) The implication is potentially twofold: either contemporary originality is only the combination of ideas that have preceded us, or modern audiences aren't smart enough to understand something new without some comparison to the past. I shudder to think which is true, or, worse, that this phenomenon is one meeting the other. Tell me that didn't blow your mind.

I sympathize with Johnny Monster, and, beat all, I'm buying that first issue. We're being raised by the monsters we've created, and I don't know how we can kill them in good conscience.

Johnny Monster #1 is coming out February 18, 2009 from Image Comics, is written by Joshua Williamson, and is illustrated J.C. Grande.

Blue Beetle Blues

In his recent "The Buy Pile" at Comic Book Resources, Hannibal Tabu comments that the latest issue of Blue Beetle is the penultimate one. While I haven't read the series, its cancellation saddens me for three distinct reasons:

1. As Hannibal explains, the current Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, is one of the few "ethnic" heroes offered by one of the major comic book companies, not to mention a Hispanic hero. In a medium where the Latino community is often exploited as "gangstas" for action-oriented fodder, Jaime's potential will be sorely missed.

2. Jaime is the first Blue Beetle to receive so much mainstream exposure! His frequent appearances in Cartoon Network's Batman: The Brave and the Bold (kudos for admitted geek and favorite blogger Wil Wheaton for his performance as Ted Kord last week), and the subsequent action figures, have made the Beetle a household name, relatively speaking! Remember, I work with kids (85% of whom are Hispanic, to boot), and they know who the Blue Beetle is! Of course, this doesn't inspire them to buy his comic at $2.99 a pop . . . not when they can get six bags of Hot Cheetos for just as much.

3. Every time a second-stringer's solo title get cancelled, I remember and lament some of my own favorite B-listers, like Marvel's Cloak and Dagger, or Batman's wayward teen-aged nemesis Anarky (whose recent appearance in Robin seemed to deviate from the character I remember, though I like the new threads . . .). Beetle's thirty-six issues make up a remarkable run for a character of his stature, it seems, especially since his third-generation alter ego is a name unfamiliar to longtime readers. When will DC and Marvel finally exclusively concentrate on their core properties, the ones with mainstream potential and decades' long history? Just kill off everyone else in some crazy cosmic crisis, already -- it's not like you haven't been doing that slowly in the past fifteen years, anyway.

Based on Hannibal's brief review, I've been missing out on a great series. Though I think Jaime will continue his adventures with the Teen Titans, the silver lining is the cancellation of Blue Beetle will inevitably condemn it to the quarter bins, where I can now collect the whole series for less than ten bucks! Take that, Seniors Barnes & Noble, with your graphic novel section!

The Dragon Bump

Awesome developments in Savage Dragon/Barack Obama relations:

http://weblogs.redeyechicago.com/geektome/2008/11/the-savage-drag.html

Happy Halloween!

An excellent assortment of comic book-inspired political cartoons and images can be found here: http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18655. Highly recommended.

Happy Halloween!