This must be "acknowledge April holidays a few days too late" week, as my girlfriend and I dyed Easter eggs yesterday, and I'm posting this picture today. Talk about "green eggs and ham!"
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Monday, April 05, 2010
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.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
A Marvelous Easter
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
It IS Easy Wearing Green . . .
St. Patrick's Day is no big deal to us fanboys, because some of our favorite heroes wear green all the time. Here's a quick list to commemorate some of comicdom's jolly green giants.
The Savage Dragon. Any longtime reader of A Comic A Day knows that I love Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon, and that both were instrumental to my becoming a loyal comic book reader today. In Larsen's current storyline, "Dragon War," Dragon's deadliest foes have received a transfusion of his blood (stolen, of course), transforming them into gruesome doppelgangers of his usually heroic self. Unfortunately, Dragon too is somewhat transformed, as his brain was recently destroyed and regenerated into his former, alien despot self. So, in many ways, these characters are simply wearing a green facade -- something millions of folks are doing today, assuming that they aren't even Irish . . .
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I've had not one but two casual conversations with presumably non-comics readers about the Turtles in the past two weeks, proving that those heroes in a half-shell have transcended the realm of childhood fandom and become veritable icons of pop culture, not unlike Superman or Spider-man. I couldn't be happier for them -- and for me, since the hundreds of dollars my family spent on those toys in the '90s obviously wasn't for naught. It was so I could have conversations about the Turtles with non-comics readers.
The Incredible Hulk. Whenever Bruce Banner gets angry, he puts on a green suit of rage -- again, something I fear millions of folks will do tonight, after drinking a certain gamma-colored beverage, of course.
The Greens Lantern and Arrow. Hal Jordan and Ollie Queen are my favorite best friends in comics, notably because of their hard travels across the country via Denny O'Neil's direction in the '70s, but every now and then a writer will echo those sentiments and bring back the pseudo-political dynamic that made their friendship so current and viable. In DC Universe Decisions, the two actually come to blows, removing the weapons that give them their emerald stripes, yet proving that the clothes do not have to make the man. The winner? Black Canary. Always let the woman have the final word.
Finally, the dollar, the most powerful green of them all, has reared its head in the latest substantial comics purchase, this time of Flash Comics #1. Whether or not it will use its powers for good or evil remains to be seen. Perhaps tonight's St. Patrick's Day exploits will be the truest test of all!
The Savage Dragon. Any longtime reader of A Comic A Day knows that I love Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon, and that both were instrumental to my becoming a loyal comic book reader today. In Larsen's current storyline, "Dragon War," Dragon's deadliest foes have received a transfusion of his blood (stolen, of course), transforming them into gruesome doppelgangers of his usually heroic self. Unfortunately, Dragon too is somewhat transformed, as his brain was recently destroyed and regenerated into his former, alien despot self. So, in many ways, these characters are simply wearing a green facade -- something millions of folks are doing today, assuming that they aren't even Irish . . .
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I've had not one but two casual conversations with presumably non-comics readers about the Turtles in the past two weeks, proving that those heroes in a half-shell have transcended the realm of childhood fandom and become veritable icons of pop culture, not unlike Superman or Spider-man. I couldn't be happier for them -- and for me, since the hundreds of dollars my family spent on those toys in the '90s obviously wasn't for naught. It was so I could have conversations about the Turtles with non-comics readers.
The Incredible Hulk. Whenever Bruce Banner gets angry, he puts on a green suit of rage -- again, something I fear millions of folks will do tonight, after drinking a certain gamma-colored beverage, of course.
The Greens Lantern and Arrow. Hal Jordan and Ollie Queen are my favorite best friends in comics, notably because of their hard travels across the country via Denny O'Neil's direction in the '70s, but every now and then a writer will echo those sentiments and bring back the pseudo-political dynamic that made their friendship so current and viable. In DC Universe Decisions, the two actually come to blows, removing the weapons that give them their emerald stripes, yet proving that the clothes do not have to make the man. The winner? Black Canary. Always let the woman have the final word.
Finally, the dollar, the most powerful green of them all, has reared its head in the latest substantial comics purchase, this time of Flash Comics #1. Whether or not it will use its powers for good or evil remains to be seen. Perhaps tonight's St. Patrick's Day exploits will be the truest test of all!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Ol' Jade Jaws Jigsaw Puzzle
Monday, March 15, 2010
A Moss Man-ic Monday
Mattycollector.com kicked off St. Patrick's Day week with the debut sale of He-man's greenest friend, Moss Man. I'd love to review him for you later this month . . . but he sold out in, like, four minutes. So much for the luck of the Irish being on my side! Fortunately, Mattel assures us he'll be available again soon . . . maybe in time for Earth Day.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Ghostbusters' Winston Zeddemore: I'm Ready to Believe Him
Ghostbusters: Tainted Love, published by IDW Publishing, by Dana Naraghi, Salgood Sam, & Bernie Mireault
IDW Publishing is the best thing to happen to the Ghostbusters franchise in a long time. Amidst rumors of a third Ghostbusters film, IDW is already producing new stories starring everyone's favorite paranormal investigators, and this month's Ghostbusters: Tainted Love is the perfect example of how a franchise twenty-five years old can remain entertaining and viable when respected for its original wit. Further, while this one-shot exploits Valentine's Day as a backdrop, February is also Black History Month, and appropriately this issue shines a worthy light on one of pop culture's most underrated black characters ever: Winston Zeddemore.
See, while the three founding Ghostbusters each represent part of the dynamic that makes their story so compelling -- from Egon's deadpan intelligence, to Ray's paranormal passion, to Peter's horny humor -- Winston is the common man. Never mind that he's black; he's blue collar, and that's what makes him the every man even among resurrected demon dogs or medieval murals of animated madmen. He's seen the stuff that'll turn you white, and he hasn't changed a bit, still steadfast as the voice of reason, the regular guy that, if there's a paycheck in it, he'll do anything you say. That he is black is a testament to his culture; he's a hard-working man on a predominantly white team, and perhaps the most invested, considering his initial lack of experience in the paranormal. Remember, Winston knows his Bible. More than Egon and Ray's scientific know-how, more than Peter's detached sarcasm, Winston sees the big picture and he knows how to cope.
Ghostbusters: Tainted Love is the definitive Zeddemore story, as Winston befriends a substitute teacher suffering from a haunting at home, the result of a broken heart decades removed. Winston asks Egon to devise a way to avoid their usual collateral damage, but his new light-weight proton packs don't pack the punch the Ghostbusters need to handle such an experienced apparition -- so Winston talks to it. More so than any innovation in ghost-busting, Winston's ability to talk man-to-(former)man with the ghost transcends into the spectral plane and defeats the ghoul the old-fashioned way: by giving it some peace. In the end, Winston gets the girl, but more importantly he gets the respect he's deserved from the very beginning, when he first answered that help wanted ad in the paper.
Artistically, Tainted Love takes a step away from IDW's other Ghostbusters offerings, and I like it, as Salgood Sam's stuff reminds me of Jim Rugg's or Farel Dalrymple's work. His Venkman is my favorite yet, all wild-haired and sheepish smirks, until he's slimed, anyway. Colorist Bernie Mireault does a great job turning Sam's pencils into nice colorful effects, too. Further, writer Dara Naraghi gives us Ghostbusters fans everything we want in this single issue tale, from a worthy villain, to Peter's worldliness having value, to Egon and Ray spending a Valentine's Day with their true love -- science -- to all of the Winston goodness I mentioned earlier.
Finally, I'd say this story is a ghost of this franchise's past, if it wasn't so indicative of a more promising future. Keep it coming, IDW. When I want a good Ghostbusters story, I know who to call.
IDW Publishing is the best thing to happen to the Ghostbusters franchise in a long time. Amidst rumors of a third Ghostbusters film, IDW is already producing new stories starring everyone's favorite paranormal investigators, and this month's Ghostbusters: Tainted Love is the perfect example of how a franchise twenty-five years old can remain entertaining and viable when respected for its original wit. Further, while this one-shot exploits Valentine's Day as a backdrop, February is also Black History Month, and appropriately this issue shines a worthy light on one of pop culture's most underrated black characters ever: Winston Zeddemore.
See, while the three founding Ghostbusters each represent part of the dynamic that makes their story so compelling -- from Egon's deadpan intelligence, to Ray's paranormal passion, to Peter's horny humor -- Winston is the common man. Never mind that he's black; he's blue collar, and that's what makes him the every man even among resurrected demon dogs or medieval murals of animated madmen. He's seen the stuff that'll turn you white, and he hasn't changed a bit, still steadfast as the voice of reason, the regular guy that, if there's a paycheck in it, he'll do anything you say. That he is black is a testament to his culture; he's a hard-working man on a predominantly white team, and perhaps the most invested, considering his initial lack of experience in the paranormal. Remember, Winston knows his Bible. More than Egon and Ray's scientific know-how, more than Peter's detached sarcasm, Winston sees the big picture and he knows how to cope.
Ghostbusters: Tainted Love is the definitive Zeddemore story, as Winston befriends a substitute teacher suffering from a haunting at home, the result of a broken heart decades removed. Winston asks Egon to devise a way to avoid their usual collateral damage, but his new light-weight proton packs don't pack the punch the Ghostbusters need to handle such an experienced apparition -- so Winston talks to it. More so than any innovation in ghost-busting, Winston's ability to talk man-to-(former)man with the ghost transcends into the spectral plane and defeats the ghoul the old-fashioned way: by giving it some peace. In the end, Winston gets the girl, but more importantly he gets the respect he's deserved from the very beginning, when he first answered that help wanted ad in the paper.
Artistically, Tainted Love takes a step away from IDW's other Ghostbusters offerings, and I like it, as Salgood Sam's stuff reminds me of Jim Rugg's or Farel Dalrymple's work. His Venkman is my favorite yet, all wild-haired and sheepish smirks, until he's slimed, anyway. Colorist Bernie Mireault does a great job turning Sam's pencils into nice colorful effects, too. Further, writer Dara Naraghi gives us Ghostbusters fans everything we want in this single issue tale, from a worthy villain, to Peter's worldliness having value, to Egon and Ray spending a Valentine's Day with their true love -- science -- to all of the Winston goodness I mentioned earlier.
Finally, I'd say this story is a ghost of this franchise's past, if it wasn't so indicative of a more promising future. Keep it coming, IDW. When I want a good Ghostbusters story, I know who to call.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Four More Years . . . Or Just 15 Fifteen More Minutes?
The celebrity of Barack Obama during last year's Presidential election enticed the attention of the comic book industry more than any other real world event in history. While I persist that Erik Larsen first used Obama in Savage Dragon, rather naturally since his series has always been set in Chicago, so many other comics exploited the President-elect's likeness that the line between fantasy and reality became blurred -- and just Google old CNN headlines during the Amazing Spider-man cameo ruckus to prove it. Fortunately, DC Comics' avoidance of ties to reality dodged the Obama gravy train, but they still took advantage of the election to explore a corner of their universe oft untouched -- their heroes' politics.
In DC Universe Decisions, when the Justice League endeavors to protect Presidential candidates in the crosshairs of assassination, the media twists their varied public statements into endorsements for the election. The Green Arrow/Green Lantern dynamic established in the "hard travelling heroes" era propels the series, with Superman's tight-lipped perspective billed as a bigger mystery than the killer. In the end, little more is confirmed than the obvious -- that superheroes are both celebrities and vigilantes, so while their opinions are coveted, they're ineffective in their legal hypocrisy -- but at least it was entertaining to watch.
Wedged between Final Crisis and Blackest Night, Decisions hasn't carried much if any weight in the DC Universe, but its parallel to pop culture happenings is still important in our world as the line between politician and celebrity becomes more and more blurry. This Presidents' Day, as Obama still appears in comics if only now as a barbarian (thank you, Larry Hama), the question persists: Which is a more reliable Washington news source, CNN or TMZ? The decision really is yours.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
World's Finest Statues
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Happy Chinese New Year!
My girlfriend and I went to a Chinese festival to celebrate tomorrow's New Year's Day, and I spotted this Spider-man balloon. Too bad it isn't the year of the arachnid!
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