| | The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights continues to exercise its rights by trying to stomp out the rights of others. Apparently putting up a life-sized chocolate statue of Jesus is considered an attack on Christians that must be responded to with overwhelming force. Or a boycott. You know, whatever.
I guess the League isn't quite sure which yet. It seems they've called for the faithful to abstain from the hotel where the figure is being shown, but Kiera McCaffrey, the League's communications director seemed to feel veiled threats were necessary. My favorite of all the public statements she has made is, "They would never dare do something similar with a chocolate statue of the prophet Mohammad naked with his genitals exposed during Ramadan." Rather than alluding to violence why not just turn the other cheek? The artist either means this piece as a serious meditation on the Holy Week (chocolate bunnies anyone?) or is trying to honk your nose. Either way, best to just let it go. The novelty will wear off and the statue will melt.
A somewhat productive week; there's new stuff in the reading section and new stuff in the writing section. Enjoy. |
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| It truly cracks me up when people say that racism is dead. I'm honestly not sure that it's something that will ever be relegated to the past. People love to hate each other and always find a reason. A discernible visual difference is one of the old favorites. Regardless of its future fate, though, I assure you, that it is alive and well today. That link will take you to the story of how a lone white woman with a gun was, by the power of rascism, transformed into an unarmed black woman with a daughter.
In other (and weirder) news, Marvel has apparently decided to dress up the Punisher as Captain America after the latter's demise. The artwork of Ariel Olivette is gorgeous and the costume design is interesting. I just have a hard time connecting the dots on how Frank Castle would decide to take on the mantle of Captain America. Maybe that's not the case, but if it is...weird.
There is new art for the Mirror Man story. Check it out.
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| One of Vertigo's recent releases is a political satire called Army@Love. It's proven to be one of those books that people either love or hate. While I didn't care for it, the book did produce a strong emotional reaction in me when I read it, which is saying more than you can for many books on the market. Silver Bullet Comics has selected the title for its Sunday Slugfest. Reading over the text there caused me to reflect on my own opinion about the book, so it you are curious about Army@Love, the Slugfest might give you an idea if you would enjoy it. Which, given that reactions to the book are strong, you might want to figure out before buying it. |
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| You have got to be freakin' kidding me. I'm going to go hide in my imagination. Someone tell me when this is over.
There is a new addition to the Kansas story. That brings us to Chapter 22. |
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| Apparently, not liking 300 means that I am not a man. But I have friends in the women folk camp that love it. Does this make them men? I hope not as actually enjoying the movie seems to have made said women more desirable to other men. I will be profoundly disturbed if 300 is, in fact, the secret to transgender relations. There are a great many half-naked men in the movie, though.
Reviews will be going up throughout the day. More additions to the writing section on Friday. |
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| Not surprisingly, the people of Iraq are becoming increasingly pessimistic about U.S. involvement in their country. What is surprising (to me) about the poll is that on page 22 of the report 56% of the respondents replied that they did not believe Iraq was in a civil war. Given that much of the violence there is being used to create schisms along sectarian lines, it would seem that, despite everything, Iraqi's are holding onto the idea that they can forge a unified country. I'm not sure I'd call that progress but it might be hope.
On a completely unrelated and far less important note, the first pencil for Mirror Man is up. You can see it right here. On The Forgotten project there are new character sketches up. ANIMAL EAT DRUM!
Later that same day...
There's a new review up that I also posted to Comic Book Resources. A fellow reader pointed me to this. It's pretty freakin' cool.
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| This has to be one of the biggest cultural misunderstandings that I have ever seen. If you don't care to read the article, it basically discusses how the people of Iran, which was the seat of the Persian Empire, are mad as Hell over the depiction of that old empire in the movie 300. While that may be understandable, what is extremely unsettling about it is that (apparently) many of them believe that the U.S. government secretly funded the movie in order to prepare its populace for war with Iran.
Putting aside the fact that most Americans probably don't realize that Iran has anything to do with Persia, tying the comic book industry to the current administration shows just how little the Iranians understand the U.S. Most folks involved in comics, or movies for that matter, tend to be pretty liberal. Some are just plain anti-establishment. So for the Iranians, government and people, to believe the Bush administration is somehow controlling both factions of the entertainment industry in preparation for invasion goes a long way to showing just how paranoid our saber rattling has made them.
To dismiss the Iranians concerns would be easy. The film (if not the marketing) makes no claims to historical accuracy, the depiction of the Persians has little to no basis in reality, and the chest-beating testosterone of the film is so over the top I'm not sure how you could look at it and call it psychological warfare. Consider, though, how paranoid we would be as a nation if a hostile foreign power invaded both Mexico and Canada. This is essentially what we've done in the case of Iran by invading Iraq and Afghanistan. The people of Iran see themselves as being threatened by a giant that endangers their way of life. And they have no intention of surrendering without a fight.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
As promised, there is new material for The Forgotten. There's a new adaptation of the script as well as eight inked and lettered pages.
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| So the Layfayette murder has made it into Time Magazine. So looks like Colorado has a chance of making it three times onto the Top 25 List. I'm sure that a story involving a teen-age couple murdering a parent isn't a first. Not surprisingly, what is catching the public eye here is how many facts about the crime are being discovered afterward via the perpetrators' blogs. However, the truth seems to be there isn't much there.
The writing is laced with the standard teen-age complaints, discontent and narcissism. I truly do not envy whatever editorial intern had to read all of it. The sheer superficiality of what little I read, mixed with the horror of what they did, would make me want to carve out my eyes with a spoon. My favorite example is when the girlfriend wonders on her blog how, "two people 'in love' can fight so many times in one day." Call me crazy, but the additional pressure on the relationship from your dead mom being stuffed into the back of your Subaru might have something to do with it. |
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| March has gotten off to a slow start, for which I apologize. I had a skiing accident after my birthday that resulted in a concussion and a few bruised ribs. I tell you, they say to watch out for The Flying Dutchman, but that's got nothing on flying into a Welshman. Fortunately for me, I learned there are few things that you can't fix with beer when it comes to men from Wales.
Despite the fact that the U.S. has neglected its duties in Afghanistan after blindly stumbling into Iraq, and despite the beginning spring offensive, there is still good news there from time to time. The latest bit to give me hope has to do with the Buddhas of Bamiyan. These were two colossal Buddhas, one 175 feet high, the other 120 feet, that had been carved into the cliffsides not far from Kabul. In 2001, the Taliban destroyed these ancient statues through a month of non-stop dynamiting and shelling.
In 2007, work will begin on a project commissioned by the Afghan government that will use a series of laser to project the likeness of the Buddha back onto the cliffsides. While it may be insubstantial, particularly when compared to a 175 foot statue, I think that is very appropriate considering the nature of the Buddhist religion. Plus, the system will be solar and wind powered, and will provide electricity for Bamiyan.
Anyway, new reviews will be going up today. Also, look for an update to The Forgotten material come Friday. |
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| I was busy killing my liver on Wednesday, so I missed the most recent issue of Captain America. Issue #25 sold out pretty quick, with his death and all.
I'm really beginning to question the editorial decisions that Marvel is making lately. Considering the situation our country is in, it seems a really odd time to kill Captain America. Actually, it seems like a bit of a cop out. But a number of things about ole Cap that have cropped up lately fall into that category.
Captain America, in the Marvel Universe, is pretty much the ideal hero. In the words of Stan Lee, "He was courageous, he was honest, he was loyal, he tried to always do the right thing. He had no prejudice." That seems like something we could use right now, doesn't it? However, of late Marvel has chosen to emphasize that Captain American, as the idealized hero, doesn't kill. How'd he manage to get through World War II without killing anyone? With the U.S. fighting a war on two fronts, it seems an odd time to emphasize the Captain's adherence to the sixth commandment.
This brings us to the end of Civil War in which Captain America breaks down crying when he sees the mass destruction that results from his super-powered battle with Iron Man. Which brings us again to the question, how did this guy get through World War II? Unfortunately, collateral damage is apart of warfare and always will be. If you can't accept that, then don't start the fight to begin with. That seems like something Captain would have picked up on after more than four decades of fighting. Instead, we get him starting a fight that requires massive sacrifice from the people who chose to side with him, but when things really get hard, he backs out, leaving his teammates in a huge lurch. Not to mention, Tony Stark, who has done any number of questionable things in his pursuit of Captain America, gets rewarded for being a total bastard.
As anyone who's been to the reading section can attest to, I'm a fan of Captain America. But the way he has been handled lately, particularly in his death, leaves a great deal to be desired. At its best, the Marvel Universe is a reflection of our own world. Now, figures like Captain America can't solve the big problems of our world. That would be demeaning as well as ruin the suspension of disbelief. After all, if Cap ran over to Afghanistan and whomped on the Taliban, what would you think when you picked up the paper and read about the latest dead GIs?
However, figures like him can be used to bring up the issues of today and how, in a perfect world with an idealized hero, these issues would be handled. In other words, Captain America is there to show us the best in ourselves and America. It seems to me that we have plenty of things that someone who is courageous and honest could be doing. Unfortunately, we got Captain America starting a fight he wouldn't finish and being gunned down by an unseen assailant.
That's a little too close to real life for my taste. |
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| Happy birthday to me!
I was watching the Omega Man last night when I noticed something interesting. According to the movie, the end of the world occurs in March, 1975. The same month and year of my birth. Coincidence?
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| The recent outbreak of odd crimes here in Colorado got me thinking. While doing some research I found Time Magazine's Top 25 Crimes of the Century. I'm proud to say that Colorado gets on the list, not once, but twice. We may not have the quantity, but we've got the quality.
Despite bitching about the weather, though, I got out to go skiing this weekend. Say what you want about dead kid beauty queens and homicidal teen-agers, but this place is freakin' beautiful. |
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| And the hits just keep on coming. I didn't think that we could top the man stabbing his girlfriend over salad dressing but I was wrong. What state of mind do you have to be in to stab someone in their own home, then stuff them into the car in their garage and then think no one will notice? Granted, it took the suspect running down the street screaming incoherently about his missing shoe for people to notice, but still. As always, though, I try to remember that it could always be worse.
In the good news department the next chapter of Kansas is up. That brings us to Chapter 21. Also, I've been adding more reviews to the reading section. |
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