Hey kids! Do you have a spare $55k lying around? Do you need to burn that cash on something completely worthless and stupid? Then you need this comic! That’s right folks! For a mere $55k you can buy a book that will never be worth as much as you bought it for!
Now, you may be wondering why this non-key is so awesome. Well, it has 9 covers. I couldn’t really read the rest of the sales page since the spelling is non-existant, but from what I can tell there’s a lot of red, big text, and a lot of ‘!!!’, and in general IT HURTS MY EYES.
For those of you who don’t know, there was a show in the 70’s called The Electric Company. In this show was a Spider-Man short, which was clearly made by drugs. Clearly dated, but clearly fucking hysterical, let’s have a look at a few of these clips:
EXCUSE ME MORGAN FREEMAN DOES BATMAN KNOW YOU ONCE HAD AN AFFAIR WITH SPIDER-MAN!?
DUDE YOU’RE A WALL. GO STAND IN THE WOMEN’S LOCKER ROOM OR SOMETHING.
So as many of you may have heard, the guy who directed 500 Days Of Summer will be doing the next Spider-Man movie, which will be a reboot of the (rather successful) franchise. Spider-Man 1 isn’t even 10 years old yet, and already Marvel wants to re-start the franchise. While they can really do whatever the hell they want with their property, it puzzles me greatly. Tobey Maguire is still widely known as the famous NYC web slinger to the general, non comic book reading public. While I’m not saying this will cause an uproar with the general movie going public, it may confuse them, and it may hurt the next movie’s financial success.
Of course I could be wrong and the next movie could be the best thing since The Dark Knight. I also said that about Watchmen and wanted to stab my eyes out with Silk Specter action figures over how bad the movie was. Of course, when I re-watched the Spider-Man movies late last year, I found that they are pretty dated, and CGI has come a long, LONG way since then. Watching Spidey fly through the air really just makes me cringe over how stupid it looks. However Spidey’s poor CGI is nothing compared to the shit fest that was Spider-Man 3. While not the worst thing I’ve ever seen grace a movie screen, it’s really fucking horrible.
The worst part about the third movie? I went to buy my boyfriend the three Spider-Man movies on Blu Ray a while back. Only 3 is sold separately. If you want the first two, you have to buy them in a pack of three, so your guarantee’s to get that fucking third movie. There is no middle ground. You’re stuck with that crap fest. Of course the first two may be bought individually at one point, but at Christmas 09 that was unheard of.
But I digress! I’m hesitant about the new Spidey mostly because I feel it’s too soon. If you may recall, people felt this way when Batman Begins came out. We still had the stale taste of Bat-Nipples in our mouths, and if I remember Batman Begins didn’t do super awesome in theaters. However, when it was released on DVD/cable people saw how fucking amazing it was, which led to the Dark Knights fucking KILLER box office hit. Jesus fuck that was a good movie.
Whatever it may be, I’ll still see it in theaters.
Baltimore Comic Con. What can I say? It’s my favorite comic book con ever. Aside from that it’s in my backyard and kind of small compared to say, New York Comic Con, it’s still one of the best cons. Ever. I’m not the type of con goer who does panels or tries to meet guests. Instead I just like to wander around and find good books at good prices, and there was plenty of that to be had at Baltimore Comic Con 09. I’ll stop gushing now, so please enjoy the photo’s by Patty Boh, and myself!
Franco Aureliani is a really nice guy, and does sketches for $1. I love me some Tiny Titans!
As some of you may know, I have a big spot in my heart for Archie comics. As a kid they were a valuable source of entertainment, and as an adult they are a valuable source of nostalgia, and something I now collect actively. Growing up though I never fancied Betty nor Veronica, though as I’ve gotten older I can say I prefer Veronica of the two. I’ve always liked the other girls of the Archie universe; Cheryl Blossom, and especially Katy Keene. I also like Suzie and Ginger, however both characters are pretty much forgotten by fans who don’t actively collect golden age comics. There is a new character named Ginger whom Betty and Veronica hang out with, but it’s not the same girl.
Archie himself is the most one-dimensional character I’ve ever read, but thats not a bad thing. He’s girl crazy, clumsy, but a typical nice, all American type guy. Betty is your typical girl next door, and Veronica is that rich bitch you all loved to hate and hated to love in high school. Their personalities are like night and day, but they’re honestly the same girl. All girls are capable of being nice and sweet, and haughty and rude. Hell, aside from the different color hair they look exactly the same. However, it’s a dynamic that has worked for well over 60 years, so who gives a shit.
My favorite character however, is Jughead Jones. In my opinion he seem’s to be the most complex character; woman-hater (yet has had a few girlfriends in the past), aloof, a pig, but means well. He’s usually Archie’s go to guy for advice, and Jughead gives pretty good advice (even if it’s usually “Go with Betty she’s sane”). Jughead has even shown his softer side for Betty, commenting that if he weren’t a woman-hater, he would date her. He’s had many girlfriends in past issues, and frankly he is a charmer. He obviously likes women, but doesn’t want to end up like his best friend Archie, meaning he doesn’t want to be an asshat.
The rest of the cast is just as fun. Dilton, the smart nerdy guy is as sweet as pie, while Reggie is an asshole who deserves to get hit by a car. Either way, this series deserves, and will be here, for another 60 years.
Also if anyone has an Archie #2 for sale I’m very willing to buy it.
I love Sailor Moon. As a child my Dad diligently recorded it on TV for me off of both the USA Network, as well as UPN. I had all the toys I could get my little hands on. At the same time I was watching Sailor Moon (at around 8 years of age), I was already reading Batman and Wonder Woman comics, so I was very familiar with my local comic shop. They also carried standard American type manga for Ranma 1/2, Oh! My Goddess, and Spirit of Wonder. However, this isn’t about how Sailor Moon was my gateway drug into the world of anime and manga.
When I started to watch SM, I always read the credits. I don’t know why, but I figured out the show wasn’t from America real fast. My Dad took me to Toys R Us around that time, and I went on a pretty silly search for Sailor Moon comics (hey, the credits said it was based on a comic series). Of course at the time, no one had translated the comic. I had seen, and bought, various Japanese edition’s for Sailor Moon, as well as Sailor V. The art frankly terrified me, since it was not what I was used too, and oh yea the shit’s in black and white. I was just learning how to read Japanese at the time, so it worked out in my favor, I guess.
Then I went into middle school. Around late 2000, a new publishing company called MixxZine announced they were translating Sailor Moon! This was pretty huge news for me, since for the past 3 years I’ve read and barely understanding the Japanese versions. It was also at this time that I met Julie, who also loved manga like I did. Middle school was a magical time for me. I loved it.
Then, MixxZine did release Sailor Moon. At first they had the right idea, but then some asshat possibly named Stu went and decided to release the series out of sequence. Sailor Moon left Mixx Magazine, and started her own 32 page series (begining with Sailor Moon R), BUT at the same time, Smile Magazine (a magazine for teenage girls) was printing Sailor Moon Super S. If you don’t know shit about Sailor Moon, there’s 5 seasons:
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon R
Sailor Moon S
Sailor Moon Super S
Sailor Moon Sailor Stars
So basically Mixx skipped over the ‘S’ season for some fucking dumb reason, and decided to just fuck up the continuity, which obviously didn’t mean fucking didly to them. Plus, if you’re starting to read Sailor Moon from he Super S era, you’re going to be lost. You probably won’t understand why these big eyes long legged black and white hussies can transform into short skirted big boobied soldiers when they shout a planets name. It’s hard to follow, I know.
Thankfully the graphic novels eventually came out, and all was well in the world. Without going too much more into the history, most of the series and movies were translated, save for the last season. Shame too, because the last season had one of the best villains, story lines, and had very consistent animation. If you don’t believe me, go watch the first season of Sailor Moon. It’s a new animator doing it every day and you can fucking tell.
Long story short, I can’t watch Sailor Moon anymore, because it’s fucking dumb. However, I will always love it for what I ment to me as a child, and I could never bring myself to get rid of any of my Sailor Moon stuff.
Now, as a long time comic collector, I’ve seen my fair share of dumb comic book covers. Some are unintentionally hilarious, some are just…dumb. Here’s a few of my favorites:
What exactly would Hitler be coming clean about? Hating Jews? Gypsies? Gays? Because I thought he was pretty honest about the whole thing.
The day old Bessie the Tractor died.
If you don’t read modern comics you might not find the humor. (HINT: BRUCE WAYNE IS DEAD AND A ROBIN TOOK HIS PLACE.)
To answer ‘Who watches the Watchmen’ questions, I have an answer: My Dad. He has watched Watchmen almost every single day. He recorded it on his DVR, and every time I come home or walk by the den, there he is, fascinated by the movie. He refuses to read the graphic novel (he’s 60, and can pretty much do what he wants) so he watches the movie. Eventually I plan to make him watch the director’s cut, which is leaps and bounds better than the theatrical version.
However, the ‘Ultimate Watchmen’ cut sucks Dr. Manhattans balls. That version is the directors cut, along with ‘Tales of The Black Freighter’ and a few extra scenes sewn in. It feels like it’s 20 hours long, when it’s really around 3. It’s impossible to get through. My boyfriend bought that version on Blu-Ray because he’s a bigger nerd then I am. I can’t stand that version, but I love the directors cut.
Yet I digress! My Dad didn’t like the movie at first when he got it from Netflix. I had seen the movie multiple times with my boyfriend in regular theaters, as well as movie theater IMAX (which is not as big as science center IMAX). It did grow on me, but it’s still a lack luster movie. The acting, even in the director’s cut, it mostly stiff and hard to get through. Visually though, the movie is breathtaking. I could easily watch the movie on mute for 20 hours and enjoy it greatly.
Is not a great series. Every month I buy it since it has two of my favorite DC women, Poison Ivy and Catwoman, but it does a terrible job of holding my attention. Paul Dini is usually a great writer, but the story is just lack luster. I do enjoy the scenes with the Riddler though, but he’s only in 1 issue so far. It’s also confusing to follow if you haven’t read a single modern comic in the past 3 years or so. Truth to be told, if you’re looking for a stand-alone series where you don’t need any background, this is not the series for you.
The one saving grace, and what keeps me buying the series, is the art by Guillem March. He’s one helluva artist, and I feel as though he should get more attention in the fandom. Take for example, these pieces:
He draws beautiful, exotic looking women. His art is colorful and just easy on the eyes. He is the reason I’m still interested in GCS, because the story is just lack luster. Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll one day have some OA by him…
Last summer I saw Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen in science center IMAX. I went in expecting nothing but giant robots beating the fuck out of each other, and guess what! THIS MOVIE DID JUST THAT! Yet I left the theater to the sound of my fellow patrons complaining about the movie. Excuse me, what the fuck did you think you bought tickets for? The Dark Knight? Did you not notice that the director was Michael Baysplosions? ALL OF HIS MOVIES ARE SHITTY. But they’re enjoyable, made for money, and I don’t have to think at all to enjoy them. It’s a mindless summer popcorn flick. That’s all I expected, and frankly anyone looking for a plot or good acting is a fucking idiot.
Plus, when your director looks like this: (HINT: HE’S ON THE LEFT)
What do you really expect from a summer popcorn flick?
Now, growing up I did not watch Transformers. I was too busy trying to get my Batman and Barbie dolls to make out. I did recently watch some episodes, and frankly the cartoon sucks. Of course it was a show made for 6 year olds based on a toy line, so I can’t be too harsh. But people are honestly complaining about how bad Transformers, the movies, are. Since I guess no one really wants to admit that the cartoons they loved as a child are really fucking stupid, I’ll admit it for you: It’s stupid. It’s a cool concept, or at least it was in the 80’s, but we’ve come a long way since the 80’s. I can be woman enough to admit Sailor Moon fucking sucks now that I’m watching it as an adult, but I’ll always love it for what it ment to me as a child.
I mean, for fucks sake people, just enjoy the movie for what it is. Stop trying to find some deep, meaningful story because there is none. And, enjoy it for how fucking goddamn bad-ass the CGI is. I dare you to look at this and NOT think it’s bad ass:
Yea, that’s what I thought.
-Lauren
Totally didn’t talk about this with Lauren, ever, but experienced exactly the same thing. Only, minus the IMAX. If Eric’s little brother was not sitting on the other side of him, I would have started humping my boyfriend after the intro scenes were done. I have creamy little girl panties for that movie.
Franco Aureliani is a really nice guy, and does sketches for $1. I love me some Tiny Titans!
Our own Han and Supergirl!
What exactly would Hitler be coming clean about? Hating Jews? Gypsies? Gays? Because I thought he was pretty honest about the whole thing.
The day old Bessie the Tractor died.
If you don’t read modern comics you might not find the humor. (HINT: BRUCE WAYNE IS DEAD AND A ROBIN TOOK HIS PLACE.)
Frankly, this just scares the fuck out of me.
(HINT: HE’S ON THE LEFT)
Girls With Comics 