While reading a section of James Elkin's "Why Are Our Pictures Puzzles?" I was struck by one of the main points he tries to make in the chapter called "The Evidence of Excess." While he is specifically speaking of art history, I found that it applies to almost anything. He postulates that the amount of time, energy, and the exponential increase in the number of words needed to criticize a piece of artwork has, in effect, begun to overtake the amount of works produced, and that there is more being said about something than that something may necessarily have to say.
While that probably doesn't sound interesting to anyone besides myself, it does raise some interesting questions if one is to think more thoroughly about it. First, when did it become more important to criticize than to create, and why is this so widely accepted, and indeed lauded? Could the energy placed into the assessment of something, whether it be a painting, a sculpture, a comic book, or a piece of prose, be better used to actually create a piece of art? Is it true that "those who do, do, those who can't, teach and those that cannot teach, criticize?" Or is the act of judgment merely a tool to better understand, and therefore enrich, the experience? Is dissection useful to improve one's own abilities, or is it an act that does little more than waste one's time?
Being in school I have found that the notion of "critical thinking" that is pounded into student's heads is mostly a positive idea, one that fosters the ability to question things and "read between the lines." But is there a limit to this? Does all of this critical thinking lead to an inability to create? Does the act of evaluation ruin any desire one may have to make something for fear that it will be exposed to too many attempts to disembowel it, to pull it so completely apart that the sum of the parts is no longer visible? Why would anyone even try when it will be dismissed if it is not flawless, and argued about regardless?
It makes me question a large number of things. Is my being in school killing my ability to write? Does the non-stop exposure and immersion within an institution that relies only upon criticism as a means of legitimacy destroy my ability to think and create to my own accord?
Is this blog part of the problem?
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
New stuff coming soon
Sorry I haven't been keeping up with this lately. Too much schoolwork and not enough money for new comics.
New stuff coming as soon as possible!
New stuff coming as soon as possible!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Goodbye Marvel
Ever since Marvel announced that they were being bought out by Disney, a corporation I have nothing but contempt for, I have considered cutting all of the Marvel books out of my hold stack. While the Disney buy-out was a pretty large step towards removing Marvel shit from my life, it wasn't the first nail in the proverbial coffin. For years Marvel has been staging huge events that cross over through all of their titles and change the characters based on the outcomes of said events. Civil War, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, etc, have all changed the "status quo" of the Marvel Universe 'forever.' Or for about a year until the next world-changing event.
I can't take it anymore. I want to read an X-Men book because I like the X-Men. I don't want to have to purchase six different tie-ins to know what the fucking X-Men are doing. The X-Men have no business being in the Avengers, and vice-versa. Leave these teams in their own goddamn books! Or at least keep each book within its own corner of the Marvel U, self-sufficient and without having to feel the effects of what some S.H.I.E.L.D., (or H.A.M.M.E.R. or D.I.L.D.O.) asshole is doing. If a writer on one book wants to include another group that is fine, as long as I don't have to buy both books to know what is going on in the one book I actually give enough of a shit to read.
I understand it is about money. Marvel is a business and they need to sell a certain amount of product to continue being viable, but they are really stabbing themselves in the crotch here. Eventually everyone will get sick of having to buy every book to know what the fuck is going on. What it is beginning to feel like is a choose your own adventure book that requires all of the pieces to be purchased separately. Only in comics could publishers get away with this shit. If the new Cormac McCarthy book was released in different books that only had certain chapters, people would flip the fuck out and storm the publishers building. Let each piece stand on its fucking own.
So my solution to this is to stop buying Marvel books altogether. I will let the storylines finish and then I am done. I will stick to the books that can tell a story in 22 pages a month that makes sense from one month to the next and that don't require me spending an extra $100 a month to know what the hell is happening.
I can't take it anymore. I want to read an X-Men book because I like the X-Men. I don't want to have to purchase six different tie-ins to know what the fucking X-Men are doing. The X-Men have no business being in the Avengers, and vice-versa. Leave these teams in their own goddamn books! Or at least keep each book within its own corner of the Marvel U, self-sufficient and without having to feel the effects of what some S.H.I.E.L.D., (or H.A.M.M.E.R. or D.I.L.D.O.) asshole is doing. If a writer on one book wants to include another group that is fine, as long as I don't have to buy both books to know what is going on in the one book I actually give enough of a shit to read.
I understand it is about money. Marvel is a business and they need to sell a certain amount of product to continue being viable, but they are really stabbing themselves in the crotch here. Eventually everyone will get sick of having to buy every book to know what the fuck is going on. What it is beginning to feel like is a choose your own adventure book that requires all of the pieces to be purchased separately. Only in comics could publishers get away with this shit. If the new Cormac McCarthy book was released in different books that only had certain chapters, people would flip the fuck out and storm the publishers building. Let each piece stand on its fucking own.
So my solution to this is to stop buying Marvel books altogether. I will let the storylines finish and then I am done. I will stick to the books that can tell a story in 22 pages a month that makes sense from one month to the next and that don't require me spending an extra $100 a month to know what the hell is happening.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Bastard Noise/Endless Blockade's "The Red List" Split
Ok...Holy shit.While I expected this split to be great, I didn't expect anything half this amazing.
The Bastard Noise half of the split is not the excellent noise that we have all come to know and love, but instead a three-headed amalgamation of BN and Man Is The Bastard. Drums and the 'four steel girders' of MITB have an awesome orgy with the fucked up noise of BN and poop out super tight tracks that span everything from prog to noise to straight old-school power-violence.
The production is clean, but still raw, and helps lend a lot of power to the compositions, as well as creating space for all of the individual members of the group, including drummer Danny Walker from Intronaut and formerly from Phobia.
Lyrically much of the area covered has been covered by the group before, but like always, they manage to layer the vocals in such a way that they help push the music along instead of sticking out awkwardly. Themes of the downfall of mankind, disease and the loss of self penetrate the lyrics and the preceding text.
If you are a fan of BN or MITB I can recommend this with absolutely no hesitation, and to anyone else who is a fan of tight music put together in weird ways I would suggest checking it out. Even if you don’t dig it, at least you tried.
Listen to MUTANT WORLD OF SHAME and MOVEMENT TWO
It would be easy to think that it would be difficult to follow what BN did on their half of the split, and it would be for almost anyone except for The Endless Blockade. Composed of one fourteen-minute track called “Deuteronomy,” TEB runs the gamut of what they are known for. Right out of the gate they start laying down fast and driving material before collapsing into mesmerizing doom before jumping back to some more fast shit. This starts fragmenting into more slow pulsation and noise, melded seamlessly together, thanks in small part to Scott Hull’s (ANb, Pig Destroyer) mix.
As important as the music is, the lyrics demand a heavy analysis. One that I am not even close to being smart enough for. But I’ll try anyways, because it isn’t like anyone is reading this shit. What they have done here is linked the concept of language, as it exists as an abstraction for reality, to the continuous failings of humanity. These links are assigned values throughout history, either as events or groups, how they related to one another and how they were able to feed or starve the “other” side in pursuit of their own goals. These people and events may be different but a repeating pattern emerges when studied in any depth. Religion is repeatedly cited as being a tie to a past that hinders growth and is used to spread the worship of humankind’s end. When people are unable to think and love the way they want, the obsession with the end is all they have left.
Language as a trap.
Ok. Enough blathering, just go listen. SAMPLE OF DEUTERONOMY
A+
Thursday, January 14, 2010
What I have been reading lately...
Since I am unbelievably poor at the moment, I haven't been keeping up to date on what is in my hold stack. I know it has grown to ridiculous proportions, and that soon it will eclipse the sun, but never mind that. This period of intense money-less-ness has allowed me to either re-read some old favorites, as well as read some shit I forgot I purchased a while ago.
Destroyer: MAX written by Robert Kirkman with art by Cory Walker.
For the life of me I can’t remember why I didn’t read this the second I bought it. Great piece of work from the creators of Invicible.
I remember reading an article on CBR about this mini-series before it was released and I was quite excited. Kirkman had dug up a character that hadn't been used regularly in quite some time, if ever, and brought him into the now. But this wasn't a relaunch or anything like that, it was as if the series had been running since the character's inception and the series should have been issues 600-605, or something along those lines. Kirkman did a stupendous job filling us in on what had been happening for the preceding decades within the book by cleverly planting little bits of information that fit well within the context of the conversations taking place between the characters. We learn who his all-time arch-villain was, what atrocities were committed against his family by said villain, and that this was the be-all end-all between the two. The search for the villain is coupled with Destroyer’s failing health and his battle with the Grim Reapers. The ending is great and really keeps with the spirit of the book being just a small piece of the overall continuity. The end was the start of an entire new arc. I know we probably won’t see Kirkman returning to Marvel anytime soon, but I wouldn’t mind seeing another great story like this.
The art is top-notch across the board. Cory Walker is obscenely talented at creating amazing one-of-a-kind characters with just a few lines, and endows them all with great emotions. His storytelling is solid and moves along briskly, and the panel layouts keep everything easy to follow. While the book is drenched in blood from beginning to end, it doesn’t come across as overdone. The violence is such a natural part of the character that it is akin to Batman leaving someone on the steps of Arkham, or Spidey suspending a crook by webbing between two buildings.
One of my favorite mini-series of the last few years. Solid A
Check out a preview here
Next up is:
Persepolis written and illustrated by Marjane Satrapi
An incredible coming of age story and modern history of Iran, told from the perspective of a woman who lived through the Revolution.
It is difficult for me to discuss this book because, much like Maus, it really needs to be read to be appreciated. There is so much honesty in this book that it is painful to read at times and shows how human everyone is no matter his or her geographic location.
This book, as well as current events, has lead me to start learning more about the country of Iran. Learning the history in which a story is written or told in is a great way to better understand why it was written and can lead to a deeper understanding of the work itself, as well as the time and place it is about.
I give this a very strong A
...And now for something less awesome.
Anyone who knows me, and knows comics, is well aware that I have mixed feelings about Warren Ellis. While some of his series are indispensable, i.e. Transmetropolitan and Planetary, most of his work starts out very promising, and then falls face first into “what the fuck” territory, but not the good kind. This next little review is about one of those.
No Hero written by Warren Ellis with art by Juan Jose Ryp.
The premise of this book is that one group of superhumans is in charge of keeping the world in check, and what happens when those superhumans begin being killed. The team looks for a replacement, but who they choose is someone who is not as they seem.
Sounds kinda thin. And it is. The final act veers off the road it was on and over a fucking cliff into an ocean of head-shaking confusion.
Sure, the art is great. Ryp has that sort of Gary Erskine hyper-detail that gives everything tons of texture and personality without being distracting, and his style compliments what Ellis has written, especially the hallucination scenes, and the end product of the superhuman program. And a strap-on made of a dude’s spine. But are good visuals enough? No. Comics are a combination of story and artwork, and if one falls flat, they both fail. Sure Ellis shows us some cool shit, but what is the point? Where does it move the story forward? Why is it significant?
This has always been my problem with Ellis. He has these amazing ideas and images in his mind but the plots sometimes seem to be poles to prop these ideas and pictures up on, as an illusion of a cohesive work.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not shit-talking the man at all, and I buy most of his titles. He has a workload that would make anyone void their bowels, I would just like to see him be able to expand on his concepts, perhaps in a larger format, like an OGN or a longer series. I could see in quite a few ways where he could have combined No Hero and Black Summer into one book that would have complimented the two stories, and made for a much more satisfying ending.
No Hero gets a C
More coming soon! Check back often!
Destroyer: MAX written by Robert Kirkman with art by Cory Walker.
For the life of me I can’t remember why I didn’t read this the second I bought it. Great piece of work from the creators of Invicible.
I remember reading an article on CBR about this mini-series before it was released and I was quite excited. Kirkman had dug up a character that hadn't been used regularly in quite some time, if ever, and brought him into the now. But this wasn't a relaunch or anything like that, it was as if the series had been running since the character's inception and the series should have been issues 600-605, or something along those lines. Kirkman did a stupendous job filling us in on what had been happening for the preceding decades within the book by cleverly planting little bits of information that fit well within the context of the conversations taking place between the characters. We learn who his all-time arch-villain was, what atrocities were committed against his family by said villain, and that this was the be-all end-all between the two. The search for the villain is coupled with Destroyer’s failing health and his battle with the Grim Reapers. The ending is great and really keeps with the spirit of the book being just a small piece of the overall continuity. The end was the start of an entire new arc. I know we probably won’t see Kirkman returning to Marvel anytime soon, but I wouldn’t mind seeing another great story like this.
The art is top-notch across the board. Cory Walker is obscenely talented at creating amazing one-of-a-kind characters with just a few lines, and endows them all with great emotions. His storytelling is solid and moves along briskly, and the panel layouts keep everything easy to follow. While the book is drenched in blood from beginning to end, it doesn’t come across as overdone. The violence is such a natural part of the character that it is akin to Batman leaving someone on the steps of Arkham, or Spidey suspending a crook by webbing between two buildings.
One of my favorite mini-series of the last few years. Solid A
Check out a preview here
Next up is:
Persepolis written and illustrated by Marjane Satrapi
An incredible coming of age story and modern history of Iran, told from the perspective of a woman who lived through the Revolution.
It is difficult for me to discuss this book because, much like Maus, it really needs to be read to be appreciated. There is so much honesty in this book that it is painful to read at times and shows how human everyone is no matter his or her geographic location.
This book, as well as current events, has lead me to start learning more about the country of Iran. Learning the history in which a story is written or told in is a great way to better understand why it was written and can lead to a deeper understanding of the work itself, as well as the time and place it is about.
I give this a very strong A
...And now for something less awesome.
Anyone who knows me, and knows comics, is well aware that I have mixed feelings about Warren Ellis. While some of his series are indispensable, i.e. Transmetropolitan and Planetary, most of his work starts out very promising, and then falls face first into “what the fuck” territory, but not the good kind. This next little review is about one of those.
No Hero written by Warren Ellis with art by Juan Jose Ryp.
The premise of this book is that one group of superhumans is in charge of keeping the world in check, and what happens when those superhumans begin being killed. The team looks for a replacement, but who they choose is someone who is not as they seem.
Sounds kinda thin. And it is. The final act veers off the road it was on and over a fucking cliff into an ocean of head-shaking confusion.
Sure, the art is great. Ryp has that sort of Gary Erskine hyper-detail that gives everything tons of texture and personality without being distracting, and his style compliments what Ellis has written, especially the hallucination scenes, and the end product of the superhuman program. And a strap-on made of a dude’s spine. But are good visuals enough? No. Comics are a combination of story and artwork, and if one falls flat, they both fail. Sure Ellis shows us some cool shit, but what is the point? Where does it move the story forward? Why is it significant?
This has always been my problem with Ellis. He has these amazing ideas and images in his mind but the plots sometimes seem to be poles to prop these ideas and pictures up on, as an illusion of a cohesive work.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not shit-talking the man at all, and I buy most of his titles. He has a workload that would make anyone void their bowels, I would just like to see him be able to expand on his concepts, perhaps in a larger format, like an OGN or a longer series. I could see in quite a few ways where he could have combined No Hero and Black Summer into one book that would have complimented the two stories, and made for a much more satisfying ending.
No Hero gets a C
More coming soon! Check back often!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Huh?
The point of this blog is to share my likes, and dislikes, about comic books and music. It will also serve as a tool to help me learn how to better write about things I don't make up.
Expect reviews, gripes, short "What I am Reading/Listening To" posts, and probably some assorted odds and ends.
Thanks for reading!
Expect reviews, gripes, short "What I am Reading/Listening To" posts, and probably some assorted odds and ends.
Thanks for reading!
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