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Showing posts with label comicbooks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comicbooks. Show all posts

Thursday, August 20, 2009

ENTERTAINMENT: Archie Broke My Heart! Now What?

I heard this on NPR. - OlderMusicGeek

August 19, 2009

Dear Amy:

I have been going out with my high school boyfriend, "Archie," for 67 years, though honestly it feels like longer.

We've had our ups and downs like any other couple, but for the most part we get along great.

Sure, he has commitment issues, but that's normal, right?

Unfortunately, it seems that whenever Archie and I get in a little tiff, "Veronica," my worst frenemy, sweeps in. She's, like, really manipulative. But what can I say — she's rich and stuck-up, and really knows how to work her curves. Plus, she drives a roadster.

Yesterday, I found out that Archie is planning to marry Veronica! I don't know how many times he has hinted that he and I would live happily ever after, but when I think about it, he never actually said the words. It was always implied, though.

I'm heartbroken. I'm mad, too.

The worst part is that they've asked me to go to the wedding! Veronica is even hinting that she wants me to be a bridesmaid! Can you imagine?

Of course, I'll probably do it because that's just the sort of person I am. But it's hard to imagine picking up the pieces after dating the same guy for three generations.

Amy, what am I supposed to do now?

Betty

Dear Betty:

Here's what you should do.

Pour yourself into a red dress — the one with the big white polka dots on it. Take your hair down for once, OK? You're a natural blonde, Betty — don't be afraid to work it! Don't wear your neck scarf; a simple strand of pearls would be nice.

I want you to hold your head up high, go to that wedding and tell yourself that you are better off without him.

At the wedding reception (I'm sure it will be held at the Riverdale Country Club), if you have a few too many appletinis and decide to tell off Veronica once and for all, and maybe dance a little too close with Reggie or Jughead, so be it! You're a free woman, Betty, and now's your chance to stand up for all the Bettys everywhere!

I have a really good feeling about you, Betty. I know there are many adventures in store for you. Have you thought about getting a job in the city?

You probably haven't heard the last of Archie. No doubt he'll come crawling back to you, just like he always does — and this will probably happen sooner than you think.

The real question you need to ask yourself is — what will you do then?


A link to the original website including a link to listen to the piece

Sunday, September 14, 2008

CULTURE/SOCIETY: My "Tweets" From Twitter

we have a heat advisory and heat index in the 100's - but i had to wear 2, yes 2, sweaters to stay warm at work. why is the a/c so high?
they set the a/c at a temperature - where if it was that temperature outside, they'd turn the heat on!
i once forgot to bring a sweater to a job in the summer, and i caught a cold. i was sniffling in 80 degree weather!
@spookychan - denial is a good thing some times :)
Ggcals100_normalDan_as_a_simpson2_normal
spookychan: @OlderMusicGeek I try not to think of losing most of my music, or otherwise i would cry. Simple denial goes a long way.
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet · Thread Show Conversation
@spookychan - i would cry if i lost that much of my mp3's! i really keep thinking of backing them up - but i still haven't!
Ggcals100_normal
spookychan: i'm still sad that half my mp3 collection is gone the way of the almost-dead external hard drive. :_:
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet
@killregrets -seems musical guilty pleasure night. you think britney spears is bad? i have 4, yes 4, john denver songs on my mp3 player!
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killregrets: At the trocadero?? Sunset and sweetzer. They're playing britney spears. Haha. Guilty pleasure.
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet

@ghoulash -nothing wrong with having muppets on your playlist. have a sesame street box set on mine! and a couple of muppets greatest hits!
Twitterid_normal
Ghoulash: OK, it was bound to come out sooner or later, so ... It's true, my playlist includes Don Henley singing "Bein' Green" with the Muppets.
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet

my cat is afraid of ironing boards! came in the room, stood still in terror and slowly backed out.
understanding guy i am-i chased it with the ironing board making vacuum noises. when i put it away, the cat backed up clear into the window.
too funny! daughter left spoon in ice cream. she pulled it out of fridge-her tongue got stuck to the spoon! told her pour hot water on it!
@spookychan - i know what you mean about caffeine. i've quit caffeine so many times, i feel like a professional caffeine quitter!
Ggcals100_normalEvil_me2_normal
spookychan: @Patrick_McEvoy i did succumb to my lord and master caffeine. I am but it's humble slave- as it always takes my money. >=3
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet · Thread Show Conversation
finally got the leak in my car fixed and what happens? the gears die! argh! i hate jack archer on arthur avenue just off se 14th st in dm!
i'm bigger geek and dork than i thought - a lot of people i follow on twitter have been talking about comic con!
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Ghoulash: I have a sneaking suspicion that in the last hours of ComicCon, even the most die-hard fans are secretly JUST DYING FOR IT TO BE ALL OVER!!!
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet
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feliciaday: Gina Trapani from Lifehacker escorted me to the bathroom during Comicon as a volunteer after the Dr. Horrible panel. I'm fangeeking out!
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet

feliciaday: Doing Browncoat benefit reading for charity. Last task at Comicon then browsin' time! Looking for new D&D figurine among other things.
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet

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feliciaday: For ComiCon folks, Kim Evey from Gorgeous Tiny will be in character signing at the Sony booth in the Exhibit Hall from 11-12:30 today!
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet

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iStacie: reading ComicCon LOST updates. Interesting...
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet

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feliciaday: http://tinyurl.com/57p23w (expand) Me on Mahalo Daily from today, first Comicon interview, can you tell I just drove 7 hours?
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet

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misterperturbed: Wondering if there will be any attendees at Comicon wearing Mike Grell Legion of Super-Heroes costumes. Shadow Lass, Yay!
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet

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Ghoulash: Envious of all the Twitterati tweeting from ComicCon.
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet

@killregrets - strangers and co-workers tell you how hot your are? and now your clients are hot too. what a life you must live! :)

killregrets -I was voted in school to have the "hottest clients." haha.

11:46 PM July 28, 2008 from twitterrific

@angryasianguy - "professional token asian guy"! too funny! N585582736_3366_normal
angryasianguy: @4evrmoto I am a professional token Asian guy.. LOL
about 1 month ago · Reply · View Tweet
@quietrevolution -i imagine death by glitter like a sf scene when it glows super bright-you cover your eyes-then when it stops-they're gone.
Brianne_dmjuice
juice_brianne: tracie: "She's wearing enough body glitter to kill a horse." I want to know what a death-by-glitter would look like. Just. Too. Sparkly.
05:15 PM July 28, 2008 from web

i never learn. always after taking the car to a shop, i decide to walk to work cus it's only a mile away. and EVERY freaking time, it rains!
@juice_Brianne- i meant that I-me-myself didn't see you replied - us showing how much i-me-myself wanted to be on your list! Brianne Sanchez juice_brianne @OlderMusicGeek I thought I did! Got to start the Register folks off easy, with people they know, I think.

Post On Another Blog

"COMICS, MOVIES and TELEVISION/VIDEOS: Triumph, The Insult Dog, At ComicCon" on OlderMusicGeek's Stupid Entertainment Stuff

Monday, September 01, 2008

ENTERTAINMENT: Batman And Superman Text-Message In Heaven

This is from a blog that read when I have time to read blogs, Serious/Silly. - OlderMusicGeek

it was just another day, like any other day. something good was going on somewhere. something bad was going down somewhere too. like a tale of two cities, or a hidden identity. something with teeth waiting beneath the rainbow. last week's humidity had finally dispelled and the afternoon was warm, but nice. bordering just on being hot, threatening to push that edge in an hour or two. suddenly:

'hey. what r u up to?' a familiar question in an unfamiliar voice. i knew what was going on here.

'are you looking for ashley?'

ashley had been taunting me from somewhere beyond. the most quotidian of things were repeatedly besmirched by the spectre of her past. ordering pizza. reading a book. enjoying the outdoors. she never showed up, but was always there, lurking, a threat not-quite promised, a scythe never quite swinging.

'yes. who is this?'

'not ashley.' i thought that would scare off the ghost.

'then who is this?' 'i mean like what is ur name?'

i threw the phantom a handful of misdirection: 'i'm the joker. or maybe i'm batman. it's so hard to tell the difference these days...'

i waited, biding the minutes to see if my ruse were uncovered.

'o i c. in that case i am super man.'

clark, despite his failings, is an impeccable typist - years of working for a newspaper will do that to a guy. not only would he never misspell his own name, he would never resort to the crass aberrations found so frequently in text-speak.

'you got it, supes.' i thought again this would deter my assailant.

'lol ya what are you doin batty.' clark always calls me 'bats.' interesting. there's only one man on the planet who calls me batty to my face. the crown prince of crime. the master of mayhem. the one-man insane clown posse: the joker.

now that i knew who i was dealing with, i ended our discussion. for all his razzle-dazzle and his chaos, the joker is little more than a lunchroom bully: if you don't let him bait you, he'll leave you alone. and usually gotham as well.

then, this morning, after hours of silence:

'hey what r u doin'

damn. he's a relentless clown. i answered honestly, letting him know i knew who he was: 'getting some sleep after a long night protecting the citizens of gotham.'

i waited. would i have to go back out there? would gotham once again need salvation from its own red-headed, painted-face step-child?

'o i c. i was just having some fun with mrs. superman. hahaha......'

that laugh. it haunts my dreams and my waking moments alike. i could hear it, from wherever he was, like cat-claws on a chalkboard. i know what it means: lois is in trouble...

and i gotta go to work....



A link the the original post
A link the the blog serious/silly

Monday, July 07, 2008

CULTURE/SOCIETY: 7 Geekiest Geek Hobbies

I found this post from the Prodigeek blog when I was doing some googling. - OlderMusicGeek

7 geekiest geek hobbies

June 16th, 2008

Categories: Comic Books, Geek living, Movies, The 7, Video games

There are many factions within the geek community, most viciously opposing and plot the death of other factions. Just try to get a Star Trek fan to agree with a Star Wars fan on anything. The truth is there is a hierarchy of geeks, and geeks in higher parts of that hierarchy are well in their power to look down on those lower in the hierarchy, the same way jocks and cheerleaders look down on all geeks. This list ranks the geekiest of geek hobbies in, well, order of geekiness. Enjoy one of these doesn’t make you a bad person. Just really, really geeky.

7. Star Wars geek

When it comes to sci-fi geekdom, Star Wars wins. It’s just huge, with every comic book, novel, action figure, and video game to collect, memorize, and horde. No other single franchise can match this insanity.

How to know if you are one: You have read anything Star Wars related outside of the 6 movies

Wastes money on: Anything Star Wars related outside of the 6 movies

6. Anime


Pokemon has helped turn anime into a less embarrassing hobby, as long as you are younger than 12. Once you his puberty, it’s time to hide those big-eyed cartoons and start watching South Park. But some geeks can’t break the habit. They just love the speed lines.

How to know if you are one: You understand anime

Wastes money on: Subtitle software and Japanese lessons


5. Comic book geek

These geeks are encyclopedias of the decades old Marvel and DC Universes, memorizing first appearances, continuity blips, even who’s dating who (in super hero land). They also know how many destructive acids exist on the human hand and thus often walk around with Purel and latex gloves for safe comic book reading. No glove, no love…of comics.

How to know if you are one: You know the difference between Superman Earth-1, Earth-2, and Earth-3 and can list every difference in their costumes. (Oh god, I do know the difference between Earth-1, Earth-2 and Earth-3! - OMGeek)

Wastes money on: CGC Grading, professional grading of comic book

4. Action figure geek

The challenge with action figure geeks is deciding who is geekier - the one who keeps the figures boxed or the one who opens them up and plays with them. Then I realized both are immature and not worth telling a date. And yes, I open my action figures (they’re desk distractions).

How to know if you are one: You know what points of articulation are and often count how many you have

Wastes money on: CGC Grading, professional grading of action figures


3. Tabletop gaming geek

Video games might be reaching the mainstream, but tabletop gaming is regulated to the back of comic book shops, hidden from the street traffic and common folk. All the newfangled technology and graphics pale in comparison to a true Dungeon Master’s imagination and extensive free time.

How to know if you are one: You have a preference between Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition and 3.5

Wastes money on: Wizard hat for effect

2. Cosplay geek

Often seen at various conventions, cosplay geeks dress up like characters from their favorite fiction piece. Cosplay is very recognizable among anime and Star Wars conventions, where people come decked out in homemade costumes. Don’t you dare show up in anything store bought.

How to know if you are one: You have won a costume to any event that didn’t have costume party or Halloween in the title

Wastes money on: Paper mache. Lot and lots of paper mache.

1. LARP geek

LARP, or Live action role-playing, combines 2 and 3 into an incredibly geeky offspring where people dress up as their role-playing fantasy and play often Dungeons and Dragons or other tabletop style games. It’s kind of like military reenactments where you don’t know the ending.

How to know if you are one: You have ever played LARP. Once is enough.

Wastes money on: Time period specific shoes, for medieval or futuristic settings

All images taken from 56 Geek Poster, which you buy here.

(You will note - Music Geek is NOT listed among these! - OMGeek)

A link to the 7 Geekiest Geek Hobbies post
A link to the Prodigeek blog

Saturday, March 22, 2008

SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION: Jesus - Vampire Hunter or Just Vampire? Or Zombie?

WARNING: If you were offended when I suggested Santa Claus was a vampire or don't like Jesus being used in jokes, you better not check out this post. - OlderMusicGeek





BadMovies.org's entry for Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
The Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter website from the people who made the movie
The Internet Movie Database's entry for Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
Allmovie.com's entry for Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter


A comicbook review for a REAL comic...
Loaded Bible: Jesus vs. Vampires One-Shot
Writer: Tim Seeley
Pencils: Nate Bellegarde
Finishes: Mark Englert

“In the near future, the United States is ruled by bloodsucking vampire hordes and only one man can end their reign of terror.”

“What would Jesus do?”

“He’d kick Vampire ass.”

Plot: After 9/11, Americans who fear Muslim extremists vote in a president that they feel will allow Christianity to rule the day over these “heathens”. This president attacks foreign countries in the name of God and puts down these devil hordes. When people begin to realize that vampires are among us the government creates a special council to defeat them.

When the vampires attempt to assassinate the council, all hell breaks loose and they nuke everything. In the future, Jesus comes down to save the human race from these vampires (who survived because they are immune to radiation) in the form of a sword wielding action hero with a message.

*48 Christ-tacular pages*

Review: (sarcasm alert) Thank God. It is about time that a comic book, television show, news story, etc. comes out that denigrates our government and attempts to reduce Christianity to a bunch of catchy slogans and bumper stickers. I was starting to wonder if someone would ever be courageous and “edgy” enough to attempt it. Kudos…

Now that I got that out of my system, let’s actually review the book. The above rant notwithstanding, I actually enjoyed the book. Very well rounded characters, beautiful artwork by Nate Bellegarde and Mark Englert, and as an action story I was turning the pages at a pretty quick pace. The bad puns and heavy-handed anti-establishment panels were a little much. The only thing missing was a reference to “kicking ass for the lord”. But that would have just been silly.

At least Tim Seeley seems to have a sense of humor about what he is doing. The action and the message are evenly dispersed throughout the book without ever mixing so it is easy to move past the sermons (irony) and on to Jesus kicking a little ass. You should pick up this book if you agree with the political opinion of its writer or are just a person that really can’t take political messages in a book about a sword wielding Jesus killing vampires very seriously. Because, in context, it is actually a pretty good read.

A link to the review


Yahoo! Answers: Was Jesus a Vampire?
from Boopie

Well think about it. In order for someone to gain eternal life and immortality they had to drink Jesus' blood. Is that the ritual that vampires have in order to make someone become a vampire and therefore gain immortality? This would mean that Jesus was a vampire that sacrificed his own blood to feed everyone else with. Or am I wrong about the vampire mythology or the biblical mythology?

He could have also been a werewolf. He killed himself to save others, and commanded they consume his flesh like a werewolf would do. Nasty huh? Christianity sounds like a grotesque cannibalistic death cult.

Some of the more interesting answers she got...
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
Alice Chaos: Interesting analogy. It does seem a bit ghoulish to take communion, if put that way! I'm basically Christian, yet I wonder just how different things are from what was supposed to be.

DrCoraline: Ask Anne Rice, she would know.

cha0s: You have been watching a lot of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, haven't you? Or Underworld, both are equally idiotic, though the chick in Underworld is hot. Oh well....

some random guy: lmao. That's cute. And did you know Santa claus is part of the Illumnati formed to keep the masses uneducated?

A link to the page with people's various answers


Jesus was Gother than You: The Proof

  • Jesus never referred to himself as goth. Everyone knows the gothest thing someone can do is deny he/she is a goth (case in point: Andrew Elritch and The Sisters of Mercy).

  • He is referred to as Lord Jesus. Even to this day, people call him Lord Jesus, much like other gothlings go by titles such as Lord Ashtoroth, or Lord Wolfbane. It wasn't so cheesy, in the beginning....

  • He was mocked by "normals." Even the gothest goth of them all was made fun of by ignorant rednecks and trendies.

  • Jesus was obsessed with death. Yes, he lived and breathed it, to to speak. He hung out in tombs with dead guys like Lazarus. He also spent time with lepers.

  • Jesus was secretly a vampire. At his last supper he said, "This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood." Transubstantiation is nothing but a fancy spell that changes wine into real blood! After all, how else could Jesus promise eternal life? In addition, when Jesus was up on the cross, the sun went dark so he wouldn't get those nasty sunburns vamps are so prone to.

  • He was always depressed. Think about it. What real Goth is ever happy? With all the exciting masochistic stuff he went through, is it any wonder that "Jesus wept?" He was, after all, known as the "man of sorrows."

  • Jesus was a great dresser. C'mon now. He might not have worn black all the time, but just take a close look at all those pictures we see of Christ. He wore long flowing robes, looking positively ethereal in white, or sombre in blood red. He wasn't afraid to pull gender-benders, either, which proved very influential to the San Francisco goth scene. He tended to wear a lot of dresses and skirts, yet somehow still look both undeniably male and sexy! And check out the fashion accessories. A crown of thorns or funeral shroud are the epitome of angst-fashion.

  • He went to the coolest clubs and dens of iniquity. Jesus hung out with the real "alternative" crowd of the time. His buddies were tax-collectors, fetishists, and women of ill-repute. He also literally hung around with murderers (check out the cross scene), once again showing his fascination with death.

  • Christ surrounded himself with goth chicks. Mary Magdalene and Veronica were two of the first goth-chicks, but Jesus also has a horde of gothic groupies. How else would you describe all those nuns/brides of Christ? They wear all black and white, and are heavy into crosses, rosaries, and the contemplation of holy masochism.

  • He had the gaunt look down pat. You have to admit, few pictures you've ever seen of the guy had him rosy-cheeked and robust. The man was positively scrawny and white. He had cheekbones from Hell, and even his hipbones stuck way out.

  • He was big on crucifixes. Crosses are very goth. Jesus liked them so much that he would occasionally carry a huge one around with him. He was somewhat partial to ankhs too!

  • Christ was into body piercing. He only did it a few times, but what a statement he made with his piercings! He had a huge-guage piercing gun zap his hands, feet, and side. To top it all off, he did it all in front of an audience, making him one of the first performance artists. Here's a picture of his stage-hands helping him set up for his first piercing act.

  • Jesus was fascinated with the occult. When Jesus wasn't hanging around with whores and lepers, he was often out consorting with demons. He liked to find people possessed with evil spirits so that he could order the demons around. Once he even told a bunch of demons to go live in a herd of swine. To top it all off, he even went comparison shopping with Satan once. Here he is dissing the devil.

  • He spent time in tombs. Like I mentioned before, he hung out with Lazarus in one once, but there's much more to it. He once pretended to be dead for three days so that he could sleep in one. How goth can you get? I'll bet you never lived in a tomb. Only Christ, vampires, and Poppy Z. Brite characters get to do that.

  • Jesus knew how to party. Once he went to this wedding where everyone was a bunch of tight-asses. All they wanted to drink was water, but he fooled them. He went and switched wine (or was it absinthe?) for the water! Voila! Instant party!

  • Jesus was into kinky domination and submission. Okay, we all know that he liked to hang out with harlots. That's been quite established, even by the most zealous of right-wing Christians. But what did the big C do with these lovely ladies of the night? Well, he had them wipe his feet with their hair and tears. And let's not forget what he did to the moneychangers in his Dad's temple!

  • He was into fishnet. Jesus rarely went anywhere without his trusty fishnet. Occasionally, he would get a bit sick of it, and would throw it overboard while boating, but one of his disciples would always give it back to him. Of course, the disciple would clean all the fish out of it first.


  • A link to the Jesus was Gother than You: The Proof website


    From the Uncyclopedia...
    Vampire Jesus?

    Some theologians and religious scholars have argued that certain translations of the Gospel, as well as some parts of other translations, point to the possibility that Jesus came back not as a zombie, but as a vampire. If this is true, certain parts of the Gospel that seemed a bit odd could be easily explained. Such as the fact that Zombie(?) Jesus was not killed by a shovel in the head, as his head was not actually completely removed, and his apparent desire to have his followers drink his blood (something zombies have no taste for, as they can't chew it). This would also explain the inherent fear of crosses that all vampires seem to have.

    The debate over whether Jesus came back as a zombie or a vampire caused yet another schism in the Christian Church, and forming two new Christian denominations: Zombie Christians and Vampire Christians. About half of the population of Vampire Christians claim that they converted because "Vampires are just so much more awesome than zombies". These people were insane, of course. Zombies are far superior.

    A link to the complete Zombie Jesus entry in The Uncyclopedia


    Answerbag Question: Jesus resurrected - zombie or vampire?
    By The Devils Own
    Asked Jul 27 2007 12:17AM

    some answers that were given...
    nvg70: Well according to my friends who are vampires, they say zombie. Hahahahahaha, but I don't think he ever rose up from the dead. He would have to have been bitten, or he would have to have been raised my a necromancer.

    DuchyVonChops is proud to be Irish ABFB: Zombie, never did buy into the vampire thing.

    Ender is happy: Well, whichever one sucks the fun out of life.. Probably a vampire.

    Answerbag: Answer Question Watch this question

    A link to the Answerbag page with this question

    A link to the original YouTube site for this video

    Sunday, November 18, 2007

    CULTURE/SOCIETY: What My Superpower Should Be

    Being a comic book fan in my youth, I had to take this quiz. - OlderMusicGeek.

    Your Superpower Should Be Mind Reading

    You are brilliant, insightful, and intuitive.
    You understand people better than they would like to be understood.
    Highly sensitive, you are good at putting together seemingly irrelevant details.
    You figure out what's going on before anyone knows that anything is going on!

    Why you would be a good superhero: You don't care what people think, and you'd do whatever needed to be done

    Your biggest problem as a superhero: Feeling even more isolated than you do now

    ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE/SOCIETY and SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION: In Search of Superman's Inner Jew

    Well, they've written about this topic in numerous American books on comics - and even in books on Jewish culture, and does it anyone take notice? No, of course not. But France does something and the mainstream media - Time in this case - finally notices! - OlderMusicGeek

    The debate has raged for decades: is he Jewish, Methodist, Kryptonian Raoist? But finally, it's been settled: Superman is definitely... a non-Aryan Protestant. The complex origins of many a comic book character are deconstructed at the engaging and erudite exhibit, "From Superman to the Rabbi's Cat" — through Jan. 27 at the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris — which explores the impact of the Jewish experience on the evolution of the comic strip and graphic novel.

    Comics are serious culture in France, where they were named "the Ninth Art" in 1964 by historian Claude Beylie. Today, the country hosts the preeminent annual international comic book festival in the town of Angoulême. And it is in that committed comic-book aficionado spirit that "From Superman to the Rabbi's Cat" presents some 230 American and European works dating back to 1890, including the 1940 strip How Superman Would End the War. "I'd like to land a strictly non-Aryan sock on your jaw," grumbles the Man of Steel as he drags Adolf Hitler off to be tried for crimes against humanity. For the late comic-book artist Will Eisner, the Jewish people, faced with the rise of fascism, "needed a hero who could protect us against an almost invincible force." Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Superman in 1938 was only the first and — like Bob Kane's Batman in 1939, Jack Kirby's Captain America in 1940 and many more that followed — he was created by sons of Jewish immigrants living in New York.

    Like their characters, many of these artists took on dual identities, says author and comic book historian Didier Pasamonik, a consultant on the exhibit: "There was a kind of diffused anti-Semitism at the time, and it was better to use a good American commercial name to reach the wider public." Even as Robert Kahn had become Bob Kane and Jacob Kurtzberg worked as Jack Kirby, their superheroes reflected some of the identity they were masking, evoking Jewish concepts such as tikkun olam (repairing the world through social action) and legends such as the Golem of Prague, the medieval superhero of Jewish folklore who was conjured from clay by a rabbi to defend his community when it was under threat.

    Years later, some comic superheroes would actually be identified as Jews, like Auschwitz survivor Magneto and — the Golem myth incarnate — Ben Grimm (The Thing) of the Fantastic Four. But despite the rumors, the Man of Steel is no Supermensch, says Pasamonik. "Superman is not Jewish," he says. "When Superman gets married it's not at the synagogue!" Pasamonik has not missed the heavy dose of Jewish culture Siegel and Shuster instilled in their character: baby Superman's passage through space in a cradle-like vessel and subsequent adoption "is the story of Moses," he says, adding that El of Superman's given name Kal-El is a Hebrew word for God. But with a Methodist upbringing and extra-terrestrial origins, Superman, says Pasamonik, is best described simply as a "non-Aryan" hero.

    And why not? Non-Aryan describes most of the southern and eastern European and Asian immigrants that crossed the oceans with the Siegels, Shusters, Kahns and Kurtzbergs in the late 19th and early 20th century. For the Pulitzer-prize- winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer, World War II-era superheroes embodied the American dream shared by the countless foreigners. "It wasn't Krypton that Superman came from; it was the planet Minsk or Lodz or Vilna or Warsaw," wrote Feiffer in his essay The Minsk Theory of Krypton. "Superman was the ultimate assimilationist fantasy."

    After World War II, the comic book genre became an unlikely vehicle for civic protest and consolidation of memory. "The hour of immigrant assimilation gave way to the fight for minorities and civil rights," explains Pasamonik. Harvey Kurtzman used the medium to tackle racial segregation, the Cold War and McCarthyism in his satirical MAD magazine. In 1955, when popular awareness of the Holocaust was scant, Bernard Krigstein and Al Feldstein caused a shock by revisiting the concentration camps with the seminal graphic story Master Race. During the '60s and '70s the genre opened up to the banal and biographical, with Pekar and Crumb's darkly humorous American Splendor and Eisner's landmark graphic novel, A Contract with God.

    "Eisner brought an absolutely revolutionary dimension to the graphic novel, which was to make it an instrument of memory," says Pasamonik. Finally, with a nod toward Edmond-Francois Calvo's 1944 La Bete est Morte (The Beast is Dead) — which uses animals to tell the story of World War II — Art Spiegelman brought the graphic novel worldwide recognition by winning a Pulitzer prize in 1992 for his Holocaust saga, Maus. Eisner and Spiegelman's heirs now litter the globe, from Frenchman Joann Sfar (The Rabbi's Cat) to Iranian Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis). "From Superman to the Rabbi's Cat" pays homage to these artists, inviting the viewer to consider the subtexts at work even in comic books about men in tights.

    A link to the article

    Sunday, October 01, 2006

    ENTERTAINMENT and CULTURE/SOCIETY: Which Superhero Are You?

    Your results:
    You are Spider-Man
























    Spider-Man
    75%
    Superman
    70%
    Robin
    70%
    Green Lantern
    60%
    The Flash
    55%
    Supergirl
    50%
    Hulk
    45%
    Wonder Woman
    30%
    Catwoman
    30%
    Batman
    30%
    Iron Man
    30%
    You are intelligent, witty,
    a bit geeky and have great
    power and responsibility.


    Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...


    I have to admit that I was surprised by this result. I was expecting Superman. Who is also rather geeky, but always striving to do the right thing.

    But now that I think about, I suppose I am more like Peter Parker than like Clark Kent...

    Monday, August 14, 2006

    ENTERTAINMENT and CULTURE/SOCIETY: A Female's Unhappy Experience in Comicbookdom

    I found this blog on MySpace.com. I felt the writer made some valid points, although I wouldn't have put them as harshly as she had. But then again I don't have smelly women pressing up on me at conventions, so it's easier for me to judge less harshly.

    But as I said, she has some valid points.

    Self professed geek.....

    I will be the first to admit that I love comic books. I own hundreds of them and I own rare stuff. I love animation, science fiction, horror. What chills me to the very core is the classification you are lumped into once you have admitted this fact. What separates me from the fat, masturbating freaks that refuse to shower?

    There is yet another convention coming up, and I feel I need to vent on what has been my experience many times before. On walking in and getting in line, you can see a vast expanse of the lowest form of humanity. I associate comics with intelligence, the writers (very old stuff) way ahead of their time, and most readers seem to have a very good vocabulary which I assume is from seeing the words on print. But who are these other ones? Where do they hibernate all these months before stuffing themselves into a Star Wars costume and venturing out into the world? And why on earth do they refuse to bathe?

    I am usually very sore after one of these events. I know it is from being pushed out of the way by these obsessive idiots who believe that their very life depends on the purchase of issue #1 of Casper the Friendly Ghost.

    Then there are those who stare..and stare..and stare "is that a real girl?". I have never seen such crude attempts at "brushing up against me" by "accident". I always have to change my shirt when I leave because it actually SMELLS of the body odor of others! This time I am bringing another shirt and taking it right off in the truck.

    I used to wonder why all the costumes. This is the first time I have actually read the postcard I receive in the mail that says there is a costume contest. But still "Rainbow Bright?" And I have seen some storm troopers that really need to lay off the donuts.

    I wonder why they stare so much. Maybe it is because I have an odd face and dots for eyes, or my comical boobs, or the fact that I am really short, maybe they think I am some sort of faerie.

    None of this is enough to make me stop going, and spending. And I know there will be no Obergiest..there never is and I always look. I will buy the usual overpriced Weird War Tales, Mens' Adventure, and wrestling mags. And smell like moth balls and geek all the way home. Hey, maybe this time someone really hot will bump into me. I guess I can always hold on to hope.

    Thursday, March 16, 2006

    CULTURE/SOCIETY: A Site of a Friend and One form a Relative

    If you what see what kind of people I know in the REAL world - as opposed to the virtual world - here are a couple of websites.

    http://www.freddgorham.com/ - this is the site from old buddy of mine I met in the comic book club I have been in for over 25 years and since I was in high school. He was going to a famous comic book artist. He still does some comics and artwork for gaming magazines, but earns his big bucks as website developer.

    Harmonica 23 - my kid brother's website. He's actually in his early 30's, so he's not a kid. But he's ten years younger than me, so he'll always be my kid brother!

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