Cleverly Titled Blog
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
One More Reason to Keep Ignoring Boston Public
Zap2it reports Dennis Miller will be joining the cast of Boston Public. I used to find Miller both very funny and worthy of respect, but the combination of his abysmal run on Monday Night Football and his turn to the dark side of politics (he's even a commentator for Fox News, now) has made me lose all respect for him.
Luckily, I'd also already lost all respect for David E. Kelly dramas when they kept becoming more and more sensationalized, so I haven't watched BP in close to two years. And this won't get me to start.
By the way, I'm posting this using the new "Blog This!" feature on the Google toolbar. It's awesome! I should be blogging MUCH more frequently now.
Friday, August 15, 2003
Happy Fair and Balanced™ Day!
From the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:
fair
Pronunciation: 'far, 'fer
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English fager, fair, from Old English fæger; akin to Old High German fagar beautiful
Date: before 12th century
1 : pleasing to the eye or mind especially because of fresh, charming, or flawless quality
2 : superficially pleasing : SPECIOUS [she trusted his fair promises]
3 a : CLEAN, PURE [fair sparkling water] b : CLEAR, LEGIBLE
4 : not stormy or foul : FINE [fair weather]
5 : AMPLE [a fair estate]
6 a : marked by impartiality and honesty : free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism [a very fair person to do business with] b (1) : conforming with the established rules : ALLOWED (2) : consonant with merit or importance : DUE [a fair share] c : open to legitimate pursuit, attack, or ridicule [fair game]
7 a : PROMISING, LIKELY [in a fair way to win] b : favorable to a ship's course [a fair wind]
8 archaic : free of obstacles
9 : not dark : BLOND
10 : sufficient but not ample : ADEQUATE [a fair understanding of the work]
11 : being such to the utmost : UTTER [a fair treat to watch him -- New Republic]
and
Pronunciation: &n(d), (')an(d), usually &n(d) after t, d, s or z, often &m after p or b, sometimes &[ng] after k or g
Function: conjunction
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German unti and
Date: before 12th century
1 -- used as a function word to indicate connection or addition especially of items within the same class or type; used to join sentence elements of the same grammatical rank or function
2 a -- used as a function word to express logical modification, consequence, antithesis, or supplementary explanation b -- used as a function word to join one finite verb (as go, come, try) to another so that together they are logically equivalent to an infinitive of purpose [come and see me]
3 obsolete : IF
4 -- used in logic to form a conjunction
balance
Pronunciation: 'ba-l&n(t)s
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin bilancia, from Late Latin bilanc-, bilanx having two scalepans, from Latin bi- + lanc-, lanx plate
Date: 13th century
1 : an instrument for weighing: as a : a beam that is supported freely in the center and has two pans of equal weight suspended from its ends b : a device that uses the elasticity of a spiral spring for measuring weight or force c capitalized : LIBRA
2 : a means of judging or deciding
3 : a counterbalancing weight, force, or influence
4 : an oscillating wheel operating with a hairspring to regulate the movement of a timepiece
5 a : stability produced by even distribution of weight on each side of the vertical axis b : equipoise between contrasting, opposing, or interacting elements c : equality between the totals of the two sides of an account
6 a : an aesthetically pleasing integration of elements b : the juxtaposition in writing of syntactically parallel constructions containing similar or contrasting ideas
7 a : physical equilibrium b : the ability to retain one's balance
8 a : weight or force of one side in excess of another b : something left over : REMAINDER c : an amount in excess especially on the credit side of an account
9 : mental and emotional steadiness
- bal·anced /-l&n(t)st/ adjective
fox news
Pronunciation: 'fäks 'nüz
Function: proper noun
Etymology: American English
Date: late 20th century
1: neither fair nor balanced
2: a bunch of hypocrites
3: right-wing stooges
4: an oxymoronic statement
5: stooges that can't take a joke
6: the Republican Party's version of Al Jazeera
7: supressors of free speech
Buy Al Franken's new book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, and have a Fair and Balanced™ Day!
Disclaimer: The final definition listed here did NOT come from Merriam-Webster, it's a parody written by me. Which falls under "Fair Use" under U.S. law. Kind of like the title of Franken's book.
Monday, August 11, 2003
Wizard World Wrap-Up
I spent some time last night taking the thoughts below on the news from Wizard World Chicago and turning them into a commentary/analysis column. That column is now available for perusal at Slush Factory.
This is not the first column I've written for Slush, but it's the first published. I'm presuming the first -- a review column covering the first issues of Teen Titans, Fallen Angel, Formerly Known as the Justice League, The Possessed, and Arrowsmith -- will see publication soon. I'm hoping to have something published over there on a weekly basis.
Sunday, August 10, 2003
Wizard World, Day 3
It's 6:25 PM EDT. I'm pretty sure the Con is completely over now, but we may still see late-breaking news trickling out over the next 24 hours or so. Meanwhile, here's the latest:
Marvel news:
- Garth Ennis to relaunch Punisher as an "adults only" title in the Max line -- the equivalent of an "R" rating.
- Confirms long-standing rumor -- dreaded by many fans -- that Chuck Austen will take over writing Avengers after Geoff Johns' run. Art duties will alternate between Oliver Copiel and Scott Kolins.
DC News:
- Announces signing of artist/writer J. Scott Campbell to an exclusive contract, with a brand-new project to start immediately following the already-announced Danger Girl Absolute collected edition (premium oversized hardcover).
- Announces new series Ex Machina by rising star writer Brian K. Vaughn (Y: The Last Man, Runaways) and artist Tony Harris.
- Reaffirms that Alan Moore will continue to write League of Extraordinary Gentlemen after his impending "retirement" from mainstream comics, and reveals that plans are afoot for Moore-approved writers to contimue Tom Strong and Top 10.
Advantage?
Do I really have to answer that?
Yes, the Ennis Punisher relaunch is a bona-fide big deal, though one wonders whether that will pass muster with the bean counters upstairs with a (presumably PG-13 rated) Punisher movie currently shooting for release next year. At best, I see Ennis's Punisher getting marginalized and someone else writing a more mainstream version to appease the younger audience. Which may not be a bad thing overall, but it blunts the impact of Ennis's project.
As for Austen on Avengers, well, just watch those sales plummet. This has been an ill-kept secret for months, and I've yet to hear anyone say, "hey, great idea!" I, personally, will be dropping the book after reading it since the Busiek/Perez relaunch -- that's darn close to six years of buying halted. And I doubt I'm alone.
Now, DC. I'm not a big fan of Campbell, but just look at the lines he draws at conventions. Even assuming his projects will be slow and late (as they have been in the past), they'll still be financial blockbusters. Vaughan is a legitimate rising star, and teaming him with a top-notch talent like Harris should guarantee a hit. And the Moore/ABC line news is welcome, too.
So, it would appear that Marvel has failed to "strike back" at Wizard World. The heat is all with DC. Now it's up to DC to prove they can do something with it.
Saturday, August 09, 2003
Wizard World News, Day 2
DC News:
- Announces co-publishing deal with Michael Turner's new company, Aspen, which will allow Aspen to work on DC projects, writer Geoff Johns to work on Aspen projects (he's exclusive to DC), and possible crossovers.
- Announces new "Focus" line set outside DC Universe, launches with four writer-driven titles taking a "real world" look at super-powers.
- Announces non-DCU Challengers of the Unknown series written and drawn by Howard Chaykin.
- Announces new horror anthology, Toe Tags, with first six-issue story to be written by George freakin' Romero and drawn by Richard Corben.
Marvel News:
Ummm...
That is...
As of 4:20 PM EDT, nothing new has been reported from Marvel. Granted, the con day is not yet completed, but still...
Advantage: DC. And this was supposedly going to be the con where Marvel struck back...
Addendum
Updating as of 10:40 PM EDT:
DC news:
- The Aspen deal is said to be for around two years. First projects are a six-issue Superman mini to be drawn by Talent Caldwell and to lead into the big revamp, and (unofficially) Michael Turner on a six-issue run of Batman, to immediately follow the upcoming Brian Azzarello/Eduardo Risso story. The only reason the Batman story is "unconfirmed" is that Wizard has been promised the "exclusive" story. Writers for these projects are rumored to be Geoff Johns and Jeph Loeb, both of whom have projects at Aspen.
- Chris Cross will spell Tom Raney on three issues of Outsiders
- The previously announced Chris Claremont/John Byrne run on JLA and the John Cleese/Byrne Superman mini True Brit are both about half completed and should be solicited soon.
- An after-effect of Flash #200 is that even Wally West does not know that he is The Flash.
Marvel news:
- Artist Salvador Larocca signed to a four-year exclusive deal.
- Two Epic one-shots from the open call approved, one a Spider-Man "What If?" story, the other an original project.
And that's all.
Still looking like DC is where the action is...
DC/Marvel Wars, Chapter 2: Wizard World Chicago
So chapter 2 in the DC/Marvel War started today with Wizard World Chicago. You may recall that DC blew Marvel out of the water in Chapter 1: San Diego by announcing a slew of exclusives and new projects, while Marvel's biggest announcement was... er... that they were cancelling their best book, Alias, and moving writer Brian Michael Bendis and the lead character, Jessica Jones to a non-adults only title called The Pulse.
So here's what happens in day one of Wizard World Chicago news:
Marvel:
- Announces Ultimate Fantastic Four to be co-written by Bendis and Mark Millar, with the first arc drawn by Adam Kubert.
- Mentions extension of Millar/artist Bryan Hitch exclusivity (which presumably excludes Millar's many upcoming books for other publishers, as announced a couple of weeks ago).
- Hints there "may" be more Ultimate books but doesn't reveal anything other than that Ultimate Daredevil is not immediately planned.
- Announces David Mack will co-write Bendis's last Ultimate X-Men arc and then take over writing the title solo.
- Announces The Ultimates will start over with a new #1 after issue #13, but that the creative team remains Millar and Hitch, who will do another year's worth (presumably 12 issues and not the 5 or 6 a year Hitch has done of late).
- Announces Joe Quesada will do another six-page insert story ala the Ultimate Six preview in Wizard #0.
- Announces Ultimate Adventures will be competed and that Quesada has not yet conceded defeat to Peter David in the "U-Decide" competition.
Now, let's compare that to DC's news:
- Announces signing of writer/artist Phil Jimenez to three-year exclusive deal, to begin with 12-issue maxiseries from Vertigo, Otherworld, which he will write and draw.
- Announces two additional Vertigo series, Lovecraft by Keith Giffen, Hans Rodionoff, and Enrique Breccia, and Vimanarama by Grant Morrison and Philip Bond.
- Confirms Super-teams: Brian Azzarello and Lee on Superman, Chuck Austen and Ivan Reis on Action Comics, and Greg Rucka and Matthew Clark on Adventures of Superman. Announce that Morrison Super-project and other DC-Universe projects are still to come ("the toy-chest is open," says VP-Editorial Dan DiDio).
- Announce that Jill Thompson will do additional Endless-oriented manga books after the success of Death: At Death's Door.
- Announce new books The Question (by Rick Veitch and Tommy Lee Edwards), Vigilante (by Micah Ian Wright and Carlos D'Anda), and Man of Steel: Lex Luthor (by Azzarello and Lee Berjmo), all to be loosely tied to the Superman revival. (Vigilante and The Question described as to Superman what Gotham Central is to Batman).
Advantage?
To me, I think DC dominates again. Yeah, Ultimate FF is an interesting idea, and Mack writing Ultimate X-Men will probably get me buying that, but I just don't feel like there's anything "new" there. What DC is announcing sounds new and fresh and exciting -- I'm at least interested in seeing what all of these projects are about. Marvel at least improves their showing from San Diego, but right now I still see DC on top. Of course, there's still two more days of the Con to go...
Not to be outdone, CrossGen announced a war of their own: The War, which will tie their universe together and feature every major CrossGen character battling the forces of the Negation. This is the story that the CrossGen Universe has been building towards since day one, and the first time we'll see their major characters interact. If this is up to CrossGen's usual high standards (and I expect it will be), this should be way more than your average, run-of-the-mill crossover. Can't wait to see how they tie such disparate books as, say, Route 666, Ruse, Way of the Rat, and Sojourn together -- this should be very intriguing!
More details on everything at your favorite comics news site -- I got most info from Newsarama and The Pulse.
