Is This My Life?
March 22nd, 2010
It’s as if somebody has been spying on us for the past two years. This is more than a bit eerie and coincidental. Now…where’s that miniature secret camera hidden?
Archive
Archive for the ‘comics’ Category
A Window Into My Soul
August 19th, 2009
I swear, if I didn’t know any better I’d think that these guys have a miniature camera secreted away in a dark corner of my living room, watching me multitask whilst trying to “relax”.
It’s funny how “relaxing” in the modern world means having to constantly monitor communications from work via e-mail and cell phone, reviewing the latest news on the web, and keeping your Twitter / Facebook / MySpace / Blogs constantly updated with fresh info. Whatever happened to unplugging, reclining in a chaise lounge in the backyard, and reading a good book?
It’s no wonder some people tend to burn out on requirements of the modern age.
Where The Wild Things Are
March 26th, 2009
I’ve been struggling with words this evening. Within the past hour I’ve written and rewritten passages that would make Clive Barker blush, but in the end, the point I was so valiantly trying to make within the confining lines of carefully scripted flourishes is this: I am freakin’ excited about this upcoming film.
As a child I was deprived many things, but the one thing that I did have was an overabundance of reading material. Among the many tomes that helped shape me as a human being was a well read, worn copy of Where The Wild Things Are. I’m not sure why I was so drawn to this story, but I’m sure it had something to do with the trippy artwork that, in turn, had a hand in pushing me into the realm of comic books, which eventually led me into working in a comic book store prior to joining the military, which in turn led me into writing, which I’m hoping will lead me into something much more fulfilling than my current position in life.
And while I’m busy bearing my soul to you, let me take this moment to man up and admit to my deep-seated hatred of brussels sprouts, (most) country music, and anyone who thinks that the lyrics to Devil Woman have something meaningful so say.
There….I said it. *Whew*! Lemme tell ya, it feels good to get that off my chest…
Watchmen
March 9th, 2009
I just got back from a screening of Watchmen, and I have to say that I’m more than a bit impressed with the way this film turned out. True to the source material, many scenes appeared to have been torn straight from the panels of the graphic novel. The Comedian was spot on, Patrick Wilson was the perfect doppleganger to the illustrated Dan Dreiberg, and much in the way that Heath Ledger put his irrevocable stamp on the Joker, Jackie Earle Haley was born to play Rorschach. Stepping into the Wayback Machine you might also remember Haley from the movie The Bad News Bears.
If I had to say anything negative about this film adaptation of Watchmen I’d have to mention the obvious omission of the Tales of the Black Freighter sub-story and the interactions between the news stand owner and the kid. I hear that TotBF will get a separate DVD release in a few days and will be included on the blu-ray version of Watchmen, so no big loss there. We’ll eventually get to see the life raft composed of bloated corpses and ginormous shark carcass on the small screen soon enough.
I’m also a bit upset that the original ending found in the novel was completely scraped from the movie. In its stead is a more “mainstream”, sterilized ending that I think was included to make the film a bit more palatable to the average non-comic book reading moviegoer.
It’s a shame really. I was looking forward to seeing how they were going to handle the extraordinarily gory “space squid” scene…
A Terrible Confession
February 17th, 2009
I’ve been living with a secret, one so dark and heavy it weighs me down with guilt, shortens my step, and drains me of my otherwise radiant charm. It haunts me, daring me to go one more day before letting loose to the world this dreadful unknown.
But I can’t bear the burden any longer. My trembling, creaking bones can no longer carry the weight of this ill-gotten fortune. I must share the origin of my blog title…
As a child I grew up with comic books. For several years I even worked in a comic book shop. My favorite series was one that holds the record for longest running english independent comic…Cerebus. Originally a parody of Conan The Barbarian, it quickly evolved into a tale of politics, finance, religion, and ethics. In the 300 monthly black and white issues that this story spanned Cerebus, an earth pig born, was a warrior, Prime Minister, the Pope, a witness to God, and finally serving as His vessel and doing His bidding before succumbing to a sad, uncelebrated fate Cerebus has foreseen and knows is ultimately unavoidable.
And this brings me back to my original point. The title of my blog, Terrible Analogies, comes from an issue of Cerebus. In it, Cerebus the Pope is rejected by the only woman he ever loved. Having shed his papal garb and holding his old blade he stands at a pivotal crossroads; continue with his mad plan to bankrupt the city-state of Iest, or slink back to his old ways of living by the sword.
If you’ve never read independent comics when they truly were independent, then I implore you to read the history of this series. It’s a quick read, but well worth your time. Check out some of the amazing cover art as well. And after having reviewed this information you find yourself wishing to dive into this series, you can purchase the phonebook encyclopedia novels that covers the entire run of Cerebus.
So there you have it. Terrible Analogies owes its title to Dave Sim and his amazing body of work.
My love for this series knows no bounds…
