diary of a guttersnipe 02/11/2013: one sec alaska

by Shawn Starr

Didn't read many comics this week because i hate comics. That or nothing came out that i cared about. Also, snow.....a lot of snow.

Mini-Reviews

Hawkeye #7 (Marvel)
by Matt Fraction, Steve Lieber, Jesse Hamm, Matt Hollingsworth

'Hawkeye' #7 is such a made for TV special rehash of [Insert Movie About A Natural Disaster That Shows The Triumph Of The Human Condition] and every other feel good movie that it borders on parody, each story is soaked in "We're New Yorkers and we are TUFF!!!!" that it turns into a Lifetime film about surviving something...anything....and thinking your better for it. Even though several boroughs lost all contact with the police, power wasn't restored for weeks, and gas was rationed, i guess everyone is better for it. Except those people who died. They didn't tuffin up. They just stiffened up.

But! At least a single Marvel writer wanted to talk about it, and donate his royalties to charity. That is nice. Even though his multi-million (billion?) dollar corporate overlords take credit for the issue, while contributing nothing, just like when Gene Colan died, or when those offensive 9-11 Comics where Dr.Doom cried were published, along with whatever other bullshit that they pump out.

Avengers #4 (Marvel)
by Jonathan Hickman, XXXX Kubert (i don't know which one of the Kuberts' it was...nor do i care), Frank D'Armata

No Opena, No thanks.

Satan Soldiers (Self-published)
by Tom Scioli

Scioli drawing an evil superman comic ala Kyle Baker, colored like Lynn Varley on 'The Dark Knight Strikes Again', and writing it as something that should be getting released at BCGF makes 'Satan Soldiers' one cool ass comic.

------------------

Kanye Wes Anderson

----------------------

links

I've been reading a lot of Simon Hanselmann Tumblr comics ('Girl Mountain'  / 'Truth Zone' ) recently, it centers around a group of stoners: Megg, Mogg, and Owl fucking around in a small Australian town. While 'Girl Mountian' focuses more so on the stoner aspects, along with mild autobiography, 'Truth Zone' takes the same casts and uses them to criticize and promote several alt-comics creators and works in a way which is probably only funny to the people who read Frank Santoro's Comics Workbook Tumblr (which is to say not many, but i am thankfully among the few).

Here's a strip from 'Girl Mountain': 

And one from 'Truth Zone':

This week's Comic Books ARE BURNING IN HELL led me to read 'Ultra Gash Inferno' (along with a couple other Suehiro Maruo books) and try and figure out if a Ricky Lime was the same thing as a Shirley Temple. And if you know what 'Ultra Gash Inferno' or a Ricky Lime is you should understand how strange and amazing this episode was.

Jog on why he writes is a must read. I don't understand the train of thought that says talking about 'Heavy Metal' or '2000 AD' or Japanese niche porn, while ignoring the new Ware book is the same as trying to replace Clowes or Ware in the comics pantheon. Those books are covered forty ways from Sunday  Two god-damn critical stall-worth's (Gary Groth and Eddie Campbell) came out with 4,000+ word retorts to one guy saying he didn't think EC was the best thing ever created. What the fuck are they doing in their off-time? (Besides talking up Crumb and Spiegelman at every instance). I guess Gary Groth and Fantagraphics and The (print) Comics Journal are the only people allowed to discover new things. Because they are...older? Only speaking of the general consensuses "Greats" misses everything the general consensus might have ignored, a fact Groth probably should have learned based on the past ten years (or more) of Fantagraphics' publishing history.

And while mentioned here is Eddie Campbell on criticism and EC comics, and Ng Suat Tong's response.

a real conversation

Shawn Starr: Did you see that Sasha Grey movie? 

Joey Aulisio: Dude....I've seen every Sasha Grey movie.

I'm glad that Marvel offers a variant cover to every issue for all those people who like looking at little kids dressed up as superheroes. It's nice that they care.

Ales Kot is taking over 'Suicide Squad' which i hope turns out good, but i read enough about DC to know that they will fuck it up.

If you even mention not buying a comic because of its creators rampant homophobia then you sir are just like Joseph McCarthy...or those Salem Witch Hunt people...and you also hate freedom of speech. You fucking monster.

The Mindless Ones talks about 'Promethea'

Study Group has a Michael DeForge designed T-Shirt up for preorder.

Al Pacino everyone.