Messages

Anyone else wince at the mispronounciation of Metabelis Three? 

Previously it's been pronounced Meta-bee-liss, this time around they pronounced it Meh-tabble-iss (something I guess you would never be aware of, Goaty) but it really threw you out of the story, hearing it pronounced differently

Yeah, I bet it spoiled it for millions

I bought The Predator by Ice Cube to listen to in the car.

Quite brilliant and 20 years after release it still knocks most modern hiphop into a cocked do-rag

Yeah, I knew that. Alot of people elsewhere where getting hissy as this seemingly retconned TGI orihins as Yog-Sothoth. An explanation I prefer btw.

'a lot of people'

Hahahahahahahahahaha! Fuck me.

I have rented Grabbers, which I think will be like a cross between Tremors and Father Ted. And if lives up to that, I'll be happy.

[Zodiac]

I watched Zodiac for the first time on BBC2 last night. Thought it was a good film, interesting how people were desperate to find out who he was but were unable to for various reasons. One of the most interesting things for me was the fact it looked like the killer took his name and symbol from a watch advert.

I've read the books which Graysmith wrote about The Zodiac, and the film is a great representation of those. And as mentioned, it has a fabulous, seedy 70s vibe. It's certainly of that era. If anything there are one or two horrifying bits in the book(s) that didn't make it into the film, but as a real-life serial killer film it's as good as the genre gets. Not as viscerally thrilling as Se7en or Fight Club, but just as memorable because he was never caught.

He's possibly more fascinating because of that fact, but it's also interesting trying to figure out motivations and even intellect of The Zodiac. There are conflicting bits of evidence about how clever he really was, and how his elusiveness was due to possibly being in jail for a time.

And I also love Zodiac because he inspired the protagonist of one of my favourite films Dirty Harry

Quite a few people watched it. Are you sure they are all "smug, tight-fisted idiot who wouldn't equate watching second-rate music and comedy turns with any kind of charitable venture and would sit there like a cabbage and not bother contributing anything at all."?

Charming.

I meant the people who watched it and didn't give anything.

Although to be honest, watching it is in itself an act of charity, as it's fucking rubbish.

Interesting bit in the David Tennant bit was him saying that the majority of people that watch don't donate.

That doesn't surprise me at all. Anyone who watches Comic Relief is probably the type of smug, tight-fisted idiot who wouldn't equate watching second-rate music and comedy turns with any kind of charitable venture and would sit there like a cabbage and not bother contributing anything at all.

I've not watched the last few of these as yet, are they still managing to get THAT car into most shots? 

What's your point?

Maniac.

Utter fucking drivel and another in the very long line of pointless, shit Hollywood remakes that are worse than the original, which wasn't great in the first place.

Avoid if you have any sense.

Killing Them Softly

Probably not what most people expected or wanted, but another good film from the director who brought us Chopper and The Assasination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. Pitt excellent as ever, but some of the American accents by Australian actors are woeful. Reminiscent of Snowtown at times, but nowhere near as good as that film. But not much is.

Bang. The mainstream isn't the be-all and end-all of comics, and no field should be represented by the top-earners or the most influential members of it.

No. Not bang. In fact, that statement is so far from 'bang' that the only way to effectively measure its distance from 'bang' is by measuring the red shift in the light that reaches it from the dying embers of 'bang'.

The top earners/most influential segment of a field should be precisely as representative as the rest of it. If this is not true, then this is a textbook example of inequality. "No senior managers or chief executives in the NHS, you say? Well, look just at all these nurses. No gender equality issues here, nosiree, bob!"

It's no surprise to me that there are few women in mainstream comics (and, indeed, far fewer than I recall in US comics from my youth) since the level of objectification and sexualisation of women, and levels of violence against women that are deemed acceptable are now so high that I'm surprised any women can stomach it.

Cheers

Jim

A CEO position in the NHS is a different skillset to nursing. So what's gender got to do with anything?

[A Distant Soil]

Don't forget how much we as fans - and modern comics in their current form - owe to the work of Karen Berger.  Neil Gaiman and Garth Ennis have been especially free with their praise telling how she nurtured their careers at Vertigo, and it's worth noting the talent drain from Vertigo and DC both as her influence began to wane in favor of more alpha male management from Paul Levitz, Dan DiDio and Bob Harras.

Without Berger, there'd be no Sandman, no Preacher, no Transmetropolitan - at least not in the forms we recognise - and no knock-on effects from those books on the industry both as creative influences and in how they changed the market towards trade collections in bookstores rather than just comic shops.

Apropos of nothing, I also keep meaning to read Colleen Doran's epic A Distant Soil, though keep forgetting. http://www.adistantsoil.com/2009/01/09/a-distant-soil-cover/

Why didn't she write or illustrate Sandman or Preacher then?

Oh wait.

Most comics are read and created by blokes.

Why is that?

Well that's the fucking question being asked isn't it.

If you seriously believe women don't read and create great comics, can we talk about Claire Bretecher? Alison Bechdel?  Jill Thomson?  Posey Simmonds? Amanda Conner?  Marijane Satrapi?  The incredibly funny Trudy Cooper?  Linda Medly?  Fiona Staples?  Jan Duursemer?  And that's only accessible gaijin stuff, I haven't got a clue about manga and untranslated material.

If you mean just superhero comics, well just read a cross-section of the bloody things.

Never heard of any of them. But as I said earlier, everything I am really interested in across myriad genres and disciplines seems to be created by men.

Gosh this is a ridiculous conversation

Step the fuck away from it then.
That wasn't a suggestion.

Why? Have I been abusive or rude or said anything contentious? Why don't you calm down dear?

Crikey

You haven't, which is why I'm trying to head it off at the pass - I can see this getting ugly, and would rather not have this happen.

No honestly. I'm not doing that. In many ways I think lots of male-dominated pursuits are really fucking nerdy, which is why blokes like them, and women realise they're possibly a bit silly

There's a real sharp drop off after Bill Hicks on that list, and I would have mentioned Richard Pryor and Billy Connolly long before I got round to Jim Jeffries. I rate Lee, and Chris Rock is great, but even people as personable and occasionally brilliant as Ed Byrne and Dylan Moran are as comfortable and safe as Victoria Wood and Lucy Porter.

It's a matter of personal taste, of course.

Yeah of course. I agree most stand-up is awful. But only Sarah Silverman, Tina Fey and Julia Davis buck the trend. And I really hate Victoria wood.

After the first three largest armies? Realllllll fucking big drop off. Nice.

Just thought I'd add-

In my experience the depiction of women in 2000ad is waay better than just about any comic from a mainstream US company (especially Marvel), I've been getting back into popular US comics recently and its just really standing out how completely one dimensional female characters are, and they've pretty much always got huge boobs and skimpy outfits too, they barely even speak most of the time!

Well, I mentioned Hellblazer and Sandman. Also British. Tomb Raider's Lara Croft. British. Joanna Dark. British.