Austin360 blogs > What's Good > Archives > 2006 > June
June 2006
New Comics Day #4
Not a bad week, all in all.
If I was made of money, all those “Civil War” crossovers that Marvel released today would look mighty tempting. But I’m not. So they don’t.
(For those scratching their heads, “Civil War” is Marvel’s big summer crossover series. The government has demanded superheroes register with the government. Some have complied (Iron Man, Spider-Man, who revealed his secret identity to the world live on TV last month), some have not (Captain America — counterintuitive, huh?). Hence, civil war.)
Anyway, on to this week’s picks for the picky from the Big Two mainstream publishers…
Lucifer #75 (DC, $3.99) - One of the most consistent series of the past few years draws to a close with this double-sized issue. Lucifer, who’s been more Old Testament ideal of “opponent” than the New Testament “source of all evil,” sits down with God to hammer out where they go from here. Writer Mike Carey heads over to X-Men, while artist Peter Gross keeps making purty pichures for someone. A perfect bow from a weirdly underrated book.
Solo #11 (DC, $4.99) - A mess of short pieces from the great Sergio Aragones, one of the giants of his field. You may only know him from his immortal barbarian parody “Groo the Wanderer.” Rest assured he can do anything.
“Eternals” by Jack Kirby (Marvel, $75) - Essentially a Marvel version of the epic New Gods story he did for DC a few years earlier, Jack Kirby’s Eternals, which debuted in 1976, were always a little underrated. Sure, they suffered from Kirby’s let’s-call-it-limited writing sense, but his command of pacing, action and machines as weird as his plots was still astounding. This monster collects 19 issues and an annual in an oversized, coffee-table volume and can be found for much less than cover price at the usual on-line vendors.
These days, too many mainstream comics are action movie storyboard with dialogue, demo-ing ideas that they hope will translate to the big screen and big bucks. Eternals takes you back to a time when a guy could stand on the cover of a comic, yell “We’ve found it—the TOMB OF THE SPACE GODS!â€? and sell it. Stick that in your tights, Brandon Routh.
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Monday = meme day!
Monday is meme day, because that’s about the speed of my brain.
How many total songs on your iPod?
4,694, which is a little light for a pop critic, actually.
Sort by song title — first and last?
First: “‘99” by the Minutemen, a tune off of the still-astonishing “What Makes a Man Start Fires?â€? album
Last: Technically, the last song in the queue has a Japanese title. I have no idea what that title is, but it is a song off of the self-titled album by Friction, a Japanese no wave band of no small power. The song before that is “Zurich Is Stained,� a short, lovely songlet off of “Slanted & Enchanted� by Pavement.
Sort by album — first and last?
First: Lots of weird alphabetical technicalities here. The first album in the list is “Plays Pretty For Babyâ€? by frantic, wildly influential Nation of Ulysses, but that’s because the quotes are in the title.
Then there’s the “Pepperlandâ€? Beatles boot, which features “Sgt. Pepper’sâ€? in glorious mono, the way God intended. Its prefix is (1999), so that’s another weird one.
Then there are a couple that start with “…â€? Then a bunch that start with numbers, such as “1001 Degrees Centigradeâ€? by Magma.
The first album that starts with “A� is “A John Waters Christmas,� the greatest Christmas album ever compiled. Trust me.
Last: “Zooropaâ€? by U2. Laugh if you must, I challenge you to find a better “I’m freaked out about turning 30 and my marriage is turning to mudâ€? album. That is one raw nerve of an album.
Sort by Artist — first and last?
First: 1.6 Band, a underknown Long Island hardcore band who had the early Fugazi/heavy emocore thing down cold. They threw down from 1989 to 1993 and their 1997 album is called “Broke Up,� which is a nice touch.
Last: Noted Houston rapper Z-Ro.
The first five songs my iPod spit out at random:
“Protex Blueâ€? by the Clash off of the UK version of their first album. Why you need to buy two versions of this classic is beyond me. A 72 minute CD could hold both versions of the record and a have room left over for the ‘77-‘79 singles. But nooooo….
“Leave the Capitol� by the Fall from their still-astonishing EP “Slates:� Is my iPod telling me to leave Austin? Arctic Monkeys fans sure are.
“Let’s Do It Againâ€? by Crunch, from the “Velvet Tinmineâ€? compilation of obscure glam rock nuggets. Totally brainless, totally excellent.
“Dumb� by Nirvana from Unplugged in New York. One of the more depressing songs on possibly the most depressing album of the past 15 years. Gorgeous, but hide the knives.
“Living Proofâ€? by Cat Power from “The Greatest,â€? which is one of this year’s best albums. She found melody on the last one, she finds groove on this one. The songs actually no-kidding swing, something you can’t accuse of any other Cat Power record or performance anywhere ever. She wears it well.
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Superman vs. X-Men (no, not the movies)
You want pure fire from your funny books? Writers at the top of their game? Artists cranking out utterly eye-popping, candy-flake tights ‘n’ fights? Superheroes as bleeding-edge pop icons? You need buy two books and two books only this week (not that there are a bunch more, but you’re not made of money.)
“All-Star Superman” #4 (DC) — Writer Grant Morrison continues to make good on the promise of these all-ages, pop-in-anywhere books. Here’s a self-contained story for which one need know only this: Jimmy Olsen is Superman’s friend. Even the movies got that one right.
In a genius nod to the 8-page hijinks. that Olsen used to get into back in the ’60s, we open on Olsen in drag. Turns out he has a “I was so-and-so for a day!” column in the Daily Planet. His next assignment: director of the black budget P.R.O.J.E.C.T. think tank. Adventures ensue involving the Underverse, black kryptonite and and tungsten-based lifeforms. Frank Quitely’s art continues to drop jaws with his (admittedly oddly wrinkly) mastery of facial expression and nth dimensional mis-en-scene. A blast.
“Astonishing X-Men” #15 (Marvel) — Joss Whedon’s show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” copped themes wholesale from the Bryne/Claremont early-’80s run on “X-Men,” so it’s not too surprising that he would write these characters well. But nobody though it would be this good.
Non-comics readers should note that his “mutant-cure” theme from his first story arc was borrowed for the violently underwhelming “X-Men: The Last Stand” (as this man put it on June 9, “Score one for auteur theory”) and done much better in his hand.
The second arc, with the reintroduction of the Hellfire Club, continues to amaze with it’s whip-smart banter and beautifully realized set pieces and spot-on dramatic sense. It also seems to be — as my smart pal Jeff noted — a riff on the Byrne/Claremont run, a geeky gloss on its plots and characters (few have written the Kitty Pryde character so well), a fictionalized essay on its impact on fans.
This issue feels like something of a placeholder, but John Cassaday’s crisp, gorgeous art sails off the page, capturing action-packed moments like a tourist with a phone cam.
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Echoes of echoes
Santa Cruz psychedelic rock earth-movers Residual Echoes blew the paint off 423 Tillery last Saturday night. Too bad there were fewer than 10 paying customers to see it. (By which I mean folks who weren’t otherwise playing that night.)
This show bounced around the schedule for weeks. First, the band couldn’t find a venue. Then it was Emo’s on Sunday. Finally, it landed at Tillery the night before. Residual Echoes was supposed to be the headliner, but the band ended up playing first, hampered by Tillery’s disintegrating P.A. Kind of a mess, but perhaps one fitting the Echoes sprawling, jammy, face-first guitar blowouts.
Totally blew past last week’s comics report, so let’s get this in before tomorrow’s.
The highlights:
“Can’t Get No” by Rick Veitch (DC, $19.99) - A trippy, tone poem meditation on Sept. 11, the dangers of permanent markers, the big lie that was the 1990s economic boom, a thinly disguised Burning Man and the existential crises we face everyday without knowing about until something really goes wrong. It’s the sort of measured, intimate weirdness than comics do amazingly well.
Fables #50 (DC, $3.99) - An excellent example of beautifully efficient storytelling as Fables celebrates 50 excellent issues with that old staple, the wedding issue. Includes a preview of the spin-off book, “Jack of Fables” co-written by Willingham and newcomer (and Austinite) Matthew Sturges.
Civil War #2 (Marvel, $2.99) - You probably heard about the last page of this comic, a hail-Mary move if I’ve ever seen one, tossing out a staple of a beloved character’s identity/reason for being/etc. One hopes baby has not exited along with the bathwater.
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Sonic Truth
So, I owe Sonic Youth an apology.
Let me explain.
A few weeks ago, I received a watermarked copy of “Rather Ripped,” the new album from Sonic Youth.
I reviewed it for Spin magazine. It didn’t really click with me. I loved the longer, jammier songs (the amazing “Pink Steam,” “Or,”); they sounded and felt like material off of the band’s last two, excellent albums “Sonic Nurse” and “Murray Street.”
But most of the tunes scanned as fairly tight, somewhat hooky three or four minute punches that sounded like flat misfires.
I cracked wise about the album. It ended up with two stars.
Except last week, I heard the first song, “Reena,” sung by Kim Gordon, on KOOP. It sounded amazing. I was like, “Is this on the new album? Holy cow, it’s the first song. Why does it sound so great?” Hd the over-air compression that radio grants given the mix a punch that it seemed missing on the advance?
Then I found myself humming “Reena.” Then I found myself humming a few more songs from the album. It’s grown on me like a fungus.
After a few more listens, “Rather Ripped” has revealed itself to be a great song record, something neither “Goo” nor “Dirty” nor the really odd “Experimental Jet Set…” was. (As one pal put it, “This is a record Sonic Youth have tried and FAILED to make many, many times.”)
This time, they nailed it. Sorry, guys. My bad.
But here is my question, one for engineers out there: Do digital watermarks effect the sound of a watermarked CD?
also ruling: Tragedy - Nerve Damage CD (Tragedy)
Crow- Bloody Tear LP (Prank)
Comets on Fire - Avatar (Sub Pop)
Be Your Own Pet - s/t (Ecstatic Peace/Universal)
T.I. - “Get It”
New Comics Day No. 1
This is the first of what will hopefully be a quick look at what’s in the comics shops right now, as Wednesday is, as they say, New Comics Day.
Best on-going book on the stands? “Scott Pilgrim” by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni Press)
A series of manga-style, black-and-white graphic novels, “Pilgrim” strikes a surreal, fun-loving tone that too few comics can achieve, possibly because it’s tougher than it looks.
Scott Pilgrim is.. well, let’s let him tell it, from the Scott Pilgrim Web site:
“My name is Scott Pilgrim! I’m 23 and I live in Toronto with my cool gay roommate, Wallace Wells. I’m in a band called Sex Bob-omb (we’re not very good though), and I’m “between jobs.â€? Some of my friends say I’m a freeloader, but I think Wallace is just really nice! Anyway, I’ve been having some girl troubles lately. I kind of ended up dating this girl with, uh, seven evil ex-boyfriends, apparently? Her name is Ramona Flowers and she’s from New York, which makes her super extra-cool. Anyway, her ex-boyfriends keep showing up to fight me! It’s really extreme and extreme and stuff!! Girls show up from my past to make things more complicated, and it’s not like having a relationship is easy to begin with! I’ve got baggage and stuff, okay?!”
Yes, he has to fight seven ex-boyfriends (one of whom has vegan super powers, because if you have the willpower to be vegan, you’re probably psychic as well). It’s that kind of book.
Most comics about 20somethings and their navel-gazing issues bore me stupid (coughOptic Nervecough) because I don’t read comics to have my own life reflected upon. I lived it; I don’t need to read about it. “Scott Pilgrim” embodies all the doofy angst of 20something slackerdom and reminds you that at their best, comics play with narrative absurdities that look, well, still more absurd on screen.
Best graphic novel of this month and one of the best of the year? “Stagger Lee,” by Derek McCulloch and Shepherd Hendrix (Image)
In the tradition of “From Hell” and “Deadwood,” “Stagger Lee” is a 200+ page riff on the legend of “Stag” Lee Shelton, who shot Billy Lyons dead in the midst of a heated argument over a Stetson hat. Almost immediately, “Stagger Lee” became an weirdly indelible part of American folk tradition, a character in his own right and racial allegory who has stood in for everything from the “bad Negro” to the hapless victim of lynch mobs to the pimp/player archetype.
McCullock and Hendrix cut between a novelization of the real-life trial of Shelton, flashback on Shelton’s youth (the most compelling part of the book) and essay-style portions on the various Stagger Lee permutations. Outstanding work.
Best book of this week: Well, mainstream fans will glom onto Week Five of DC’s “52” and Marvel’s “Civil War” storyline, but my nod goes to the heartbreaking and revelatory “Luba’s Comics and Stories” #8 by Gilbert “Beto” Hernandez (Fantagraphics).
The comic draws a curtain on the current storyline involving Beto’s long-time protagonist Luba and her family, as the book’s writer/artist has said from now on, all tales realting to the sprawling Latino clan will be flashbacks to earlier, perhaps happier times.
Beto blew minds last month in the book’s companion title “Love and Rockets” when he lept forward six years in the on-going soap opera. It might seems like a quick and dirty coda to one of the most complicated and rewarding stories in modern comics, but the payoff - when the source of the oft-mentioned friction between Luba and her sisters is revealed - points right back to the magical realist series’ mythic beginnings. A typically brilliant, complex story from one of the best creators of our time.
Genius or obnoxious?
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