Im Sorry: Star Wars #1

This post is in response to some questioning of my short review of Star Wars #1 from Dark Horse that I posted here: http://twoheadednerd.com/2013/01/10/ludicrous-speed-reviews-010913/

     Some comics aren’t for everyone; some comics aren’t even for someone they should be for. Some comics, sometimes, just don’t make that connection, even when everything about them should be perfect for a reader. One of those comics for me was Star Wars #1 by Brian Wood. I’m not going to go into technicalities on art style, continuity, wording or any of that. The fact is, nothing is really wrong with this issue at all. It’s great. The art looks great, the writing was good, and everything this book was supposed to do it did. But, let’s back up.

     I’m a big Star Wars fan. The original movies were formative for me as a child. I’ve watched those dozens of times. I’ve seen a lot of the extended universe stuff, clone wars cartoon, specials, had books as a young child. I named my Son Luke for crying out loud! That being said, I never could get into the novels or really any of the star wars comics. I like flipping through an old Droids comic from Marvel from time to time, but that’s reading for nostalgia, not reading a new comic for pleasure.  So that being the case, what does this new Star Wars comic do for me?

     The answer is: Nothing. I don’t really care what happens. This is no fault of the creators, the book is meant to be filler between Star Wars and Empire, and that’s exactly what it will be. I’m sure it will be very enjoyable to people who want to read it, there just isn’t any spark in me right now that cares. What it comes down to for me is that I know what happens, all this book serves for me is more flavor text to a story I’ve seen and enjoyed a hundred times. This makes me a hypocrite, there are properties that I like to have these fillers for, Star Wars isn’t one of them for me. So when I give a short review saying that star wars fans will love this book, but if you aren't you probably wont care, that's exactly what I mean. Hope this clears things up, hope you all enjoy this book as much as you should! I will probably even try a few more issues, but I don’t really feel that excited for it, and that’s just my opinion.

Resolutions for 2013

It’s a new year, with so many comics, so many possibilities. As with every New Year, we ask ourselves: “What do I want to accomplish this year, what will be a successful year for me?” In attempting to answer that question for myself, here are 5 resolutions for 2013 that I hope to tackle.

1 - Discover New Creators. The world of comics has more talent and vibrancy than ever before. There are young fresh creators out there that are starting to produce the next generation of work, and discovering them and seeing their talent grow is thrilling. I want to find more new talent and in whatever way I can, help them get exposure and grow their skills in the industry.

2 - Read More from "The Stack". If you’ve read some of my previous posts you know that the books I have outweigh the books I’ve read. A goal for this year is to read those wonderful books I wanted to get so badly, only to have them sit on the shelf resigned to the backlog because more new stuff was coming in. In 2013 I’m going to change that (I hope).

3 - Study Comics History. I don’t think I’m one of those people that say you have to have read 70 years of comics to enjoy and understand anything current, but I do have a desire to learn more about the history of comics, the industry, and creators. There is a lot of value in knowing what influences current creators, how publishers treat their properties now, and how we all got to where we are today. I want to learn more about the past to satisfy curiosity.

4 - Fill In Runs. I have a decent amount of comics, but my collection is spotty at best. I have missing issues from nearly every series I collected and it’s a thorn in my collector’s side. I want to spend more time collecting missing back issues this year and less on getting more back issues that don’t fill in what I already have amassed.

5 - Read More Web Comics. Along the same vein as discovering new creators, there is a huge world of web comics that I know little about. I know there is amazing work being done on the web and a lot of new talent in print comics can come from there. I want to make an effort to discover new web comics and fill in that part of the world of comics for me.

What are your resolutions and hopes for 2013? What would you like to see get done in your comics life this year? I wish you all a great 2013, and happy reading!

A Year In Review [2012]

It feels almost obligatory that at the end of the year everyone writes their best of lists. Instead of boring you with a long list of things I loved, that you probably loved too, I wanted to just post my "top ten" picks of 2012 along with my all ages pick and graphic novel pick.

#1 The Secret History Of DB Cooper
#2 Saga
#3 Manhattan Projects
#4 Prophet
#5 Mind MGMT
#6 Hell Yeah
#7 Hawkeye
#8 Danger Club
#9 Peter Panzerfaust
#10 Ragemoor

- Best Graphic Novel - The Underwater Welder
- Best All Ages - Cowboy

That's it. Please check out these books if you didn't read them this year, I promise that you wont be disappointed. 

Now onto what I really wanted to say:

2012 was a big year for me. I made a ton of great friends and talked A LOT of comics. I hope that 2013 brings me even more friends and even more comics. This community means so much to me, its great to have a group of people that  I can talk about my passion with who have that same passion. 2012 brought our family the start of a new addition to our super hero team, in 2013 they will be officially inducted into our justice society! I cant wait to meet them and find out what super powers they posses (I suspect super-sonic screaming and toxic poop attack). As much as I'm tempted to do a long post about all the amazing things that happened this year and how much you all mean to me I'll keep it brief. Thank you all for your friendship and I look forward to many more years of talking comics with you all!


In 2013 my wish for you is that all your comics be variants, and all your long boxes be filled to the brim!

The New Cool

When I was in high school myself and a few other nerd refugees would take shelter on breaks and lunches behind one of the school buildings. Sun, rain, snow or hail we would gather to talk comics, sci fi, movies and all other manner of geekery. We worshiped in this church of geekdom in private, in secret, away from the main stream because we weren't the cool kids, and our religion wasn't allowed to be public. 

Times have changed! These days the passions that were secrets to be kept are almost main stream. The internet has revolutionized how people can interact, find communities and talk about their interests. No longer do people have to wonder if they are the only ones,  where the like-minded are hiding or if they are forever doomed to live a life on the fringe. 

It used to be that the bullies, the conformists, dictated what was cool and what wasn't. Those chains have been broken for so many. Even those still living in cultural wastelands can find connections to others of their kind through social media. 

Its now our job as a community to govern ourselves. Not all of us are free. With every rise to power there is the urge to marginalize those who we deem to be unworthy of the title. We will never truly be free till all of us are free to practice and enjoy our nerdiness however we want. Fake and real have no place in our new society. Real is in your heart, fake is the dark side. 

Living in a “post cool” society is the utopia that myself and my fellow refugees dreamt of on those cold days. Huddled together under the overhang, reading our comic books or playing Magic the Gathering. So, live your passions, find your communities and love being the cool that you are.

The Thrill of the Hunt

     I've come across sales of comics in non-comics places, and found some fun deals. These unexpected finds, little treasure troves that you weren't looking for, have given me some thought about what it is that is so thrilling about finding comics "deals" in places that you wouldn't expect to find them and my compulsion to search for more.

     One of the places recently discovered is a used bookstore in my town that "found" about 250,000 comics ranging from the mid 60's to late 80's, in one of their many storage units. This previously unknown treasure trove has become an obsession to me, partly because the collection is being put out for sale slowly, drawing me back to the store like a moth to the flame, and partly because you never know what will be out when you get there.

     There have been a few other places in town with hidden caches of comics you wouldn’t think were there.  The thrill I have when I find them is hard to describe. It’s more than just being able to browse through and buy comics.  If that was the case, Eugene OR already has two great comic book shops, and between Eugene and Portland there are a dozen excellent stores to spend hours looking through. For me, it’s more about being the nerd who finds comics where comics shouldn’t be.

     While looking through these comics I find myself picking up issues that I wouldn't be searching for in the normal shop, or eBay or at cons. The issues I’ve been buying take on a mythical quality to them because they have become special. They now have a back story that the issue by itself never had before. I can tell not only what the comic is about, but how it came to be in my possession. A lot of the possessions I care about most in my life aren't because of what they are, but also where they came from. The "how" is just as important as the "what". The thrill of finding comics and then sharing the find with my friends is as important to me as reading the comic I found. The hunt is as rewarding as the kill.

Sacred Cows: Time makes Gods of Men

Recently I was talking with folks on Twitter about the works of a very famous creator, and how some of his works get more praise than they deserve.  Regardless of how you feel about that, it got me thinking that there are sacred cows; creators that can’t be discussed because the mythos of their work has grown beyond the reality of it. Beyond that, time itself turns people into myth, myth into legend and legend into religion. I can see this starting to happen with comic book creators of the past. I'm guilty myself of placing reverence on deceased creators that I had no connection to because they are no long accessible, the memory of them is becoming a tale to be told rather than a reality to be explored.

I find that debating revered creator's works fails even before the discussion begins because people aren't talking about the same thing. While I may be talking about a book by someone through the eyes of a reader that doesn't know the original creator, someone else is talking about it with the full history of the work in their mind. It’s not the same debate. It’s so hard to establish the ground rules for discussion that what ends up happening is that works are considered untouchable simply because they no longer can be talked about. The weight of their work and roots in the industry are so deep they have become foundational and no longer living or vibrant.

Are there creators out there, works that are so revered that to talk ill of them will only serve to get you scorn? How do you, or do you even dare bring these up for debate and discussion? I find myself more often than not just letting the establishment have its idols and keeping my opinions to myself.

Till next time true believers...