Interview Time: Charles Forsman

Some Info About Charles Forsman

I have spoken a number of times about how I am a big fan of Charles Forsman and his works. "The End of the Fucking World," was a stellar comic, "Revenger," is pulpy fun, and, "Slasher," was one of my favorite mini-series of 2017 (with Forsman himself being a favorite writer-artist of last year as well). I reached-out to him back at the start of the year to inquire about doing an interview and over the months we engaged in a big back-and-forth I greatly enjoyed discussing comics, music, and life in general. You can check out the interview below!

The Interview

First off, thanks for agreeing to do an interview with me, Chuck. Would you mind telling my readers a little bit about yourself--who you are, what comics you've made?

Thanks for having me. I’m a 35 year old cartoonist from the North Eastern US. My comics include Celebrated Summer, TEOTFW, I am Not Okay With This, Revenger, Slasher and my current project AUTOMA.

At one time you had your own micro-comics publisher known as Oily Comics. You distributed some of your earliest works via that as well as other titles, correct? What made you want to be your own micro-publisher at the time?

Oily wasn’t all that thought out. I never expected it to become a thing. Oily began soon after I started releasing TEOTFW as mini comics. I was enjoying the experience of serializing and the lowered stakes of making such cheap little books so I asked some friends to join me. I soon found myself printing 5 mini comics a month for about 2 years. I burned out pretty quick. It was a lot of stapling. But really, I found myself with a choice. I really enjoy publishing, and production and shipping but I want to be a cartoonist. That is my main concern and I found my attention being pulled further and further from that. So I decided to end it. It more like faded actually.

I think the whole reason I began doing it was just that I was getting some attention for TEOTFW and I thought I could shine that light on cartoonists I liked and get them in front of new readers. That was the main goal.

"The End of the Fucking World," was the first thing by you I read back in the bygone days of 2013. I told you I haven't watched the adaptation on Netflix yet, and I apologize but my que is 100-titles deep. That said, how did the adaptation come about, and how satisfied were you with it?

Well, Jonathan Entwistle, the creator of the show picked up a few of the comics in 2012. He emailed me and said he would like to adapt it. Five or six years of ups and downs and anxiety later the thing is a show. It’s really a testament to Jon’s drive. I’m surprised he didn’t give up on it. But he made it happen along with a whole mountain of people it takes to make a TV show. I am extremely happy with it. And, look, from my end, it’s basically like winning the lottery. Just the thing actually getting made is a miracle. And then that fact that it’s genuinely a cool show and so many people have reacted to it positively is hard to fathom.

Looking at your drawing-style it seems capable of great variation. "TEOTFW," looks minimalist and almost cartoony, a stark contrast to something like, "Revenger," which is detailed in its brutality and, "Slasher," which also doesn't shy away from explicitly-rendered violence. What goes into you deciding what kind of artistic style you want to use for a book?

Yeah, I appreciate you calling me “capable.” HAHA. I actually don’t think I’m a great cartoonist. I’m okay but I don’t think I have too much natural god-given talent. I have minimal talent that I try to make work in as many different ways as possible. I used to get really hung up on not having a style to call my own. But I kind of learned to embrace that and become a bit of a chameleon. I enjoy drawing in different ways especially when I can adapt it to suit a story. Deciding on how I’m going to draw something depends on the feeling of it. Revenger was quite a shift because I wanted to do something with all these comics I was reading from the 80s and 90s. Marvel and DC stuff but also the stuff from the self-publishing “boom” from that time.

TEOTFW’s style came about as I wanted to try to strip my stuff way back so I could pump out paged quickly. I think for me that is important to move quickly. It’s harder to keep my focus if I laboring over each page.

I of course loved, "Slasher," and considered it one of my favorite mini-series of 2017, and it played a major role in your being one of my favorite writer-artists of 2017. Would you mind sharing how the idea for it came about?

Yeah, that one was spurred on by things I believe. I wanted to do a female killer story. For whatever reason female serial killers are not as prevalent as male killers. I also wanted to have a character where the violence was tied up with their sexuality. It’s a gruesome thing that some serial killers have. The other part was based on the real life case of Gypsy-May and DeeDee. There is a really great longform piece on them on Buzzfeed that I read a few years ago. If you don’t know about them, it was basically a mother and daughter living in a trailer but the mom was making her kid sick and convincing the world she had cancer and was like 10 years younger than she actually was. The story really stuck with me and I decided to put it with this other idea and see how it came out of me.

Before the killing starts in, "Slasher," I really felt bad for the main characters (or who we think they are). Christina comes across as someone desperately lonely and unsure how to handle her blood-based fetishes, and, "Josh," has an overbearing and emotionally abusive mother. Oftentimes in horror stories the focus is on the people fleeing the boogeyman, but here you actually try to really give us a sympathetic view of the, "monster," before they start acting monstrous. What made you want to flesh-out Christina so much so that we didn't just view her as a psychotic killer?

I can’t help it. It’s how I tell stories. Or at least it’s how I’ve figured out how to do it. I need to get into the character and make them feel real. So a lot of what I’m putting down it mapping out how they interact with the world. To me, that is the story. I’m not much of a plotter. I’m just more interested in depicting characters that feel true.

When I was reading, "Slasher," I felt like I could see it going in one direction before it very suddenly zigged where I thought it would zag. This is of course when (spoilers) we learn the so-called romance we've been witnessing is one big catfish. I thought the comic would have Christina meet Josh and either, A. Embark on a killing-spree as a couple or B. Have Josh be surprised she was actually acting out murders and not just doing some kind of weird role-play, resulting in his rejecting her. We of course got neither of those things and instead got a plot twist I use to describe the comic to friends when I say, "Slasher," is arguably about, "Why you should never catfish a serial killer." Did you have this big twist planned all along when you started the story or did it happen later on?

Honestly no I did not. But that’s okay. I had the whole thing mapped out in an outline but halfway through either due to boredom or anxiety I decided to make a left turn. It seemed like a good idea to me at the time and carried my enthusiasm the rest of the way. Part of me feels cowardly for doing it. Like I should have just stuck to my little poem I was working on. But it’s what I decided to do. This happens a lot to me. And it is what makes comics fun for me. Because It is just me and I’m not working with anyone else, I am free to do something like that. I enjoy it when it doesn’t go to plan and I like when it happens. With every step of the process I am tweaking and making changes. And I’m not a robot. Sometimes my mood can affect things in the story depending on how I’m feeling that day. But to me, that’s comics. It’s about setting up rules in the beginning and watching the characters try to stay within those rules and ultimately they end up breaking those rules.

You have made a number of comics featuring your character, "Revenger." I would say its tone is quite different from the disaffect youth in,  "TEOTFW," or the stark horror of, "Slasher." It reminds me of old grindhouse flicks or pulpy comics and when I read it, I feel like I'm enjoying a comic by someone who set out with the intention of having fun. You've done a number of series and one-shots with her, so am I correct in feeling like, "Revenger," is what you do when you feel a bit more like cutting-loose?

Yeah. It is me having fun. It is all of those things you’ve described but I think deep down it really is me getting out my frustrations with the world. She is the ultimate Social Justice Warrior. But she uses the tools of a fascist to kill fascists. So yeah, I’m having fun but I also want her to be a Dirty Harry for socialists.

Sometimes when I think of creators I associate them as doing much of their work with a particular publisher. That doesn't seem to apply to you, with you having done everything from your own micro-publishing, to working with indie publishers, having stuff come-out from Fantagraphics, and now you're doing a comic exclusively available to folk who back you on Patreon (which we'll discuss more in a second). What makes you choose whatever publisher (or lack thereof) that you do for certain projects, and why?

Well, I think when I was starting out I would see some cartoonists I admired jumping from publisher to publisher. I’ve never been one for being loyal to a certain house. Plus I came up self-publishing, and as you mentioned, I still do. I’m lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with different publishers. A big part of it is also because my books can be so different that I think it’s smart to have multiple publishers. There is so little money and opportunity in comics that I think it’s smarter for me to cast a wide net. That probably isn’t true for everyone but it works for me.

Like a number of talented creators you have a Patreon. Something I can't recall anyone else doing however is that you have a comic that people can only get by backing you on Patreon (or if a retailer backs you at a higher-level they can get some extra copies of the comic to sell at their store). What made you want to do this?

Well, I’ve been doing subscriptions for my comics since the Oily days. I think people like it. They like the regularity of getting a comic in the mail monthly (fingers crossed) and it keeps me motivated to hit that deadline every month. Patreon is just another way of doing a subscription. It really works for me. When I started floppies were dead for alternative comics. Fanta and D&Q had stopped printing any floppies. And the big publishers were giving book contracts for great big graphic novels. And that seemed to be the way the wind blew so I never thought much about serializing. But when I started TEOTFW I found that it was like a drug. I just love it. I love putting something out regularly and it helps when I get feedback during the process. It’s hard to be holed up in your room for years working on something. I mean, I love being alone but man I like telling a story in chapters and getting them out there.

I recently received my first issue of, "Automa," and loved it [since our starting the interview-process I've gotten issue #2 and #3 and they rocked too]! I get a really dark vibe from it like you've married a boxing movie and crime flick and thrown-in the complicated issue of our main character being an uncle to a newly-orphaned child. I had mixed feelings about the movie, "Drive," but loved certain elements of it, with your story making me think of the parts I liked in that movie, perhaps because it oozes a weird arty-and-gritty tone. It's just the first issue that has come out, but a lot is already happening. Can you tell me how many more issues you plan to make--if you have decided--and what readers can expect? Also, how can people who want to read, "Automa," get in on it?

Thanks, yeah. I am hesitant to say too much about AUTOMA in terms of the story because I want it to be a surprise. Right now, the rough plan is to have it be 18 chapters. It might be the biggest book I’ve made when it’s all said and done. It’s a much bigger story in terms of its timeline than any of my other comics. In my head, AUTOMA is my version of Manga. I want it to be breezy to read with good character iconography. But I’m limited by my abilities so it comes out not exactly how I envision it. And, jeez, first issues are hard. I second guesses so much stuff in that first issue. It’s touch because you have all these ideas in your head but once you start putting them down, you have a commitment. I always have to trick myself out of caring too much.

I am someone who loves music and sometimes, "Hear," a certain kind of music in my mind when I read books. Often when I flip-through your comics I either hear loud heavy-metal or weirdly tense electronic beats like something from Trent Reznor, depending on the title I'm enmeshed in. May I ask what kind of music you like and if you listen to music while working?

HAHA. This is great. Music has often been pretty important to me. And I have often listened to certain music when drawing comics. Celebrated Summer and TEOTFW were heavily influenced by Husker Du and I think I was listening to a lot of NIN when I started Slasher. It’s one of those things the readers can’t see or hear, but I do think it seeps into the work somehow.

This is probably as bland a question as you can get besides, “Where do your ideas come from?” but I am curious whom you would cite as an artistic influence, if anyone?

In comics, my biggest visual influences are E.C. Segar, Chester Brown, Frank Miller,
Klaus Janson, Charles Schulz, Jorge Zaffino, Paul Gulacy, George Herriman.

It seems like a decent amount of the time more independent-scene creators will do a project for a, “Big,” publisher. Do you have any interest in having a comic published with Image, or have you ever even considered dipping your toe into a superhero comic at Marvel or DC? I’ll be honest and tell you I’ve wondered what a Forsman-written Moon Knight might be like, or as fan-ficy as it might sound, what kind of scene we’d get if Frank Castle AKA the Punisher met the Revenger.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about it. But it’s still a weird thing. No one gets called a sell out anymore because artists need to get money where they can get it. But I think I would need to think about it long and hard. And there would have to be something that really pulls me to do it. Whether that’s working with someone I want to work with, I have a story I need to tell, maybe it’s freedom to do a book that I have control over and not something like taking on a regular series. I think there has to be a pretty good “why” for me to do something at Marvel or DC. But this changes daily. I’m sure if you ask me tomorrow I would just say, yeah, I want to do it.

As far as someone like Image, I actually did send a Revenger pitch to them through the normal submission channels. I knew it was a long shot not having and in over there. And as I expected I never heard anything back. I’m actually happy about that though. It made me do what I always do. Self publish. I’m often too impatient to wait around for someone to say ,”go.” You don’t get to draw comics waiting for someone to give you permission.

The television adaptation of, "TEOTFW.

Another cliche question, but we often read about how independent creators can struggle to, “Make it,” in regards to achieving a livable income where things like groceries, bills, etc. can be paid. How long did it take you to get to a point where you felt you could pursue comics as your main, “Job,” and not have to worry about going totally broke--or do you even feel you’re at that point?

Honestly, I still don’t feel that secure. Money is never stable when you work freelance. It comes and goes. My anxiety over it has lessened over the years. I left my last day job in 2011 and it was because I needed to move for unrelated reasons. I found myself jobless with no real prospects and that’s about the time I started doing TEOTFW. Sometimes flying without a net can be a good motivator. But I know that’s also a privileged position to hold. I don’t have kids or people relying on me or dire medical needs so it’s easier for me to to take that risk. I live fairly cheaply in a really small town. I think if I moved to New York City like I always dreamt of doing, I wouldn’t have many comics to show for it.

One thing that fascinates me besides the work a comic creator completes is the, “Graveyard,” of projects that they didn’t finish. Is your graveyard mostly barren with the majority of concepts you undertake reaching their conclusion or is it full of half-realized ideas or projects that found themselves at a dead-end? Would you be willing to tell us about some or any of these?

I have a few things like that. Teen Creeps is a series I began after TEOTFW. I did 4 chapters and gave up on it. I just had this feeling I couldn’t shake that I was doing the same thing I just did. So I ditched it. I have a book called Lena 4-ever about a girl who becomes a carnival stripper in the 1970s. I’m not sure why that one stalled out. I think I just put it aside intending to get back to it but just never have. I still like the idea so I may come back to it someday. I also did 2 issues of a comic called Luv Sucker. It was a teenage vampire book. Again, same thing. I just haven’t returned to it.

 

When you’re not makings comics what else do you like to do? Are you a video-gamer? Do you enjoy sports? Play any instruments?

I used to play guitar a lot but I haven’t picked it up in a few years. I always mean to because I find it relaxing.

Lately I’ve gotten back into video games. I was out of it since the Dreamcast died. But I’ve recently gotten into collecting NES games and playing them. But also a few modern games. I tend to gravitate to platformers though. Those are my favorites kinds of games. Metroid and Castlevania are just the best.

What is your favorite comic that you ever read?

Ha. This is what I call an impossible question.

Revenger fighting some homicidal clowns.

If you could adapt any other comic you’ve created so far into any other medium, which one would it be and in what form (movie, television show, cartoon)?

Revenger. I think it would just make a really cool show. When I started it, I sort of thought about it as being an ongoing thing so in my head seeing her story serialized on TV would be a good fit.

Do you have any other projects coming-up you can share some information about, or is, “Automa,” your main focus for now?

Right now, I’m all Automa all the time. I do mutter to myself that I’m going to do another issue of Snake Oil. Just a good old fashioned comic with a few random strips. I have some ideas so I might actually get that done sooner than later.

Concluding Thoughts

Thanks again to Charles Forsman for doing this big interview with me and being so open, honest, and interesting. I encourage everyone to visit his website and you can check-out his Patreon here!

2017 in Review Master List and a Happy New Year!

2017 is officially over and done with. Let's hope for a happy and successful 2018, and in the meantime you can look over the master list of all my posts from the past week looking back at the year that was:

Comic-Related Posts
Best Single Issue of the Year
Best Newer Comic of the Year
Colorist of the Year
Comic-Book Writers of the Year
Comic-Book Artist of the Year
Delayed Comics are the Annoying (Continuing) Trend of the Year
Fun Cover-Gimmick of the Year
Mini-Series/Maxi-Series of the Year
Ongoing Series of the Year
Original Graphic Novel of the Year
Relaunch of the Year...That Kinda Sucked
Weirdest Comic of the Year
Writer-Artists of the Year

Other Posts
Album of the Year
Article of the Year
Baby of the Year
Beverage of the Year
Fiasco of the Year
I Probably Didn't Play The Play Game of the Year
Television Show of the Year
The (Potentially) Best Films of 2017 I Didn't See

Baby of the Year: Clarkson--2017 in Review

Best Baby of the Year!

Enjoying a messy meal of solids recently!

2017 was a year full of some of the greatest joy I have felt and the most stress and sadness I've ever gone through as well. Samii and I welcomed our son, Clarkson Joseph Raymond Bitterbaum to this world on February 28th, 2017, a whole ten weeks earlier than he was expected. Due to his prematurity Clarkson had to stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit until May 11th when we were overjoyed to have him come home. It was hard having him in the hospital for such a long period of time as soon as he was birthed but Mercy Saint Louis was wonderful to him and us. Since coming home Clarkson has continued to grow and just be amazing everyday. While many babies were born in 2017 I believe without a doubt that Clarkson is the best baby of the year. You can disagree if you want, but you'd be wrong.

Best Writer-Artists of 2017

It Ain't Easy
Writing and illustrating a comic is something you don't see too often, but there is something very pure to knowing the creator got exactly what they intended onto a comic-book page because they thought-up everything from the story, to the dialogue, to how the page looks. This year two writer-artists especially impressed me and I wanted to give them the recognition they deserve. Both were equally good so I flipped a coin to determine who I would discuss first and it ended up as such...

Charles Forsman

Charles Forsman is a man who jumps around genres with gusto. He'll give us a dark coming-of-age tale in, "The End of the Fucking World," before creating a gorgeous homage to grindhouse flicks with his, "Revenger," comics. This year he gave us, "Slasher," which  starts out seeming like the tale of two desperately lonely and quiet people who have a somewhat unsettling fetish for blood and knives before slowly spiraling into a ballet of gruesome gore that's as disturbing as it is expertly drawn by Forsman's able pen. Forsman has continued to work on other comics as well, releasing a small-press printing of a, "Revenger," Christmas-themed story I bought and look forward to reading plus a book from Fantagraphics, "I Am Not Okay With This," I'm excited to get and delve into. He also is going to be doing a comic exclusively available to people who support him on Patreon too, so clearly the guy isn't slowing down anytime soon with his work!

Katie Skelly

Katie Skelly seems to be everywhere lately from her self-published work to titles such as, "My Pretty Vampire," from Fantagraphics and her involvement in an upcoming series of romance-themed comics from Image. Her drawing-style is a delightful marriage of cute and sexy with a nasty edge to it just, "Wrong," enough to give her comics a stellar zing. Skelly was everywhere in 2017 and I look forward to seeing all the great stuff she gives us in 2018 as well.

Comic-Book Writers of the Year

Stellar Wordsmiths
When you read comics you are enjoying a mixture of text and imagery. The folk who create that text-aspect and plot things out can sometimes make absolute garbage and other times are such good writers that I consider them my comic-book writers of the year. These folk are of course stellar and deserve to be recognized. In alphabetical order by last name I present...

Donny Cates

Cates' career is frankly on fire. He was a lesser-known writer behind such critically acclaimed hits as the stellar, "Buzzkill," but hadn't really blown-up. Then he had hits like, "God Country," and, "Redneck," with Image, got signed to an exclusivity deal with Marvel, and now is getting rave reviews for his work on, "Doctor Strange," and, "Thanos." Seeing as I've at least liked any comic put out by Cates, and loved a good deal of them as well, he easily gets props as one of my comic-writers of the year.

Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell was a writer I had basically no familiarity with when I first heard her name announced as the new writer for the latest re-launch of, "Runaways." A comic that ever since its original writer--Brian K. Vaughn--finished the initial story has struggled to find much of a plot, Rowell came onto the book and in just four issues has turned it into a must-read for me, and frankly it is one of small number of Marvel books I actually still read. Rowell has an extensive career in writing Young Adult novels, but if, "Runaways," is any indicator, she should have a solid career doing comics too if she wishes!

Christopher Priest

Just because I recognized Priest last year doesn't mean I can't do it again. The man is a genius when it comes to writing comics, with his decades of experience and continued quality work standing as a testament to how when we talk about some of the best comic-writers ever Priest better be a name discussed. His work on, "Deathstroke," for DC continues to be my favorite book released by that publisher and now that I'm hearing he will be writing some other books for the publisher as well I can only continue to get even more excited.

Comic-Book Artist of the Year: Fiona Staples--2017 in Review

Always Amazing

I spotlighted three comic-book writes who especially impressed me this year, but I only have one artist who leapt immediately to mind when it came to who was making the best comic-book art: Fiona Staples. The reason I thought of her is that when one thinks about comics they of course take into account how without an artist someone is just reading prose. The artist's contribution is what makes the story a comic-book and the best artists contribute imagery that the reader would not otherwise be able to conjure on their own if reading simply print. Fiona Staples with her work on, "Saga," unquestionably gives us the kind of amazing imagery that astonishes with how unique and amazing it looks. With Brian K. Vaughn writing and Fiona Staples on art, "Saga," is a continuously smashing read that I bet we will be talking about for years, and which I hope continues coming out for many years as well.

Colorist of the Year: Jordie Bellaire--2017 in Review

Yep, Again

It isn't always Jordie Bellaire who wins colorist of the year, but considering just how good she happens to be, it makes sense she wins often. Plus, she's writing comics now too with the quality, "Redlands," being a title she can be proud to get credit for. I'll be honest and tell you I don't know how she does it and colors comics so well, but she does, probably being the best colorist currently in the comic industry. She gets enough respect and accolades she doesn't need this award again from me, but even if she doesn't need it, she for sure has earned it.

Weirdest Comic of the Year--2017 in Review

Only two issues have come out, but, "No. 1 With a Bullet,"  from Image has already greatly impressed me with just how strange it is. The story of a world with technology even more invasive than we already have is like peering into a twisted funhouse mirror of an alternate present or possible future I doubt any of us want. It's weird, it's uncomfortable, and it is so very, very good as I have already extensively discussed. I know two issues isn't a lot of time to make an impression, but, "No. 1 With a Bullet," has already done more with that pair of issues in giving me awesome weirdness than other titles do over a whole year. It's some good shit.

"Tarantula" is my Original Graphic Novel of the Year--2017 in Review

I didn't read a ton of original graphic novels this year, but of the ones I did there is particular title that stands-out in my mind as quite spectacular. Published by Adhouse Books, "Tarantula," is like a psychedelic 1970's genre-flick put to paper with its badass babes, surreal animal-human villains, and of course demon-worship. When I first reviewed it back in June I loved it, and six months later I still adore the book. It is sort of a comic about a crime-fighter known as Tarantula as she solves a mystery, but the book's amazing imagery and pacing make it about so much more. I had so much fun reading, "Tarantula," that it easily is my original graphic novel of the year. I only hope more people check it out!

Ongoing Series of the Year--2017 in Review

An Ongoing Delight
There are series that theoretically could run forever and a part of me hopes they do (as long as they retain their quality, of course). Three ongoing books totally had me enraptured this year and I wanted to make sure to spotlight them.

Black Hammer, The

The series actually just ended with a big cliff-hanger but is re-launching again as an ongoing and has some tie-in series too. The main book was an amazing take on superheroes trapped in a strange world that just seems a bit off, showing us the struggles faced by people who can move mountains stuck in a perfect little town with nary a thing out of place. It is the most human take on superhumans I've seen in some time and Jeff Lemire should be proud he's made something so fantastic.

Deathstroke

Well, here we are again. Christopher Priest has been writing a fantastic comic and I've continued loving to read it. I never thought I would be so pumped to read a book with Deathstroke but Priest's skill has pulled that off. I've said nothing but great things about, "Deathstroke," and I'm about out of words I can use to praise it...have I said splendiferous? Just buy it and read it.

Wild Storm, The

Warren Ellis kinda-sorta returned to the characters of the Stormwatch Universe with a brand-new take that I already have said is fantastic, and it has continued to be a smart, satisfying read. It has officially been announced to be planned as 24 issues but that's basically an ongoing that just has a planned end-point, so I'm gonna give this credit as a fantastic ongoing, dab-nabit!

Article of the Year--2017 in Review

I enjoy reading (and obviously writing, hence having a blog). I also try to stay abreast of everything form popular culture, to world news, and anything that I just find interesting. Stellar writer Ta-Nehisi Coates (who also has been at work making, "Black Panther," comics for Marvel) earlier this year wrote an article for The Atlantic as fascinating as it is depressing, "Donald Trump is the First White President." It basically breaks-down how Trump  made his whole campaign based around undoing the work of the Black man before him and won that way. It digs into how despite media claims that Trump appealed to people for a myriad of reasons, at the end of the day it was his whitness all the way that got him elected. The article is horrendously depressing and also very necessary reading.

Best Single Issue of the Year--2017 in Review

A Stellar Standalone

A great single issue doesn't have to be a standalone issue to be my favorite of the year, but this time a one-shot that ties in with, "The Wicked and the Divine," was just amazing. The, "455 AD," one-shot that follows one of the Gods who breaks the supposed rules is just amazingly twisted and weird from start to finish as it is made apparent that the Gods who people nowadays worship as celebrities could wield a dangerous power and pose a huge threat to the world if they aren't kept in check by rules...rules which the main series has seen the Gods currently going against. This individual issue is just smashing and a great standalone way to see why, "The Wicked and the Divine," continues to be a great series.

I Probably Didn't Play The Play Game of the Year--2017 in Review

I heard good things, but I didn't play it.

Now that I have a son his needs come first and can push a lot of other stuff I've enjoyed doing to the side. I've had to prioritize the kind of things I like most and basically dramatically reduce my time doing other things I can live without. Considering how much I love comics, music, movies, television, etc. I found that as I played video-games less and less I was okay with it. There are some games I still really want to try, but those epic ones that I hear take 100+ hours just sound terrible for someone trying to find the time to even read some comics now and then when Clarkson is napping.

There are plenty of games I've heard are stellar, but I ain't played them. I don't have a Nintendo Switch so all of its games are out of the question, I didn't try the new Middle Earth game, or, "Destiny 2," or anything relating to the Assassin's Creed games. I did play, "Horizon: Zero Dawn," for a couple hours and thought it was cool, but that's about it. Oh wait, I got a chunk of time in with the 7th, "Resident Evil," game and found it really, really good (and scary). No, "Cuphead," or even the new and fun-sounding South Park game however. I just don't often have time for video-games and that's okay. Maybe sometime I 'll be able to try out all these stellar adventures, just not now.

Delayed Comics are the Annoying (Continuing) Trend of the Year--2017 in Review

So, So, Annoying

A great cover to a comic that should've already come out and now isn't due till 2018.

"Doom Patrol," "The Black Monday Murders," "Southern Bastards," anything relating to the, "Afterlife With Archie," brand. All these comics I've greatly enjoyed and they all have had abhorrent delays. When it gets to the point when I can't recall what happened in the previous issue of a comic because it has been months, or even more than a year, I know there's a big problem. I was really loving, "Doom Patrol," but I've quit reading it in single issues because at this point I might as well just pick it up in trade whenever the horrifically-delayed issues are collected. "Southern Bastards," has long been a favorite comic of mine but comes out maybe quarterly, and when was the last time we saw any of that zombie-Archie comic?

If a book is solicited to come out monthly or every two months and doesn't that can kill the momentum. I adore, "The Black Monday Murders," with the great writing of Jonathan Hickman and Tomm Coker's amazing artwork but its sporadic release schedule really makes it hard to recall who's who in its big cast of characters all following their own plots and subplots. I'm happy to get to read the book at all, but I'll be darned if these delays don't temper my enthusiasm a bit at times.

This came out 8/31/16, nothing since. #11 will maybe be out December 26th...of 2018.

Look, I know that things can come-up and make it hard for a book to come out on time. Whether it is a big comic company or a smaller independent book shit can happen. It just is annoying when a book I really dig is delayed beyond all rhyme or reason to the point I just give-up waiting for it. This by no means was a problem exclusive to 2017, but perhaps as I grow older my patience just wears increasingly thin for this kind of thing.

The (Potentially) Best Films of 2017 I Didn't See

The Ever-Growing List
As has become routine at this point, there are a lot of more movies that might be stellar which I haven't seen than movies people rave about which I have. In honor of that, here is my big ol' list of 2017 flicks I didn't see but should view at some point. Let's go in alphabetical order and begin!

So Many Movies and There Wasn't Enough Time

Baby Driver
Wow, this came out in 2017? I ask because it has Kevin Spacey in it and it feels like forever ago we learned he was a creep. Whatever the case, this movie by Edgar Wright apparently masterfully incorporates music with its action and is otherwise a rollicking good time.

Blade Runner 2049
Apparently despite rave reviews plenty of other people didn't see this either, and it tanked hard at the box office. That said, it's got plenty of talented actors and amazing imagery, so maybe after a quick review of the story in the original, "Blade Runner," as I've forgotten basically everything, I'll check this out.

Brigsby Bear
Kyle Mooney takes a plot that sounds potentially terrifying (child who grew up in a bunker and is obsessed with a pop-culture character nobody else has ever heard of) and makes a movie that actually is kind of sweet and makes you think about how we view our favorite cultural-stuff.

Coca
Putting aside how everyone hated the Olaf short that preceded this movie (until they pulled it from theaters), I'm told this is an amazing production full of the usual Pixar charm.

Darkest Hour, The
Gary Oldman plays Winston Churchill in this film that sounds perfect for someone who is a combination of a history buff and Gary Oldman fan like myself.

Disaster Artist, The
I adored the book about the making of cult-classic failure, "The Room," so I'd be eager to see a movie about the book about the movie (whew, try saying that five times fast).

Downsizing
Matt Damon shrinks himself down in order to both save the environment and live like a king. It sounds like a weirdly fascinating plot and something I would never do as I'd be terrified someone would step on me.

Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan's World War II film filled with minimal dialogue and extensive imagery impressed a variety of reviewers, and again, as someone who enjoys studying history this should appeal to me.

Florida Project, The
I know basically nothing about this movie other than it has Willem Dafoe in it and it's topping a variety of, "Best Movies of 2017," lists. I just had to know it featured Dafoe to want to see it though.

Get Out
I'm honestly embarrassed I still haven't seen this as someone who enjoys political commentary, horror films, and has enjoyed the work of creator Jordan Peele (he's the director of this movie). I need to make sure I see this STAT.

Girls' Trip
A gross-out comedy with a variety of actresses whose work I enjoy? Sounds fun to me!

Good Time
Robert Pattinson has basically been doing all kinds of weird indie-movies ever since the, "Twilight," saga as if he's desperate to prove he can act. You've proven you're talented man, its okay. All the positive buzz for, "Good Time," just solidifies that.

It
After years in development Hell I as well as everyone else was surprised when it turned out this didn't suck and was actually really good.

John Wick: Chapter 2
Keanu Reeves is a cool guy and a solid actor. "John Wick," was surprise hit and its sequel is apparently splendid as well.

Justice League
I mean, plenty of people didn't like it but as someone who thought even, "Batman VS Superman," had its charms I'm interested in checking it out.

Logan Lucky
Steven Soderbergh is a filmmaker who always manages to impress, so knowing he made this movie which even he has his character's jokingly refer to as a, "Redneck Ocean's Eleven," makes me wanna see it.

Mother!
Apparently this is a weird movie full of religious symbolism that either had nobody go see it because it is pompous and dumb, or because it is too smart and went over everyone's head, depending on whom you ask.

Okja
This is actually a Netflix original movie, but they screened it in some theaters too I believe. It's a weird mixture of genres and features a gigantic pig. Frankly, once I knew it had a mega-pig I was excited.

Patti Cake$
A movie I've heard described as, "Charming," about a lady who wants to be a rapper. I like charming movies, so I'd see it!

Shape of Water, The
Director Guillermo Del Toro is a craftsman at the top of his game and this film about love, humanity, and power is apparently amazing. Plus, from the previews it totally looks like that lady bangs the fish-dude.

Star Wars the Last Jedi
I'm not a diehard, "Star Wars," fan, but I for sure enjoy the series a great deal and look forward to checking this out.

Thor: Ragnarok
I need to make sure to see every MCU film I've missed (not too many, but still) before the big latest, "Avengers," movie comes out so I can be sure I'm fully up-to-speed. Plus, hearing this is a Thor movie that is actually really good is encouraging.

War for the Planet of the Apes
The threequel to the prequel series! I've been a fan of the other two films so I'm eager to check this out. Plus, Woody Harrelson is always a solid actor to put in your film.

There We Go!
If I didn't include a movie on this list there is a good chance I either saw it or don't care about it. 2018 clearly is going to involve some catching-up however!