Some of my Favorite Comic-Creation Teams Part 1

Working Together
I was thinking the other day about how there are comic writers, artist, colorists, and letterers (and those who combine some of those skills). There are some really stellar teams that makes comics though, and I felt like discussing some of them, as so often we talk about individual creators, but sometimes the best work comes from a duo (or trio). Thanks to The Comics Reporter for giving me the idea to do this post with my own list of stellar teams!

Team-Up Time!

Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips
These guys have been just making stellar piece after stellar piece. Whether it is super-powered folk in, "Sleeper," and, "Incognito," noir with a flair in, "Criminal," horror in, "Fatale," or examining the seedy underbelly of 1940's Hollywood in, "The Fade Out," these guys just make hits. I may not have loved, "Fatale," as much as some people, but for every one of their works someone may not care for there are still plenty that are an absolute delight.

Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch
Mark Millar is a writer who can really grate on my nerves. His plotting can leave much to be desired and his writing just is so, so, so melodramatic sometimes. That said however, his work with Hitch during their run on, "The Ultimates," and a few other times they've teamed-up has generally helped to bring out the best in Millar and Hitch. Yes, "The Ultimates," was delayed to a hilarious degree toward the end, but when all collected together it reads quite amazingly with its mixture of satire, action, and the clever way it is almost mocking super-hero comics whilst at the same time serving as a love-letter to them. Millar went on to do much more cynical stuff that lacked the heart of, "The Ultimates," and Hitch has done some decent stuff since then too, but boy were they quite a team back some years ago.

Grant Morrison, Chris Weston, and Gary Erskine
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely is the obvious choice, and while they are a stellar pairing who have made some incredible stuff, if I could pick anyone to make a comic with Morrison, I actually would try and reunite the team behind my favorite comic ever, "The Filth." Consisting of Morrison on writing, Weston on art, and Erskine on colorist duty, "The Filth," is just an amazing piece of fiction. With its mixture of meta-fiction, dark commentary on society, and being what one could argue is the post-modern comic of all post-modern comics, "The Filth," is what happens when someone throws every idea at the wall in an effort to see what sticks, and somehow against all odds everything, "Sticks," and a disgustingly beautiful creation is made. Yeah, I would love to see this trio work together again.

Jim Balent and Holly Golightly
Jim Balent is a writer-artist who is derided by some but also loved by many. His long-running comic, "Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose," he has done with his wife, colorist and letterer Holly Golightly, has earned a multitude of fans thanks to the mixture of story-genres, incorporation of wicca, and gorgeous artwork that is made even better thanks to the lush color-work and carefully-placed word baloons. I would say this collaboration became even closer when Balent's "Tarot," comic crossed-over with Golightly's project she writes and illustrates, "School Bites," with issue #90. This issue was an expert blend of both creator's illustrative styles and shows that Balent and Golightly not only picked great spouses in each other, but superb collaborators too.

We Will Be Right Back!
I've shown you some of my favorite comic-creation teams, but I need to take a little break now. I'll be back a little later with the rest of my favorites.

"Her Story." Expertly Provokes Thought as Well as Emotion

I was able to purchase, "Her Story," on sale from GOG and enjoyed it quite a bit. As for what kind of game this is, imagine if there were a game where you're sitting in front of a really old police computer and your purpose within this title is to search for keywords. Then, you see if other noticeable words pop-up in further video-clips, and you keep typing words until you have a solid idea of what truly happened in the story being told. This might sound potentially terrible, as you no doubt can remember the day of FMV games that were in actuality just atrocious movies that asked you to occasionally push a button. Well, even though such a concept sounds like it might be horrendous, "Her Story," takes a game that is about little more than watching a woman telling her story (hence the title) and makes it quite intriguing. Winning awards for its originality or just in general for being stupendous, "Her Story," is a fascinating piece of detective-work.

This is a game that could rise or fall based solely upon the performance of our main, "Character," but thankfully Viva Seifert does a wonderful job as a woman concerned about her disappearing husband. The talked-about but never seen husband is the crux of the story (at first), as we witness in the assorted video files spread-out over a period of days that what once seemed pretty clear-cut becomes more and more strange. I won't spoil the plot, as for better or worse it has some twists that seem a bit over-the-top, but it isn't just the story that matters here. No, it's the discovery of the story.

Watching the video clips and noticing how certain statements or asides stand-out then helps you, the player, to search the video-system and begin to piece certain elements together. You might have your own personal, "Ah-ha!" moment as I did when playing the game that assists you in realizing just what could actually be going on, and the wonderful thing is the game doesn't manufacture these moments--it is all down to you as the person watching these clips to piece-together everything in an attempt to solve a increasingly bizarre mystery.

"Her Story," is a fun example of the possibilities for storytelling that games can open up, serving as a mixture of a game and a movie. It isn't for everyone, as if you only enjoy online shooting-battles or exploring huge worlds you'll find this title absolutely stifling in comparison with its single simulated computer screen (plus it only takes a few hours to play). If you're willing to try-out things that are a bit more experimental or unique however, "Her Story," is definitely an experience worth playing.
5 out of 5 stars.

I Was Wrong; Ed Benes Isn't A Hack After All. Greg Land is Though!

Another Post Where I Admit Being Wrong

The man I'm apologizing to.

I'm wrong sometimes, it can turn out that a, "Suicide Girls," comic actually is good, or I can make a list of my assortment of mistakes because I ain't too proud to admit fault.

I made a post years ago where I called Ed Benes a hack. I had some people tell me it was too mean, but I stood by it. I suppose the biggest element was how I thought the fact he would do commissions of popular characters in sexual poses to be tacky. The thing is though, I was mulling over one day if maybe I was too mean, and if maybe, just maybe, Ed Benes actually wasn't that bad an artist?

So, I went and looked at more of Ed Benes art. I also considered how other creators whose stuff I've enjoyed have done plenty of highly sexual works, and that a lot of creators will do commissions which are really raunchy because if they can make a decent living by doing that in addition to their love of comics, they'll do it. I guess the fact that Ed Benes wasn't embarrassed about it and would proudly show off his commissions just was a surprise. The main thing is, as a person with a functioning libido I do enjoy sexy artwork when its done well, and I've concluded after giving his stuff a second look Benes does in fact do it with skill. Plus, he also can draw general super-hero stuff well too, be it fights or just generally imposing-looking stances.

Ed Benes might make a chunk of change doing sexy drawings for folk of popular characters, but why should I hate on him for that? The fact that his art actually doesn't look too shabby--be it G-rated or R-rated--is the important factor; I mean, if it looks good, it looks good.

Now then, for an example of someone who truly is a hack, just look at Greg Land. His artwork is stiff, looks photo-traced, and all his female characters have the same damn smile. It's plastic-looking and just atrocious. Greg Land is someone whose work just makes me recoil in disgust, and can be called a hack. Ed Benes though? He's okay, so I'll say it: I'm sorry Ed Benes, you aren't actually a hack. I was wrong.

"Weaponized Nostalgia" and Songs Like "California" by Colonel Loud and Friends

The Ingenuity Behind a Seemingly Normal Song

There is an enjoyable song by Maze (featuring Frankie Beverly) titled, "We Are One." A song came out not too long ago titled, "California," by Colonel Loud and featuring an assortment of his friends--T.I., Young Dolph, Ricco Barrino--which uses pieces of, "We Are One," to great effect. I've got the music video for you here, it features the usual rap-video assortment of women dancing around along with some admittedly gorgeous shots of--where else?--California. Observe:
Now then, I have written before about the power of nostalgia, as well as the question of when you're going beyond, "Sampling," a song and maybe making something else altogether. This new song right here though, this is something that sounds like it was purposely created to activate that center of the brain that likes old stuff and enjoys hearing it; this is something that is new but hits-upon that love-of-the-old intentionally. This, my friends, is a prime example of weaponized nostalgia.

Weaponized Nostalgia?

What is weaponized nostalgia, you may ask? Well, it is a term I first saw back in November of 2015 when the then-upcoming, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," was being discussed. Basically, the idea is that something new is created, but formatted and designed in just the right way so as to prey upon our love of things from the past--e.g. our nostalgia. It's taking the new but designing it to invoke the old. Through this taking of nostalgia and turning it almost into a mind-bomb of sorts, you can then release it onto the internet/radio airwaves/etc. Next it seeps into your consciousness, playing upon your love of things from your youth and making you feel the same way about something new.

What Colonel Loud and his chums are able to do here is take an already catchy song that would appeal to the young folk, and inject it full of weaponized nostalgia so that those of us who would maybe just shrug it off as another rap song about partying and drugs suddenly find our interest piqued as we nod our heads along. We like the song that much more because it has the stealth-weapon of taking that older Maze song and having our fondness for that, "Turn on," in our brains even though this is something separate. The nostalgia seed has been planted, bloomed, and now we like this new thing as much as the old due to its cleverly causing our mind to associate the duo almost as one--again, weaponized nostalgia.

Is This Bad? Good?

Kodak has created a new Super 8 camera.
That's some serious nostalgia!

I am not here to try and claim this weaponization of nostalgia is by any means a bad thing. Ever since there has been culture there have been people saying the older-form of something was better. I just find it fascinating how media entities such as Disney with, "Star Wars," or Colonel Loud with, "California," have found a way to essentially capture nostalgia and use it as a tool to gain popularity. There has always been weaponized nostalgia (look at the immense popularity of "Happy Days" and how it captured the nation's desire for a past that never actually existed), but it just seems especially potent lately. Perhaps as we move further into the future there will be found an even greater hunger for the past-made-new.

At the end of day nostalgia isn't something you need to fear, even when it is so finely-tuned and perfected as to be a little scary. There will always be new stuff, and there will always be things that occur just a little while after the new stuff that use it for fuel, inspiration, and yes, as a weapon of sorts to inspire you to listen, learn, and spend money. Because at the end of the day, if nostalgia is good for one thing, that is turning a profit.

Online Auction to benefit Larime Taylor and Sylv Is Happening Now!

Sylv

Readers of the blog may recall that I made a post about Larime Taylor and how his wife Sylv is in need of funds to afford chemo (GoFundMe here). Well, my chums over at Comics Heating Up are big fans of Mr. Taylor too and have set-up a series of eBay auctions featuring sketches by an assortment of talent with 100% of the profits going towards assisting Mr. Taylor and his wife.

Original skecthes from Terry Moore, Darwyn Cooke, Jimmie Robinson, Howard Chaykin, and a variety of other talents (as well a pieces by Mr. Taylor) are all currently available for bidders eager to get some stellar artwork and support a great cause.

Larime preparing sketches for the auction!

You can find the auctions here on the Comics Heating Up Website, just click the items that interest you to go over to eBay in order bid, and should the bidding get too high for you, any amount of money helps if you would rather just donate to their GoFundMe.

I Played, "The Division," Beta And Have Thoughts--So Read Them!

Tried it Out

As my title states, I gave the beta for, "The Division," a go this weekend on the PlayStation 4. My main thought would be that it's alright. Should that be all you wanted to know of my thoughts feel free to resume talking to the rest of the dinner-party you're ignoring to look at your phone, but if you want to know why I felt it was alright, read on...

I was able to acquire a Beta key on eBay for a bit over a dollar and put in a good four or five hours Saturday, so I basically paid a quarter-an-hour and feel satisfied in terms of getting my money's worth. However, the big question becomes if people who spend 60 bucks on the full game are going to feel that way. It is of course hard to judge a beta as it is just a slice of the metaphorical pie that will make-up the main game, but even when you just taste a slice of pie you still get a pretty good idea of the overall flavor, ya know?

Yeah, it ain't this good-looking.

So, how is the taste of, "The Division," pie I bit into and what parts were bitter or sweet? I would start off by saying the game's graphics are pretty good, but of course not as snazzy as it looked when the title was first announced (but seriously, who expects a game from Ubisoft to look as good as its reveal trailer anymore these days after what they have pulled with all their games from, "Assassin's Creed," to, "Watch Dogs?"). The gameplay is a bit like Destiny-meets-Borderlands where you can team-up with other players to fight computer-controlled bad-guys in various little side-missions or main missions. The game goes stat-heavy with RPG elements for all your gear and weapons so it is kind of odd to face enemies in this, "realistic," world who can take 5 hits from your shotgun in order to go down because they are a higher level, but you get used to it.

The thing that I found most off-putting about the normal game-world is that if you aren't teamed-up with other players it is just you and the NPCs. Therefore, things don't get really interesting until you go into the feature of the game that I spent the majority of my time in as soon as I was allowed to enter it, the Dark Zone. The Dark Zone is pretty cool (as others agree) and is a place where you face tougher NPCs and other players who will be wandering around. It is a bit of a free-for-all because you can easily shoot another player and steal their gear. This will temporarily get you marked as, "Rogue," and allow other folk to attack you without consequence, but a lack of rogue status on someone doesn't mean you should ever let your guard down. A character who seems perfectly friendly can shoot you in the back as soon as you turn around, and the Dark Zone gives everything a greater air of danger that the areas of the game outside of it so sorely lack.

Without the Dark Zone this would be a somewhat uninspiring RPG-style shooter, but thanks to the Dark Zone there is enough intrigue to make me think the game could have something interesting going for it. Oh, and as for all the base-development stuff and character perks, most of that was locked-off during the beta so I can't share much in the way of thoughts on that. Still, as far as things go right now I'm cautious about, "The Division," but feel if it can really capitalize on the enjoyment found in the Dark Zone is might turn out alright, as I said at the start.

Confession: I Don't Really Like "Sex Criminals" That Much

I Have A Dirty Secret To Confess....

There is a comic that should be right-up my alley. It is funny, but has serious moments, contains a wacky concept, and discusses sexuality, like, a lot--plus it's an Image book, which means I can feel happy that the creators aren't getting screwed-over by the publisher on IP rights. Yet, having read some of, "Sex Criminals," I find I just don't really like it. There is no good reason for this besides how I maybe am a monster who pisses a mixture of coffee and rage, ruining all the things you like in my desire to be iconoclastic. I don't think I purposely want to be a contrarian asshole though because I love plenty of stuff that that is popular and well-liked by everyone (I love me some, "Saga," as does everyone else). Why then, don't I like, "Sex Criminals?"

I seriously don't know what my problem is. I am generally a fan of Matt Fraction, Chip Zdarsky is a stellar artist (and not a bad writer either), the concept sounds so amazing--people who stop time when they orgasm rob banks and then other madness ensues--and the silly 4th-printing cover for the comic where the creators pose whilst holding the first-printing has to be the most adorable thing ever:

How come I'm not head-over-heels in love with this series? I read the 1st trade and just felt this overwhelming sense of indifference. It has occurred to me that perhaps I should read the 2nd collection but if I don't enjoy that it will only confirm what I suspect--that, "Sex Criminals" just ain't for me. This is a hard thing to admit because when I state that to people who know the weird kind of comics I like their eyes go wide and they say, "What? Isn't that exactly your kind of comic?" which I believe means they think I am a weirdo, but I understand where they are coming from. The answer is that when described aloud, "Sex Criminals," does seem to sound like what I'd love, but after the pen has been put to paper and I've read some issues...yeah, just not feeling it.

I feel better having confessed this, and hope you don't judge me too harshly. After all, I bet you too have a comic that folk tell you is perfect for your tastes, yet upon reading it you found it unimpressive. Even if I can't place what exactly the problem is with, "Sex Criminals," that results in me feeling horribly uninterested in the book, I know that is how I feel, and being honest and open about it has really helped just now. Plus, if I want to read a book that discusses sex a lot I always have the amazingly weird, "Sex," by Joe Casey and Piotr Kowlalsi to turn to.

Rant-Reviews: Six Debut Comics From An Assortment of Publishers

More New Stuff!
There are always new comics--and especially new first issues. There are countless books that never get close to even achieving double-digits, but all books have to start with that first issue--even if a publisher does something coy like call it a, "Zero issue,' or list it with a higher number and have the issues count-down. With this in mind how so often new comics start, I thought it might be fun to review six new comics from six different publishers.

Half-A-Dozen Books
Strayer
The newest comic from recently-launched publisher AfterShock (the folk who have published that, "InSeXts," comic I like a lot), this is best described as an action-comedy set in fantasy world (or is it the world after ours was destroyed? It is kind of left open to interpretation). Written by Justin Jordan (of, "Luther Strode," fame) and illusrtated by Juan Gedeon, "Strayer," at first blush seems like another book about an evil fantasy-government ruling everyone with an iron fist, but that is just the flavor-text which helps set-up a much more personal tale.

Essentially our hero, the man known as Strayer, can help fight horrible monsters, and within this issue does so, impressing a witch. That sounds bland but thanks to the quite humorous way Jordon writes Strayer the book takes on quite a funny tone, with everyone acting so deadpan and concerned about everything whilst Strayer just kind of does-how-he-does. Gedeon's art is a bit plain, but the writing of Jordon helps elevate the so-so apperance into a book that is quite enjoyable. Should you be a fan of Jordan or tired of your traditional fantasy worlds where everyone is so deadly serious about everything, this is worth a read.
4 out of 5 stars.

Faith
Valiant has a difficult task here for a variety of reasons but handles it well. The first challenge is that this is a 1st issue that wants to appeal to new readers who have been drawn-in by Valiant's promotion of the book and its unique aspect of having a plus-size female super-hero as the main character, but the character has been around and been in other event-comics and team books, so making a book that is new-reader friendly but also respects the past is important. Thankfully, Valiant turns in a story that references what has occurred before in the life of Faith, but is still understandable if you've never read a Valiant book or just have read some of them(I am a bit familiar with Valiant, so it was fun seeing Archer from, "Archer and Armstrong," pop-up in the book). By moving the main character to a city that is new to her (Los Angles) Valiant can have a bunch of things be new, but have a good excuse for it.

The other challenge Valiant faced was as I mentioned how this is arguably one of the first comics to have a plus-size female as the main character. There have been plenty of comics with plus-size females playing a role (the pre-Nu52 Amanda Waller) but as the title heroine? That's basically unheard of. Thankfully, we get a good story from the writing of Jody Houser who doesn't even bother to do something so crass as go, "Look, we have a bigger woman as the main character, let's comment about it!" Instead the story just proceeds with introducing us to Faith, showing us her cares and desires, and otherwise making our titular super-hero someone easy to like and care about. This results in a book that is great for those who are brand-new to the character of Faith or the publisher, Valiant, and a comic that is also wonderful if you've been following the company's comics already. A great read.
4 out of 5 stars.

Prophet: Earth War #1
It seems like forever since we last read an issue of Brandon Graham's comic, "Prophet," but the man has been busy with his duties such as putting out the consistently intriguing anthology, "Island," as well as all his other works. Thankfully the saga that he began back in 2012 with his riffing-on old 1990's Image comics but in a whole new, futuristic way, has started its final arc (at least that is how its been advertised). So, I'll admit that this is really more of the next chapter in a story than it is a debut, but it still is the first entry in quite awhile within this saga, so I'm counting it as a fresh comic and if you don't like it you can quit reading my blog (please don't quit reading my blog, I crave your approval). How is this comic after such a long wait though? Still pretty damn good.

While reading this it feels like Graham never took a break, still firing on all cylinders as he takes a hokey bunch of characters from the 90's and morphs them into elaborate sci-fi concepts whilst still acknowledging the past. This issue is a lot of set-up, telling us of the coming war and showing what forces the original Prophet will have as he tries to take on the evil Earth Empire. It's a quiet issue, but you can really feel how it is the mellow moments before an enormous storm, and it gets me excited for the long-overdue and sure-to-be-epic conclusion.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Amazing Forest #1
Another science-fiction type comic like the just reviewed, "Propher: Earth War," but put out by IDW. This book is more of an anthology...but from two writers on every story who get different artists for their tales...so its' like a show-case? Look, I'm not sure of the best way to describe what this, "Is," other than to say that is is generally good. With stories that run the gamut from aliens to werewolves, robots, and strange owls with human faces, each yarn is quite different, but they seem to have a unified theme in that most are pretty depressing. Three of the stories have the main characters yearning for something, but discovering it can never be theirs. The only story with a somewhat happy ending is the werewolf one, which has a bloody twist I honestly did not see coming and is dark, but in a weirdly-joyful way. Writers Erick Freitas and Ulises Farinas provide us with some impressively melancholy and morbid tales, but I found myself wishing for many of the stories to be more fleshed-out. Were we to only get two stories that were longer I would have been perfectly okay with that too, as some of these entries feel a bit rushed in getting to their conclusion. Still, an interesting title, and I'm curious what stories the second issue may hold.
3 out of 5 stars.

Devolution #1
Well, that's a clever hook. Basically the idea of this comic is that humanity got so stupid and full of hubris it dropped a bomb that made people and animals devolve into their most primal forms, and within about a year life as we know it basically ended save for a few key people who were immune. This leads to us following the main character named Raja as she treks across the country in what we learn is the hope to reverse everything. In the meantime however we witness her stumbling upon a camp of humans populated by a lot of people barely putting up with each other in the name of survival (a very cranky Neo-Nazi finds himself working in the camp with a variety of other races, much to his chagrin). It is a great concept, but I feel like the plot itself is lacking. Still, perhaps after doing a bunch of work for Marvel this creator-owned project by Rick Remender just needs some time to find its legs. I mean, the artwork by Jon Wayshack is suitably hideous, with the devolved people and animals looking equally dumb and dangerous, so I tip my hat to the publisher, Dynamite, for finding a writer who works this well with their artist.

A lot of time is spent giving us background-info which is appreciated, but maybe if the comic slowly showed us everything instead of just telling the reader what happened that might be a bit more fun than the massive exposition-dump at the start of the book. The really clever idea and artwork help keep things interesting however, as well as a hint of a grander conspiracy taking place that makes me think this book may be one to watch. For now though, it is just kind of average.
2.5 out of 5 stars.

Man Plus #1
Published by Titan and created by writer/artist Andre Lima Araujo, "Man Plus," has apparently been in the works for some time. The effort shows because this comic is flat-out gorgeous. Between the futuristic building and vehicles, Robots and androids fighting, and just generally looking awesome, this is a feast for the eyes. The story has caught my attention too, with a special law-enforcement agency dealing with a potentially rogue android that has a mysterious group of highly-armed individuals after it in addition to the police who are attempting to understand just what exactly is going on. This first issue really caught my attention and I look forward to seeing what comes next.
5 out of 5 stars.

We're Finished!
That was six new books from six different publishers. Time will tell which ones last and reach a natural conclusion and which are suddenly canceled. I of course which all the books the best.

"Convergence" is a Fascinating Mess

Very Odd. Very, Very Odd

I read the DC event, "Convergence," in a big ol' hardcover thanks to my local library. Perhaps if I read some of the tie-ins things will make a bit more sense, but as far as I can tell, "Convergence," is just one big mess, yet a fascinating one too. Basically an excuse for fans to get to see characters they liked from various eras or alternate worlds, it sounds like something pretty straightforward, so of course DC has to go and muck it up.

This comic-event of course occurred to fill the gap for when DC moved their offices and at first looked like it would be a fun little thing for the fans but then it was decided it had to be some kind of mega-event and got hella bloated. We've got characters from the, "Earth 2," comics that apparently petered out before tying into this, there's the Nu52 folk, individuals from Zero Hour, Flashpoint, the DC stuff that existed after the first crisis up until the Nu52, and for good measure hints of other realities and comics too.

The plot of this comic involves a planet that is a desert full of little bottled cities being forced to fight each other, but that plot kind of goes away and turns into an epic battle against a villain named Telos...who then becomes good and helps everyone fight Brainiac, before everyone gets to go home and the world is wiped out...or something. But wait, it's okay because the planet turns into a new home for the, "Earth 2," folk and everyone is happy! Okay, everyone but the readers who are left scratching their head trying to figure out what the dickens just happened with all these shifting alliances, unmentioned realities suddenly popping-up, and general chaos.

Still, there is something almost Zen about a plot that takes six paragraphs to even summarize on Wikipedia and still makes little-to-no sense. A reader doesn't have to worry about why the things that occur are happening, they just kind of do and that's that. DC needed to kill some time so they threw all their toys in a fictional sandbox (literally, it is a desert world) and tried to come-up with some excuse for everyone to occupy the same page. In terms of actually being an interesting or coherent story, it is well below average, something like...
2 out of 5 stars.

However, when it comes to being passable entertainment that one can at least admire for its tenacity and commitment to being batshit crazy and insiting it makes sense when it doesn't, well, that makes this the kind of comic I feel I can give...
3 out of 5 stars.

So, check out, "Convergence," not if you want something well-crafted or clever, but if you get a kick out of alternate-reality comics and seeing a mish-mash of ideas splattered on the page with little regard for logic. I mean, at least after this DC has settled down and won't be doing anything else dramatic for...wait, what's this about a, "Rebirth?" Oh motherfu...

B.o.B. Thinks the Earth is Flat AKA Just When I Think People Couldn't Be Any More Ignorant...

Seriously, I mean Seriously?

I really am sad people can be so ignorant. I understand why some conspiracy theories appeal to folk, I honestly do. It is easier to think the Government/New World Order/Etc. is behind a mass-shooting and staged the whole thing than to face the terrible fact that sometimes people are pointlessly horrible. Pretending that, "They," hired crisis actors and nobody actually got hurt is less scary than how a deranged individual can randomly go shoot-up a school, government building, etc. That said, some conspiracy theories are so absurd and so foolish, who could believe them? I guess B.o.B. does.

You may know B.o.B. from hits songs he appeared on such as, "Paper Planes," and...yeah, "Paper Planes." Well, B.o.B. is a believer in the idea that the Earth is flat, you know, like people centuries ago thought before we used knowledge to prove the planet is round. Plenty of folk have tried to correct how B.o.B. is horribly wrong, with Neil deGrasse Tyson even chiming in on Twitter, but I doubt B.o.B. will be easily swayed at this point--I mean the man also denies we landed on the Moon and thinks people steal and clone celebrities, because why not?

Hoo boy, where do we start with this one?

I guess this all boils down to how people want to be able to think they know something nobody else does, and that makes them special--that or the desire to think the world has some secret order to it. It is easier to throw away logic and sense for the comfort of a grand delusion.. As Alan Moore put it so well some years ago, "The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory is that conspiracy theorists actually believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is chaotic. The truth is, that it is not the Jewish banking conspiracy or the grey aliens or the 12 foot reptiloids from another dimension that are in control. The truth is more frightening, nobody is in control. The world is rudderless." I would argue that is more terrifying than any conspiracy theory.

Who knows, maybe B.o.B isn't actually this dumb, and it is all part of some weird viral-marketing stunt for a new album he'll give a name like, "Conspiracy Theories." I would like to hope that's the case, but at this point I honestly am just sad.