For the First Time in Long While, I Agree with the Grammys About a Lot of Their Awards

I have not made it a secret that I often disagree with the Grammys. Their choices of winners for various categories sometimes makes me shake my head in puzzlement and I don't think I have agreed with their pick for, "Album of the Year," since they awarded it to, "Speakerboxxxx/The Love Below," way back in 2004 for OutKast's 2003 masterpiece (which some argue set an impossible standard for rap albums to win album of the year henceforth due to it being so, well, OutKast-y). However, last night the Grammy's awarded the coveted album of the year to none other than Ms. Kacey Musgraves for her incredible LP, "Golden Hour." I raved about, "Golden Hour," when I first heard it and didn't hesitate to say it was my album of 2018. She also won at the show for best country album, best country song (for, "Space Cowboy,") and best country solo performance (for, "Butterflies), all well-earned accolades.

I am as surprised as anyone that I loved a country album to this degree, especially considering I generally have not listened to the genre much outside of some Garth Brooks and Shania Twain. It truly did break out of the, "Country music bubble," thanks to a unique sound and how Musgraves herself has always defied the country-music stereotypes (she proudly supports LGBTQ rights, cannabis decriminalization, etc.) all to create this incredible music. While I did enjoy the, "Black Panther," soundtrack which was also nominated for best album and had a decent chunk of Kendrick Lamar on it (another musician with amazing work), I thought its mixture of artists resulted in a slightly disjointed overall theme/feeling, even if Lamar and SZA's, "All of the Stars," is a phenomenal song and deserves a win at the Oscars. I'm so happy for Kacey Musgraves and can't wait to see what sonic wonderland she makes for her next album.

Oh, and don't think I forgot that, "This is America," won song of the year, being the first rap song to do so thanks to Childish Gambino's/Donald Glover's exemplary song-writing. He also won record of the year, which is not to be confused with Musgraves album of the year win, as despite the confusing title record of the year honors a single song--hence, "This is America," winning that. He was awarded music video of the year too, so cheers all around for the amazing Mr. Glover. Yeah, it was finally a Grammys I agreed with more than not, for the first time in over a decade--who would have thunk-it?

Tales from the Dollar Bin: Toxic Crusaders #2

There are comics which are worth incredible sums of money, but so many of the most interesting, tragic, or just downright weird can be found for a simple dollar or less in a  store's "dollar bin". There, comics that never gained much popularity can be found alongside those that sold so much as for a copy to be worthless. "Tales From the Dollar Bin" aims to explore these comics, be they a single issue or an entire run of a series. From the great to the miserable, some of the best treasures and worst nightmares can be found in those infamous boxes. Let's have a "tale" now...

This is an Odd One

Be forewarned that this starts out strange and gets weirder as we go along. There is of course the low-budget indie-film studio known as Troma and they make weird little gross-out comedy flicks. One of their most famous characters is the Toxic Avenger. Toxie, as he is sometimes known, is from New Jersey and fights crime in movies that had to be heavily edited to achieve an R-rating and which have all kinds of inappropriate, raunchy, tasteless humor...not for kids, right? Well, at one point Marvel made comics themed for the Toxic Avengers that were more youth-friendly. That's interesting, but in a further bizaare twist--I didn't even know about this one and I know a smidgen about Troma and Toxie--there was a 1990's cartoon aimed directly at kids called, "Toxic Crusaders."

"Toxic Crusaders," was about Toxie and a bunch of misfit superheroes fighting pollution--like a weird, "Captain Planet," kind of vibe, I guess. The cartoon ran all of 13 episodes and was cancelled, but Marvel made a spin-off comic of it for a short while, which went eight issues and had some surprising talent involved. There was no set writer or artist so there were at times Steve Gerber contributing, or Ann Nocenti, and more. That's bizarre and fascinating to think some folk who went on to become big names (or who were already known to some degree in 1992 when the comic came out) did this random comic, of all things.

Great art and a funny meta-joke about the captions?
This comic rises above its source material for sure.

Let's be honest, all those old, "Toxic Avenger," movies are pretty shoddy. They have a certain, "Oh no they didn't!" kind of charm, but to say the movies are actually, "Good," is pushing it. Hearing that a big-budget reboot might happen with Toxie at another film studio sounds like it really misses the point of the old stuff, but more power to anyone attempting that. Still, I'm just frankly bewildered by this, "Toxic Crusaders," comic series having its level of quality. I found issue #2 whilst digging in the dollar bins (you never know what gold you'll find in them, after all), and it features the writing of Hilary Barta and Doug Rice with pencils by Joe Staton (yes, the Joe Staton)--again, it is shocking the talent these books got. It's a perfectly well-done read full of clever jokes and it looks great thanks to the artwork. It is just odd to see these strangely competent and professional comics that relate (however loosely) to a film property from a studio that prides itself on being tacky and amateurish.

It is a little strange to find something as odd as a spin-off comic from a cartoon that was itself a weird kid-friendly outgrowth from another property ( one which was extremely adult in nature), but it is outright inexplicable that such a comic series be as good as it was with such a degree of talent involved. I suppose it goes to show how you can find a shocking amount quality in any comic, even one that is a...tale from the dollar bin!

I Feel Like There is a Story Behind These Comics I Found

Comics and the Tales of Their Owners

I enjoy going to a popular somewhat-National chain known as Half Price Books. They sell all kinds of stuff, from (obviously) books, to comics, movies, music, collectible stuff, video-games, and are always buying those things from people too. It is a great place to unload your comics that aren't valuable enough to bother selling online because after shipping and fees you'd lose money, in other words.

As I've been selling some stuff lately to clear-out space I would browse the store while they examined whatever items I brought and in that process I stumbled upon some comics that got me wondering if there is an interesting story behind them. On one of the occasions I was at Half Price Books I was rooting through the old comics and found a, "Stargate," book that was published by Avatar Press. This one was notable in that it had a super-limited cover of which only 350 copies had been produced and it was sold exclusively at a comic-convention in Dallas (Texas). Observe a close-up:

As I have a soft-spot for Avatar Press as a publisher and like snazzy variant covers I picked it up for $1.50 and took it home. I added it to my pile of comics to read and forgot about it. Until, when I was at Half Price books again a week later to unload more stuff and found two other ,"Stargate," comics that also were extremely limited covers, this time from two completely different conventions--one in Arlington (Virginia) and another in Chicago (Illinois). Now, this struck me as odd, and made me imagine there must be a story behind these comics. I sat down, and imagined some things.

Imagined Yet Possible Stories

Possible Story 1: A young man or woman spends their time going to an assortment of comic-conventions and buying comics related to properties they love. They adore, "Stargate," and basically plan-out their conventions they want to attend based on if Avatar Press will be at a show with the super-rare covers. They buy these comics and treasure them, but something changes in their life--a relationship, a child, an illness, it could be happy or sad--and they need to unload all these comics. Perhaps they look online and see even though these covers were very limited there just isn't much of a demand for them. They sigh and sell these comics along with other stuff they've collected at Half Price Books for a lot less than they must have spent going to all the shows.

Possible Story 2: Someone learns that their relative has passed away. They go into their house and sort through their stuff. They stumble upon a bunch of comics and look online to see what is valuable and what is not. They look at this assortment of rare covers and are convinced this books must be worth hundreds of dollars, only to disappointingly learn they are worth maybe a few bucks each. The comics their relative had worked hard to acquire via either visiting conventions or buying them from the Avatar Press' website (sometimes the company would sell con exclusives online) are unceremoniously dumped at Half Price Books along with the other less-valuable comics while the ones with some worth are put on eBay or on consignment with a professional comic-seller.

Possible Story 3: Someone was sorting their comics and didn't mean to sell these rare variant covers of their, "Stargate," comics they acquired at comic-cons or from Avatar Press and are really upset right now. If that is the case I encourage them to contact me.

A Mystery Without a Doubt

Who owned these comics before me?

I feel like there has to be some kind story behind these comics and am incredibly curious who put forth the effort to acquire these rare (if lacking in monetary worth) comics and then jettisoned them at Half Price Books. I'm not judging, as I've had things that I once was desperate to own and then shrugged at getting rid of, but I wonder what exactly the tale is behind these books. I may never find out and just have to imagine the scenarios, and wanted to encourage my readers to do so too--or if they know someone in the Saint Louis region desperately trying to find their, "Stargate," comics to please reach-out. For now, it is a mystery indeed.

New and Links for Early February 2019/My Valentine's Day Present to You

The Day of Romance Approaches

We are still in the earlier part of February, but Valentine's Day is getting closer and closer (so if you have a lover or friend you want to show you care, get working on that). I have some assorted bits of news and links for you to enjoy. Consider them my early Valentine's Day present for you, because you are wonderful.

News, Links, and All That Good Stuff

The film, "The Matrix," turns 20 this year and it has had a lasting impact on our culture and concepts of truth--for better and worse.

I was fascinated by this piece discussing how, "Nextwave," from Warren Ellis has both aged spectacularly well and not at all well depending on certain elements. I don't know if I agree Ellis has disappeared from public discussion however--I just think instead of his comic-work being as focused on more talk is about his work on stuff like, "Castlevania," now.

The treatment of 21 Savage—or anyone—by I.C.E. continues to be alarming in how dehumanizing and cruel it is, and no amount of cutesy memes will change that.

Marvel is going to attempt get some of that sweet, sweet, “Venom,” movie-money in their comics with a comic focused on symbiotes and Spider-Men this Free Comic-Book Day which will of course lead-in to a massive and overstuffed event, I'm sure.

I like Edie Falco, so to see her talent wasted on the upcoming, “Avatar,” sequels in the same manner Sigourney Weaver didn’t deserve to have to muddle through the first makes me happy the flick will have some talent and sad she’s stuck committing to at least two of these.

As recently as this Monday I was bemoaning how the new game, "Apex Legends," seemed to signify the death of a true, “Titanfall,” game. Then I read this today and perhaps maybe, "Titanfall," as we know and love it isn’t in fact dead?

If you want Burt and Ernie (of, "Sesame Street," fame) to be gay they are, if you don’t want them to be gay, then they are hetero, seems to be the official statement. I personally have always thought of them as heterosexual--not out of any spite for the LGBTQ community of which I am a proud ally, but because so rarely in the media are platonic friends (gay or straight) shown as cohabiting without a romantic element. Plus, considering how relentlessly unpleasant Bert is I doubt Ernie would want to put up with that in any kind of romantic relationship. Oh, and this is all ignoring the fact that as fictional puppets they don't necessarily have any kind of sexuality, or genitals.

Is anyone surprised Disney is planning to put all the content they have the rights to on Disney+ AKA their own upcoming streaming service? I mean, we all saw that coming.

“Heroes in Crisis,” has been so bad it makes me sad it has plot-elements invading other titles like, “The Flash,” or another comic written by Tom King that is not good but at least passable, his aggressively mediocre run so far on, “Batman.“

I keep hearing good things about this, “Astroneer,” game and I always enjoy titles that focus more on the excitement of exploration and creation as opposed to bland, “Kill everything!” games.

The subject of discussion lately (including on this blog) has been questioning when (not if, when) the Direct Market will contribute to being a major reason the comic industry as we know it ends/runs out of money/tanks in a spectacular fashion, Comicsbeat had an editorial on just how grim things are looking.

Now to close on something that gave me a good chuckle. This article debunks the rumor that (most likely former) Superman actor Henry Cavill was demanding anything related to a possible, “Man of Steel 2,” script, which is silly and obviously false as I doubt anyone even is working on such a script. I mean, is there anyone chomping at the bit for more of that as opposed to Wonder Woman or Aquaman (I never thought I'd see the day people are clamoring for more Aquaman and tired of Superman)?

A Comic Was Solicited With a Writer I Adore...and an Artist I Loathe

I am a big fan of the comic-books by Peter David. His run on, "X-Factor" from the early 2000's to the 2010's was among my favorite comic-runs ever. Even if he has at times said some tone-deaf things, he apologizes for them and grows as a person who I enjoy reading his thoughts online along with his stellar comic-work. Therefore, in latest Marvel solicitations in this month's edition of, "Previews," I was ecstatic to see he was going to be writing a Spider-Man mini-series set during the time Peter Parker had the black suit (which turned-out to be a Symbiote, and once he cast it off turned into fan-favorite character, Venom). Titled, "Symbiote Spider-Man," I was ready to tell my comic-shop to put me down for all the issues...and then I saw who the artist was. The artist is (insert a big sigh sound effect here) Greg Land.

Greg Land is of course notable for how instead of doing much actual artwork he just traces a lot of stuff and the finished product looks like a crappy pin-up as opposed to telling a story. He'll use other's art as well as pictures to create his supposed work. Perhaps he will trace a photo from a magazine, a sporting event, or (quite often it seems) porn, as all of his women are posed suggestively and usually have faces shaped as if they are in pure ecstasy even if they're supposed to be yelling or angry. Greg Land is just terrible and the last time I suffered through his artwork for a comic it was when Al Ewing was absolutely killing it on, "Mighty Avengers," and Greg Land was killing...almost all of my enjoyment of the book. I  honestly don't think I can take any more of Land's atrocious excuse for art and for that reason I'm going to sit-out, "Symbiote Spider-Man," just so I can keep my eyes from burning in pain upon glimpsing Land's work.

They Made the, "Titanfall," Series into a Battle Royale Game...Why?

In the past I discussed how much I loved, "Titanfall 2," even going so far as to say it was game of 2016 even if its terrible sales did not reflect much love from the marketplace. Now they have made and just released a battle royale game vaguely set in that world titled, "Apex Legends." As I understand it, this game lacks both the cool big mechs of the, "Titanfall," series as well as the incredible acrobatic parkour. What is the point then other than to make a generic battle royale shooter in the hopes of snatching-up some of that sweet, sweet, "Fortnite," money? Oh, and it has paywalls to block-off certain classes unless you earn in-game currency or pony-up cash, so it is a lot less free-to-play than other games in the field.

The real punch to gut of all this is that, "Titanfall 3," is not being made, and that was outright stated. While it maybe was being created once, it apparently isn't in production now. Hearing that of all things is probably the most utterly depressing aspect. Instead of making more great, "Titanfall," games they took the series' corpse, ripped-out anything that made it special, and shoved in a bunch of bland battle royale guts. Sorry if that's graphic, but I am expressing my own visceral reaction to all this, and harsh words as needed for such a massive let-down. I'm not exactly eager for this, in other words.

Please, No One Ever Write the Word, "Gynocentric," Again

Over the weekend people read a review of Carolyn Nowak’s new graphic novel, "Girl Town," by a writer named Jake Murel, who wasn't trying to be offensive (as today's blog entry on The Comic's Journal websites discusses) but made some really weird observations. The review itself has been edited, but The Comic's Beat has the original excerpts which feature many a use of the word, "Gynocentric," as in how because ladies have vagina's their art reflects this in its formatting, or the comic-gutter or something? I don't know. I am both a fan of Nowak (her erotic comic, "No Better Words," was hot as well as smart) and I like The Comic's Journal (their EIC, Tucker Stone, is someone I consider a friend of mine) but man did TCJ fuck-up with this.

Stone already apologized profusely on the site, as I linked to above, but it has spurred some discussion about how TCJ maybe could use some more female contributors, points-of-view, etc. as it is doubtful a woman would ever refer to a work as, "Gynocentric," just as it would be silly to talk about a man's comic as, "Phallocentric," unless, I guess, the whole comic was actually about a penis...note to self: make a comic about a humanoid penis who spends the pages wondering aloud if he is too phallocentric, have him meet a vagina that talks about if it is maybe too gynocentric, then find an artist willing to illustrate how they fall in love in a very detailed physical manner and profit off my weird meta-porno comic. Anyways, this whole thing is weird, but it seems TCJ has learned from it and will try and do better, Nowak took it all in stride, and I honestly would hope no one ever writes the word, "Gynocentric," again.

Marvel's 80th Anniversary One-Shots are Good Fun and Make Me Kind of Sad Too

Marvel is celebrating being 80 years old (technically a lot less with the actual name, "Marvel," but counting its years as Timely comics and Atlas we hit 80), and as a part of this has been releasing some cool one-shots themed for their past works and in genres a bit more diverse than they do now. For example a war comic, sci-fi, horror, and some others have come out with other cool stuff on the way too. I have quite enjoyed the books I've read so far, full of today's talent creating stories with an equal mixture of a nostalgic vibe and new techniques, and each book is end-capped with a short article about that genre/type of comic and some examples of the comics in that milieu from assorted eras. They are good fun and make me kind of sad too.

Why do these great comics make me sad? Well, reading all these comics full of subjects Marvel doesn't really cover anymore is a little depressing. Marvel maybe will dip into horror a bit (look at how terrifying, "Immortal Hulk," has been), or do some science-fiction with its heroes, but that's the rub right there--Marvel basically is all about super-hero comics now. We are all aware that comic-books as an art-form have a lot more than super-heroes, but Marvel and DC do still find vast, vast majority of their income comes from comics with people in spandex or capes (DC maybe a little less throughout history with its assorted imprints). Marvel might attempt to occasionally do something outside the realm of super-heroes, but it is a rare occurrence because when that happens these tries at something different get minimal-to-almost-zero sales.

Now, Image comics is of course a big publisher now and does a lot of stuff besides super-powered folk (after all, "The Walking Dead," is often a top-10 comic and has nothing to do with super-heroes) Marvel has found that its attempts to branch-out often sadly fail, and the end-result is a big focus on super-hero comics that maybe poke-at other genres, but still in that wheelhouse of superpowers. These one-shots are exceptions to that usual practice, and the fact they are such good fun paradoxically makes them all the more depressing. Who knows, maybe these will sell well enough Marvel experiments a bit more, as unlikely as that sounds it could happen, right? Right? Sigh.

I'm Watching the Super Bowl Today for One Reason

I'm only watching the Super Bowl today for the half-time show. Yes, I'm being serious. The region of Saint Louis despises the Rams because the owner, Stan Kroenke insulted the area and everyone who lives in it repeatedly when he up and left for California, and I personally do not like the New England Patriots because even in my limited knowledge of football I'm familiar with their coach being a cheater, and how star-player Tom Brady engages in bypassing rules as much as he can too--in addition to engage in poor sportsmanship, pouting and engaging in blaming everyone else he can whenever he doesn't win/get his way (seriously, there are articles from every year he lost the Super Bowl or big games discussing how he was petty). I wish both teams could lose, so I'm not watching the game for the game itself, that much I know.

I am watching for the half-time show because I am extremely excited to see Big Boi--a member of my favorite music-group of all time, OutKast, perform along with the generally solid Travis Scott whose music I relatively enjoy. Oh, and Maroon 5 is going to be there, which is good for them, Adam Levine is perfectly pleasant, after all. Perhaps while waiting for the half-time show I'll be able to enjoy some (presumably) humorous advertisements and pay vague attention to whether the Patriots or Rams have much success against one another. I really don't care for either team, but I love me some Big Boi and am a fan of Travis Scott so that should be good fun.

A Review of "Warlock," and its Amazing Use of the Comic-Form

There are certain things comic-books do that can't really be done in any other format. For a prime example of the comic form being used in an amazing way I would point people to the fantastic indie comic by Dale Forward, "Warlock." I met Mr. Forward on Reddit where he was posting about how he hoping to get opinions on a new comic he wrote. I told him I had a blog and would be happy to give him an honest review of his work. The way he described it sounded intriguing, and having now read the comic I would say if anything he under-stated how creative it is.

The plot centers on a Warlock--always referred to simply as the Warlock--who has one of his eyes cursed. This curse results in him seeing things differently, be it warped realities, images of the past or glimpses of the future, and all kinds of weirdness. That sounds interesting, but what Forward does that is purely genius is how the comic comes with 3-D glasses...yet the comic isn't in 3-D however. You heard me right, while 3-D is of course a fun little gimmick, what Forward does is have his artwork done so that if you look through either the red or blue lens of the glasses you see very different artwork. For example, there may be a page where through the, "Normal," blue eye it looks like a quiet night, but once you peer through the red cursed eye suddenly evil monsters are clearly lurking. It is incredible to see on the page, as without the glasses the comic appears to be a jumble of just red and blue with some black, but after alternating, "Eyes," it is a startling thing.

My scans don't do the effect justice.

Forward makes great use of this storytelling element he created (I don't believe I've ever seen this technique used anywhere else). It never feels gimmicky as the whole thing with the Warlock's cursed eye and his attempt to be cured is integral to the story. Forward does all kind of clever tricks with this too, for example in a segment where the Warlock temporarily loses use of an eye only one lens will, "Work," on the page, with the other lens/eye now reduced to being completely obscured. Now, as much as this technique is genius if the artwork were poor that would do little to help the comic. The art is great however, giving everything a solid otherworldy and fantasy vibe. When goblins or other creatures emerge they are grotesque and scary in all the right ways, with the Warlock being large and imposing yet still clearly vulnerable enough in his actions and mannerisms to garner empathy from readers. Throughout the story all kinds of philosophical considerations are discussed and if the Warlock is truly cursed or in a way has a gift is a question raised but left for the readers to determine.

I am very happy to have met Dale Forward online. His comic he provided for the purposes of review is amazing between the thoughtful story, great artwork, and incredible technique he uses with the Warlock's eyes that must have taken a ton of time and effort--Forward essentially had to draw each page twice with different colors, after all. This is a prime example of the kind of incredible work that only can be produced in the form of comics and I loved it. I enthusiastically rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

You can purchase, "Warlock," via the popular website/format for selling stuff, BigCartel. You can learn more about Dale Forward and check out his art on his Facebook Page, via Instagram, or give him a holler on Twitter as well.

Note: A copy of, "Warlock," was provided by the creator upon my request for the purposes of review.