| Geek Out Saturday |
[Nov. 21st, 2009|01:37 pm] |
When it came to action figures, by 1993, I was caught in a pre-adolescent rundown. At twelve years old, I still desperately wanted to continue playing with my X-Men and Aliens figures but was getting the sense that it was time to put childish things away. Becoming a toy collector was a great way to split the difference between my love of toys and my worry that I would be ridiculed for being interested in toys.
The problem with this scenario was two-fold. Firstly... where I was living, distribution of the toys I was interested in owning was spotty at best. I vividly remember the frustration of pawing my way through aisles of unsold Flintstones and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers looking for just ONE Jack Skellington toy, only to come up empty-handed. This is still a problem today!
The other thing holding me back from being a first-rate collector is that I had absolutely no restraint when it came to keeping figures in the box. Although I would usually make a passing attempt at keeping a toy mint in the box after buying it, only a few days after it would inevitably be ripped from its packaging.
These two conflicting toy desires came to a head in the last weeks of '93 when I, flush with cash, stumbled on a Wal-Mart with a COMPLETE set of Kenner's Legend of the Batman action figures for sale. I'm sure these toys haven't aged well, but the first series of Legend of the Batman were, I think, pretty damn awesome. Instead of giving kids endless variations on Batman, Legend of the Batman gave us different versions of Batman.
This will be a fine distinction to most people I suppose, but it's one that always bugged the heck out of me as a kid. I neverwanted fifty versions of the same Batman ("Oh, here's one with his Arctic Blast suit, and here's one with his Lava Walk suit!"), I wanted different BatMEN. Legend of the Batman fit that bill, essentially giving kids the Elseworlds versions of Batman. This way I could have a plain ol' normal Batman standing next to a Batman with a whacked-out robot theme and it made sense to me.
The first series included a lot of characters that fans had been dying to see cast in plastic for years, including Nightwing. I had wanted a Nightwing figure ever since the Eighties. I owned a ToyBiz Batman and Robin around the time that the Tim Burton flick hit theaters, and I was comics-savvy enough to know that Nightwing was the original Robin all grown up... but there were no figures of the character.
Further, finding the not-Batman characters in any toy line was always an unbelievable pain in the neck. I always imagined even if Kenner DID make a Nightwing figure, it would be impossible for me to find.
...and yet, there he was, along with the rest of the first series, including Catwoman, Knightquest Batman, and a couple of other genuinely cool variations on the Batman Theme (Cyborg Batman is one I remember pretty vividly). I bought them all, as I was flush with Christmas money from various relatives.
Then the waiting began. I knew I should leave them carded. I knew they'd be a great collectable someday. I put them up in my closet and tried to busy myself with other things. After about two days, I couldn't hold out any longer and decided to take just ONE out of the box. The choice was pretty easy.
I don't know that these toys hold up today. They suffer from that annoying super-posed look that really inhibits play; Nightwing is always crouched in permanent fighting stance, one hand opened to hold his ridiculous large and yellow rocket launcher. Still, the toy really held my attention. I loved the fact that the yellow armor that hung over Nightwing's shoulders was removable; it was fun to "suit him up" when he was about to go fight whatever random toys I used as villains for my characters (castoff Ninja Turtles, mostly). Still, I had quite a bit of fun with Nightwing back then. He's earned permanent display in my classroom where he and a collection of old toys from my childhood sit on top of one of my chalkboards.
I probably made the right call, seeing as you can find these toys for about $3 bucks if you look on Amazon.com.
.........
I don't know if this is of use to anyone, but in the past month I've become obsessed with the website Slick Dealss. It's sort of a clearinghouse for good sales and deals across the Internet and beyond. I've seen some truly good stuff that's well beyond my means as a lowly public school teacher with two young children and a mortgage, but there have been some awesome stuff I've been able to take advantage of. They usually have about two or three amazing deals on magazine subscriptions a week, and I subscribed to a couple for my classroom, like Nintendo Power.
This week they had a promotional code for a free Papa John's pizza that totally worked- we got a pie for the cost of delivery!
Anyway, with the holidays coming up, there have been all sorts of "slick deals". If nothing else, it's a fun site to check out every once and awhile. |
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| not teaching comics - sheeeeee-ra! |
[Nov. 20th, 2009|05:14 pm] |
Our next-door neighbor is currently in the process of cleaning out his house. He's taken a real shine to my son and every couple of days, he catches us outside and gives us some kind of toy or book he's come across for Elliot to play with. A few weeks ago, he gave Elliot a bunch of Paint by Water books. I used to love these as a kid, but I haven't seen them very much in recent years.
One of the fun things about these books is that they're vintage 1980's. Included in the collection are Disney's The Fox and the Hound, Emmett Kelly (the sad creepy clown) and, much to my delight, She-Ra. Elliot and I painted a couple together when I was sick a few weeks ago.
Bow (who appears in both of these pictures) was sort of the Rhett Butler to She-Ra's Scarlet O'Hara. I always thought his costume was unbelievable feminine, but I never knew that he shot arrows with HEART tips until we did these paintings together. How unbelievably non-threatening! Especially when you consider that the OTHER side of a heart would make a perfect arrowtip! What was he thinking?!?! |
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| day forty one. |
[Nov. 18th, 2009|05:27 pm] |
A big hello to all the new readers of the comic- it seems I've picked up quite a few in the last few days! |
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| day forty. |
[Nov. 17th, 2009|07:50 pm] |
I'm not one to toot my own horn very much, but I don't mind saying that I am pretty happy with the way my Edgar Allan Poe came out.
Question to those with websites: Would anyone be interested in linking to my Wordpress account? I get a decent amount of traffic over there (especially in the last few weeks) and I'm looking to put together a list of links. Doesn't have to be a comic site, although I would imagine our audiences would be similar. Anybody interested in trading a link for a link, let me know! |
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| day thirty nine. |
[Nov. 16th, 2009|07:31 pm] |
We're FINALLY at the end of October with these comics... which also means we're at the end of the first quarter! I was thinking of doing a limited collection of all four semesters if interest was great enough. The first collection would likely include comics not published here and some other stuff as well. If anyone's interested, let me know! |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 14th, 2009|11:02 pm] |
While most of the Internet was abuzz with the cancellation of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse this week, I was far more interested in this brief interview with Maggie Friedman, the executive producer of ABC's Eastwick. Eastwick also got the axe this week. I've never seen the show, but I found Friedman's comments about the cancellation are very telling about the nature of television these days. She opines how upset she is that the show is cancelled and how disappointed she is that they will not be able to give the fans closure on the show, given that Eastwick received the cancellation at a point where all the ordered episodes were in the can.
I love how Friedman couches the cancellation into terms of how the premature cancellation of a TV show is a snub in the face of the fans of said show. I mean... is there anyone out there who is a RABID fan of Eastwick? Anyone? She makes it sound like Eastwick fans are legion and they're going to storm the corporate offices of ABC if they don't make more episodes. Certain shows do inspire an insane amount of fan loyalty. Hell, Dollhouse sort of is one of those shows... although I do think when it comes to Dollhouse, it's less about people liking Dollhouse and more about people liking Whedon's previous shows and holding on hope that Dollhouse would eventually get better.
Still, this is a tactic that has worked in the past with marginal shows like CBS's post-nuculear Jericho. Get the fans vocal and they'll show the networks that your show has potential. The problem is, I feel like the ship has sailed on that kind of thing. The viewing audience is so fractured these days that a TV program is always going to have some audience... and even in those instances where networks have given those marginal shows a stay of execution, it hasn't really helped matters. I was actually a fan of Jericho and I didn't think much of its abbreviated second season.
I find it so interesting that higher-ups are starting to be clued into using this kind of language to talk about their shows.
.........
Thought I'd mention a nice value for fans of holiday movies I noticed this week. Turner Classic Movies has been releasing these inexpensive DVD four-packs over the past year under the banner "Greatest Classic Films Collection". They're bare bones releases with no special features to speak of, but they're a great value for the money. For example, in their Best Picture four-pack, you can get Casablanca, Gigi, An American in Paris, and Mrs. Miniver... four great flicks for under $20 bucks!
Last week TCM released a Holiday four-pack and it's got some really good movies included. For only $15.99 you get Christmas in Connecticut, It Happened on 5th Avenue, the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol, and The Shop Around the Corner. Now, I haven't seen It Happened on 5th Avenue, but even if you took that movie out of the mix, $16 bucks for those other three movies would be a steal. The '38 Christmas Carol is not my flavor (for those playing at home, when it comes to Scrooge, I worship at the alter of Alastair Sim, thanks much) but it's not a bad adaptation. Christmas in Connecticut too is a fun movie... but really, the best reason to get this DVD collection is for The Shop Around the Corner.
Now best known for being the inspiration for the 1999 romantic comedy You've Got Mail, Ernst Lubitsch's The Shop Around the Corner is my preferred Jimmy Stewart Christmastime Movie. Starring Stewart and Margaret Sullivan as rival at work who are unknowingly falling in love through exchanging letters on their off-time, it's a wonderfully crafted movie with great character bits not only from Stewart and Sullivan, but from the rest of their co-workers. Of particular interest is Frank Morgan as the beleagured boss. Morgan is best known to people today as The Wizard of Oz in the 1939 movie, but his role in The Shop Around the Corner is so nuanced and sad and hopeful that it's worth a look for anyone who's never seen him in anything else.
The Shop Around the Corner is a bit of a cheat as a holiday movie (it's one of those movies where it's Christmas only in the last third of the movie) but it rings truer to me than It's A Wonderful Life ever has. Buying TSAtC as a stand-alone disc online is somewhere around $15 bucks and the only special features it seems to boast is a theatrical trailer. If you like romantic comedies... or hell, even if you don't like romantic comedies, you'll probably like The Shop Around the Corner. |
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| not teaching comics - sketchbook page |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|06:22 pm] |
A sketchbook page from a few weeks back- I’ve been considering having more teacher interaction in the comic in the next few weeks, so I’ve been doing some designs. |
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| day thirty five. |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|06:52 pm] |
I just thought I’d mention (seeing as I’ve posted the link a half-dozen times): My DonorsChoose proposal was fulfilled on Sunday night! $400 dollars worth of high interest graphic novels on their way to my classroom thanks to many donations including some from readers of this comic. It’s much appreciated by my students when cool new books make their way into the library; if you were a donor, you have my sincere thanks! |
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| chalkboard photo post #8 |
[Nov. 8th, 2009|05:50 pm] |
I should update about my health "crisis," such as it is.
Considering how bacteria-laden public schools can be, I really don't get sick all that often... but I woke up on Wednesday at around one in the morning with an intense, twisting pain in my stomach. It was unbelievably bad and I didn't get any sleep that night, opting instead to curl up in a ball on the couch and watch reruns Roseanne through squinted eyes.
I didn't go into school on Wednesday. Instead I spent the day vacillating between throwing up, sleeping, and being miserable. My abdomen still hurt and I wasn't able to eat a thing all day. I decided to take another day off and schedule a doctor's appointment on Thursday.
After doing some armchair diagnosis via WebMD (that most venerable of medical scare-mongers) I was worried that I had appendicitis. I don't think I was being paranoid, since all my symptoms seemed to fit appendicitis before I investigated, but as it turned out, the doctor thought the same thing. I spent most of Thursday in the hospital getting poked and prodded and catscanned to the ultimate conclusion of having a case of mesenteric lymphadenitis... or enflamed lymph nodes in the abdomen.
I would not wish the pain that I had on Wednesday and Thursday on my worst enemy, but by Friday the big problem was less the pain and more that I hadn't eaten in two and a half days! I made a try to go back to work on Friday only to find that I couldn't in any way, shape, or form make it through eight hours of school. I came home and slept all day.
Anyhow, I'm just about back to my normal self, and ready to get back to posting comics, starting tomorrow. In the meantime, if you want to click over to my website and see the ONE chalkboard drawing I managed to find time for this week. |
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| no comic today |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|07:44 pm] |
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Sorry folks, I have some kind of stomach bug. Back on track tomorrow, hopefully. |
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| day thirty three. |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|06:52 pm] |
To be clear, this is such quick project in terms of turnaround, I let the kids write whatever they want. Our next creative writing assignment is a bit more demanding of originality… but I think there’s value in letting students dwell on the types of stories that they love and seeing HOW the types of stories they love from movies and video games fit with the stuff we’ve been learning in class (plot curve, characterization, etc.) |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 31st, 2009|01:46 pm] |
Five things that always make me laugh
5. The Late Night with Conan O'Brian talk show segment where he interviews Melrose Place alum Courtney Thorne Smith. Norm MacDonald was the first guest of the episode, and he spends most of the interview with Smith interrupting, slyly making fun of her, and generally being fucking hilarious.
Norm MacDonald, in general is pretty amazing.
4. This exchange from The Simpsons episode "Marge vs. the Monorail, when Homer is trapped on an out of control monorail and Marge brings help:
Marge: Homer, there's a man here who thinks he can help you.
Homer: Batman?
Marge: No, he's a scientist.
Homer: Batman's a scientist.
Marge: It's NOT Batman!
3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
2. The Calvin & Hobbes story where Calvin tries to fix the drippy faucet and ends up flooding his upstairs bathroom. Specifically, the comic where he nonchalantly starts looking for buckets while singing to himself. Kills me every time. I remember the first time I read it; I was like nine years old and my parents taken us out to eat at The Ground Round.
1. Without fail, the bloopers on the second season DVD of The Office. Specifically, where Ricky Gervias bites his lower lip and points to his groin. "Who knows? In a few years, keep your head down... you'll be in the hot seat." I'm embedding that gem right here; I don't know if you'll get a lot out of it if you haven't watched the UK Office... but then again, if you haven't watched the UK Office, there's something deficient in your television consumption habits and you really need to rectify the situation immediately. Consider this a firm kick in the ass.
Comic Collection Recently Traded for on Swaptree
Spider-Man Legends: Todd MacFarlane, Volume 2
I was a big fan of MacFarlane's Spider-Man as a kid; it took the bold step of presenting a stylized to the extreme Spider-Man at a time when everything I was looking at in superhero comics felt very flat. Considering how fun and crazy superheroes can be, there were a lot of bland, bland, bland artists drawing comics when I was growing up. That's not to say there aren't really awful pages in here... you can find half-baked layouts all over the place. There's one with Peter Parker talking to Aunt May on the phone that made my head hurt when I saw it. Still, the team on this book really did capture something visceral here. In general, comic art on genre books seems better to me now than it did 15 years ago... but it's also a hell of a lot less exciting.
I also can't help but think that the glossy paper used in this collection really hurts the artwork. Maybe this is just a personal preference.
Green Lantern Corps: Recharge
I was a reader of Green Lantern during the Kyle Rayner years, so I'm pretty unfamiliar with the Green Lantern Corps beyond its basic concept. I thought I might be into this collection as it has the Corps but also includes my GL of choice as a main character. As it turns out, while GLC is a quality book with a couple of fun visuals and concepts, it's just not for me. I find it wonderfully strange how hugely the current incarnation of Green Lantern depends on the eighteen or so pages of the character that Alan Moore wrote in the Eighties. One of the "heavies" in this trade is the bounty hunter from "Mogo Doesn't Socialize." He's hardly a fan favorite... but I guess the Moore connection means something.
Essential Tomb of Dracula V.1
I really really loved this collection. I think Marvel did something interesting with its monster comics in the 1970's in that they took the trouble to make the monsters into characters. In most of the monster comics I've seen previous to these books, the monsters are usually just mindless motivators of plot... but Marvel actually seemed to go through the trouble of giving them a reason for being. I'm looking forward to hunting down the rest of the Tomb of Dracula books and possible the Frankenstein comics as well.
The Joker
I have to hand it to DC- they seem to have some really bone-headed notions when it comes to their trades and hardcover collections, but I think it was pretty smart that they had The Joker out in bookstores right around the time that The Dark Knight was burning through movie theaters a few years ago. You could make the case for this being a sequel to the movie in its realistic portrayal of the Batman rogues gallery. I really loved the book.
........
In what has to be one of the lamer "controversies" in recent months, some fans of comedian Chris Farley are up in arms about this new DirecTV ad that recreates a scene from Farley's hit movie Tommy Boy with inserting newly filmed reaction shots of David Spade to Tommy's "fat guy in a little coat" scene. I guess people are saying that it's disrespectful to the guy to reappropriate his image in such a way after his tragic death. I wish I could say I'm of two minds about this because I'm not a huge fan of either the idea of re-animating dead celebrities to shill in commercials OR the DirecTV ads (which I just find to be lame) but COME ON!
I don't know Chris Farley beyond his body of work and the things I've read about him in articles and books about Saturday Night Live, but man oh man, I'm guessing that he wouldn't have a problem in the world with being the center of attention again, over ten years after this death. To say nothing of the fact that this is the type of guy who (if Tom Shales' tell-all Live from New York is to be believed) would take a dump on a windowsill for a laugh... I doubt he'd be concerned with anything so "disrespectful" as a thirty-second commercial reliving his best movie.
Luckily, his co-actor in the scene and his family came out and said they were A-OK with the spot quickly after the tempest in a teapot erupted online. |
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| not teaching comics - happy halloween from s. |
[Oct. 30th, 2009|06:49 pm] |
With beginning school in August and only starting to post strips in September, the comic won’t reflect Halloween for a few weeks… but I didn’t want to let the holiday pass by without posting this great drawing that S, one of my students, did in his notebook. I really dig it.
I love all the little details that he threw in! |
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