MUSIC: John Reviews “Separation Sunday” by The Hold Steady

The Hold Steady is, in the words of Red Dwarf’s Arnold Rimmer, “like a three-fried-egg chili chutney sandwich.” It is a combination of elements that, when taken on their own, usually raise my ire (concept album, vocals spoken rather than sung, a “post-punk” attitude.)  Yet when combined in this particular arrangement, Craig Finn & Co. [...]

COMICS: John’s Wednesday Winners for 5/20/09

This week boasts an interestingly mixed bag: New titles, old standbys, good licensed books, bad licensed books, and a flashback to one of the first comics I ever read. Let’s begin!

Happy Velociraptor Awareness Day!!

Guess what, everybody!  It’s Velociraptor Awareness day (thanks to webcomic writer extraordinaire Randall XKCD.) Be sure to keep your wits about you today, and remember that the attacks always come from the sides, not the front.

My Craziness (Or Why John May Never Get His Post)

John’s been on my case now for a while to post something I’ve written about women in comic books, going so far as to threaten my life and go on strike. Now, there are a couple of reasons why these aren’t compelling enough for me to post something I’m not comfortable with, starting with the [...]

John’s going on strike, to save a life. Sort of.

A while back (around New Year’s-ish) I issued an ultimatum to fellow WITWAR administrator Petpluto: Either she would finish her post about the portrayal of women in comic books, or I would build an illegal bowel disruptor cannon and force her to experience a fatal intestinal maelstrom. I gave her ample time to get her post together – she had until I reviewed 14 specific books (the last of which was Spider-Man: Blue.) 19 reviews and 30 overall posts later, I still haven’t seen so much as a draft.

I’m a reasonable man, and I don’t want to kill my friend, but she doesn’t leave me many other options. So rather than force her to literally poop herself to death, I have decided to go on blog-strike. It pains me to do this, though, because the second volume of Atomic Robo comes out this week and I really wanted to review it. I may still, but I won’t publish it until the strike is over. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the sake of your principles, I’m told.

So if you enjoy my posts and want to read more of them anytime soon, I encourage you to go bug Petpluto until she relents and publishes her post. Her blog is Art at the Auction, and her email is Petpluto@gmail.com.

So long, my friends. I hope we’ll meet again.

P.S.: Pick up Atomic Robo Volume 2 at your local comic shop this Wednesday!

Layout Testing

Hey, everybody! John here. I thought I’d shake things up a bit here at WITWAR by trying a new layout or two. Let me know what you think!

We’ll all be watching the Watchmen!

The case between Warner Bros. and Fox over rights to the Watchmen film has been settled. Read about it here (courtesy of Newsarama) Hooray!

It’s unfortunate for Mr. Gordon that Warner is laying the entirety of the blame at his feet (and not at his counsel’s, where it belongs), but hopefully this won’t bankrupt the poor guy. He’s probably suffered enough by now. Also, there was no mention of the 1960s Batman TV series rights, so we won’t get to see Vincent Price tormenting the Caped Crusader as the villainous Egghead just yet. Next bat-time, next bat-lawsuit…

COMICS: John Reviews “The Middleman” by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine

Much like its title character, The Middleman is an under-appreciated hero, standing between the good people of the world and the things they’d rather not deal with (be it comic book-style villainy within the story, or soul-crushing boredom in the real world.) Series creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach and artist Les McClaine created The Middleman to bring the world a series of action-adventure-comedy tales about two highly quirky and slighly dysfunctional independent contractors who are dedicated to fighting evil, “so you don’t have to.” The result is a blend of sci-fi, crime, western and espionage action that never takes itself too seriously and reminds us that comics can still be fun and clever at the same time!

COMICS: John Reviews “The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1″ by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

It’s that time again, ladies and gentlemen! My Chemical Romance front-man and aspiring comics superstar Gerard Way has teamed with industry legends Gabriel Ba and Dave Stewart (who is quite possibly the greatest colorist in the history of comic books) to bring the world another chapter in the saga of those troubled twentysomethings, The Umbrella Academy. The name of the game this time is “Dallas,” which resumes the story sometime after the events of “Apocalypse Suite,” though it begins with a flashback to the Academy’s pre-pubescent days.

Ready, kids? SPOILERS ON!

John’s Gift Ideas for the Holiday Season (I hope you like comics!)

I recently put together a list of exceptionally great non-superhero comic books for a friend of mine, and thought I would share it with all of you. Consider it a holiday shopping guide, if you like. The list is divided by genre, and includes what I believe to be some of the best works of sequential art available in the marketplace today. Enjoy! (read on for the list)