The strange case of Giant Magazine.

This blog entry is just me working something out that is bothering me in my mind. I make no promises about it being funny, intelligent or interesting. You are warned.

 

Giant v1

I started reading Giant Magazine with the first issue (the one you see on my left). As I have mentioned before, I love magazines. And if there is one that even remotely seems like it might have one tiny article in it that interests me, I'll pick it up.

I picked up this issue when I was still dating my wife. I bought it at Hudson News in the Port Authority Bus Station as a result of a desperate attempt to find reading material for the bus ride home. I had never heard of Giant before but that didn't surprise me. The Hudson News kiosks must have every magazine ever made in the entire world in them. Stopping by them for me is like being a kid in the candy store. And discovering an old magazine for the first time was not new to me.

Since the cover featured Jack Black, and actor who I like, and promised an article about Star Wars, a movie I love, and a pictorial of Christina Ricci, who I sure like to look at, I decided to pick this up.

Little did I know that I was picking up the very first issue of the title--ever.

As a magazine, I kind of liked it. It straddled the line when it came to men's magazines. It wasn't as highbrow or pretentious as Esquire and GQ could be, yet it wasn't as fratboy-ish as Maxim, Stuff and FHM sometimes are. It was kind of, "here are some fun articles, with a little cheesecake on the side".

 

Giant v2

After that, I decided to buy it when ever I came across it on the newsstands. I even bought the one with Owen Wilson on the cover, and I can't stand Owen Wilson. And I must say I was consistently entertained.

After three issues, the magazine changed it's format slightly. The cover became devoted to the hot actress du jour who had the pictorial in the magazine--Mischa Barton (Right), Jennifer Love Hewitt, Denise Richards, etc.

This troubled me a bit. I'm sure it changed it's cover format to compete more directly with Maxim. But, to me, it was a bad decison. It was almost like admitting defeat. "Hey, we have given up trying to strike the middle ground between Esquire and Maxim. We're now going to become Maxim's slightly more sophisticated younger brother."

 

Little that I know that I should have been happy it was just a slight change. The content stayed pretty much the same, only the cover content ( and logo, let's not forget about the logo) was majorly different.

It was during this incarnation that I started subscribing to Giant. I know, I know. I just said that the change troubled me. But, after I bought a pair of tickets for a show, I filled out a survey about Ticketmaster (or whoever I bought the tickets from). As a "gift" for doing the survey, they offered me a free years subscription to 4 magazines of my choosing (only $2 for handling!!!). Again, as a magazine junkie, this was like getting free (or rather, $2) crack. Giant was one of the magazines listed, so I decided to pick it up.

 

Giantmag v3

So, the sexy-actress-of-the-month cover spanned about 9 covers (with, to be fair, two covers with Zach Braff and Jon Heder on the cover), until the issue to the right arrived at my doorstep. Giant had become an "Urban" magazine (its descrpition, not mine).

Now, I am not a huge  fan of hip-hop or urban culture. Needles to say, I wouldn't buy this on the newsstand. So it was a shock to see this in my mailbox.  

I am of many minds about this change. I admire Giant's tenacity in its attempt to find a foothold in the market (although the urban market is possibly more crowded than the "men's magazine" market, so good luck.) But I am sad that it had to change. It was just finding its identity when it changed, and it was, at least in my opinion, a good read.

I wonder if any other subscribers felt the same way. It was just a drastic change. Were they like me and decide to let their subscription run out just to give the magazine a chance? Or did they just cancel outright? Did the powers that be at Giant take this into consideration when they made the change? Did they figure they'd pick up enough new readers to more than make up for the ones they lost? And were they correct in that assumption?

See, this is how weird I am. I devote this much thought to a magazine.

Bill  

I'm in a bit of a tussle over at Newsarama.

Mad Magazine is relevant again, at least at the Newsarama boards. Read more here.

Okay, enough is enough!

Sanjaya_Malakar4

STOP VOTING FOR HIM!!! THE JOKE ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE!!!

2007 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship East Regional, March 25,2007, East Rutherford, NJ

Elite Eight Action, Baby!!!!

So, the wife and I had the opportunity to see the March Madness matchup on Sunday between the Georgetown Hoyas and the North Carolina Tarheels.

To be honest, I know about as much about college basketball as I do about Yak husbandry. But that doesn't stop me from being interested in the whole Final Four festivities each year. I usually fill out a poll even though I know nothing about the teams playing and I am amazed by the upsets and the come from behind victories.

My father-in-law got his hands on some tickets from a friend of his. He saw two games in a row on Saturday and we got the game on Sunday, a game which would decide one fourth of the Final Four.  

Now, I have never been to a basketball game before, let alone a college basketball game. I don't know if Sunday's game was an accurate representation, but they are darned exciting.

The arena was filled with fans of both teams. Some sections of the seats were reserved for the students (second tier) and alumni (closer to the floor). Both teams had marching bands and cheerleaders. North Carolina had more men on their cheer leading squad than Georgetown did. Not that that means anything.

Let me just say this, without a hint of sarcasm, I love when marching bands play popular songs. Seriously. You haven't lived until you've heard a bunch of college kids with tubas playing "Push It"

The crowd got so animated that I thought the place would erupt into a collegiate gang war. I was especially worried because behind us were Georgetown fans (over my left shoulder) sitting right next Carolina fans (over my right shoulder). If a fight broke out, I was preparing to get my wife out of there by any means necessary,

If I can make a broad generalization about the fans of the teams by these two groups of people behind me, Georgetown fans curse a lot and Carolina fans, especially the women, are loud.

(Yes, I know this doesn't represent all fans of the schools, It's a joke. Relax.)

As for the game itself, it moves much faster live and in person than on TV. I was surprised by that. The two hours just seemed to fly by.

As for the game game, it was exciting. It seemed that it would be all North Carolina until they fell apart in the last few minutes of regulation. You'd think they'd at least try to rebound. 

So, it was fun. Really a unique experience for me.  

Sad News: R.I.P. Marshall Rogers

Newsarama is reporting that comic artist Marshal Rogers past away this weekend. Reasons for his demise were not immediately disclosed. The artist was 57.

I came into reading comics a little late to experience the defining arc Rogers did on Detective Comics with Steve Englehart, Terry Austin, and John Workman. But I heard about it and later got a chance to read it in trade paperback.

I instead discovered Rogers art through character pages in DC's Who's Who, stories in Secret Origins, and the 80's Silver Surfer series. I was impressed by his artwork. He used a fine line in his illustration and his style was unlike any other comic artist on the market at the time. In reading the trade of his Batman work, I could see how inventive he was for the time and the influence he must have had on artists such as Todd McFarlane and Arthur Adams.

When anyone dies, they die much too soon. But Rogers was still producing vital and beautiful artwork, most recently in 2005's Dark Detective series. I feel sorry for future generations how first experience his work through back issues and trade paperbacks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Guiding Line column up!

Yes, it's that time of the week again. Time for another Guiding Lines column! This week I cover Spawn #166, Wonder Woman #6, Heroes for Hire #8, Fables #59, Texas Strangers #1, Gamekeeper #1, and Fathom: Kiani #1. Go! Read it!

QotD: Stop Me If You've Heard This One

What's the infamous story people tell about you? 
Submitted by Cherney.

My infamous story is my Woodlands experience. I'd tell you, but it's late. If popular demand requests it, I'll post it tomorrow.

 

Bill

Play: Prelude to a Kiss, March 24, 2007, Broadway.

Prelude to a kiss

One of my friends has a crush on Alan Tudyk. So, as a last gasp of freedom before she gives birth, she decided to come into New York, husband in tow, and dragged the wife and I to see Prelude to a Kiss, which stars Tudyk in the lead.

So, how was it? Well...

The play is a story of a young woman who is kissed by an older man at her wedding. They end up switching places, much to the bemusement of the husband. The husband spends the rest of the play trying to reunite his wife's spirit with her body.

The concept is pretty out there. It takes a good writer to pull it off. Craig Lucas just barely does.

In some spots, the writing is very good. In others, it is lacking. The characters speak like they are Rhodes Scholars in Poetry and Political Theory when they are bartenders and microfiche operators. I would have seen a more believe scene between Peter and Rita in the beginning. They have a "Meet Cute" (actually a "meet awkward") with nothing in the dialogue to indicate the connection was made. But the next scene they are in, it is obvious that, for the characters, it was love at first sight.

It was excellently acted. I am a fan of Tudyk from his work in Firefly and he did well in the tough role of Peter. It also starred John Mahoney from Frasier. Fans of that show know he's a great actor and he did well in a very tough part. When he is possessed by Rita, he plays up the feminiity with out being campy. And Annie Parisse, who was an assistant DA on Law and Order, did good too. The character was different than her L&O part, and she excelled in it.

The best part of the play was afterwards when the lead actors came out to record a talkback for XM radio. They were interviewed for about 20 minutes and then took audience questions. My friend got to ask them a question, which made their weekend.

Bill 

I take the Mark Evanier challenge.

Mark Evanier issued a challenge with this article from the BBC about Stan Lee. He says it sets the record for most errors in a news story ever. Let's see how many I can pick out. Mine will be in parenthesis and in bold.

 

 

The comic book genius of Stan Lee

Stan Lee, the man responsible for a string of comic superheroes that have become household names, has won a court battle for a slice of the profits from the hit Spider-Man movies.

Many marvel at the man who gave his characters extraordinary powers and everyday headaches - a formula which revolutionised comics.

Born in 1922 to poor working-class Jewish immigrants from Romania, Stan Lieberman (His name actually is Stanley Lieber. No -man. Already off to a bad start.) , got a job in Timely Publications, a company owned by a relative.

He was assigned to the comics division and - thanks to a fertile imagination - rose to editor by the age of 18.

For more than 20 years, he was "the ultimate hack" - knocking out crime stories, horrors, westerns, anything to sate the appetite of his juvenile readership.

Words of more than two syllables were discouraged. (True, but that didn't stop Stan from use multi-syllable words.) Characters were either all good or bad, with no shades of grey. (One Hypenated word=Sub-Mariner. Both a bad guy and a good guy in the Golden Ages. And Superman and Batman were mean s.o.b.'s back then too.) 

So embarrassed was Lieberman (Lieber) by much of what he was writing that he refused to put his real name on the byline. He assumed the "dumb name", Stan Lee, now legally adopted. (I never heard that he was "so embarrassed" by comics that he used a fake name. I hear he was reserving his real name for more literary properties, which I guess to the author meant the same thing. But I read where Stan did it because of all of the prejudice against comic creators at the time. He want the reserve his own name so it would be free if he wanted to do other writing.)

Human heroes

By the time he was 40 (Actually, 39), Lee had decided he was too old for the comic game. His British-born wife, Joan, suggested he had nothing to lose and, for his swansong, should write the kind of characters he really wanted to create.

After a rival comic had come up with a superteam consisting of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, Timely needed to respond. (I think this actually came before the peptalk fro Stan's wife.)

Lee's answer, in 1961 (1961-1922=39), was the Fantastic Four - a team of astronauts who gained super powers after being bombarded with cosmic rays.

They were to change Lee's life, and the comics industry, forever. Lee gave each character individual, everyday teenage problems such as dandruff, ingrown toenails and acne (Name me one Silver Age Marvel story where anyone had an ingrown toenail? Acne? Dandruff? This is usually how Stan describes in interviews the problems he gave the characters. It is hyperbole to prove a point, The writer of this article took it as fact.). They would frequently fall out with their parents and each other. (Other than Thor, no one "fell out" with their parents regularly. Reed Richards might have once in a while. Other than that, parents were either deceased or not mentioned.) 

The fan letters poured in. Without immediately knowing it, Stan Lee had ushered in the golden age of comics (Personally I, and I am not alone here,consider the 30's and 40's to be the golden age of comics. Which is one of the reasons that era is called the Golden Age) , and his imagination was rekindled. His Marvel universe spawned the new title of Marvel Comics. (The company's name shifted from Atlas to Marvel prior to the publication of FF#1. If this is what the writer was getting at. Stan Lee's universe helped define Marvel Comics, but it was named that before the Thing got rocky. )

Soon after, nerdy Peter Parker was transformed - after a bite from an irradiated spider - into someone who could crawl up the sides of New York's skyscrapers. Spider-Man was born.

He was to become an icon of modern popular culture. Spidey, as he is affectionately known, had quite extraordinary powers - yet he had problems at work, at home and with his girlfriends.

At last, the teenager was no longer just the sidekick, but the main hero. And the hero was no longer just brawn, he had brains too.

"Just because he's a hero and has super powers doesn't mean he doesn't have problems," Stan Lee told the BBC.

The Incredible Hulk, The Mighty Thor, Iron Man and the rest all grappled with problems like drug abuse, bigotry and social inequality.(Oh, I remember that classic story when the Hulk got hooked on peyote buttons. Or when Thor marched on Selma Alabama with MLK. Or when Iron Man gave up his fortune to the poor so they all could be equal. Seriously, this writer has never read a comic magazine in their life and is apparentl;y unable to do even a modicum of research. Spidey tackled Drug Abuse, the X-Men tackled bigotry. I guess social inequality was handled by all of them, but mostly Spidey, Captain America and Daredevil.)

Radically, Lee gave the artists responsible for the comic designs credits for their work. Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, John Romitaand and others achieved cult status in their own right. (As far as I know, Frank Miller never worked with Stan Lee. He came to Marvel in the mid-1970s after Stan gave up everyday involvement at Marvel. And what are "comic designs"? You mean the comic artwork and storytelling?) 

Other superheroes broke new ground in other ways. Daredevil was blind, Black Panther was black and Silver Surfer pondered the state of humanity. Lee's influence remains. Some years ago the Marvel hero, Northstar, came out of the closet. (Actually, a quick perusal of wikipedia shows that Lee created Gabriel Jones for Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos in 1963, three years prior to the first appearance of Black Panther. And he was part of an integrated military unit as well. Sgt. Fury is also the place, if you believe Stan, where he created the first gay character in the form of Pinky Pinkerton.) 

In its heyday, Marvel was selling 50 million copies a year (50 million a year sounds a little excessive. Especially considering during most of Stan's run, Marvel was limited to about 8 titles per month. Is it possible? Sure. But it'd be a stretch.). Until he retired from editing in 1971, Stan Lee wrote all the copy for Marvel's covers.

In 1999, his Stan Lee Media venture, aimed at marrying comic-strips with the internet, went spectacularly wrong. Lee went bankrupt and his business partner landed in prison for fraud.

In 2001 though, he started a new company entitled POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment, which is currently developing films and television programmes.

His latest project is a superhero based on a real person - Jay J Armes, who has metal claws after losing both hands aged 12 and fights crime with a tiger.

But his 40-year-old creations are still as enduring as ever - with X-Men, The Hulk and Daredevil have all been turned into Hollywood action movies in the last five years. (Technically, the X-Men were first "turned into a Hollywood action movie" in 2000-7 years ago.) 

But Spider-Man has been the biggest box office hit, with the 2002 original and its 2004 sequel taking almost $1.6bn (£857m) in ticket sales around the world - before DVD and merchandise sales are counted.

It seems Stan Lee is as indestructible as his heroes.

Houston Texans management is rife with stupidity.

I don't know why I am ranting about this. I mean, I am a fan of football. But I have no love or hatred towards the Houston Texans. They aren't my favorite team (That would be the Pittsburgh Steelers) or my least favorite team (That would be the Dallas Cowboys). But, as a fan of the game, I am continually amazed at some of this franchise's decisions.

The latest, according to this article, is that the team has traded with the Atlanta Falcons to obtain the rights to quarterback Matt Schaub. Furthermore, they have already announced that Schaub will be the starter, effectively ending the David Carr era in Houston.

Now, as a player, I like David Carr. I think he's scrappy and has talent. However, during his tenure at Houston the team went 24-56. It seems the Texans have lost patience in waiting for their first round draft pick, the first overall in the 2002 draft, to start performing.

The rhubarb is, that to have been successful in Houston, Carr would have had to have had the speed of The Flash, the endurace of Hercules, and the quick-decison making abilities of Braniac 5. Why? Because the offensive line in Houston was/is abysmal.

The team is constantly near the top of the "sacks" allowed column. It doesn't matter if you are Brett Farve, Peyton Manning or David Carr, you can't perform if you're constantly running for your life.

The reason given for picking Schaub is that  he has "the leadership that we think is needed." Schaub is a back-up who hasn't played a game since 2005 and only attempted 27 passes last year. Yeah, obviously he has the leadership they need.

He is also less mobile than Carr, so expect this trade to fizzle out...oh...about the second play from scrimmage in the Texans first pre-season game.

 

Bill

 

 

Bush: Putting the "lame" in Lame Duck.

To be honest, I wasn't really following this U.S. Prosecutor firing scandal. If I knew where it would end up, I would have.

Apparently, a bunch of U.S. Prosecutors were fired. The reason for some firings might have been political. An investigation has begun in Congress to find out where the buck stops and calls have been made for Attorney General's Alberto Gonzalez to step down (This is a Cliff's Notes version. I'm sure it's more complicated than that.)

Now, Congress wants Bush aides Karl "Darth" Rove and Harriet "My only qualification for the Supreme Court is being a friend of Dubya" Miers to testify under oath before Congress.

For some reason, Bush doesn't want his buddies to testify under oath. So he offers a compromise. He says his friends would looove to have a chat--behind closed doors with no oath and no transcript. And the compromise also came with a threat: if they don't accept the offer, he will fight them testifying under oath by any means necessary.

As for a reason why he's doing this, the Hand Puppet, as per this article, replied: "We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants. I proposed a reasonable way to avoid an impasse. There's no indication ... that anybody did anything improper"

BWAH-HA-HA! Karl Rove! Honorable!!!

Sorry.

Now, on the surface, for people who take things completely on face value, it appears that Bush is bravely protecting his friends from a witchhunt by those mean bullies in the Democratically-controlled Congress. However, what he is doing, is trying to throw a monkey wrench into the gears of justice.

That statement above smacks of political spin doctoring. It's loaded with buzzwords that are presenting his side in a way make Bush appear in the best light possible. But actually, what he's doing is a bit shady. 

First off, and investigation is by definition a fishing expedition. When you investigate something, you fish around for facts to get to the root of what really happened. Funny that Bush doesn't know that.

Second, if nothing improper was done by these people, then why can't they testify under oath something to that effect. If you have nothing to hide, it would suit you to face any and all questions under oath to clear the record and your name.

Third, Bush presented a reasonable, to him, way to avoid an impasse, which he will cause if he doesn't get his way. However, if Congress is looking to bring anyone who broke to law to justice in this debacle, Bush's propsoal isn't reasonable. I'm not a legal scholar, but I believe any evidence they may get from Rove and Miers probably wouldn't be admissable in impeachment hearings if not done under oath. Which is why Bush is probably fighting for this way so hard.

Congress replied by voting to approve subpeonas in this as a way of saying "IN YOUR FACE, GEORGE!" Bush claims he will use executive priviledge to fight the subpoenas. However, in recent history, presidents used this tactic twice. Clinton tried it but backed down after a federal judge denied his request and Nixon appealed his all the way to the Supreme Court before losing the fight at that level. Funny that it was two presidents facing possible impeachment that used that tactic. Hmmm.

Of course, Bush has stacked the court with right-wing conservatives, so he may think he might end up a little different this time. But regardless. The fact this scandal has come to this leads me to believe that the buck might just stop a little higher than Gonzalez.

 

Bill

 

Concert: Indigo Girls-March 20, 2007-Town Hall, NYC

So, I saw the Indigo Girls concert yesterday. Here is my quasi review of it.

The night started when my wife picked me up at our condo and we rushed to the train station. Rushing was not easy to do be cause I just had my foot worked on earlier that day. What did the work entail? Scraping, bleeding, freezing and pain--in that order. Needless to say, I was Limpy McLimp-limp that night.

We got to the train station, bought tickets and got on the train with seconds to spare. We had a quick (and I do mean quick) dinner at the Junior's in Grand Central and rushed over to Town Hall, which is several blocks away from the station. 

Town Hall was built in 1921, and sitting in the balcony of the venue, it gave me a deeper understanding of that era. For example, in the 1920's, nobody was taller than 5' 7". I mean, if they were taller, then they would have made the seats a little further apart. My 6'4" body has to be squeezed in the to seat with my legs pretzel like. If I had cut my legs off at the thigh, then maybe I would have fit, with my bloody stumps lightly grazing the seat in front of me. Luckily, the two seats next to us were open for some reason, so I was able to stretch out a little bit.

The opening act was a woman by the name of Kaki King. I always try to get to the show to see the opening act. Usually, if I like the main band, I'll like the opening act.

King was good. She was a great guitarist. You could tell she had classical training. She played pretty much only instrumentals (one one song had lyrics) and wailed away on the guitar like a female Eddie Van Halen. One song was played pretty much only on the neck of the guitar, which I found amazing.

She was joined on a couple songs by a trumpetist (if that is a word). When a guy comes on stage with a trumpet, you expect some trumpet playing. Not here. Well, I guess you could call what this guy did "trumpet playing," but it was more like he was using his trumpet to send a mating call to any whales that might be trolling the Hudson or East Rivers. He just played a series of long, barely audible bleats on the trumpet.

For the second song, he played the Electric Bong. At least that's what it looked like--a bong with a wire coming from it.

Kaki was good and really unique. You don't see many artist who do only instrumentals. It was fun to see Amy Ray grooving in the wings during her set.  

The Indigo Girls came out after that. To be honest, outside of their hits, I am not terribly familiar with the Indigo Girls. My wife LOVES them, and so did the rest of the audience. But for me, it was the first time hearing a lot of these songs. But hearing them the first time made me want to hear more of them. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are great musicians and singers in their own right. They have been sing together and touring for years and it shows--in a good way.  Professional all around.

I was also impressed by the work of the guitar tech/roadie, a woman they called "Sully." Each Girl had about 5 guitars and one mandolin that the each switched off between during the show. Sully did a last minute tune on each one before the current song ended, held Amy's in her left hand, Emily's in her right, and swapped them for the ones the Girls were playing on stage. And it was done with military precison.

The crowd was vocal. The Girls stated that the were going to play song of their most recent album that night, but the end each song was greeted by a chorus of "Play Gallileo" and "Chicken Man."

To their credit, the Indigo Girls listened to their fans and worked their requests into the show. A fan I spoke to while walking out said that usually they keep two stops on the set list open for requests, but tonight they did much more than two. I think this is great. Most bands consider the people who attend their shows as just dollars in their pockets. It's good to see a band take such an interest in their fans and go the extra mile to honor their requests.  

All in all, a good time was had by me and the wife. I will be loading my wife's Indigo Girls CD collection on my iPod to learn more song by them so I may be able to shout out my request the next time they come to town.

Bill

Sad News: R.I.P. Larry "Bud" Melman/Calvert DeForest

Mark Evanier, over at his blog, is reporting that Calvert DeForest, the man known for portraying Larry "Bud" Melman on "Late Night with David Letterman," has passed away from a heart attack. He was 86.

I am a big David Letterman fan, and DeForest was a major part of my enjoyment of the show.

Click the above link for a better obituary by Evanier (and while you're there, have a look around. Evanier's blog is one of my favorite sites on the Internet). He also has posted a YouTube clip of a classic Larry "Bud" Melman clip from the 80's

 

Bill 

New Guiding Lines column up.

The folks at Broken Frontier have published my latest Guiding Lines column. You can read about it here. In it, I cover Army @ Love #1, Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #50, Witchblade: Shades of Gray #1, Hellblazer #230, and Hero by Night #1. Please, go check it out!

Magazine Graveyard: Cracked and Premiere

Here's a secret about me that few people know--I am addicted to magazines. I can't really give you a reason why, but I do like them alot. I get about 15 delivered to my house by subscription and pick up a lot more at the newsstand. Yes, I realize that it is a sickness but since it is hurting no one, I'll let it be.

 

There are signs that magazines are a dying art form. Circulation is down and several magazines have closed up shop. Today, I'd like to talk about two of them, Cracked and Premiere.

Now when I talk about Cracked, I'm not talking about the Mad alternative that looked like this:

 

Cracked

That one left our plane of existence several years ago. Personally, I always liked Cracked better than Mad. It had John Severin doing the art on it (he did the cover on the left) and Severin is one of the true masters in comic style art. There. I've said. No way I can take it back now. 

 

No, the name Cracked was bought out by a new owner and a new magazine was relaunched last year. Gone was the aspiration to be like Mad magazine. It was replaced by a new mission statement: To be a National Lampoon-style comedy mag for the Maxim generation.

 

That mission statement alone explains why the magazine was not long for this world. Let me break it down for you:

1. The  Maxim generation and witty, National Lampoon satire don't really mix all that well.

2. Maxim has it's fair share of comedy, so the Maxim generation would go there for their humor.

3. The new Cracked just wasn't all that funny.

Crackedtomcover

First off, each of the three issues of this revamp featured photoshopped covers like the one on the right. Those of you who know me know how I feel about photoshopped covers.

 

Second, the humor wasn't witty at all. It was mean and in bad taste. The editors thought this was enough. After all, you can be mean and in bad taste and be funny. But the three are not mutually exclusive. In other words, just being mean and in bad taste does not make it funny.

 

I bought each of the three issues of the revamp and didn't laugh at all. And I have a cheap and easy sense of humor.

 

The best part of the magazine were the interviews and articles about the comedic process. They actually spoke with people who were funny, like Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and tried to get inside their brain. But it was trying to be a comedic magazine and not a magazine about comedy, so it didn't give that much attention to what it was best at.

 

While I don't mourn Cracked V.2's passing, I do have to say that Premiere's going under hit me kind of hard. It was one of my favorite magazines that I fell out of steady reading of. I picked up the recent issue with Tobey McGuire on it and said to myself "I should really subscribe to this magazine." Too late now.

 

 

 

Premiere 1099

I did have a subscription once. Back in the late 80's-early 90s. I really like they way they gave us a mix of behind the scenes Hollywood with your typical publicity machine writing. I guess I was in the minority.

 

If I think about it, I probably could trace my love of movie magazines back to my mother. She grew up in the era of Photoplay and all those magazines. Now, are there any movie magazines left?

 

So there you go. Two magazines--one long running, one short, leaving print form in the same week. Both will still continue in their online versions. Perhaps that's the wave of the future:no more print magazines, only online. I hope not. It's hard to curl up with a laptop to read before you go to sleep at night.

Bill  

 

The United States has the coolest postal service EVER!

So, the BBC reports that, to honor the Star Wars franchise on its 30th Anniversary and to offer some publicity to an announcement of a "surprise stamp" (Ooh! Surprise Stamp!) coming on March 28th, it will be repainting about 400 of its mailboxes to look like the character R2-D2:

 

R2d2 mailbox

 Oh Joy! Remember, all you die-hard Star Wars fans out there: stealing mailboxes is a Federal offense! Yes, the mailbox will look cool in your Star Wars room, but are you willing to risk time in Levenworth for it?

I, for one, am planning to track as many of these bad boys as I can, dress up as Princess Leia and put a piece of mail in each one--being sure to say "Help me, Obi-Wan! You're my only hope!" while I'm doing it!

 

Potential marketing ideas Marvel can use to milk more money out of Captain America's death.

Sorry to anybody who this blog entry's title spoiled the recent developments in the Captain America comic book. But if I did spoil the book for you a week and a half after the comic hit shelves, you're probably Amish. Not that ther's anything wrong with that, mind you. It's just the event was spoiled as soon as I logged on the Internet last Wednesday. THE EXACT SECOND!! You would have to shun anything electronic not to know what happened.

Well, Anyway...

Thanks to a remarkably slow news day in the mainstream media and comic collectors passion for death stories, Marvel sold loads of copies of Captain America #25. Copies were even selling for around $60 on eBay, bought by impatient fans who could wait a week before the rest of the First Printing back orders were sent to comic stores a week later. Patience would have saved them $57 dollars. Schmucks.

But I feel that Marvel has yet to properly capitalize on the rabid collector mania surrounding the event. So, I offer some purely sarcastic suggestions on how they can make even more money of this thing before they bring Cap back.

1. More Variant Covers: What? They only had one? And boring one at that? Just the sure to be numerous future printings to crank out Holografic, Die-Cut, Sketch covers. How about one that has heat sensitve red ink that only appears when comic fans rub their grubby little hands over it. They have the technology, Image used it in the '90s. This way rabid fans will have to buy two books--one to rub and one to save!
2. Slabbed Copies: I'm not talking about having them graded by CGC and encased in plastic. No, this time they should be encased in concrete and made to look like a tombstone. Carve the birth date and death date of Steve Rogers on the front. For the high end collector, encase it in fine Italian marble. Sure, fans won't be able to read it (or even be sure the issue is in there, hint hint) but they never open the CGC versions either.
3. The "Captain America Autopsy" board game: Time this to coincide with Cap Am #26 (the autopsy issue). Basically, it would be a version of the classic "Operation" game, only with Mike Zeck's famous drawing of Cap from the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe. Rename the organs "Bleeding Heart", "Patriotic Mindset", "Left Wing",  "Right Wing" etc. And instead of buzzing when someone touches the side, use the sound of a gunshot (I'd also suggest replacing the red, light-up nose with a bladder that sprays blood in the faces of the people who play the game, but that might be a bit over the top. Although, no one says you can't have variants to games!)

And if any of these ideas are used, I expect a cut, Marvel.

 

Bill   

 

First post!

Hello all!! (or any)

 

My name is William Gatevackes and I got the inspiration for this blog from my friend Jeff's blog. His is a very well written and intelligent blog. Mine will be like his, only less well written and intelligent.

 

Allow myself to introduce...myself. I am a freelance writer living just outside NYC. I write title descriptions for ComicBase (and I get paid for doing so. Yay! I'm technically a professional writer!), the occasional review for PopMatters, and the weekly Guiding Lines column for Broken Frontier. Go forth and vist them often!

 

For those of you who do not know me, I will probably use this blog to rant snarkily about pretty much anything and everything--hopefully in a way you with find humorous.

 

So, thanks for stopping by and come back often!

Bill