The Funny Papers

Every week for the past month I've gone to Austin Books & Comics and there's only be one of my regular books new on the shelf, or one new book I've decided to pick up. This could only mean one thing: some week soon, I'd end up with a shit load of books all out at once. This was that week.

I came away from the store with no less than 6 new books today, all of them more or less regulars with the exception of one impulse buy. So what did I get?

Wasteland #30 - Antony Johnston / Christopher Mitten / Remington Veteto
It is a bittersweet circumstance that this comic has been coming out less and less frequently since it first hit the scene several years ago. I've been on board since issue 1 and I'm always eager to consume a new issue. The fact is simply that the book's writer, Antony Johnston, has been in high demand and while Wasteland is his labor of love, I get the feeling it doesn't quite pay the bills. Luckily he's got work at Marvel and oh ... he wrote the script for the first Dead Space game as well. Still, it's nice to get a new issue of Wasteland. As a story he's had in his head since he was a teenager, I don't think he'll be letting it go anytime soon. It would be nice to see more than a few new issues a year, but whatever he and Chris need to do in order to put out a quality book is fine by me.

Incognito: Bad Influences #3 - Ed Brubaker / Sean Phillips
This is the second series for Incognito, a sort of noir/hard boiled take on the anti-superhero genre. It's rare that I get into superhero stuff these days, but as Incognito is self-contained and takes a nice twist with it's crime drama edge, I've been into it.

The Amory Wars: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3 #8 - Claudio Sanchez / Peter David / Aaron Kuder
Yes, this is the comic book adaptation of the story in the Coheed & Cambria albums. I understand that there is limited appeal here, but as a huge Coheed fan this falls squarely in my wheelhouse. Honestly, since Claudio paired up with veteran scribe Peter David, the books have gotten a lot better. I think David imposes an improved sense of pacing and fleshed out detail in the dialog that Claudio was missing in the previous series. As the album we know the least about (in terms of official story explanations) it's been a treat for me to see the tales behind the songs illustrated for the first time with In Keeping Secrets.

Unwritten #22 - Mike Carey / Peter Gross / Vince Locke
I don't remember why I first picked this book up several years ago, but I did and what at first seemed like a Harry Potter satire with a real world twist, turned into something much more. Tom Taylor is a real world adult. Tommy Taylor is the boy wizard in his estranged father's best-selling novels. Tom wants as little to do with Tommy as possible, even though fans of the book revere him as much as his namesake. But what if Tom and Tommy are the same person? What if the story became a real person? That seems to be the initial concept behind the whole plot and we still don't know for sure that Tommy and Tom are one and the same. All we do know is that in Unwritten, stories are much more than they seem and there are those who may have been using the power of stories to manipulate the real world for a very long time. Is Tom the key to unraveling the mystery or is he a pawn in a bigger game? This is what keeps me coming back every month. This is DC/Vertigo quality in the tradition of Sandman and Trensmetropolitan. Go read it ... now!

Northlanders #37 - Brian Wood / Simon Gane
When this book started it seemed like Brian Wood writing DMZ except set in medieval Norway. I think he's since grown with the series and now feels much more at home in this time period. Northlanders isn't one big story, but rather multiple stories all set in roughly the same time and place: medieval Europe. It's got a definite pulp feel to it and I think that's something Wood has really embraced as the series has grown. What initially seemed like another set of stories about angst-y teens and 20-somethings fighting against "the man" has turned into a varied collection of tales running the gamut from action to drama, with even a little comedy sprinkled therein. It's just good, brutal fun, and who doesn't like vikings?

Deus Ex: Human Revolution #1 - Robbie Morrison / Trevor Hairsine
I usually don't by movie, TV, or video game tie in comics. Usually these books end up being nothing more than advertisement, typically handed off the the new guys to rush out the door. I don't know that this book is the same deal, but it looked decent enough (good art, not too wordy ... as is often the case with these types of books)
and I hunger for any information I can get about the world of the new Deus Ex game. It's a great fiction that was created in that universe and any reason to go back there is worth the price of admission.

Coming Soon

I swear, good media comes in waves. More specifically these waves seem to skip years. Whether it's music, movies, or games it seems that while one year you get a bunch of duds, the next you get non-stop hits. 2010 was very much a year of duds or at the very least it was a year of mediocrity. In music and film to be sure and to a lesser degree games, I found myself being underwhelmed more often than not in 2010. 2011 so far is giving a lot more to get excited about. Sure, movies are still unfortunately not meeting anyone's expectations, but I find myself less anticipatory in general of upcoming films. Half the time I'm not aware until just before release that there is something I'm going to want to see in the theater. Such is the nature of my relationship to film and the marketing reality of the films I tend of get excited about. Music is another thing altogether, with 2011 already having produced a couple fairly high profile (in indie circles at least) successes with The Decemberists' latest release The King is Dead and Bright Eyes up coming The People's Key. Both albums are incredibly solid efforts from bands that have both thrilled and disappointed me in the past. Still to come is the 2nd full-length from Rival Schools, 7 years removed from their debut United by Fate. Protest the Hero will be releasing their 3rd full-length in a couple months as well and it looks like there is a new Mountain Goats LP on the horizon too. Altogether it's not a bad start to the year, but what about games.

I tend to get less excited about upcoming games than one might think. Since games are not just my hobby, but my livelihood, my tastes tend to be not so much refined as picky. I'm a great deal more critical of games then I am other forms of media and even with sequels to franchises I already enjoy, I tend to be reserved in my enthusiasm before I actually get my hands on a game. Contrary to this behavior There are several upcoming titles that I am very much looking forward to:

Bulletstorm
If Paul Verhoeven made a video game, this would be it. Why? For all intents and purposes this looks to be an FPS satire that (like Verhoeven's films) is also a damn good game in it's own right. Developed by Epic, everything I've seen of this game since first laying eyes on it in an EA marketing meeting last year, just screams tongue in cheek, un-adulterated, over the top action that is both parody and homage to modern action gaming. It should be a fun ride.

Crysis 2
The first Crysis game is exactly the type of experience that Bulletstorm looks to parody and the second shows no signs of backing down from the hollywood-style action of the first. The first game was kind of a guilty pleasure for me. Like a good summer blockbuster, Crysis was a thrill ride from start to finish. The story is nothing special and neither is the voice (and in game character) acting, but the game play is solid and it does a great job of keeping you glued to the screen. By constantly building the narrative tension, by introducing new elements just on the edge of what you expect, Crysis keeps you moving forward until you're caught up in the whirlwind experience of the game's climax. Crysis 2 looks to provide the same cinematic action at much the same high quality level I've come to expect from Cevat Yerli's crew.

Dragon Age 2
Sure, I get a free copy for working at BioWare, but even if I didn't I'd be eagerly anticipating this title. I know people were initially concerned about the shift towards a more action-oriented combat and a static (as opposed to player-created) main character and I can't blame them, but what has evolved looks like an exciting hybrid of  Mass Effect and the first Dragon Age and I can't wait to get my hands on it. The Dragon Age universe is an interesting place to play and with Dragon Age 2's story spanning 10 years and multiple protagonists, I'm very much looking forward to diving into that realm again.

Portal 2
I didn't think Valve could outdo Portal 1, in fact I have a note somewhere from last year to write a blog about how Portal 2 will never be as good as Portal 1. The first game relied so much on the unexpected in creating the mythos that made Portal not just a fun game, but an incredibly compelling experience that took the industry by storm. How can Portal 2, with the secrets of Aperture Science having already been laid bare still manage to create as compelling an experience? Well I can't speak for the "story", but everything I've seen of the game play for Portal 2 certainly has me compelled. If Valve have upped (or at least found a way) to maintain the compelling nature of the story in Portal 2 as much as it seems to have done with the game play, then this is an experience I'm very much looking forward to.

And that's just the beginning of the year. Dead Space 2 is already out and amazing, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is looming somewhere on the horizon, Elder Scrolls V and Mass Effect 3 are slated for the end of the year, and there's still The Last Guardian, L.A. Noire and a bunch of indie releases still to come as well. Of course this can only mean one thing: next year is going to be pretty mediocre as far as games go, but right about now I don't care. It's been a while since I've had games who's releases I crave and in addition to everything else coming in movies, music, and elsewhere, I'm looking forward to a great time with some hot games in 2011.

Posted from my laptop @ Spiderhouse

Opposition Research: Layoffs

Question for the opposition: why is it better (or at least ethical) to lay off thousands of low and mid level workers as opposed to having some few on the topmost levels retain their jobs but take temporary pay or bonus cuts?

It would seem to me that any action that takes money away from a large group of active consumers (minimum wage earners and those still within a low or middle income bracket) and thus out of the economic picture, does more harm than good. While on the flip side, taking money from those on top (who I may argue are usually more responsible for a companies short comings than hourly workers in these situations) will likely see little to no impact on the economy as a whole as doing so is not likely to put that upper echelon executive into such dire straights. Granted this may just be a "trickle-down" vs "trickle-up" economic theory debate, but why is Socialized failure acceptible, when Socializing everything else is demonized?

PS. I'm serious about this. Can any one give me a reasoned debate on this?

Posted from my iPhone @ Quack's

The World That Can't See You

I just read an article about pop music and the Grammy's and for whatever reason it got me thinking. I'm fairly vocal about my love of sincere music and while that's a difficult concept to explain, for me it's easily quantifiable when listening to music. Because of this I often find people who like to challenge me, especially when I release a new mix tape.

"This band sounds just like (insert mainstream artist here), I don't understand why you think (insert indie band here) is better" is a popular refrain to my reply usually ends up being that "(insert indie band here) wants it more, they're more sincere." which usually draws a blank stare or a frustrated sigh because I'm obviously being unreasonable.

When it comes down to it, if I had to choose between listening to a mainstream punk band that I am not already a fan of, but sounds very much like The Menzingers or listening to The Menzingers, I'm going to choose The Menzingers because they want it more. The indie bands have more on the line, they're more involved with their music and the process and to me that comes through in the sound. At the very least it makes me feel better about supporting them, like eating at local restaurants as opposed to national chains.

Anyway, I was thinking of that this morning and it called to mind (as it often does) the lyrics of the Kid Dynamite punk anthem "Shiner"

Where do you get off wanting the royal treatment?
Who put you on your pedestal? I'll tell you who, the kids did!
They created you, and how do you repay them?
With your snotty looks and your catchy hooks and your rock star image.
They created you, and how do you repay them?
With some words of truth to guide them trough your mind manipulation.

But when the time comes to back up what you say, will you run away?
I'd bet all I had on it. That's what I said, I'd bet it all.
We're all singing along to the same tune (just like you.)
Big deal, you wrote it, but you don't promote it. (YOU DON'T PROMOTE IT!)

It may sound cliche. I don't care. I've seen the way you cheat at all the games you play.
Misuse trust to get what you want it's so easy to believe you.
Cause you're in a band with a mic in your hand and everybody wants to be you.
Well I won't try to. because I don't want to.

When the time comes to back up what I say. I won't run away.
Run away from you, run away from this, Because it means more to me.
We're all singing along to the same tune, (just like you.)
Big deal, we wrote it....Now it's time to promote it. Remember, we're all in this together.

I gotta know!
What could it be that makes you unhappy?
Is it the world that you see, or the world that can't see you?

Link: Robots to Get Their Own Internet

Robots to Get Their Own Internet
"European scientists have embarked on a project to let robots share and store what they discover about the world.

Called RoboEarth it will be a place that robots can upload data to when they master a task, and ask for help in carrying out new ones.

Researchers behind it hope it will allow robots to come into service more quickly, armed with a growing library of knowledge about their human masters."

One more step towards Skynet. I, for one, welcome our future robot overlords.

Lo-Fi Generation

Hand held devices and easily compressible formats have turned our consumption of media into a strictly lo-fi affair whether we want it or not. I just happened upon this link off of Warren Ellis' blog and I find the data to be rather disappointing, but not surprising in the least. Don't get me wrong, I think the proliferation of music by any means is fantastic and anything that get more exposure for obscure bands is great, but to think that there is a whole generation out there getting their music primarily through YouTube fills me with dread.

Lo-fi for lo-fi's sake is one thing, but when you take any recording and compress it to the level of YouTube or many other sites, you lose so much. Even your legitimately lo-fi music ends up sounding shite. It's bad enough you can't get any decent bootleg recordings anymore because the only devices people are using are their smart phones, but I'm horrified to think of a whole generation willingly subjecting themselves to sub par recordings.

I suppose it's happened before though, my generation grew up on cassettes that rose in popularity due to their portability, but were vastly inferior to almost everything else at the time. I can only hope that the youth of today are taking advantage of the the resurgence of vinyl and when they do purchase physical media, at least it's high quality.

The King is Dead

I've listened to The Decemberists latest album The King is Dead several times now and find that it's been growing on me each time. What at first I mistook for a return to a pre Crane Wife sound has actually turned out to be something else. Certainly the foibles of The Crane Wife are not to be found here much in the same way as they were absent from 2008's The Hazards of Love, but there is something else going on here as well, something new, but familiar.

Much had been said about this album before it released about the band moving to a more stripped down sound, but in comparison to the intricacy of The Hazards of Love almost anything else by The Decemberists might be considered "stripped down". Still there is a sense of a return to basics here, maybe not so much in the music (this is very much a multi-instrument album), but perhaps in the presentation of the album itself. I think what's struck me most about the album however is a certain maturity in the songs.

The Decemberists have always been a band with it's tongue set firmly in their collective cheeks much of the time, whether singing songs about whoring mothers, whalers, or chimney sweeps. While it is very much the aesthetic of the band and certainly within Colin Meloy's purview to be writing about subjects that would have been considered fodder for pop music standards in the early 1900's, there is still a certain silliness that came with earlier Decemberists releases. With The King is Dead I feel as if they've momentarily shirked the silliness for a bit of folksy maturity. This is not to say that this is an overly serious album and it's obvious they're still having fun, but it's almost as if they've taken a break from the cheekiness of the past to write and play an album of folk rock standards.

Personally I find the end result to be just as satisfying as any of their other albums, but somehow much more accessible. The Decemberists have very much been a band of geeks for geeks, with SAT words aplenty and subjects only an English major could love. And while The King is Dead certainly feels like a Decemberists album, it's the one you'll probably let your friends listen to first before unleashing the awesome power of The Whaler's Revenge Song.  With this band however, one can't help but assume this is merely a rest stop on the way to bigger, better, and perhaps sillier/geekier things to come.