February 27, 2007 by kirkjobsluder.

I already commented on Zappa’s Baby Snakes but I just saw Comic Book, The Movie which brought this up in my mind again.

There is a genre of cinema which basically says, “here are my friends doing crazy things.” Which is great if you are a friend or fan of the director and know those crazy people. It’s not so great if you are not in on the joke. Mark Hamill plays a geeky comic shop owner and fanzine editor who tries to influence a film adaptation of his favorite character, Commander Courage. Some of the best parts of the Comic Book, The Movie involve Hugh Hefner, Kevin Smith, and Stan Lee giving deadpan commentary about a fictional WWII comic book artist. The protagonist’s dismay that Hollwood wants base the movie on 21st century jingoism rather than WWII jingoism makes for some interesting moments.

But large chunks of the film are filled with mugging cameos by animation voice talents and comic book writers. There is a quick inside joke of Hamill being snubbed by Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) which was completely incomprehensible to us without looking at the voice credits. Often the extended improvisations are more baffling than funny. After watching this on DVD I realized that I’m not quite geeky enough to really get it.

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February 23, 2007 by kirkjobsluder.

A surreal and funny web-comic that shows mastery of the one-panel format. The Book of Biff is one of my latest addictions.

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December 23, 2006 by kirkjobsluder.

Now that I’m buying comic books again, I feel the need to buy mainstream comics that feature lesbigay characters to avoid the inevitable “it didn’t sell well, so we will sweep it back into the closet for the next decade.” This means I’m buying two teen-angst superhero team books right now: Young Avengers and Runaways. I started working back through Runaways after the Young Avengers-Runaways team-up for the “Civil War” mega event. (Which I try to ignore as much as possible.)

I must admit I have not collected the digest volume of Runaways that introduces this relationship, but blond vegan alien Karolina Dean becomes involved with Skrull alien shapeshifter Xavin. In the Young Avengers-Runaways mini-series, Xavin is always drawn as male, but with the implication that Xavin can become female at will. Runaways #22 shows Xavin spontaneously morphing between two human genders and a very masculine Skrull form.

Young Avengers build up the relationship between Wiccan (Billy Kaplan) and Hulking (Teddy Altman). This leads to the revelation that Teddy is also an alien shape-shifter with Skrull heritage. Teddy/Hulking is always shown as male. In fact, his most usual form mirrors that of the The Hulk, which maximizes secondary sexual characteristics.

There is something that bothers me about how two gay/lesbian relationships, in two very similar genres of comic books, end up both involving shape-shifting aliens. Partly because as we saw with the Young Avengers-Runaways team-up the writers can put those relationships back into the closet in public. But also I suppose that it gives people reading the strip a way out of considering what kinds of affection is shared in these relationships. It gives a way out for those readers whose first question is, “who is the man/woman in the relationship.”

On the other hand, Runaways #22 shows a willingness to deal with gender ambiguity that is refreshing.

Molly: It’s just, I think everybody would be more comfortable if you could mabye just look like a girl forever.

Xavin: And I’m sure some people would be more comfortable if Karolina like males or if you were not a genetic mutation. But I am not like everyone else, and that means you may have to learn to accept something new and different, as my betrothed already has.

Overall, I’m becoming more impressed with Runaways both for its genre-twisting, but also for its willingness to crack open some of the more interesting aspects of adolescence. I’m still expecting Marvel to turn-around and sideline or throw those characters back into the closet.

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December 10, 2006 by kirkjobsluder.

One of the things I love about get fuzzy is that every now and then there is a strip that is wrong on so many different levels. This one starts with a dead lizard, and the revelation that the lizard has been in their living space for weeks. Then you have vegetarian and cat engaging in fisticuffs, with the typical dog reaction.

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