Saturday, November 15, 2008

Minor Comic Book Geekery


5 ways that Sandman changed the world.

I totally need to reread that series. This is where I would usually give you a link to amazon and encourage you to click and buy, but in honor of Edie-who-sells-books, I'm going to tell you to go to your local comic book shop instead. And buy, because seriously, y'all, Sandman is great stuff.

In other news, a trade paperback from a comic called "Y:The Last Man" appeared in my house at some point. I guess it's theCSO's. Or if you've stayed in my house recently and it's yours, let me know. Anyway, I was thumbing through and saw that a character has a zippo lighter with "Fuck Communism" engraved on it and I felt super cool because I knew what that was a reference to.

Then I realized I SERIOUSLY needed to re-examine my definition of "Super cool"

Ah well.

Hat tip to Jason Pitzl-Waters' Twitter Feed for the Sandman link.

CC
who can't believe she just hat-tipped a twitter feed, but there you go

Ps. This may be a Gen-Xer thing, but have you guys ever found yourselves liking a really stupid pop song from your younger years at least partially because you have happy memories of making fun of it with your college friends?

I've noticed that in a decade's time, my ironic appreciation for this lame song has become unironic and it's weirding me out.

6 comments:

Joel Monka said...

Ah, yes, Freewheelin' Franklin's "Fuck Communism" banner. I didn't know you were a Gilbert Shelton fan- I've been reading his stuff since 1969. (One advantage of an older brother is getting cool stuff young)Philbert Desanex lives!

Joe The Math Guy said...

Well, that is interesting...CC, I don't know about you, but that's NOT where I know "Fuck Communism" from...maybe Joel is just more super cool than we are, as this may be where Garth Ennis got it from.

Joe The Math Guy said...

We all need to support our local comic book shop; I buy too much stuff online or at Books-a-Million. However, if you are interested but dubious, you might borrow the first four trade paperbacks from a comic book geek friend.

Gaiman himself says that he did not find his voice until issue 8, which comes at the end of the first trade. The second story arc, collected in the second trade, is much better, but is a bit gruesome and can be off-putting. The third trade is a series of "one-shots,", that is, short stories told in a single issue. Two of these, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "A Dream of a Thousand Cats," are brilliant, IMHO.

In the fourth story arc, IMHO, Gaiman puts the pedal to the metal and never looks back.

Reading (or re-reading) "Paradise Lost" is suggested before reading the fourth trade.

The fourth trade has themes that should especially tickle the fancies of UUists; it features a "convention" of deities from many different pantheons, such as the Norse Gods, the Egyptian Gods, angels, and demons.

Indeed, the whole of Sandman is premised on finding unifying themes in many human religions.

Anonymous said...

What song?

Obijuan said...

Hurrah for local comic book shops! Now that I have (a teeny bit of) disposable income, they are the beneficiaries.

CC, I've been meaning to ask if you enjoyed Fables or not?

Joel Monka said...

Joe- not cooler, just older. Judging by my comic book collection, Franklin hung his "Fuck Communism" banner in the Freak Brothers' apartment when Garth was about one year old; it was specifically referrenced in a 1971 story line.

I love independent comic stores, but I used to have to buy "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers", "Wonder Warthog", and "The Leather Nun" at head shops.