Of Popped Collars and Pinstripes

THE HIJINKS ENSUE STORE IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BUY STUFF!!!

I’m not that into DC comics proper these days. Their movies, cartoons, etc certainly have my attention, but floppy, paper comic-wise I’m pretty out of the loop. From an outsider perspective the whole reboot/relaunch seems like a drastic grab for attention and money, which I in-no-way fault DC for. They need both desperately, and they certainly should do what they need to in order to hold on to their audience in a dying industry for a few more years while they figure out the next steps (though I doubt they are anywhere near close to figuring such steps out).

On the other hand, it seems like a much-needed course correction for an insanely complicated and convoluted continuity that has been running out of control for over 40 years. Perhaps a 9 year old kid that starts reading DC comics today will find this new unified universe MUCH easier to grok than I did coming into it in the early 90’s. I wish DC all the best, and I hope this stunt brings more mainstream media attention to comics in general, but I suspect they are only delaying the inevitable. What are comic books, if not little monthly newspapers about aliens and robots (and sometimes alien robots… I’m looking at YOU BRAINIAC, you big jerk.)

Sidenote: From an artist’s perspective, the new costumes take WAY LONGER to draw.

COMMENTERS: Did you pick up any of the new 52 #1 titles? What do you think? Those that didn’t, what do you think of the DC relaunch in general (Zod)?

The Consummate Tweaker

THE HIJINKS ENSUE STORE IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BUY STUFF!!!

I’m not even mad at George Lucas any more. He’s successfully divorced me from all personal ownership or warm feelings I had towards Star Wars and turned the franchise into this weird, abstract pop-culture punchline. No other film or series of films have managed to remain in a constant state of flux like Star Wars has. Lucas should just append the word “beta” at the end of each title. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back v. 4.38 beta. Fuck, maybe we’re still in the alpha releases and our grandkids will be the first to run a stable Star Wars build. Either way, I’ve quit my job as a beta tester. I’m bored with having my fandom experimented on.

I hope, just for giggles, Lucas replaces Yoda’s voice with the sound of air escaping a ballon, and replaces every instance of Kiera Knightley/Amidala with Natalie Portman/Amidala and vice versa. You know, just to do it. Maybe by the time the whole series is released on holographic suppository, he’ll have done the fans a favor and digitally added a thousand sand-piranha that are constantly eating Jar Jar’s flesh in every scene.

UPDATE:

Accepting WHO I Am

I’ve felt this change coming for a long time and “Let’s Kill Hitler” finally pushed me over the edge. Matt Smith is my favorite Doctor. It’s not JUST him, it’s the whole show really. I guess I should rephrase and say “Matt Smith’s episodes are my favorite Doctor Who episodes.” It’s the writing, the look of the show (it some how seems more expensive… better lighting? Better cameras?), the companions (Rory and Amy are amazing but RIVER… dear god, River. What a fascinating character arc.), the chances they are taking with the story, the stakes they just keep raising, the departure from the typical “A) Go to a planet B) Fix a problem” formula… the whole show is just orders of magnitude more captivating that it’s ever been. That’s a considerable achievement when you take into account how much I enjoyed Tennant’s run.

I feel like the last two seasons of Doctor Who are proof that you can make satisfying, complicated genre fiction on TV IF YOU HAVE A PLAN. And if Steven Moffat DOESN’T have a plan, then he’s the best bullshitter on the planet. All of the little loose threads just keep weaving themselves back into the main story. It’s never boring, it’s never hack. It’s just purely entertaining, cohesive and rewarding story telling.

COMMENTERS: Come on! Who’s with me on this? Matt’s the best, right? Ok, so who‘s YOUR favorite doctor?

WARNING!!! THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR “Let’s Kill Hitler” IN THE COMMENTS.

iWish iKnew How To Force Quit You

THE HIJINKS ENSUE STORE IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BUY STUFF!!!

Time to retire his black turtleneck into the rafters.

I honestly feel that Steve Jobs, and his singular vision for his company, have done more to increase the acceptance of technology by the general public and the integration of that technology into our daily lives that any other single person in the last 50 years. Like his products or hate them [for whatever arbitrary reason] they have consistently strived to make high end, seemingly “magic” devices accessible to technophiles and n00bs alike. Your mom has an iPad. A device that wasn’t even on the horizon 5 years ago. Steve helped bring us [that] much closer to the future, and for that I will always be grateful to him. Not to Apple, but to him directly. Ever since he returned to Apple in the 90’s, Steve’s drive, commitment, integrity and borderline certifiable insanity have directly influenced how we interact with technology. He’s a total nutter, but great men often are. I think you’d be hard pressed to find any one person that REALLY changed the world (for better or worse) that wasn’t at least a little unhinged. Here’s hoping he’s in better health than I expect he is, and that his input will continue to lead to wonderful shiny gadgets for years to come.

I hesitate to speculate on the future of Apple as a whole. Can they stay on the path Steve set them on, or will they falter under new leadership? My friend Bill Barnes of Unshelved and Not Invented Here wrote some nice words about Steve, and my friend Adam Koford drew this subtly touching and ironic (using the literall meaning of the word) cartoon.

COMMENTERS: Is Apple still Apple without Steve? Should it be? Other thoughts on Steve Job’s departure from Apple? [Please no Apple haters or pointless negativity]

One Louder

THE HIJINKS ENSUE STORE IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BUY STUFF!!!

Where can you go from there? Where? No where? Exactly.

Hooray for making comics with multiple obscure seemingly unrelated references that exactly not quite 5% of you will get [Kermit Arms]!!! This one has been in my idea file for a while and getting it out of my system will allow me to move on a healthier, more reader-accessible direction. I appreciate you bearing with me during this difficult time(y wimey).

If you are going to be at PAX this week, please go see my buddy Wil and get a signed poster based on our Three Wheaton Moon shirt. He will, at some point, be wearing the shirt and you will have a fleeting opportunity to bask in its majesty.

COMMENTERS: Are you as excited-pants as I am for the return of Doctor Who? [SPOILERS] You are not. [/SPOILERS]