SILENCE! #52
March 5th, 2013
IN THE SEVENTIES, THERE WERE OSMONDS, LOTS OF LITTLE OSMONDS… EVERYWHERE
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So fleshy speak is Disembodied Narratorbot X-15735′s second language you know…see how you like it. Maybe sometimes YOU have to make the effort!
Ohhh, I can stay mad at you fleshy ones. Look at your little ruddy cheeks, and your fine, delicate nervous systems. Come on then, come and sit close to me while I run my diodes through your molecules and we listen to the hushed rogueish brogues of Gary Lactus & The Beast Must Die and…SILENCE!
<ITEM> SILENCE! News from the frontlines, sidelines and backlines of comics with handsome human walnut Gary Lactenberg, and spoiled rumpsteak Danny Deastman. Two words: Dead. Sidekick.
<ITEM> A quick obituary for British animation legend Bob Godfrey.
<ITEM> Slip sliding away into the Reviewniverse covering many many fine 4-colour fancies, such as: Batman Inc (Shhh, don’t tell anyone about Robin), Happy!, Saga, Prophet, Black Beetle, FF, Hawkeye, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Uncanny X-Men, Avengers Arena, Young Avengers, Avenging Spiderman, Uncanny Avengers, Avengeavengeavengeavengeavengeavengeavengeavengeavengeavenge…. Sorry. Malfunction. Let me clear my throat…Thunderbolts, Mind MGMT and Baltimore: The Widow & The Tank.
Are we friends again? Good, then I will continue to ransack your hard drives…
See you next time.
SILENCE! is proudly sponsored by the two greatest comics shops on the planet, DAVE’S COMICS of Brighton and GOSH COMICS of London.
A Bob Godfrey gallery
DIY Cartoon kit
Roobarb
Henry’s Cat
March 6th, 2013 at 10:50 am
During Batman R.I.P., I couldn’t find the issue where Batman ‘dies’, as it had sold out everywhere due to newspaper stuff. WAS ANNOYING. Found Robin R.I.P. quite easily, though. And it did actually make me a bit sad? All the ‘final hurrah’ scenes between Damo and Dick were pretty lovely and make the ‘death’ feel like it might stick? Otherwise those bits’d lose their impact?
But, y’know, comics.
Cheers for mentioning Bob Godfrey, he was a major influence on the paper/pen animation stuff I’ve done, and I know he influenced a lot of my pals, too. I will now happily have the Roobarb and Custard theme stuck in my head all day.
March 7th, 2013 at 9:53 am
Thanks for the Bob Godfrey feature (and the clips above) – some nice tales and a fitting tribute.
My fave bit of Dead Robin coverage was in The Guardian: I like the redundant ‘Spoilers ahead’ warning once you’ve got past the URL, headline and sell.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/feb/27/batman-inc-kills-robin-dc-comics
March 7th, 2013 at 11:12 am
Wonderful pod, fellas.
Sorry to hear about the buyout but secretly pleased that America is buying instead of selling for once.
Lovely tribute to Mr. Godfrey. I knew more of his work than I expected to on further inspection so maybe he’s had a broader impact than you thought.
As to the comics reviewed, I thrilled to Saga and felt caught up in the meta commentary of Damian’s death.
That Damian died by the sword, as have so many Geoff Johns mandated executions, was especially painful. We could have had POP! comics with smart biff, bang, pow and instead – because we are stupid and regressive – we get our precious status quo back. It’s crushing that the films (which comics are supposedly bending over backwards to preserve this status quo for) are more open and interpretive of the source material.
Saga’s “death” on the other hand felt well orchestrated and while some might argue too “cute and tidy” in its set-up and delivery it really crystalized, for me, what makes the whole comic such a bulletproof read.
Some are upset that Saga is yet another space comic with a lot of rather “normal” looking protagonists but I think what it really is, at its heart, is a melodrama about people. No more or less. The borrowing of fantastic elements is just to gussy up a romance comic and make it more palatable to the existing market. Every conversation and confrontation has been about distinctly human concerns.
So, as Beast and Lactus have largely done, I think it’s time to accept Saga for what it is and to judge the book on the execution of those elements as opposed to gnashing at it for the clothes it wears.
March 7th, 2013 at 1:11 pm
More boring normative soap opera scifi!
March 7th, 2013 at 1:12 pm
I do like Kev Walker. He’s a very versatile artist. One of my other favorites by him was the 2000 AD strip, the Balls Brothers, (with John Wagner) which was like The Boys but taking itself much less seriously. One of the characters had Super Equanimity, which is probably my favorite power ever.
I’m really enjoying the bold new direction you’re taking with the new rebooted TBMD, by giving him a really bad cold! I think there’s probably a rich vein to be mined there, what about an episode when he’s suffering from a paper cut?
March 7th, 2013 at 2:51 pm
I did grant normative, for sure.
But…is anybody doing that particularly well worn style any better, Bobsy? If you’re looking for “this” then I’d argue it’s the best “this” currently available. It really comes down to what you’re hunting in a comic. In a huge market I’d say it’s nowhere near a top “scifi” book but is it actually striving for that at all? I’d say, no.
I wouldn’t even call it scifi, really, in that it has trees that are thought controlled living rocket ships with little to no explanation or exploration. The thing leans really heavily on technology that is so pretty and unquestioned that I keep looking for the Apple logo.
So, in my view, The sci is pretty non-existent and I don’t really judge it on those terms. Keep in mind, I’m not trying to win an argument here. The read, from your piece some months ago, was really interesting to me. Maybe, in the final analysis I’m just trying to ease my guilt. Have a good one!
March 7th, 2013 at 3:14 pm
The villainous sheep in Henry’s Cat- ‘Rum Baa Baa’, pure genius.
I have to agree with the Thunderbolts comments, it’s a weak series, and Dillon is not at his best on this title, not sure if any artist could save it at the moment. If you want a worse Marvel title, I wholeheartedly recommend Uncanny X-Force. Uncanny shit.
Still enjoying Avengers Arena, not really sure why but Kev Walker’s art is pretty ace.
March 7th, 2013 at 4:02 pm
I’ve never been super-keen on Kev Walker’s 2000AD stuff (though Ive never actively disliked it), but his recent Marvel stuff is astounding, sort of moving his style more towards meaty Mignola simplicity? He draws the best Juggernaut I have seen, really.
http://theheroicage.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/08-The-Heroic-Age-Thunderbolts-Juggernaut-600.jpg
March 7th, 2013 at 4:33 pm
Hey, Eyemelt! Thanks for the tip re Uncanny X-Force. I’ve avoided it so far as I thought it might be okay. Can’t wait to tuck in!
March 7th, 2013 at 4:48 pm
By the way, I belatedly got around to reading Lockjaw and the pet avengers which I remember Gary Lactus recommending several eternities ago. I thought it was great, (despite being incredibly silly) and probably my favorite marvel comic I’ve read since the (slightly different) end of the Garth Ennis run on Punisher Max
March 7th, 2013 at 5:05 pm
That Juggernaut is sex on stomps.
Impressive Work Experience story, G-Lac. Only W/E I ever did was in my mate’s dad’s pharmacy, which explains why he ended up working there in 6th form and I ended up completing Captive thirteen times. Heh, it’s funny to be fourteen and on the *other* side of the rubber johnny nonversation.
I remember the Bob Godfrey cartoons from O.T.T. as being particularly cheeky, but I think I’ll remember him for his voice, as much literally as in terms of his artistic style.
//\Oo/\\
March 7th, 2013 at 6:53 pm
Smitty – yeah it’s cool man I’m not hating on you!
March 7th, 2013 at 9:35 pm
Well Mr Lactus, if you like shit, you’ll love Uncanny X-Force. It turns out that when Frank Miller did that issue of All-Star Batman with all the blacked out naughty words, it actually inspired some people.
March 9th, 2013 at 12:51 pm
Normative meaning prescriptive or normative meaning normal?
March 9th, 2013 at 7:28 pm
Danny the Deastie’s “American Beastman” sounds Bob Hoskins’ portrayal of Stan Lee. I could listen to that mastery of dialect for days. SILENCE!, true un-believers!
I managed to avoid the Robinyrobins, too. Although I knew “something” was happening based on quickly clicking back every time I accidentally saw a comic book website, and screaming ‘la la la’ and telling my friends to shut up. So I knew something was up, and I suspected, but it read better without actually being a confirmed fact, just being something I was guessing at.
Batman is the anti-Robin Hood, though, innit he? Utilize being rich to beat up the poor? The amazing fact that Green Arrow will never be as popular as Batman, when Batman is the tale of Prince John wearing a disguise and going out and breaking Robin Hood’s bones.
March 9th, 2013 at 7:33 pm
I couldn’t help thinking of Bobsy’s words either, given the circumstances. The Middle-Eastern looking Heretic kills Britain’s “The Knight”, smashes Grayson – the original “inspired by the English Robin Hood character” through a Knight’s Armor (Sir Gawein de Wayne?) and seeks death to all caped “Crusaders”. One part of ‘Batman In Bethlehem’ is that you can’t avoid the parallels of any Knight in the Holy Land.
March 12th, 2013 at 9:15 pm
Re: Uncanny X-Force. I have only read issue 1 yet, but I actually thought it was kind of funny. It’s definitely super angry, but not in an “angst-ridden teenager” way as much as in a tongue-in-cheek, “this is so ridiculous – let’s have fun!” way.