SILENCE! #135
March 16th, 2015
YOU CAN CRY, YOU CAN MOPE, BUT CAN YOU SWING FROM A GOOD ROPE?
Ahh yes…um, look okay everyone…stop talking please…can you…can you… sorry, can you just… look please just sit down and stop talk… um hello? HELLO? I said..I SAID.. can you please just…no look put that down and just… look will you stop talking for just one… what? yes, well just come in and sit down and try not to… excuse me, would you mind just…? Look will you be quiet for just one..what? Yes..what? Yes I AM the substitute blurb writer, why do you… look can you just put that..no, no I COULD actually be a full time blurb writer if…what? Sorry, can you..OUCH! OKAY!!! WHO THREW THAT GRAPHIC NOVEL AT MY HEAD??? You KNOW how much those fully painted numbers weigh…Okay…now just settle down. Settle…what? WHAT? What do you mean I’ve run out of
<ITEM> The Beast Must Die & Gary Lactus have a particularly itchy case of the sponsorshingles, with the usual nods to Dave’s Comics and Gosh Comics, and an in-depth discussion of Zoos.
<ITEM> A smart tug on the winkie and we’re off into the Reviewniverse, with hearty happy earthy discussions of Star Wars, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Surface, Ms Marvel, Ragnarok, Rat God, Howard The Duck, Steve Gerber, Marvel Dinner Comics, Hellbreak, Fantastic Four, Southern Cross and much much much much (not) much more.
<ITEM> It’s the brand new movie section we’re calling Everything Comes Back To Rocky IV, as The Beast discusses recent filmic treats Godzilla and Edge Of Tomorrow: Live, Die, Repeat, Cruise. He also watched Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 but he’s not going to tell you the Dear Listeners, about that. The Tacodile was pretty great though, right?
<ITEM> Come on, we all need a good wee and some dinner, so let’s call it a night, eh? Have a good SILENCE!
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This edition of SILENCE! is proudly sponsored by the greatest comics shop on the planet, DAVE’S COMICS of Brighton. It’s also sponsored the greatest comics shop on the planet GOSH! Comicsof London.
March 17th, 2015 at 4:39 pm
Thank you kind sirs for your sonic pleasure today, as smooth as the mockups of butter adverts I am drawing here, but infinitely more exciting.
When TBMD mentioned the secondary title for Edge of Tomorrow, I was certain he’d tell us ‘All you need is kill’ which was its original title it shared with the manga it originated as. Obviously the BBFC decided that title sounded far too cool for us consumers. I also enjoyed Godzilla, *SPOILERS* except for the bit at the end, where everyone is cheering for the Big G, even though he’s just ripped through a bridge, killing hundreds of people.
Gerber did some funny stuff with Howard, and anyone who wrote Howard after Gerber, Gerber claimed it was the adventures of a clone. I believe the Howard omnibus is back in print, but probably weighs a few kilos.
March 17th, 2015 at 6:38 pm
“All You Need is Kill” is SUCH a good name. Much more memorable than “Edge of Tomorrow”, as well, which I haven’t seen but want to. Might have gone to see it opening week if it was called “All You Need is Kill”. As it stands, I know it as “that Tom Cruise film where he has a robot suit, what was it called?”
Managed to pick up the Essential Howard the Duck book 1 from a charity shop a few years ago, for about a fiver. Eminently readable, and it felt very personal to Gerber, in a way that makes the character seem quite pointless in the hands of anyone else. As mentioned in the podcast, it has great female characters, too. Don’t reckon I’m keen on the idea of this new sassy tattooist character, it all sounds a bit Poochy.
Also, I share the Beast Must Die’s fascination with Corben’s art. Sure, it’s doughy and inconsistent, but it’s got, I dunno, SOMETHING.
March 17th, 2015 at 8:18 pm
Bonne podde. I listened to this in the clinic while I waited and scrawled nonsense all over the printer paper the nice receptionist lady gave me for asking nicely.
I do feel a bit guilty reading non-Gerber The Duck. The Ty Templeton mini was all rightish. The Essential volume was a great purchase, though, even (especially) when it went all neurotic and self-indulgent. I may read this new thing, down the line. I could go a long time without any more stupid self-loathing jokes like Spidey crying over Uncle Ben at the drop of a feather, mind.
So why Howard, now? Because people remember the character from yesterday (from the film), because he’s a funny animal in a world largely bereft of same (he’s not like Detective Chimp, for e.g., or even Captain Carrot), because like Deadpool or Harley Quinn or Squirrel Girl he can be an “anarchic” figure poking fun at everything in the Marvel Universe, and Christ knows characters like that don’t get old quick. I mean, hahahaha, Captain America doesn’t know what Converse All-Stars are, the antediluvian prat. And he was in the Graunagals, albeit as some kind of monstrous freakllard. Nobody cares about anything else, said the grumpiest old man in the cave. Lol lol lol honkhonkhonkhonk
//\Oo/\\
March 18th, 2015 at 7:58 am
Even though Marvel claim not to be making a new Howard movie, I would not be surprised to see one down the line.
Big Marvel Bo$$- “So they like that raccoon guy, yeah?”
lackey- “Yessir, feedback is positive, particularly kids”
Big Marvel Bo$$- “Do we have any more cute little animal characters?”
I wonder what the current situation is regarding the visual aesthetic of Howard? His original appearance back in the day was deemed too similar to Donald Duck, so Disney tightened its grip a little, hence his less ‘Donald-like’ appearance, and the addition of trousers etc. But now Disney have full reign over Marvel. I can see it now- Duck Tales 2, Donald finally meets his long lost cousin- Howard!
March 18th, 2015 at 12:18 pm
I had a lot of respect for Gerber but always wished I found his Howard the Duck stuff funnier than I did. A lot of that US counter-culture humour was very focused on specific concerns of the period and as a result has dated badly, (which is also why Lenny Bruce might well be a legendary comedian but he’s also virtually unlistenable today).
That’s certainly not Gerber’s fault and I sometimes wish there were more intelligent but throwaway comics around today by creators which address contemporary concerns without caring too much about posterity. Actually my beloved 2000 AD, being an anthology is one of the few comics that still sometimes does this well.
That said, they’re still worth a look. They’re from the early period of creators stumbling around, attempting to do more adult things in mainstream comics. As that recent issue of Criminal neatly pointed out, most attempts at that just involved ramping up the sex and violence so Gerber’s attempts to aim much higher than that was remarkable and visionary stuff under the circumstances. Some nice Gene Colan art too…
March 18th, 2015 at 12:26 pm
His Foolkiller mini is also worth checking out. A fascinating if flawed dissection of the gun toting vigilante with a typically Gerberian protagonist.
I maintain that his closest contemporary equivalent is Milligan in his prime
March 18th, 2015 at 4:03 pm
I remember as a youth seeing characters introduced in things like Defenders, and just thinking they were shit because they didn’t have real ‘super-outfits’, in later years I came to realise on most of those occasions they were written by Gerber. I also came to realise I did quite like that they were odd. The ‘supers’ he did create are all pretty weird as well. I just checked his wiki page- Angar, Chondu, Omega, Wundarr. All oddballs. I used to think his contemporary counterpart was Moore, but I think Milligan is a lot closer.
Actually, who would be Moore’s bronze/silver counterpart?
March 18th, 2015 at 4:48 pm
Possibly Len Wein?
March 18th, 2015 at 9:47 pm
Liked the film chat. I certainly wouldn’t mind more of that, especially when the weekly comics aren’t inspiring you guys. I got a kick out of Edge of Tomorrow too, though not quite as big a kick as Mr. Beast. My brother and I came to the startling revelation recently that Tom Cruise has actually made very few outright bad films. Godzilla was pretty dreadful though. One of my recent pet peeves is when genre stuff insists on over-explaining itself. It makes me think the creators are ashamed of the material. And it’s really boring as well. Of the two recent kaiju films, I much preferred the colorful, cartoony Pacific Rim.
Regarding the Star Wars titles, I’ve read them all apart from Leia’s book and I can’t quite decide what to think about them. They’re technically very accomplished and nice looking and very Star Wars-y indeed, but I feel like they are just showing us stuff from later in the story before we’re supposed to see it. If you were new to Star Wars, watched Ep. IV then read these comics, then watched V and VI, wouldn’t the thrill of the AT-ATs, the speeder bikes, and Luke’s stealthy bad-ass entry into Jabba’s palace be lessened because you’d just seen all that stuff in the comics? I might stick with them for a little while longer but I hope Aaron and Gillen both break new ground soon.
My book of the week was Pak and Kuder’s Action Comics. It’s got a Bizarro Doomsday in it! And Thor and Silver Surfer continue to be the cream of Marvel’s crop. I picked Southern Cross, which as you say, was fine, over Surface. Sounds like I should go back and check that one out.
March 19th, 2015 at 11:17 am
The Mooriest comic I’ve ever read from prior to Alan Moore actually doing any comics has to be Tom Veitch and Greg Irons’ underground comic Legion of Charlies (which you can find in the Mammoth book of War), an impressively horrible story about Charles Manson vs Viet Nam.
March 19th, 2015 at 2:45 pm
I agree with Tam regarding the humour levels of Howard the Duck – it never made me ‘lose my shit’ or even laugh out loud, but it raised the odd smirk, I suppose? It’s more just pleasantly rambling and absurd than a big ol’ ha ha.
Superhero comics are good for an amiable read, and I have definitely found gentle amusement in JLI, Aaron’s Ghost Rider, Dan Slott’s GLA, X-Gillen and so forth.
The problem these days is that whereas Howardy Duck’s humour stood out as an anomaly in the paaaast. In these post-Whedon times, every comic is a snarky, bantering yuks-fest that serves to irritate more than endear.
Trying to think of any ‘mainstream’ superhero stuff that has made me properly RFOFLOLZ… Morrison’s Doom Patrol, Milligan’s X-Statix…
March 20th, 2015 at 10:55 am
Mr. Grieves!
Howard the Duck really is a time capsule, both for how it captures a particular moment in Marvel’s history, but also for how it captures a young guy getting a shot at really saying something. Have you read that “Hard Time” comic that Gerber and Skrenes wrote in the mid 2000′s? I recaill it being pretty great… Right up there with his best work from the 1970′s.
Thrills mentions that superhero comics have become an “amiable” reading experience, which pretty much sums up my dissatisfaction with the genre. They’re pleasant and competent, but not particularly interesting. I figure that’s because if you have “big thoughts” you take them to a small press. Gone are the days when, as a creator, you wanted to work through some hard stuff you got a gig on a low selling book and put your words in the mouth of a swamp monster’s girlfriend. Progress?
March 20th, 2015 at 11:01 am
I enjoyed Nextwave, but felt it was a tad smug. It’s that sort of self-knowing ‘hilarity’ that renders these comics not so funny. Fraction’s Hawkeye is great, but has a bit of that. As does Superior Foes. X-Statix really didn’t seem to have that, it was weird and hip and funny, and was just plain good fun. The letters pages during the X-Force metamorphosis were just incredible. “WHY YOU NOT HAVE CABLE? WHERE IS SHATTERSTAR? HE IS MY FAVOURITE. I’M NEVER READING THIS GARBAGE AGAIN”.
March 20th, 2015 at 11:20 am
Ha! Those were good times. I’d been reading all the X-shite up to then, and when Milligan and Morrison showed up, having not read any of their work previously, it was a proper “Fucking hell, comics can actually be… good?” moment where I realised what I’d been reading previously was total balls.
I do not know why you’d read the Milligan X-Force and want a return to the abysmal Matrix Terrorist Counter-X comic of immediately previous.
YEAH, CANNONBALL, I’LL NEVER FORGET YOU SET EXPLOSIVES OFF IN AN OFFICE BUILDING FULL OF CIVILIANS, SO EDGY. YOUR MUTANT NAME SHOULD BE ‘BLOODHANDZ’. OH HEY DOES PETE WISDOM WANT COFFEE, YOU TOERAG? TO GO WITH HIS MULLET, GOATEE, EYEPATCH AND WALKING STICK THAT’S ALSO AN AXE?
Ahem.
Speaking of which, I personally think Warren Ellis is not a very funny writer. He writes good sci-fi comics, I reckon, but his humour really grates with me.
March 20th, 2015 at 11:52 am
I believe in Mr Grieves
March 20th, 2015 at 12:59 pm
The sneer at the heart of NextWave overshadowed the energy and the humour for me. I suppose the pendulum will swing the other way someday, though.
//\Oo/\\
March 20th, 2015 at 9:05 pm
One thing about Tom Cruise is that he stars in entertaining Sci-fi films that are done in ones, not part of a franchise apart from the Mission Impossible films I’ve seen (1-3)but they’re really a series of individual films that are essentially longer, higher budget TV episodes and don’t go for the hero’s journey epic-ness that seems to be the mainstay/obsession of Holywood film making currently.
There is a certain dependabilty you get with him. I try to avoid celeb gossip, and quite frankly when you get paid millions to pretend to be someone else it’s going to get at your brain eventually.
Must admit to owning the Man-thing & Howard the Duck leg breakers, had the essentials but traded them in at everyone’s favourite tax dodging online store. I’m a bad person I know, but at least I don’t throw sacks of kittens into canals. Personally I’ve a soft spot for his Omega The Unknown (and the 2007 mini series from real-book-writer Jonathan Lethem and the awesome Farel Dalrymple that appears to have disappeared off the face of the earth).
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