SILENCE! #71
July 29th, 2013
HELLO.
HELLO.
IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK.
Rejoice fleshburgs – it’s everyone’s favourite cyber-Uncle, Disembodied Narratorbot X-15735 returned from his cyber-vacation, tanned to within and inch of my half life and riddled with exotic viruses from the far-flung corners of the nanosphere.
And to double your fantasy I’m bringing the return of errant Silence-son, The Beast Must Die, who rejoins with pod-partner Gary Lactus in an reunion event which Variety describes as ‘mawkish, hackneyed and uninspired! Happy Happy Joy Joy fleshyones, couldn’t you just POP?
Well go on then. POP!
Hrrrmmn. Disembodied Narratorbot X-15735 can wait along time you know. While we wait, let’s blurb:
<ITEM> Gary’s quest is over and the pair are reunited. WARNING TEAM!
<ITEM> No time for news, through the tears, but always time for sponsorshizzle.
<ITEM> Down a dusty path, through a hole in the floor, and into the REVIEWNIVERSE! Covering Gamma, Hawkeye Annual, Tank Girl: Solid State, FF (Beach Blanket Bingo), Justice League of America, Justice League Dark, Constantine in spandex and booties, The Bounce, Catalyst Comics, Lazarus, The Wake, Young Avengers, 2000AD, Max Landis, Wolverine, Wolverine & The X-Men, The Wolverine film, and Where’s Wolverine (maybe), The Hunger, Green Team and more, more more (how do you like me?)
<ITEM> A shout out for the Nerdist Jeff Bridges interview, and the Nerdist Comics Panel, and it’s farewell from the boyce, but they can both sleep restfully knowing that balance has been restored, yin has been yanged and Turner has been Hooched. Huzzah!
All this and the knowledge that Disembodied Narratorbot X-15735 is here, watching you all. Waiting. For you to POP.
BZZZZTZTZZKKKKK
SILENCE! is proudly sponsored by the two greatest comics shops on the planet, DAVE’S COMICS of Brighton and GOSH COMICS of London.
July 30th, 2013 at 7:41 pm
There’s such a thick seam of fatalistic technophobic bulldirkey running through modern culture. Jeez-o, have ye looked at the videogames the yout’ are playing? No hope for a sciencey future, all about breaking down modern society and going back to the allotment. From BSG to ME3. Nobody even tries to fight it. Disaster/Pioneer envy out the wazoo. Seams and scowls all round.
Where’s my Sanatogen?
//\Oo/\\
July 30th, 2013 at 7:52 pm
Good to see you both back.
Must admit I’m surprised there was no comment about the amazingly awful attempt at English swearing in the Constantine Trinity War crossover. It truely is a wonder for the ages.
July 30th, 2013 at 9:35 pm
“The mute army shall rise!”
Now, I heard something about discussing Lose by Michael DeForge…
July 30th, 2013 at 9:53 pm
Yes! Fuck, I keep just talking about bloody Geoff Jeans comics don’t I?
July 31st, 2013 at 7:29 am
I love it when Constantine calls people ‘wankers’. I haven’t read any of the New Constantine so am unaware of the level of Dick Van Dyke he is now. There was an episode of Mork & Mindy with a Mr. and Mrs. Wanker, much to the delight of my younger self.
The Question asking questions all the time- they really missed a trick with the Marvel vs DC crossover, when they didn’t do a Question meets Marvel’s Answer. Ah well, hopefully the powers that be are reading this. Fingers crossed, True Believers!
Very happy TBMD returned, it feels cosy again. Not that Mr Lactus didn’t do a top job in the meantime. Also, when you go crackly it reminds me of the Predator, from the film ‘Predator’.
I’m not massively familiar with Michael DeForge’s work, but did read (and thoroughly enjoyed) the entire Ant comic. He’s bloody good.
July 31st, 2013 at 7:36 am
The weird thing is I look like the Predator in Predator too. But with a beard.
I also remember an issue of The Demon (the Alan Grant & Val Seimeks run – remember that?) that had a sound effect of ‘WANK!’I think that Etrigan was being hit by a frying pan or something.
Listeners – can you identify any other accidental uses of the word WANK in comics????? A chocolate biscuit for each and every answer!
July 31st, 2013 at 7:46 am
CAPTAIN AMERICA — I COMMAND YOU TO
*shield to the puss*
WANK!
(Google Image that)
//\Oo/\\
July 31st, 2013 at 8:02 am
Reckon that Demon “WANK!” was deliberate. Alan Grant you say? He’s a cheeky one.
July 31st, 2013 at 1:26 pm
I fear that ‘amusing’ sound effects in comics have been ruined forever by Greg Pak’s relentlessly horrible use of them for the past few years. Here is but a taste:
http://section244.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/best-sound-effects-in-comics-incredible.html
July 31st, 2013 at 9:58 pm
There was an issue of Amazing Spider-Man (I think Todd’s run) where he’s swinging along and his webbing reaches its limit and sort of yanks his arm a bit, with a ‘Whank’. I think that happened anyway. Still not a patch on that panel from Iron Man replicating the sonic boom of Shellhead’s punch with ‘FWA WHA WHA BWOM!’ That is also googleimageable.
I liked Greg Pak’s sound effects when it felt like you were one of the select few who spotted it and got the joke, but yes, after about 20 issues it got pretty tiresome.
August 1st, 2013 at 7:53 am
Re Mind MGMT (which I am also loving btw) – the second “series” has just finished and I believe the next few issues will be standalones, so may/may not be a good jumping on point.
Welcome back TBMD
August 1st, 2013 at 7:29 pm
You have to go cross-eyed when you shout ‘Nerds!’ for the full effect.
Go the whole hog and have Gary Lactus dangle Simon Furman over a balcony by his ankle screaming ‘Nerds, nerds, nerds’…Nerds reference or Ennis Punisher improv…depends on what he’s wearing at the time.
August 2nd, 2013 at 12:41 am
Psyched on the beast’s return.
Guys you really should give Batman 66 a spin on comixology. The off print that you didn’t enjoy in the print comic is just used to emphasise cool moments in the digital version. I found it really enhanced the reading experience.
xoxo
August 2nd, 2013 at 9:08 am
I have to say that the colour thing didn’t bother me as much as it did Lactus. I’ve heard a few people say that the online version really pops though.
August 3rd, 2013 at 11:30 am
Good to have TBMD back, Garry’s sounded increasingly forlorn without him over the last few weeks…
How are you getting rid of your comics? I used to give a lot of my less collectible stuff to charity shops, but they have a tendency to overprice tat so I’ve noticed that it just sits on the shelves there for ages. The British Heart Foundation and Oxfam are particularly guilty of this.
These days I usually leave the stuff my friends don’t want at the entrance to the Comic Marts in Euston, with a note saying ‘Please help yourself!’. And of course, the good thing about doing that is that the comics will probably be going to a good home…
I take it you’ve read this recent article on the painful subject of pruning your collection?
http://tearoomofdespair.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/spidey-gone-stabilisation-of-comical.html
August 5th, 2013 at 4:31 pm
Yes, welcome back, Beast! Or ‘welcome bast’ as I accidentally typed first, should you prefer.
Regarding getting rid of unwanted comics, the British Heart Foundation I worked at would just throw out any comics they got in, until I came along and ‘rescued’ them. In a way, I’m a real hero.
I dread to think what treats they chuck out now I’m not there (though probably just some mid-2000s Robin comics or summat)!
I’ve taken to giving my comics away on Freecycle, or using them as wrapping paper. I am hip as hell.