Kirzinger as Jason Voorhees in Freddy vs. Jason. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Let’s read something just for fun today. Authors Sam Sykes and Chuck Wendig had a silly exchange on Twitter as Sykes’ summer job as a camp counselor goes horribly wrong. Jason Voorhees wrong. A thanks to my friend John “Comic Strip Critic” Weber for posting this on Facebook.
Advertising in Comic Books
“But they have raised no cry,
I wonder why.”
– Countee Cullen
We already know that Dr. Wertham is going to place as much blame as he can on comics, but when it comes to advertising a lot of the comments he makes are still made by advertising critics today, as well as various parent groups who hate anything marketed to kids. Admittedly this is the chapter in which I most agree with him thus far, but don’t worry. There are still plenty of things that I have to take the good doctor to task on.
Advertising and kids are a tricky thing. A lot of parent groups out there get upset when anything drawn is used for a non-kid product, as if Elvira could sell beer to someone who is too young to even spell puberty much less experience it. Although Wertham will make that point. In this chapter Dr. Wertham tackles pimple ads, breast enhancement, binoculars, the famous Charles Atlas and those kinds of ads, but also gets into his favorite topic: violence, because before this week is done we’ll discuss gun and knife ads. As usual the solution is BAN IT ALL but there are a few more biases that Wertham has which we will see popping up here, because classic literature isn’t his only holding point. However, the big focus are on….
Remember to read the chapter first at the link above, then join us. Don’t make the same mistake Wertham keeps making and not do proper research into your “enemy”.
“What are we all shooting at?” Who cares, it’s the 90s!”
Outsiders #0
DC Comics (October, 1994)
“From The Ashes”
WRITER: Mike W. Barr
PENCILER: Paul Pelletier
INKER: Robert Bampanella
COLORIST: Tom McCraw
LETTERER: Kevin Cunningham
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Eddie Berganza
EDITOR: Kevin Dooley
space1970 is reporting that the classic science fiction movie Close Encounters Of The Third Kind will be making it’s way back to theaters for a limited re-release. Apparently they’re cleaning up the film quality, which doesn’t sit well with the article writer because it takes the film grain out, and I kind of see his point. It’s like forgetting your roots.
DC’s going to run out of names for Billy’s alter ego at this rate.
The reason given for not fighting Marvel Comics for the name Captain Marvel is that everyone allegedly believes he’s called Shazam now because DC hasn’t had his name on comics and merchandise. I think that’s hogwash. It’s like thinking Donkey Kong is the name of the carpenter. Meanwhile, Shazam hasn’t gotten out of kids TV and the comics, while a music identifying app called Shazam is popular enough that Fox created the game show Beat Shazam. So will non-comic fans think they named him for the app?
It was dusting day over at the Clutter Reports this week. Also some random thoughts from this clutter-clearing project.
Speaking of the haters of Billy Batson fans, we’re getting into Marvel’s “Flashback” month, for those of you who didn’t mind DC being stuck with Zero Hour Aftermath issues. I didn’t get all of the Flashback issues, though. “Flashback Month” has a series of -1 issues (so numbers are going to be confusing on Monday and Tuesday for a while) and focused on some pre-hero story of the Marvel superheroes. We’ll be starting with a little history on Bruce Banner before he became the Incredible Hulk. Yes, it does come off as a #0 ripoff around 3 years later, doesn’t it?
We’re near the halfway mark over at Seduction Of The Innocent, and Dr. Wertham is going after comic book advertisements. I wish I had a chance to contact Brian Snell over at Slay Monstrobot Of The Deep. My fellow Friday Night Fighter has done plenty of articles on comic book ads. I’m not sure how easy this will be to judge, but we’ll see what happens. Back to it!
Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie (1928) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ah, the furry fandom. The group geeks turn to when they aren’t complaining about alleged “fake geek girls”. Anthropomorphic animals have been around for quite a long time, since even before Mickey Mouse. With fans of everything from dragons to Klingons to robot, why are we that surprised that humans with animal characteristics or animals with human characteristics have a fan base?
And yet they are often accused of wanting to do naughty thinks to Spot and Mrs. Fluffykins. But why? Are all furries into sex with even anthropomorphized animals? Well, obviously some are, but not all of them. So why do they like “funny talking animals” and what about that small percentage that does find bunny ladies attractive…but not necessarily actual bunnies?
I mentioned this video during our Dr. Wertham discussions this week because he was trying to blame sexual fetishes on comics. And yet not everyone who reads comics want to perform those acts. I have met a few furries at conventions and while playing Second Life, which has it’s own negative reputations as if there weren’t far worse games out there. (Another time perhaps.) And while there are some perverted fans, you can find someone who wants sexbots to be a reality or think Klingon mating rituals are pretty cool. Why do the furries not get the same pass? That won’t be answered in tonight’s VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED!!!!! (just barely within BW’s “PG” guidelines) video presentation by Lockstin from Gnoggin, who tries to explain the furry fandom, and that small group of fetishists.
“Do we kill him for the lyrics or the bad singing?” “Does it matter?”
Adventures In The DC Universe #13
DC Comics (April, 1998)
WRITER: Steve Vance
PENCILER: John DeLaney
INKER: Ron Body
LETTERER: Tim Harkins
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Frank Berrios
EDITOR: K C Carlson
Impulse & Martian Manhunter: “Sometime In New York City”
COLORIST: Gene D’Angelo
“Green Arrow” In The Kingdom Of The Blind”
COLORIST: Bob LeRose
The Clutter Reports (my other site) Atop The Fourth Wall Crisis On Earth Prime Lean Into Artcast Bully Says “Comics Oughta Be Fun” Siskoid’s Blog of Geekery
Cartoon Hero’s Lair SF Debris Four Million Years Later
