June 26, 2009
Tron Digs! - June 2009
Tron digs. Nuff said.
The month of June has been filled with it's shares of ups and downs, including my HDTV blowing it's bulb just as I was squeezing the trigger on some terrorist scum in Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 with Mexomorph, yet the flood of media continues at a relentless pace. Here are some of the things that crossed my path this month.
Blazing Combat: Hot on the heels of the successful Creepy Magazine, Warren Publishing, seen by many as the successor to Bill Gaines' EC Comics, began Blazing Combat (1965). Much like EC's Two Fisted Tales, Blazing Combat presented stories of conflict from various time period with an emphasis on the plight of the average soldier or citizen during the conflict. Portrayed realistically, the American Legion, the U.S. Military and wholesalers deemed this "un-American" and had it killed. It was 1965 and the Vietnam War hadn't quite taken on the level of unpopularity it eventually would so why stir the pot when we were beginning to escalate our role in Asia? The U.S. military outright banned it's sale from military bases and pressure from the American Legion forced wholesalers to boycott Warren's entire line so, after four issues, the series was stopped. Now, Fantagraphics have collected these sought-after and hard-to-find issues in hardcover for a very affordable $28.99. Writer Archie Goodwin created arguably his best written comic work and Warren, as usual, crammed the top artists available (Wally Wood, Jack Davis, Joe Orlando, Reed Crandall, John Severin, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth, Russ Heath, Angelo Torres, Al Williamson and a young Eugene Colan) into each issue, wrapped them in Frank Frazetta covers and delivered some of the most stunning illustrative work in comics to date. There has been some debate concerning the packaging versus Dark Horse Comics' reprintings of Creepy and Eerie, citing DH's glossy paper as being slicker presentation but Fantagraphics, unlike DH, has gone back to the original printer's films to give the best reproduction quality available. I own both companies' work and they're both quality; I do prefer the lower cost of Blazing Combat but I am disappointed the Frazetta covers weren't reproduced full-size. I highly recommend them both for an example of some of the highest quality comic work ever produced.
Fallout 3 Soundtrack: My friend Gus Melgar has been playing this a lot lately and forcibly pressed a copy on me which has gotten some serious airtime around Casa Tron as well. Apparently, in the Post-Apocalyptic future, the only music to survive is 1940s sentimental Big Band. Chock full of stuff I love (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Cole Porter) as well as some gems I've never heard (Bob Crosby, Danny Kaye with the Andrews Sisters, Roy Brown) sprinkled liberally with ambient game tracks and patriotic tunes because why not? An auditory treat. Sam Gunn Omnibus - Ben Bova: Sam Gunn, inter-stellar raconteur - 4 1/2 feet of ingenuity, cunning and limitless ambition. Ben Bova, acknowledged SF Grandmaster and Short Story Master whose works blend hard science with some of the most compelling and readable characters in modern fiction. The Sam Gunn Omnibus collects all the Sam Gunn stories in one handy place plus 3 or 4 tales never before collected, depending on which blurb on the back you believe. Ben Bova has long been a favorite of mine with his realistic depiction of man's exploration of the Milky Way that threads through most of his work (which Sam Gunn nestles in comfortably) and this collection of avarice, greed and good times is sure to entertain with Sam's unique perspective on galactic expansion.
Boom Blox Bash Party (Wii): Oh, God, there's another Boom Blox. More pushing, pulling, throwing, exploding, and shooting with new blox and diverse, themed challenges such as the multi-dimensional space levels or the punishingly clever giant robot sections. My arm hurts very badly and I've only cranked through about half the game, not entirely to my satisfaction either. Monkey Cedric Edison and I worked the robust co-op for all it's worth and noticed you can create your own levels for upload and can download other people's as well for free! Mexomorph is here right now and is tired of me typing so he's tearing it up while I write this. Evil, evil man. More soreness is definitely assured.Supercard of Honor IV: The first of the two Ring of Honor shows Cybermonkey attended in April (http://www.cybermonkeydeathsquad.com/rants/ROHWeekend/) is finally available at rohwrestling.com and mine just came in the mail. Houston fans represented as well on dvd as we had hoped (3rd best besides NY and Philly) and there are choice shots of Magnificent Bastard, Lady L, Ninja Mike, Nathan Hamilton, Mexomorph, myself and honorary monkey Matt Corley all over this dvd. Highlights include: Blue Demon Jr. flipping me off John Cena-style, Nate's verbal interaction with Austin Aries, some kid sticking his finger up Nigel McGuiness' ass and Match of the Year candidate Davey Richards vs. KENTA for the GHC Jr. Title! Oh, and Jerry Lynn wins the World Title. A tremendous card that's well worth the cash and the second day's event is available for pre-order now!
Gevalia - Toraja from Indonesia: My pal Augustus Ross blesses me with occasional Gevalia deliveries and pretty much every blend is excellent (my favorite is the espresso roast) but he recently swung by a style we had never had before. Now, part of the fun of Gevalia is reading the bold claims that are printed on the sides of the box extolling the virtues of your impending coffee experience. Usually chock-full of "piquant vanilla flavor accentuated by a hint of cardamom," Toraja makes no such claims; merely, "lively yet pleasant acidity and wonderful aroma." Wow. True, too. Simple and tasty. Apparently "available to members by reservation only" and limited to 2400 bags (ahem, 2398). I sure hope Augustus has made a few more appointments because this stuff's great, reminiscent of such classics as the Hawaiian Kona, the Ethiopian Harrar and Colibri Azul (grown high in the mountains of Jinotega's cloud-covered rainforest known as El Diablo!).
Captain Britain and the MI 13: The X-Men are slowly creeping back into my comic collection and it's kind of irritating. Tons of dudes (even after Scarlet Witch put the blast on Muties), story-lines that take years to wrap up (if ever), rotating creative teams, blah, blah, blah. Captain Britain seems to be an X-spin-off I would never read except, beginning in issue 10 (the current issue is #14), my favorite Marvel character, Dracula, made a return in a big way. Seeing as how Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin) is in charge of U.S. security, the villains are running wild and Dracula has cut a deal with Doctor Doom and made a bid to take over England! In this comic! And he's doing a great job. A surprisingly good read in a title I'd have never glanced at.
Black Widow Bishoujo Statue: There are some pretty neat statues of every character you can think of from every comic you can think of but that's one collectible that I've never really gone in for because they're usually expensive. Oh, the statues being done now are some of the coolest things I've seen in a while yet not in my economic price range. It looks like Marvel is about to change that with it's line of Bishoujo (pretty girl) statues from Japan. Retailing at the end of July for $60, these sculpts of the Black Widow, the X-men's Rogue and the Scarlet Witch are designed by Final Fantasy artist Shunya Yamashita in his trademark style and look excellent. I am damn sure that Black Widow is gonna look damn nice next to Brandy (and Ralph) from Liberty Meadows that my roommate got me a few years back for my birthday. Check them out.