LEGO Ninjago 7

 

Ninjago7_cover.inddWritten by Greg Farshtey
Illustrated by Jolyon Yates
Letters by Bryan Senka
Colours by Laurie E. Smith
Associate Editing by Michael Petranek
Editing in chieferizing by Jim Salicrup
Cover by uncredited, but looks like Jolyon’s work
Published by Papercutz

the three cents.
As each of the four Ninjago ninjas face the aftermath of their individual defeats at the hands of the stone warriors, Sensei Wu elects to share a story with them, a story that goes deeper into the origins of these characters than has ever been acknowledged before, whether in the prose books from Scholastic or the popular animated series. Because comic books are special like that.

While we know the backstories for Cole, Kai, Jay and Zane, now it is Wu’s turn in the spotlight, as Farshtey gives a really fun plot that fills a previously unrecognized void decidedly well, adding a new level of dimension to this very core cast member. The sense of humor to this series is just wonderful, from stories consistently exhibiting a reliably energetic imagination comparable to that of a ten year old off his leash, to the general absurdity of the artistic forms in action. And while this chapter in the ongoing graphic novella series has all of that in spades as usual, it is actually also the darkest tale yet, as Wu’s private war against the onslaught of a supremely colorful rogues gallery all his own provides setup for future plots yet to be revealed. Farshter writes the mostly light-hearted fantasy well, action and adventure galore, but this issue serves as a fine, fine testament to just how crafty he really is in constructing his stories for this property. I have read more than several mini-series and story-arcs of other things that lacked the breadth of character development found in this single story, from the many really inventive villains and how each is dealt with, to the overarching thread of Wu’s secrets, and the reasoning for those secrets. It’s a great plot structure, strong execution and lots of food for thought.

I have seen the name of Jolyon Yates begin to creep up in the credits of comics from other publishers, which is frightening as in spite of the many wonderful guest cover artists these books have known, he is the true master of this “brick-punk” world, and as such I should hope Salicrup and company keep him chained down good and tight for the continued amusement of New York Times bestseller list-followers everywhere. He’s clearly influenced by both Jack Kirby in the power of his compositions and by Al Williamson in his royally diverse and stylized texturing, but his storytelling is profoundly, gracefully, to the point in its very own way. His work in these pages fully embraces the absolute ridiculousness of these characters like a badge of honor, with a friendly slyness that is blissfully immediate in pulling you directly into the story. Like bumping into some of your all-time favorite toys after too many years in the grownup world. Senka has the flow of this premise down like a science, offering a straight-forward approach that insinuates a medieval feel to the dialogue and captions. And Smith has coloured many of the covers before, so seeing her work on the interiors felt very natural, and she does much to add to the finer details of the crazy assortment of new villains introduced in this issue. She also seems like a natural for reading Yates’ mind in how to convey some of the action sequences, the sorts with flying waves of energy by having pure colour go and do what the lines cannot. It’s almost like a singular visual artist constructed the entire comic’s artwork digitally, without any distractions or unintended nuance.

Whether you follow the characters in other media or not (coughcoughcough) this is a thoroughly fun series for the tomboys of all ages, and this issue specifically may as well be a self-contained tale, as it exists as a sidestep from the stone warriors drama entirely. Every issue is a solid jumping on point really, as the overall continuity is very easy to pick up along the way. LEGO is a big business, but it is wonderful to see so many genuinely creative talents clearly having fun with such a silly thing where toy-shaped ninjas are cracking wise and learning valid life lessons all at once. I almost shame myself in enjoying the Ninjago comics this much. Solid clean fun without a hint of smarm in the mix.

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Midwifed by nilskidoo - 18/05/13 - 0 comments

news 18.05.13

 

“The need to be right is the sign of a vulgar mind.”
- Albert Camussquander_bug_by_poasterchild-d646a07

As reported in this article from Lynn Stuart Parramore, the much respected by the LP Dr. Cornel West is warning of the growing authoritarianism in America. Notes the article:

West sent a powerful message about governments harassing and exerting control over citizens. The Associated Press, he noted, is “as mainstream as red apples” and yet its reporters and editors have been under surveillance by the Department of Justice, as recent revelations have made clear. “Can you imagine what you and I are under?” he asked. 

Steve Rosenfeld reports in this article of five more injustices against civil liberties enacted under the Obama administration beyond the current AP scandal, or as I would have titled it, five definitive reasons to not be an Obama apologist. A point taken much further by the generally awesome Glenn Greenwald in his own article. He actually does a highly effective job of summing up how voices in the political right are oh so fast to attack grievances of the left which they themselves were once fallible of, and versa vice, as we see modern progressives embracing nationalism in ways just as frightening as was done in the George W. Bush years by the other side. We see, beyond the supportive commercial media complacency, how policies are freely traded off forth and back every few years, but as the eternal ping-pong game is not unto itself daunting enough, only in American politics is all reasoning abandoned in the doing. The NeoCons, the Tea Party, and FOX News all deserve scorn, but so too do their equivalents on the other side of the aisle, for all of the same exact causes and effects. In this light, middle of the road politics does not seem so healthy or feasible after all, as any X-Men fan can tell you that should two mutants make a baby, the child will more than likely be a mutant as well. Zounds! Ezra Klein wrote this funny article about what our leaders should be saying. It’s heart-breaking in its accuracy.

As this article from David Dayen suggests, the IRS has always favored the rich, regardless of which party sat in what office. Don’t lose site of that bigger picture. Even when it comes to the costly drug war, as this article from Clarence Walker shows, if marijuana could in fact be decriminalized federally it would open a vast new resource for taxable goods. But this would never happen, as the money of big business controls the government, and so law officials AND the IRS are obliged to cut off the competition of the wealthy pharmaceutical industry’s trademarked products. Boycotting the products of any industry is an option, but an increasingly smaller and smaller option thanks to corporate consolidations, as this piece from Forbes entails. But Jed Morey reports here that in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, the armed forces can now act freely on domestic soil, under any pretenses they desire. Now, it can be argued that every single major action by the United States military going all the way back to forcefully claiming the Hawaiian islands for the Dole Foods Company over a hundred years ago has ultimately been for the pursuit and advancement of American industries. And while similar legislation was quietly passed for such actions by the Pentagon to continue on foreign soils indefinitely and cost be damned, there is absolutely no reason to believe that soon one might even be arrested, or worse, for any boycott domestically. We now know that the peaceful student anti-war protesters at Kent State were indeed murdered by federal troops. That was over 40 years ago. Have times really gotten any better?

The disruption of the lives of U.S. citizens is already in effect under the guise of the perverse “war on terror”, as Carl Gibson reports. It is difficult to not believe the conspiracy nuts who see all of this as intended discord, so that the general public will welcome increased military presence in the streets for the illusion of safety. And when the army is on these streets, which they have now given themselves the right to do, what exactly will they be doing there? Whose agendas will they be pushing? Even traditional law enforcement is freely harassing and arresting and assaulting people who are entirely innocent of any and all charges. With the stories of torture condoned in Abu Ghraib, and of more recent charges concerning sexual harassment and outright rape among American soldiers domestically, military presence should be considered by nobody as a good idea, unless there is someone or some agency expecting to find literal profit in the matter. Think about that. Debtors prisons are already making a comeback, but what happens when nobody has any money left to even begin buying any products at all, much less just fall behind in payments? Should the worst possible scenario present itself down the road, short of taking up arms ourselves, what possible recourse might there be for the masses? I’m not worried myself, because I’m drinking milk! And selling GRIT!

In all seriousness, these are frustratingly brutal times for too many people the world over. Even persons damaged enough to have religious convictions are being denied logic and reason to guide them into tomorrow by their chosen superiors, as Ian Millhiser reports here. As Cherri Gregg reports, even a job fair structured specifically to assist ex-convicts had to be prematurely ended after a turnout that proved exponentially greater than the organizers were prepared for. I could name you a few dozen folks I personally know who are as down and out as I am right now, and while not one of them is looking for a handout, none of them are finding a hand to get back up. Not from their strapped churches, not from any political organization. They’ve never pursued unemployment as they know others need those resources more, and they also know there are many who abuse the system nonetheless. I try not to associate with greedy persons. When the wealthiest of the wealthy engage in the breaking of laws, they  already have resources more than most, which implies they without exception are acting from greed. And yet they are the ones with dominating power over every aspect of the lives of the people I know. Of the people you know. And greed has no limits.

But hey, a “dark, massive asteroid” is expected to swing by the Earth in a few days, so there’s still the chance them Mayans were just off by a few months in their primordial calculations. Then perhaps we can all have a well-deserved, good and hearty laugh over all of this for the rest of eternity. And on a happier note, did I actually arrange for the one and only Sandy Plunkett to share a story from his one man show of a never before published, original graphic novel anthology for the upcoming A1 Annual from ATOMEKA and Titan Comics? Why yes, yes I did. And you are so welcome! Between that and adding the DodgemLogic link to Alan Moore’s wikipedia page, I think comic books owe me. But I won’t collect, because nothing remotely good has ever come from greed. And we could all benefit greatly from a little more good and a little less greed these days, couldn’t we?

And a special congratulations to verified Friend of the LP, Muhammad Rasheed, for winning big at this year’s Glyph Comics Awards. He has taken home the Story of the Year Award AND the Best Male Character Award (actually beating out Brian Michael Bendis in both categories). We are elated for his success, and look forward to what comes after his impending final chapter to the Monsters101 graphic novel series. bully_central___cover_by_mrasheed-d36ee44

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Midwifed by nilskidoo - 18/05/13 - 0 comments

CARBON

 

Carbon_REVISED.2Created and written by Daniel Boyd
Illustrated by Edi Guedes
Letters by Jason Arthur
Colours by Alzir Alves

the three cents.
This original graphic novel is a modern fable, extending back before man and trampling into the here and now of such timely yet controversial issues as corporate cronyism and environmental devastation, and even drug addiction. Focusing on a young man who is returning home to small town, West Virginia after an all too brief time spent as a minor league baseball pitcher, Jacob “Heat” Hatfield quickly finds himself facing down a life stuck without purpose. Out of pure desperation, he signs on with the coal mining company that has slowly destroyed his town, which then leads him into matters far worse, far more visceral than mere dreams lost.

Boyd’s story is a manner of ode to Americana in a great number of ways, particularly in capturing the voice of blue collar living so well. Fraternity, in forms as various as friendships and the camaraderie of fellow employees, family, and church are all very major themes in these pages. But of course, the well-being of such relationships are all at risk when the machinations of a greedy few inadvertently unleash something wondrously ancient upon the world. In CARBON, the idea that all of life both animate and inanimate are carbon-based in nature opens a doorway to an entirely new twist on the biblical book of Genesis, with a neo-mythology forced to sleep deep in the bowels of the Earth as creation gives way to evolution. Old ghosts die hard, and in spite of uprising sins of the past and the inevitable cataclysm Jacob Hatfield comes unto his own in a thoroughly engrossing and well-paced drama.

Guedes is indeed talented, constructing dynamic page designs with as much focused storytelling as realistic forms and figures. He handled horror stories quite well in the pages of Transfuzion’s CHILLERS books, but his renditions of the fantasy elements in CARBON are even more imaginative, while his portrayals of the many characters therein are convincingly intuitive. Alves is a strong match for him, as the South American wunderkind completes the art with a depthful palette full of life and vigor. The colouring is digital, but unlike many pixel-painters he keeps his airs noticeably free of the super clean sheen, finding balance in maintaining the realistic aspects as real and the fantastical elements as appropriately unearthly. There are some truly monstrous things in these pages, literally and figuratively, and although the violence is surprisingly never overtly graphic in depiction, nonetheless there are several things which clarify that this is absolutely intended for mature readers. As mature as comickers can be anyway.

So yes, the book is epic, in the history-spanning, everything we know is wrong kinda way. I would love to tell you where and when you can read what I have enjoyed here…but unfortunately this volume is still sniffing about for just the right publisher. Boyd has spent years researching and crafting this story, and his many more years of telling other stories both fiction and non in diverse media have all enabled him to at last take full advantage in these pages of what the sequential art medium can knock out of the park. CARBON is entertaining, obviously, but it is temporally relevant and intelligent, and handled in a way that is not at all about selling any particular political agenda, regardless of some of the issues the story explores. He has found the perfect visual artisans to help bring this project to life, and their work is of the sort to not only introduce them better into English-speaking markets, but to throw them in full-force to the sea of drivel and copycats. This graphic novel’s tale is a self-contained piece of world-building, loaded generously with imaginative flair and yet still grounded in reality like the wise midget Aesop born anew. If there are any printers and/or distributors interested in a really original concept, one that could easily spill over into other media as well, you know where to go for more information. Unless you’re just asinine.

Now scope out this here video from the initial crowd-funding endeavor of a couple of years ago, to hear in Danny’s own words more of what the book is about.

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Midwifed by nilskidoo - 17/05/13 - 0 comments

news 17.05.13

 

“Those who write clearly have readers, those who write obscurely have commentators.”
- Albert Camus

For those fans of the IronSky film, the near-future tale dealing with Nazis returning to Earth from decades spent on their secretive moonbase, a sequel is indeed in the works, as Timo Vuorensola and the team have launched a crowd-funding effort to raise the scratch for the initial steps in the production. Judging by the teaser vid above, this one looks to have as much clever social commentary as its science-fictional progenitor. I myself am eager to find more ways to contribute this time around.

As acknowledged by one of its founders in the recent Google and the World Brain documentary, Google’s ultimate aim was always to pursue artificial intelligence, with all of its many activities fitting into that bigger picture to some degree. It looks like now they are being a bit more direct about it, as reported by Lance Whitney. If their many agendas all indeed conform to that unified plan, then one does have to wonder wherefore the purpose of such a broad-ranging gambit really lies, as by definition corporations exist exclusively to make money from others. Are they creating some form of cybernet, the super computer to end all super computers as seen in the Terminator movies? Or more ominous, are they truly in league with the CIA or whatever other clandestine agencies, and if so, is the final plan perhaps to redefine life in preparations for an encroaching doomsday that only certain men in shadows have been made privy to? Are they record-keepers for the alien ancestors? These ideas are one and all completely ridiculous of course, but with the hundreds of billions that Google floats around the global economy, and when considering the full breadth of their resources, you do have to wonder just exactly how high they are trying to reach. They are, after all, pretty casual about blowing off international laws concerning taxes. The sort of casualness that comes from knowing one has an ace up the sleeve.

But in this modern era more than ever before is money synonymous with power. So if power corrupts, then so to does money. Even the new Pope is toying with the role of concerned citizen now, in publicly accusing the money-lenders of tyrannical aptitudes. Granted, even with their infamously questionable book-keeping, the Vatican remains one of the wealthiest nations in the history of the planet. Meanwhile, other religious leaders such as the former Presidential candidate Pat Robertson is doing his best to preach conformity and subservience. The manner of compassion Robertson is preaching is exactly why I see a fundamental difference between forgiving and forgetting. To forgive is to present the opposing party with a get out of jail free card. It does not build character, rather it turns one into an enabler, which is destructive to both sides of whatever conflict.

Like how too many persons seem to have both forgiven and forgotten the Iraqi war, which is absolutely still in progress, with American corporations continuing to reap rewards at the expense of American tax-payers. Most of the troops may have been pulled elsewhere, but the U.S. presence will never be leaving the region, not when there is still money to be made. But money is being re-appropriated domestically by big business as well of course, as seen in this recent study which suggests over four-fifths of the nation’s fast-food workers feel they are being robbed by their employers, as reported by Steven Hsieh. It’s not enough that they openly poison their customers, but they have to grind their wage-earners into mincemeat in the doing? So that’s what “vulture capitalism” means!

James Kwak in this article ponders why the Federal Reserve has yet to take precautions against banks growing too big. He brings up a few interesting thoughts, but entirely misses the bottom line: The Fed was created and literally written into law bu bankers. It takes greed to become wealthy, and so the very concept of decreasing one’s holdings (regardless of any benevolent reasoning) is wholly counter-intuitive to what the little devils standing on both shoulders have been yelling in their respective ears all along. The only people with the power to make the necessary changes to improve society for the majority are precisely the ones who have been striving against that goal. Such decisions then must be made by second or third parties on their behalf and completely against their wishes. Preferably without gunplay (which is incidentally a very funny word).

Robert C. Koehler has a great article here concerning how the masses are given false flags to wave and false demons to pursue. The misplaced paranoia is evidently helping nobody, especially when very real terrors go virtually unrecognized, as David Dennis keenly reports here of the neglect garnered over the Mothers Day parade shooting in New Orleans. Why worry ourselves over multiple deaths by gun and with the killers still on the loose, when more important things are going on, like how after Obama has broken every single promise made in his administration but OH MY GOD HE DID IT AGAIN. Playing the he said/she said game is more enticing than caring for those truly in need of visceral support. Wise words from Val Gallaher at her blog though, about how anyone with any voice in any media should sooner or later acknowledge that their soapboxes might be better utilized than merely making more money for the signers of their checks. Sing it, sister.

And on a zany note, the great Rob Liefeld, notorious creator of comic books, is launching a crowd-sourcing effort of his own. Rob has risen and fallen over his approximately two dozen year career, from being an industry superstar to being an industry mascot, hitting laughing stock degrees for some people. But you know, he carries on. I want to share here that on the side, I provide half the content for a little webzine called New Comics Day, which consists entirely of fake comic book news. Every first of April we feel the pull to go all-out, and this year I wrote something that I am actually a bit proud of, which directly concerns Rob. He is one of those persons of whom everyone has a distinct opinion of, and if you read the article through you will understand my own thoughts of the man. But for those too pressed for time: I respect him, I really do.

But now, more eye-opening news coverage from the solid Abby Martin’s BREAKING THE SET.

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Midwifed by nilskidoo - 17/05/13 - 0 comments

Water is this.

 

Self-explanatory (but it all hurts so much).

I never want the LP to be one of those “Hey look at this video” sites, as that is nothing but laziness. But this particular vid is certainly quite special and well worth sharing, a short film made from an abridged version of a 2005 commencement address given by the late David Foster Wallace. Neil Gaiman also gave a brilliantly touching and much talked about commencement speech more recently, very inspiring words, but this packs even more of an emotional punch in my humble opinion. I have ranted to family and friends before about how the modern world seems completely free of all genuine empathy, earnestness giving way to duplicity everywhere and behind every face we meet. It is rare that I find exception, but this man’s words fit the bill. To hear the full, original speech, click here. In too many ways it is the ultimate TED talk that never was.

Sadly, Wallace committed suicide by hanging himself on September 12, 2008.

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Midwifed by nilskidoo - 16/05/13 - 0 comments

ago >