Source: Pulphope

Matt Fraction at w00tstock, ruminating upon the various meanings of comic books. He goes through his childhood experiences with comics, why comic books work as a medium, and how he went about killing a villain when he was first given the chance. This presentation is equal parts hilarious, insightful and entertaining.

If you like comics you must watch this.

[This! Is! Mad Men! recaps the newest developments of Don Draper and his ragtag group of cohorts. In the spirit of the show, it will often be sexist and drunk. Apologies ahead of time.]

Season four of Mad Men has finally arrived! Thank the Maker! I thought this day would never dawn (or is that, Don?), but alas, here we are!

Okay, time for a minor confession — I’ve only recently gotten into AMC’s hit. And by recently, I mean that I watched the first three seasons in a span of about three weeks.   The exploits of Madison Avenue’s finest have captivated me in a way that no show has for about five years. And by captivated, I mean that I’ve spent hours in front of my glowing televisor-box, jamming cereal into my face and drooling over Jon Hamm.

Hey mister, don’t pass that judgment-crud on me! As a teacher, it’s my goddamn right to enjoy the summer any way that I see fit. In a month’s time, I’ll be back to raising your kids for you and weeping. So for the present, I read the books I’m actually interested in and I watch DVDs.

Anyways, the fourth season’s premiere pushes the narrative forward about a year. This time has been quite eventful for Mr. Draper, with long-lasting consequences burrowing their way into all facets of his life.

Professionally, Don has helped launch the new agency (Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce — doesn’t that just sound fantastic?!) into a realm of legitimacy, getting them out of a hotel room and into actual offices. The environment isn’t quite as splendid as it was in years past, but there is a sense that work is being done for the right reasons.

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The most pressing comics-issue on my mind as of late has been What’re they going to do with Bruce Wayne when he returns? Fortunately, my fears that Grayson would have to return to his gig as Nightwing have been assuaged. Apparently, Bruce isn’t going to reclaim the cowl for himself, but share it with his former ward.

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According to the rumor I just started, the Miami Heat have acquired the most amazing free agent in the history of professional sports.

[images & words is the comic book pick-of-the-week at OL. equal parts review and diatribe, the post highlights the most memorable/infuriating/entertaining book released that wednesday]

Spoilers Ahead. Forreal.

Sometime ago, Marvel unleashed an event on the Spider-Man universe called One More Day. This story essentially undid years and years of continuity and character development; in exchange for Aunt May’s life, Peter Parker and Mary Jane agree to allow Mephisto to retcon their lives any way he sees fit. Of course, he makes it so that they were never married.

Fugging hogwash.

For the most part, I feel that rewriting character history is a dangerous endeavor. By saying This and that and the other thing never happened, a writer is basically tossing out the stories that fans have spent years reading. The characters don’t really develop and readers can pretty much count on future tales coming to similar conclusions.

I’m going to pause for a second, to add some counterbalance to my tirade. I’m not opposed to reboots or reimaginings of all sorts. In fact, I think that harnessing fresh perspectives to relaunch franchises can lead to products that are better than the originals (see: Battlestar Galactica, The Dark Knight, etc.). But what I can’t stomach is the constant rehashing of tried-and-true formulas.

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[legend has it that Ernest Hemingway wrote a six-word story to win a bar bet — For sale: baby shoes, never worn. leading to the author’s birthday, I’m going to offer a daily post of my own six-word story. readers are encouraged to respond with their own]

Birthday wishes for the dead hero.

[soundtrack]

[legend has it that Ernest Hemingway wrote a six-word story to win a bar bet — For sale: baby shoes, never worn. leading to the author’s birthday, I’m going to offer a daily post of my own six-word story. readers are encouraged to respond with their own]

The health inspector only smoked Newports.

[photo]

[legend has it that Ernest Hemingway wrote a six-word story to win a bar bet — For sale: baby shoes, never worn. leading to the author’s birthday, I’m going to offer a daily post of my own six-word story. readers are encouraged to respond with their own]

You don’t want to see midnight.

13 minutes of prog-metal mayhem. Filmed for Japanese television. Apparently for a show called Party-Dude!

There are worse ways to start your week.