Tuesday Night Recommendation #2

She Hulk #8

Why should you buy it?

a) It's a Civil War tie-in! Those are always fun. Uh yeah, ignore that one.

a) Dan Slott. Marvel's answer to Geoff Johns. The man knows continuity, knows superheroes, and knows how to find that quirk, that angle, that makes you look at them in a whole new light.

b) She-Hulk! She's a seven foot tall, drop dead gorgeous looker, who is also a green giant of infinite strength, who is also a lawyer specializing in the vagaries of superhero and superpowered law! How can you beat that?

c) The Thing. Which was excellent. Which was also written by Dan Slott. Was cancelled. Because of you. Because you didn't buy it. Murderer.

Don't let another excellent Marvel book die. Because you know they'll just replace it with another X-book.

(maybe they should re-title the book X-She-Hulk, but maybe that sounds too transsexual.)

Does Lex Luthor Do Drugs?

No, really. Does Lex Luthor get high? Ride the powder? Kiss the sky? Take a long ride with Lucy is the Sky with Diamonds? Smoke Smoke?

Obviously, I'm talking about post-Crisis Luthor, the powerful businessman, not the pre-crisis Mad Scientist. That guy was clearly on something. I mean, look at him!

But post-Crisis Lex acted a lot more rational. On the other hand, he was also a lot fatter.

That's a man that indulges his appetites. Though we never really see him put away a large deep dish pizza, we do see him smoke and drink fine wine and aged scotch. He openly lusts after women and usually gets them. And legality never seems like an issue to Lex.

So why wouldn't he? Or rather, why do I have trouble actually imagining him doing drugs? I certainly don't see him rolling a joint. And maybe the Michael Rosenbaum young, hip Luthor might pop a tab of E before hitting a rave, but it's hard to imagine Superman's most deadly nemesis tripping out like that. Heroin seems a little... scruffy for the bald baddie. I guess I could imagine Lex snorting cocaine. It seems like a rich man's drug.

But I guess I can't imagine Luthor getting addicted to anything. Despite the amount of alcohol he seems to have in his desk, I never read a story with him drunk. He lights his cigars only when he wants to look non-chalant. And though he has pursued many women, he has always had a goal in mind beyond sex (which makes Lex one of the few male villains who use his sexuality as a weapon).

Drugs would be a thing he craves other than power. And since Lex trades on the desires of others, giving himself such a weakness seems... out of character.

So, while I can imagine The Penguin inhaling a line with that impressive nostril, The Cheetah being blissed out on H, or the Flash's Rogues passing around a fat doobie while reminiscing about the good old days, I have to think that Lex Luthor would just say "no."

(I think the Joker would say "no" too, not because he'd get addicted, but because there really isn't a drug out there that would make him more crazed)

Tuesday Night Recommendation #1

For my first Recommendation, I'm going to give you an easy one.

Fell #5

Why should you buy it?

a) It's only $1.99. You can't even get coffee at Starbucks for $1.99.

b) It's a done-in-one story. So even if you haven't picked up the book before you can get in at the beginning of the story, and ALSO get the ending. All for $1.99!

c) It's by Warren Ellis. The man has a good track record for thought provoking, boundary-stretching material. So you not only support a good comic, you support the effort to expand what comics can be!

d) It's a really good series. Detective Fell is the last good cop in a bad part of town. There is literally a crime going on everywhere he turns, and he seems to be the only one left that cares. Dark moody art contributes to the haunting atmosphere, but the book is really carried along by the sharp dialogue. Even in the muck, it seems, you can't lose your sense of humor.

e) Because I told you to. Really, that's all you need to know.

So, when you head down to your local comic book retailer this week, your mission, whether you choose to accept it or not, is to buy a copy of Fell #5 and read it.

Because saving good books is too important to leave to someone else.

Where Was I Again?

Huh, look at that. A month and a half.

If you've been wondering where I've been...

Okay, you haven't been wondering where I've been, because if you're reading this you probably followed a link from a comment I left on your site. It's easy to post a comment from work (shh) but more difficult to write a real post, particularly if I want to use images. Still trying to figure my blogging schedule (one a day, right?) and wondering if I should get a scanner.

But enough blogging about blogging. Today I want to talk about the "unjustly" cancelled. Two titles I enjoy, two titles I learned about because other bloggers recommended them, were cancelled today. The Thing and Manhunter.

Now, am I upset that these titles are cancelled? Yes. They were fun, and knowing that I won't have much more fun with them is disappointing. Am I upset with Marvel and DC for canceling them? No. Both titles had abysmally low sales despite critical acclaim, and despite the opinions of some, comic book companies are not in the business of keeping your imaginary friends alive. They are in the business of making money.

Do I even blame the fans who bought every X-Men comic, just to complain about how horrible their X-Men comics are? Nope. Because they don't know better. I blame myself. Why?

Because I didn't do enough to get other people to buy these books. I could have recommend them. Well, not here, 'cause no one's reading yet. But on my other blog, which some people read. (Eeek, I need to update that, too).

I have friends who are only sorta-kinda into comics. I could have told them about it. Spammed my friends with the latest book they just had to try. Heck, I could have been the crazy guy in the store, shoving copies of Ex Machina and Y-the Last man into people's hands. (Okay, those books don't need my help, but they're quality books nevertheless).

So once a week, I'm going to make my Tuesday Night recommendation. I will look at what's coming out tomorrow, and based on mostly pulling things out of my ass, I will tell you what to get. Just one issue. All it'll cost you is 3 bucks. That's like giving up half a Big Mac. For quality entertainment, it's not a bad investment.

Besides, you could lose a few pounds.