Ragtag grab-bag
Swoon! As much as I adore the actual Teen Titans, these beautiful, fun illustrations of sultry young versions of iconic superheroes by David M. Buisán for Vanity Teen magazine just make me feel like a dirty old man. These would have made my head explode twenty years ago.
[Via Beachcruiser Blackbook.]
Yet another iconic figure of the pop-cultural world has left us, and comics artists Cliff Chiang pays tribute in a subtle and sublime way:
“Dear Batman: We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in Bat-detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is an archer, and a speedster, and a swimmer, a princess, and an acrobat. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Teen Titans.”
For the record, Sixteen Candles is still my favorite, for a million reasons including:
I hear ya, Cap. (Via Post-Modern Barney.)
If you can’t spot the error in this scene from “Time Bomb“, a 1978 episode of Wonder Woman, then I don’t even know who you are anymore and clearly we have no future together after all.
I’ve been bedridden for days, so my already active trawling of the web has really gone off the charts. Here are a few gems that I feel compelled to share:
The “I Can Read Movies” Series: these imaginary paperback novelizations of hit movies are so beautiful and mid-century perfect they bring a tear to my eye.
Comics Grammar & Tradition: I moan about some of the typographic conventions in comics, but I can at least acknowledge that many of them are at least reliable conventions. Here’s a good guide to what they are.
Paul’s Boutique, remastered: The Beastie Boys finally re-release one of my all-time favorite records, one that completely blew me away from the first instant I heard it. The accompanying site is Flash-heavy, but filled with good stuff, including a free commentary track of the B-Boys telling stories about the tracks as the entire record plays.
Chip Steele, R.I.P.: Chip Steele has been a bit of legend to me for a long-time, ever since my pal Dave went sky-diving with him. If you’re going to jump from a plane, you want a man named Chip Steele strapped to your back! Unfortunately, Steele had a fatal mid-air heart attack while giving a lesson to a young Army private, soon after uttering these now-immortal words: “Welcome to my world.” Pvt. Pharr then landed himself safely, but was unable to revive Steele. If I have ever heard a good premise for a bro-mantic action movie, this is it.
One of the few Christmas traditions I’ve come to treasure is the annual cover song recorded by the guys behind the Venture Brothers. It’s just the bit of good-natured pop-culture fun that can actually make me smile this time of year. The offerings so far have been:
Hard Candy Christmas: Bittersweet musings from 21, 24 and The Mighty Monarch. (Originally by Dolly Parton.)
The Little Drummer Boy: The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend channel Bing Crosby and David Bowie.
A Wonderful Christmastime: This year 21 and the dear-departed 24 gets their Wings on.
Fairytale of New York: This one’s my personal favorite, as The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend do Kirtsty McColl and the Pogues, but with a touch of gender-bending.
I probably should have remembered to do this before Christmas, but since I mostly hate Christmas I’m never really on the ball about remembering to share the bits I like.
If you think you would enjoy an extremely cute but sad tale of a lonely badger living in a flat in South London (and really, how could you not enjoy it?), then you should buy a copy of Howard Hardiman‘s Badger. It’s really charming, I promise.
[Shameless self-promotional alert: I helped Howard put the final product together, since I’m such a fan of the badger. The book also features a little bit of a little typeface I designed.]
I only recently discovered that the third, brilliant season of The Venture Bros. is running a great promo gimmick: The Amazing T-Shirt of the Week Club. Each week, after an episode is first broadcast, you can get a t-shirt based on that week’s adventure. By the next week, the shirt is gone and another becomes available. Sadly, I only discovered this in week 7, but thankfully that was in time to nab the sweet Order of the Triad shirt. (Truth be told, the only other shirt I really wish I had is the one for the Guild of Calamitous Intent.)
The Order and the Guild only some of the many — nay, the endless — things about the show that are not only deliciously well-written, but apparently written precisely for my eclectic alternative-music/sci-fi/superhero-focused pop culture sensibility. It is, undoubtedly, pure animated perfection. Let’s face it, have you ever seen another send-up of a certain particular medical condition?
That particular affliction is only one of the many experiences that I have in common with the episode’s writer and show’s co-creator, Doc Hammer. Others include the weddings of Doc’s cousins — one of whom is my oldest, best friend — a variety of family get-togethers, and a few visits to hang out with Doc and his former wife in New York. Not that I’m bragging or anything. It’s just another example of the many people with whom I’ve crossed paths in my life who’ve gone on to do a hell of a lot more glamorous things than I have.
