Month: April 2014

Originally published July 28, 2000, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1393

I’ve written before about the fundamental lack of knowledge of, and interest in, the history of our little hobby. At the time that I was a young fan first discovering comics, and eagerly seeking out everything I could get my hands on, there were a number of tomes to be had. There were such works as The Great Comic Book Heroes by Jules Feiffer or Jim Steranko’s History of Comics and the essay collection All in Color for a Dime edited by Ðìçk Lupoff and Don Thompson.

But there is more than just the written history that presently exists. There is the living history of the comic and science fiction greats. And as anyone who has been keeping up with CBG, or with the industry, knows, we’ve been losing them. One by one, they’re gone, and if they didn’t write down their experiences in the forging of the industry or genre that we all love, then that’s it. It’s vapor mist. All those experiences, all that information, lost to us.

Continue Reading “Book review: Man of Two Worlds by Julie Schwartz” →

Originally published July 21, 2000, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1392

“Reviews,” I am told. This is to be the “All Review” issue, which is to given out at the San Diego Con. Okay. I’ll review everything that I’ve read or seen in the past few days, excluding television.

Continue Reading “Reviews of Stuff” →

Originally published July 14, 2000, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1391

“I want to decide who lives and who dies.”

–Crow T. Robot

It’s really coming true, isn’t it. From peek-a-boo websites to game shows where people screw up their courage to face Regis Philbin and try to land a million dollars (although, considering the tax cut, the show’s name should really be changed to, “So You Want To Be a Half-Millionaire?”) to—most hideously—the new shows that make such future-vision films as The Truman Show, EdTV, and Network seem short-sighted in comparison. After all, Truman was ultimately more parable than prediction: Man’s relation to his creator, with man deciding this time around to walk away from the Garden of Eden on his own, leaving an unnecessary God whining and begging for him to come back. And EdTV, a marvelously realized comedy that was unfortunately overshadowed by Truman, was nothing more than the story of a network formalizing what already exists on assorted websites—twenty four hour observations of one person’s life.

But shows such as Survivor and the forthcoming Big Brother take voyeurism and add something new to the mix: Cruelty.

Continue Reading “Reality TV” →