been a while, folks

[thehefner]

Missed the Small Press Expo this year, as I was slaving away at the comic shop. But at least I went to the pre-SPX party at Big Planet, where I got to hang with Matt Wagner for a bit, and then the next day I had waffles with dryponder, so it wasn't a total loss.

I also met heykidzcomix, which was great, just because it's nice to actually put a face/voice to my long-distance LJ friends.

At my request, Danny and Holly helped me dye my hair a shade or two darker, and I've come to really like the results. While I like my gray temples, the problem is that my sandy blond thinning hair is just not totally flattering, but the darker hair really makes a subtle difference.

The trick is the eyebrows. I went to Montgomery Mall for an eyebrow pencil, and it was only at the register that I realized it was $22.50. For a single pencil. I was so dumbfounded, I paid anyway. Yeah, I'm returning that shit. You womens with your make-ups. Yipes.

I then purchased GOD OF WAR for Playstation 2. I rarely buy video games, partly because I'm cheap and partly because giving me a video gave is like giving a recovering alcoholic a case of Jack Daniels, but I bought it anyway. For research.

See, I'm still thinking about that Herakles/Hercules book I want to write with Edd, and how there's very little in the way of modern or recent takes on the Greek myths. Honestly, GOD OF WAR is really awesome in that respect. I think that, in many respects, it qualifies as a true reinterpretation of those characters and creatures of myth. Now, I don't want my ultimate final story to read as "Hercules written by a guy who's played too much GOD OF WAR," but the game is certainly giving me ideas.

Also, I should read Robert E. Howard's CONAN series. I've been reading the Kurt Busiek comic adaptations, and have been blown away. I had no idea that CONAN THE BARBARIAN stories were this good. The fucker is as smart as he is badass. When I start writing my version of the Herakles, I could certainly do worse than get a little inspiration from everyone's favorite Cimmerian with the Bettie Page haircut.

Now I'm back at work, and was just interviewed via phone by The Washington Post regarding the new gun-toting Captain America. The reporter was off to call Ed Brubaker next. I'll be very interested in the final article. I was articulate but long-winded, as usual, so it'll be fascinating to see what comments of mine made it in, and what will be misquoted in an attempt to simplify my responses.

Comments

[mirthical.livejournal.com]

what are your (brief!) thoughts regarding Cap with a sidearm? I know so little about him - what is his stance on killing bad guys?

The one 3/4 sketch of him standing with gun and shield makes him look more frightening than heroic to me.

And the shot of him standing on the gargoyle (I believe from the Empire State Building, how appropriate!) with the flag waving and whatnot just looks like WWII propaganda, except not American propaganda. More like Soviet propaganda.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

He's staunchly against killing bad guys, even though I think he did kill Nazis in WWII. But he was a trained soldier, and it was war. But in the modern age since being revived in the modern era, he's usually depicted as "There's ALWAYS a way." But I'm a DC boy, not Marvel, so others would know better.

Bear in mind, Cap's dead, and this is the New Cap. I'm fairly positive it's his former sidekick Bucky, AKA The Winter Soldier. Imagine Robin in WWII, sneaking up behind Nazis and slitting throats. That was Bucky. Classic covers from the actual era show him shooting Nazis with a flame thrower. In his adult years, he was brainwashed to be a master assassin. So yeah, he's very comfortable with guns. And I'm absolutely certain he's who the new Cap is.

Now, my actual thoughts on Cap with Gun: IF this were to be the new Cap from now on, I'd be totally against it. It's totally against everything the original character stood for. His weapon was his shield, that was it. Even besides the moral arguments of "noble" superheroes (not gritty antiheroes) with guns, I kinda see it like giving a Jedi a magnum pistol. Know what I mean?

HOWEVER... this is just a temporary thing. The real Captain America, Steve Rogers, will come back. Period. No matter what Marvel says. Everything in superhero comics always go back to normal. No point in freaking out over such things.

And the fact is, Brubaker's CAPTAIN AMERICA has been stellar. As much as these Cap-with-Gun covers have been for shock value, the actual book has been about story first and foremost. As such, I have faith in this upcoming storyline, and look forward to it.

But I also look forward to Steve's return someday.

Sorry, you know me, that's as brief as I can go. It's complex!

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was a lot of "buts" in the first paragraph. That's what I get for rushing with my replies. When oh when will they let us edit our comments?

[jellied.livejournal.com]

Man, you beat me to the comment.

Why can't they have have Sam be Cap?
Because White America is afraid of a Black Captain America!

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Seriously. I'd very much have liked Sam to be Cap. Not just for the token "Black Captain America" thing (as a GL fan, I've accepted that any movie/TV version is automatically going to be John Stewart, who's kind of the blandest of GLs in the comics... not his fault, just bad writers), but because it'd totally fit.

But still, I've very much liked what Brubaker has been doing. And even if he's given Sam the shaft, CAPTAIN AMERICA is one of the few ongoing Marvel books I still consistently enjoy.

Although the last time they tried to do the "Black Captain America" thing, it didn't turn out so well. Not for the character or the story itself.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Also, feel free to spin your own comment to Bloo, if you know more about Cap. I like the character, but again, I'm not that deeply versed in Marvel in many respects.

[icewolf010.livejournal.com]

First all, dude, buy your makeup at a drugstore, NOT a department store.

Secondly, can I go with you when you try to return it? Can I bring a video camera?

Lastly, for the love of Pete, take someone vaguely makeup conversant with you the next time you go makeup shopping.

I'm laughing WITH you. Really, I am. :)