Congrats to ADDTF for one solid year of reading comics naked.

Also, welcome back ADD and In Sequence.

Did I miss anyone?

 
Let's Go To Work!

Hi, kids. You may or may not have noticed that I haven't posted all that much around here. That is about to change. I have finished my first year back in school. The last few weeks were the toughest challenge I have ever faced. To be honest, I'm not sure if I met the challenge completely. However, I learned quite a lot in a very short amount of time, and feel that it was all worth it in the end. I feel liberated, not from school, but from inertia. I spent the last 40 hours of the school year without sleep or food getting my final project near completion, and then took a 14 hour nap to catch up, and I'm ready to get right back into it again. Despite this exhaustion, it was like going on a roller coaster, and I'd like to take another spin. So, this summer should be filled with the kind of challenges to my personal ability that I've come to expect in the last 9 months. I'm involved in a number of different, fun projects, and I'll keep you informed as they're completed. For those of you who only give a damn about the blog, I'll be all over that too, popping in with all sorts of interesting comic related stuff for your perusal, including the long-awaited Blue Metropolis II. There's so much I have to catch up on, it would make your head spin.

"Why I Love Unca Cheeks, and why you should too, if you love comics..."



OK, so I finish school and I'm feeling a little down about my performance. So, I decide to relax a little and glance over sites that might cheer me up, but let's face it, the internet is kind of like beer. It's a depressent and going on it when you're already depressed is usually a bad idea. Happily, I stumbled upon one of the greatest comic sites the internet has to offer. Oh yes, I'm talking about the downright legendary Unca Cheeks.

Now, before you go scooting off to investigate, keep in mind a few things. First up, this isn't the original Cheeks site. The one I have listed in the sidebar isn't the original either. You see, Unca Cheeks made an extremely graphics intense site, with plenty of cover scans and he wasn't the most technically proficient person on the planet (I can relate). So his pages took up huge amounts of memory. When the company that provided the space for his site changed ownership, one of the sites to get the axe was this huge comics site with a fairly large viewership. Cheeks devotees scurried to save what they could, and cd-roms exchange hands to this day. You can read a full account of the Cheeks story at the Quarter Bin.

Speaking of size, please don't try to take all of the site in one sitting. It's over 150 pages of pure comic madness. Unca Cheeks must have one of the most interesting comic collections in all fandom. It's terrifying on a variety of levels. Also note that the site above has no accompanying pictures. While the site on the sidebar does, it is DC Comics only. Me, i prefer the Misc. page, but I don't have as much of a need for pics as some.

Those of you who have jumped the gun may be asking yourselves, why did he link to this madhouse? For newcomers to comics and purveyors of artcomics, Unca Cheeks must seem like a nightmare. Despite my love for the site, I honestly held off giving it any sort of attention on this blog. This largely has to do with a feeling of responsibility I have that prevents me from just putting any ol' damn thing up here and instead trying to put on a good, respectable game face for the public at large. I have three reasons for changing my mind.

"I'm Just Sayin', Is All..."

Unca Cheeks' site is garish and badly designed. Most of the lettering is in capitals for no good reason at all. And the writing style is informal, loopy and littered with weird catch phrases. For easons I couldn't figure out, I was attracted to those same elements (though long-time exposure is not worth the risk). I finally figured it out. Cheeks' site has a style which fits its content. The site is a Silver Age comic.

"See how long it takes for Dirk Deppey to pick up on it..."

Ha. Just kidding, Dirk. Every few weeks I come across yet another stupid rant against The Comics Journal. Depending on my mood, I either dive right in an put up a fight, or just walk away muttering over the ignorance of the average fanboy. This isn't to say that I think The Comics Journal is above criticsm itself, just that the points against it are usually completely invalid and senseless. The worst part is have to argue the same points with the same people, over and over. I had long considered writing out a big ol' rant myself, and was just about to, when I came across this, exactly what I had in mind, but in Cheeks-speak. Of all people, you'd think that Cheeks would be one of The Comics Journal's most vocal opponents. Instead he realizes that even if he doesn't agree with everything that they say, it's a vital service for the comics community and, well, damn, just read it yourself. If Cheeks is cool with the mag, anyone can be. And the next time some shmuck gets on my case about The Comics Journal's anti-superhero bias, I'm just going to slap them with that url.

"I'll teach your grandmother to suck eggs"

Like I said at the beginning of this overlong piece, the main reason I felt a need to spread around some Cheeks (ahem) is because it's just fun and silly. Hell, you can pick practically any page and get a good chuckle, losing yourself in the insanity of the Silver Age, when carnivourous robots roamed the Earth. Night Nurse, If I Ran The Defenders, Dial H For Hero, The Joker's Daughter, Mighty Crusaders, Herbie Popnecker, and too many more to list.

Remy Zero, In the House!



The Jenny Everywhere Project has been hopping and there are a number of hush-hush stories in the works. I've received secret scripts and secret artwork and I'm beginning to feel like a criminal mastermind. No peeking! In the meantime, you can take a gander at part one of Flyboy and Nelson Evergreen's Hostile Takeover. It's nifty-geeky-cool, and there's an accompanying message board thread discussing the story. Pop in if you feel so inclined.

Move Over "Take The Dare"

My new favourite movie tagline is "Who's Bad? Sinbad!" That is all.

posted by Steven at 2:15 AM