#the Comedian in Watchmen is the one that i remember the best but i know there are more

[buckys-arm-and-rios-dagger]

Look. Look. Bucky Barnes is not and never will be the Winter Soldier and he is not his past. I stand by this and will die on that hill. But in the Thunderbolts movie I would like one (1) joke about the fact the Winter Soldier shot JFK. Just one. For no reason other than I just think it's fun when Superhero universes have their "guy who was the Man on the Grassy Knoll" character

[thisiscomics]

It’s 1985 and there is a Crisis On Infinite Earths.

It’s April the 18th 1938, and Siegel and Shuster don’t yet realise what they will lose as a result of giving the world a hero.

It’s February 2020 and I’m reading the conclusion of a 12 issue series that has taken just over two years to reach the finish line.

It’s 1987 and the first collected volume of Watchmen appears, an event that will ultimately see Alan Moore disavow his creation and any associated spin-offs or incarnations in other media.

It’s 34 years since Moore dedicated an issue to Manhattan’s perception of time, and the device feels neither fresh nor necessary here. Like the adoption of Rorschach’s syntax by Reggie, it seems a hollow echo of the source, an unnecessary cover of a classic song just to show the band knows the greats.

It’s two days before I read the comic, and a Twitter thread discusses how Pax Americana and Pete Cannon, Thunderbolt both understand, engage and seek to transcend the sacred Gibbons and Moore text, building on what came before rather than just echoing it. It positions Doomsday Clock at the opposite end of the scale, lacking a true understanding of the text and being shackled by it, trapped in the shadows of a better work. It doesn’t seem an unfair assessment.

It’s December 18th, 2019, and this book hits the stands, apparently promising an eternity of Crises on as many earths as it sees fit, forever and ever and ever amen.

It is now, and I don’t disagree with the central thesis here that Superman is central to everything that makes the DCU what it is (either within the fiction of the DCU or in terms of the company that screwed over Siegel and Shuster), that he makes each universe better for being there, that he inspires his reality to be heroic and that he can be reborn for every age to keep inspiring, in the hope that one day reality will finally catch up with what he represents. I feel happy to see the Legion, to see their Superboy connection acknowledged (even though I never cared for Superboy, I do appreciate his importance to the Legion), but wonder what the point was of all the Legion foreshadowing if they amount to a quick cameo and proof that Clark remembers things once erased from history.

Flight rings in the 21st century and Imra in Arkham seem to have had very little significance in the end. Which I suppose is representative of the series as a whole- hyped extensively (it is May the 25th, 2016. Batman finds the Comedian’s bloodstained badge in the Batcave. Hype builds. It is April 2017. Batman and the Flash investigate the button. Nothing much comes of it. Later that year, Doomsday Clock 1 is released, promotion indicates it is a significant event in the DCU. It is 2020 and I can’t really remember the details of any of this stuff and remain unconvinced of any great impact, whether on the fictional universe or the medium), but seems to end with little more than the promise of ever more events and reboots, as though hype is all there is. Rather than engaging with the medium, challenging it or changing it, it just reiterates its past and promises further reiterations of the same old things, well beyond the lifetimes of current readers.

I am sure there are good things here- it looks good, it seems to have been something Johns was passionate about- but I struggle to find anything that I have enjoyed in the series, beyond moments of fan service style recognition. Much of this is due to its failure to be in any way representative of Watchmen- to willfully take on a work that (like it or not) towers over much of the superhero genre suggests great hubris. To do so in a way that suggests, at least to me, that you didn’t really get what it was about, is the very downfall that the Greeks warned hubris would lead to.

Moore looked at time: aging, the loss of innocence, the change of public opinion and trends, the struggle to make sense of your place in a world where things are not constant- the clock ticking down was as much the one on your wrist as the one maintained by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (it is 2020 and the hand is at 100 seconds to midnight), because time is against us all. Heroes must grow up, retire, die. Vigilantes cannot fight the same fight forever, because society changes and what was once ‘un-American’ now is not, and what was once a scientific endeavour that ended a World War is now the Sword of Damocles hanging over all our heads. The sins that were once justified as being in the interests of peace are seen as the cold manipulations of powerful men willing to sacrifice innocent lives in the interests of little more than their own ego. There are no true absolutes in Watchmen.

Doomsday Clock promises an infinity of crises, resetting things to better suit the age, but still the same- Superman as the promise of justice, the same heroes fighting the same evils. Maybe one day he will be black, or female, or something once unimaginable to past readers stuck in their particular period, but that change is superficial at best, everything else is a form of recycling, just as the syntax of Rorschach, the time travel of Jon and the grid layout of Gibbons are reused throughout.

It feels like everything Moore would be against, like the logical and heartbreaking result of losing your creation to a corporation. Whether you are Superman or Rorschach, you are now trapped in the infinite loop of crises, never really having to face up to the ticking of the clock, taking comfort in the fact that doomsday will only bring you back to the start, safe in your role forevermore, archetypes that will never really have to change or truly face change.

It is 1986, and Watchmen is heralded as a sign of a new maturity in superhero comics, an indicator of new life in a genre (rightly or wrongly) perceived as childish and lacking in wider appeal, caught up in its own continuity and lacking both moral and narrative complexity.

It is 2019 and we are promised a future filled with the same characters being reborn time and again, the past always being brought back, rather than the past giving way to the present, and the present surrendering itself to the future. Here, the Doomsday Clock cannot be allowed to reach midnight, because what (or who?) the book represents fears what may come with a new day, fears change, fears not belonging in the world the way it once did. Everything Moore wanted to leave behind to seek new forms and stories is determined to hold the medium in a frozen moment of perpetual Rebirth.

From Doomsday Clock 12, by Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Brad Anderson & Rob Leigh

[thecomicsnexus]

Lost, Legacy, Love, Life

DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH JULY 2016 BY GEOFF JOHNS, GARY FRANK, ETHAN VAN SCIVER, IVAN REIS, JOE PRADO, PHIL JIMENEZ, MATT SANTORELLI, JASON WRIGHT, BRAD ANDERSON, HI-FI DESIGN AND GABE ELTAEB

SYNOPSIS + REVIEW

From the Speed Force, outside of reality, Wally West narrates his many attempts to break into reality or at least, warn everyone about the mysterious forces manipulating reality that already removed ten years of history, love and relationships.

His first try is Batman, trying to make him remember about Barry giving him the letter from Thomas (from Flashpoint), Bruce cannot remember him, but he starts questioning his reality.

He then tries to “awake” Johnny Thunder, telling him that the world still needs the Justice Society of America. Johnny seems to remember everything, but reveals that he has been trying to bring them back all along. However, he has lost contact with Thunderbolt.

We then move fast across the DC Universe, we see Saturn Girl held prisoner as they think she is insane (she will end up in Arkham), we see Ryan Choi taking the Atom mantle to find Ray Palmer. We see the next Aqualad. Green Arrow and Black Canary not knowing they had a thing, yet knowing something is missing.

We also see Pandora being killed by an unknown (very blue) force. Saying that they (the heroes) will find a way to stop him. She talks about Hope being stronger (in line with Pandora’s myth).

As the world is still mourning the death of Superman, the Converge-New-Earth Superman, Lois and Jonathan see the news on TV with a bit of despair. Lois thinks this Superman will come back, like his Clark did after Doomsday. When Clark steps out of his hotel room, he is visited by the mysterious Mr. Oz who warns him that he is not what he think he is (we will learn eventually that Oz claims to be Jor-El, will murder a lot of people, plan complete planet genocide, and as a reward, Lois and Jonathan will leave Earth with him as some kind of summer vacation. Horrible parenting skills).

Arthur finally proposes to Mera.

Wally tries to make contact with Linda Park (who has always been his lightning rod), but she doesn’t remember him. Wally loses all hope to return.

(Yes, this is an homage to Crisis).

We then learn that there was always another Wally West in New-Earth. And Wally sees that he has powers as well and feels that at least his void will be filled.

Finally, he visits Barry to try to make him remember about Flashpoint and tell him that it wasn’t really his fault, that someone messed up the timelines while they were merging. Wally says goodbye and prepares to join the Speed Force forever. But at the last minute Barry remembers and brings him back to reality.

But there is still a war coming about Hope and Despair. Batman finds the Comedian’s button in the Batcave (apparently came from the speed force lightning).

This is a very emotional comic-book. It brings back memories of what the DC Universe used to feel like in the nineties, before DiDio. When legacy heroes were the norm and part of an extended supporting cast. When despite being very dark times, the heroes could really overcome anything. It’s so strange that Geoff Johns was involved in many events that shaped the DCU for the worst and for the better. While Wally didn’t find happiness after this  and ended up killing his best friend (by mistake), some of the things that came out of this issue survived. And really, after reading most of Doomsday Clock, you can see the connections. Even more so seeing Gary Frank’s art here.

After these few years, I still think that DCU is heading somewhere thanks to this event. You can see that Flashpoint Batman was incorporated into this, and that is no coincidence. It cannot be a coincidence that he ended up being a big element in Tom King’s run. Now, I am not sure if Johns had anything to say about Wally West’s trashing in Heroes in Crisis, but he says here that a war between hope and despair is coming. Well, there was plenty of despair recently, and Doomsday Clock/Metal have been shaping the Universe into despair. We are in the f*cking year of the villain!

DiDio is right in saying that the heroes shouldn’t be entirely happy, that they shouldn’t have everything solved. But they are also an inspiration, role models, and most importantly, someone in this planet is meeting them for the first time, and it would be a pity if they cannot see why we loved them so much. Some hope is required in heroic stories.

So call me whatever you want, but I do think that DC has a plan. It’s just taking forever because Doomsday Clock had too many delays. Plus the Three-Jokers story that we have been promised since Darkseid War.

And why would Pandora admit to shape reality if she knew about Manhattan? Well, I don’t think she actually knew it wasn’t her. And about the Watchmen twist... this was spoiled ahead of the publication, so most people were prepared for this. It was already theorized when “Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan” came out, that one of the universes he created was the New 52. Well, as we see in Doomsday Clock, it’s more complicated than that.

It is also an amazing job in terms of art, that we have artists that were involved in Wally adventures in the past (or in other “Rebirths”). Phil Jimenez and Gary Frank really aced the most emotional sequences in this book.

I give this issue a score of 9 

[comics-mostly]

Before Watchmen: Comedian • #SuperheroSaturday • In this installment of #BeforeWatchmen, we follow #TheComedian just before, during, & just after his time in #Vietnam. • I’ll start by saying that this #comic changes a lot of what we know about #EddieBlake. For example, in the original #story it was suggested that Blake & #Nixon had a close #relationship, but that was retcon’d so that he would have a relationship with the #Kennedy #family. And, quite frankly, that choice was better for the overall story, in a number of ways. • I will say that the moments dealing with war were especially brutal, with much of the brutality coming from the jester himself. Blake allowed himself to truly “let loose” in the foreign land &, much like #Ares, reveled in the bloody #war. One U.S. soldier said it best when he claimed, “Blake is a maniac. Fortunately, he’s our maniac.” • More than any of the other #comics in the series, this one is more beholden to the established history of the #USA, probably due to the fact that the Comedian is a #soldier & his story revolves around his involvement with real #government officials. I may not be a #history buff, but what I do know leads me to believe that #author #BrianAzzarello really did his #homework. • Which, actually, brings me to the author. If you remember my “BW: Rorschach,” I spoke about Azzarello not understanding the character of #Rorschach.. well, that’s not the case for the Comedian. Azzarello does an excellent job capturing the essence of the #nihilistic #vigilante - even doing well to find new ways to make us see just how detestable the #character truly is. • If I had one gripe with the story it would be the fact that I don’t believe it warranted a full six issues. Instead, I feel that a more concise story would have been more beneficial, as it was for some of the other entires in the BW series. • All in all, this particular story may not be for everyone - it deals with the #VietnamConflict & does not attempt to pull any punches in that regard. However, if you’re a fan of war stories (or, of course, The Comedian) then I imagine this is a story you’ll enjoy. • My rating: 8/10 • And now back to your regularly scheduled feed!

[scrawnydutchman]

Why Nite Owl is the Best Character in ‘Watchmen’

Many art forms over the years have had difficulty finding the respect they deserve when they first start out. It’s only natural; new ideas tend to get the shaft by older generations afraid of change “corrupting the country” because apparently centuries of social and scientific innovation can be brought crumbling down by some little yellow cartoon kid saying “don’t have a cow, man”. Every form of artistic expression has had to battle censorship, unwarranted criticism and senseless conspiracy in their day, be it music, film, comedy, animation, video games. Even BOOKS were condemned as tools for evil by the earliest philosophers of human history.

“[Writing] will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves.” - Socrates

Comic books are no different. Matter of fact, they might just be the most prominent example of this. They’ve been credited time and time again for influencing youth to a life of crime and ignorance, especially in probably the most infamous case of anti-comic book propaganda, Friedric Wertham’s The Seduction of the Innocent, which made such bombastic claims as suggesting Batman and Robin are encouraging the youth to engage in homosexual affairs (different time folks, different time. Fun fact though; that’s why Batgirl was invented, to give Batman a girlfriend for his time to dispute such claims).

*Though to be fair, when you read these hilarious panels out of context you can sort of see some brow-raising implications. This is why context matters.*

But the upside to the battles every medium faces is that eventually along will come a masterpiece that breaks the mold. A revolutionary bit of literary work that changes the way we look at the medium long after it premieres. When it comes to comic books, if you ever find somebody telling you it’s not real art or it’s just kid stuff, you tell them to read motherfucking WATCHMEN. Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, Watchmen is a timelessly cryptic tale of washed up former heroes, godlike beings with humanity slipping away and debates on proper ethics, all under the tension of a cold war stricken America where everyone feels like they can die at any moment. The story has went on to be recognized as one of New York times 100 greatest novels in 2005, joining the ranks of Catcher in the Rye and Clockwork Orange. And it’s praise is rightfully earned. The compelling murder mystery, the growing tension between military forces, the intricate detail of an alternate history Cold War, the play on themes like science, religion, morality and nostalgia, all brought together through beautiful silver age inspired artwork and masterful frame composition that makes the reader feel like their watching a movie.

Of course, being such a classic in the comic book world, it has equally iconic characters, which are all very original (ironic since they’re all basically reskinned Charlton Comics characters invented by Steve Ditko). The most commonly favorited and analyzed among fans being Rorschach, the conspiracy buff ruthless vigilante who is the black-and-white moral compass (though he’s not nearly as black and white as people give him credit for, we’ll get to that in a bit), Dr. Manhattan, the all powerful allegory for both God AND the atom bomb who is ever so slowly losing his grip on his own humanity, and the Comedian, the nihilistic, alcoholic, sex offender soldier who sees life as a monstrous joke and dies not having the last laugh. Those characters are all well and good, but there is one character I’ve grown particularly fond of whom I don’t think gets enough recognition for just how fascinating his dilemma and growth is. That is of course Daniel Dreiberg, the every-man turned superhero Nite Owl.

In order to fully appreciate Nite Owl, we’ll need to recap some context from the story. I’ve already touched upon how one of the major themes of the story is Nostalgia. After all, nearly every character in this story is distraught about the oncoming terror of the Cold War getting hot and they all want to remember a simpler time when it was clear who the bad guy was and what to do about it. Nobody embodies this theme more then Dan Dreiberg. He’s had a passion for crime fighting since he was very young, so much so that he used his fathers inheritance to develop crime fighting gear and tech and took on the mantle of Nite Owl after the original, Hollis Mason, had long since retired. Many of the other characters only became heroes because they were thrown into their situations by one force or another, but Dan had a longing to be a problem solver who wanted to defend the innocent and uphold the law in the most fun and dramatic way possible. When he wore the goggles he felt like there was no problem too large for him to handle. He was hopeful and he was optimistic.

“No matter how black it got, when I looked through these goggles . . . everything was clear as day.” - Ch. 7, pg 9, panel 8-9

Of course, after the Keenes act passed which outlawed vigilante justice, Dan was forced to begrudgingly hang up the cape. His confidence and vigor was seemingly forever trapped down in his basement, collecting dust. He became overweight. He grew timid and insecure. He let Rorschach walk all over him and abuse their friendship when they used to be trusted partners. He lived on in denial of what he truly wanted. He loved Laurie Juspeczyk for years but never confessed it, and even when he had the chance to embrace Laurie in sex he felt impotent and out of place. The dire feeling of living without meaning haunted his every move, and he was tired of being held on into a life of mediocrity.

“It’s this war. The feeling that it’s unavoidable. It makes me feel so powerless. So impotent.” - Ch. 7, pg 19, panel 8-9

It’s only when he puts the mask back on and willingly breaks the law holding him down that he starts to feel happy again. He begins to smile, he feels more positive about what to do about the cold war hanging over his head and Rorschach’s mask killer conspiracy. He’s finally able to satisfy Laurie sexually, and he even starts standing up to Roschach for all the shit he puts him through.

“I feel so confident it’s like I’m on fire. And all the mask killers, all the wars in the world, they’re just cases--problems to solve” - Ch. 7, pg 28, panel 5

“Listen, I've had it! Who the hell do you think you are? You live off people while insulting them, nobody complains because they think you’re a goddamned lunatic . . . you know how hard it is, being your friend?” - Ch. 10, pg 16, panel 5

The reason why I appreciate this so much is because Nite Owl embodies why we love superheroes: because they ARE problem solvers. They DO take on larger then life challenges, and  they always find a way to put evil in it’s place. They enable us to have a more optimistic outlook and they prove that not only is doing the right thing possible, but it can be really fun too! Readers feel more empowered and enthusiastic when reading about the latest adventures of their heroes, because suddenly huge problems aren’t so scary anymore. It’s why comic books were so popular as anti Nazi and Japanese propaganda in WW2 and why superheroes skyrocketed in popularity throughout the decades of the cold war.

Nite Owl loves everything old fashioned. It’s why his childhood hero was the first Nite Owl Hollis Mason and why he spends so much of his time trapped in the past, always talking to Hollis about the old days and constantly visiting his basement to ponder them. He even demonstrates his longing for older times in extremely subtle ways, like his personal taste in music is all classic stuff and he’s out of touch on modern lingo.

“Oh well, mostly I’m into Billie Holiday, Nellie Lutcher, Louis Jordan . . . stuff like that.” - Ch. 7, pg 10, panel 3.

Generally speaking Dan’s dilemma in the story and his evolution as a character is a lot more underplayed and nuance then other character arcs, which I actually really appreciate. The book is fantastic, but I often felt like for other characters they basically just spell out their own character synopsis for the reader and leave little to the imagination. Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan especially had this issue in my opinion. Their character specific chapters didn’t rely very much on context clues or allowing the panels to tell the story (except for in certain instances), instead they basically just monologue to themselves on what they’re all about and why they do what they do. Plus as I stated briefly before I feel like Rorschach is a bit overrated, especially when they describe him as “seeing morality in black and white”. He’s made more then a few compromises and weird judgements in the story. There’s the more understandable example of when he refuses to beat the woman who made false assault allegations on him on tv because her kids were watching, but then there’s also the time where he describes the Comedians rape attempt on the first silk spectre as a “moral lapse”. Since when does the “black and white morality” character believe in moral lapses? Especially ones for topics as touchy as rape? pages later he breaks a guy in a bars set of fingers because the dude said he smelled bad behind his back. So let me get this straight: attempted rape is a moral lapse, but somebody saying you smell bad behind your back is punishable by finger breaking?? Seems to me Rorschach cares more about his reputation in the underworld then actually maintaining black and white morality. He even admits how much his reputation matters to him.

“Can’t. Serious Business. Slur on reputation.” - Ch. 10, pg 6, panel 5

But anyway, I've gone on enough tangents in this post. My point is that this graphic novel is phenomenal and a must-read for fans wanting to get into comic books or even literature in general. I just wanted to talk about an aspect not appreciated often enough, and how excellently it’s portrayed. There’s a reason Nite Owl is my favorite character and my favorite chapter is “A Brother to Dragons”. He articulates the theme of nostalgia perfectly and is a wonderful allegory for the reader and every man just trying to find an outlet for his problems. Plus he brings some much needed positivity and relief into an otherwise mercilessly dark and pessimistic book. It’s a shame Nite Owl all too often gets the shaft, even in his own story arc in the Before Watchmen series (which I have a bit of a distaste for because the artwork is way too layered in thick sketchy linework to be appealing and sometimes Rorschach just straight up hijacks the story). Hopefully this post will bring him some much deserved recognition.

[gothams-gotchya]

Make A List - Watchmen Fanfiction (The Comedian x Original Female Character)

"Laurie," Dan sighed, he looked uneasily through the thin droplets of rain at the mansion before them. "Explain why we are here again."

"I need to find out more about my father."

"Yeah, but why do we have to go to Josephine Anne Kilts of all people." Laurie placed her hand on Dan's arm, he glanced over at her and she gave him a comforting smile.

"They had known each other since they were kids, mom told me if I want to know about Blake that I need to go to her." Dan inhaled a deep breath, he placed his hands on the wheel of the car and thought for a moment.

"I thought you hated your dad."

"Maybe I hate him for the wrong reasons, I merely want to know more about him." Dan shrugged, but he had exited the car none the less. The mansion was desolate, beautiful white paint settled on the front and brass railing complimented a red brick set of stairs that led up to the mahogany doors. They both hurried under the cover of the balcony above the entrance, running from the hard pouring weather. Laurie hardly had hit the wood with a knuckle when it swung open to reveal the great Venus herself. 

She was a little worse for wear, but still as beautiful as she had been while serving the Watchmen. In her silk black hair there wasn't a single strand of grey, her skin unmarred by heavy wrinkles and sagging skin, her violent blue eyes still as strong as the day that Laurie had first met her. She had aged far better than her mother, than Edward Blake, than Hollis Mason. Her lips hadn't paled from their steak red and her white smile hadn't faded. Her figure was still so sleek and smooth, her legs as strong and built as they had been years ago.

"Laurie, Dan, its good to see you guys again." She was in nothing more than a pair of black underwear and a white baggy tank top that acted partially as a dress. In the other hand she held a glass of scotch, she opened the door further and gestured the two in. They entered with slight hesitation, she slammed the door behind them. The sound echoed through the open area, the dimly lit mansion that was never quite full enough. She led them into the kitchen and sat them at the stools at her miniature alcohol bar. The floors were checker board and the counter tops were grey granite, neither Dan nor Laurie could say they had ever found themselves in such an exquisite place.

"Can I get you guys anything?"

"No, we are fine." Dan immediately replied, Laurie shot him a look and then shook her head.

"Thank you, but no." Josie settled herself on a stool across from them, pouring herself some vodka instead of scotch.

"Isn't mixing drinks a bit dangerous?" Dan commented, she frowned and sipped from the glass. 

"I don't have much to live for, so it isn't dangerous to me." She gazed across the counter at them, patiently waiting for one of them to say why they were there.

"You knew my father? I was wondering if you could tell me more about him. How far you went back? Maybe his childhood?" Josie swished the orange liquid around in her glass, she bit her bottom lip and then rose her stare.

"I knew Edward Blake, I am sorry that he had to die so soon. Sucks that it wasn't me instead."

"Don't say that, everyone is happy he is dead." Dan firmly stated, she chuckled at him. Laurie was a bit shocked that Dan would say that, not because she was happy that her father died but because Josie and him didn't get along well. Hollis Mason and her use to be in a sexual relationship, one that Hollis spoke little of but enough for Dan to know that Josie wasn't the best person to be with.

"I'm not happy, he use to call me every once a week. We would have phone sex, talk about the world, or reminisce on old times." Laurie shifted in her chair, she crowned her hands.

"I want to know everything about him, my mom won't tell."

"Sadly..." Josie took a deep breath. "Your mom doesn't know a lot about him, but he sure as fuck loved the both of you so much." That caught Laurie off guard, she could see the sorrow in Josie's gaze and Dan rolled his eyes.

"He was a pervert, a murderer, he couldn't have loved anyone or anything." Josie suddenly went on the defense and pointed a finger at Dan.

"You are wrong, Nite Owl. He wanted to have a family, have a normal life, he just wasn't played the right cards. I can't say I would defend him for everything that he did that was cruel and violent, but he would die for your mom and you kid." Laurie fiddled with her fingers thoughtfully as Josie took another sip, she gestured at Dan."Why don't you take a look around, Danny boy? I want to talk to the Silk Spectre in private."

"Sure." He halfheartedly agreed and sat up to start his adventure around Josie's pointlessly huge mansion. Josie narrowed her eyes on him until he disappeared down the hall and then abruptly brought her ferocity onto Laurie.

"I loved your father, but with us it was never romantic or intimate. We fucked one another, gave each other company, someone to talk to, we understood each other and that was what made us love each other. With your mom, it was different, it tore him up knowing that she never loved him the same way."

"How do you know this?"

"We talked about it and God forbid I don't remember the day that he had first laid eyes on her."

"Eddie, don't be stupid, come on." Venus hissed at him with a slight tug at his wrist, he just couldn't take his eyes off of that woman. Then again, not many of the men in that room could, but it was different for Eddie. She smiled to herself and slapped him on the shoulder. "There is only one way to a woman's heart, Comedian, you've got to be romantic." She was a couple years older than him, but not too old, Eddie must have liked that. She was obviously stunning, you couldn't say that she wasn't. Edward grinned over his shoulder at Josie, he leaned down to her ear and whispered.

"How do you suppose I go about being romantic, Venus."

"Buy her flowers or something you big brute." She released Eddie's wrist and watched as he walked over to introduce himself. She never had thought she would see the day that Eddie would fall in love, but that was the day he did.

"Eddie had a problem controlling his temper, something he inherited as a kid. When your mother turned him down, he couldn't stop himself and perhaps he got a bit more violent then he should have. But your mother loved that shit. About a week later she had dropped the charges and instead came over to his house to fuck him, I had told them I was going out for the night. I was really just heading over to Mason's place, we use to fuck a lot." "Then you were made and that was what it was, your mother didn't talk to Eddie much after that. He was the one that had sent all of those profane comics to her every month."

"Urg..." Laurie's expression morphed into disgust. "Really?"

"Yeah," Josie laughed. "Really." She confirmed, already knowing that Laurie's mother knew who those pornographic comics were from. 

"He did love your mother and you, I remember him having pictures all over his penthouse of you guys." Laurie didn't want to believe it, but maybe her father did care.

"He was trapped in something he didn't want to be in... something... something..."

Venus sat upright on the bed, she snatched the Comedian's cigar and took a gigantic puff from it, relieving it in his face. He chuckled at her, neither of them had removed their masks yet. It was only one more day before the Keene Act and it was Blake's idea to have endless sex in costume before the day was up. She laughed with him, then plopped down into the pillow of the bed in exhaustion. The comedian sighed, he grabbed the cigar and put it out on the end table. He scooted closer to her and wrapped her in his arms and cuddled. The comedian never cuddled.

"Is this a joke, Ed?"

"No baby, Life is the joke. Is it really trouble that I want to hold my best friend in my arms one last time?" She snuggled further into his hairy grayish chest and inhaled at his scent, devoting it to memory.

"No trouble at all." She muttered back, sleepily. He stared up at the ceiling, finally grasping his mask and throwing it next to the bed with the discarded armor, almost bitterly. He glanced down at her and removed her mask to, his expression as serious as ever. She didn't protest and instead continued to relax in his grasp, body on body, skin on skin. Then she began to realize that she had spent her entire life, wishing that she could have had something like this with a man that she was married to.

"I am gonna miss this." He grumbled into her hair, she squeezed her eyes tightly to keep from crying. She was going to miss being this close to him on a daily basis. "Fifty-seven years, we had it good."

"Yeah, we did have it good."

"Through all my fucking struggles you were there, through all yours I never left you. We could have been a fucking married couple."

"Oh shut up." She elbowed him in the stomach and he growled with a burning aggravation, not just at her attack but at their life. "I know that you wished you had Sally right now." He gripped her tighter, threatening, but she knew he would never hurt her.

"Don't fucking talk about her in our bed."

"Why not? She is all over your fucking room." She giggled, and that was a fact: Silk Spectre was all over Eddie's room. It was silent after that, she wondered if he had put her on the list. They had both constructed their own lists, each carrying names of weight that they had either wronged or had met personally. They wanted to go out in forgiveness and so that list contained the names of everyone that they would ask for forgiveness from. She knew that she had put him on hers, he knew too.

"Edward Blake, I love you so much..." She began shakily, she just listened to the sound of his breathing. "I have loved you since Senior Prom when you had thrown me in the back of your pick up truck and had taken my virginity. I have loved you no matter what you have done and sometimes I dream of being married to you, I dream that you love me too, but I hardly think that will ever happen-"

"Shut up, I love you too baby, don't you ever think otherwise." She sniffled, wiped her tears on his chest hairs. 

"I have killed a lot of people, Edward, and sometimes I wonder if I would do it all again. Even if I know that I would do it ten times over, if only it meant that I would be yours forever. I have no regrets anymore, I have no regrets and it makes me sick sometimes. I love you so much that it doesn't even phase me, the things I have done..." She began to sob. "Forgive me please."

"Shhh..." He closed his eyes and buried into her closer. "You put me on your list, but you haven't done a damn wrong thing to me that I would hate you for. I would never regret having you in my life." She pulled away to look up at him, he forced a slight smile and wiped her tears away. "I really should be forgiving you for going through my porn stash." She couldn't help but snort, she leaned down and nuzzled into him again. "I'm sure you had some good use for that." "Pervert." She said softly, he caressed her shoulder.

"For as damn much as I love Sally, I couldn't think of any other person I would rather spend my life with than you." She blushed at that and pecked his chest, her eyes fluttered open and beside the bed she could vividly see a picture on the nightstand. It was a picture of Eddie and her, decked out in their costumes before the war part of the watchmen. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have a kid or a smoking hot baby mama if it weren't for you. You have saved my life so many damn times that I can hardly count them on my cold bony fingers." 

"You mean warm fingers." She teased, weaving her slender digits through his thick and bulky ones. "Long and tasty fingers." He cackled, showing her a grin of white teeth, unmistakably handsome as ever no matter how old. He shifted onto his side, so that your faces were inches apart and you were staring into each other's eyes. "This shit isn't romantic it's more than that Baby J, promise me you won't forget that."

"I promise." The next morning she woke up to an absent Edward Blake, a hustler magazine resting where he once was. She opened it to discover a note inside, smiling to herself.

-Went to get Coffee. Come back for one more fuck. You can keep this until then... Ed-

That magazine, as cheesy as it was, was a promise. One she would cash in to Eddie when the time was right. That was the last time that either of them would ever be together. 

"Josephine? Josephine, are you listening?" Josie snapped out of her reverie and widened her grin at the memory of Edward Blake.

"I don't have much time left on earth anymore, Laurie." She blankly said, then finished her glass of Vodka. "I'm leaving."

"Wait, where?"

"This house, I am giving it to you." Josie finally met Laurie's gaze. "Your father had bought it for us before the Vietnam War, he had wanted us to get married and have it all to ourselves. I wouldn't have any use for it now, so I am giving it to Dan and you. The paperwork is already filled out and it's on my bed."

"Where are you going?" This was unexpected, completely and utterly. Laurie imagined all the things that Dan and her could do in a mansion like this.

"Maybe I will stop by your dad's grave first, see him one last time, but other than that I think it's better you don't know." Laurie's mouth shut audibly. "I am sixty-four years old and I have nothing to show for it. Take my house, Laurie. I paid it off with the rest of my money for the next twenty or so years, hopefully that will be useful."

"Why are you doing this?" Josie reached beneath her tank top and she pulled out an old, wrinkled, folded piece of paper from her underwear. She unfolded it, on it was a list of names that Josie and Edward had written together. All of them were crossed out except for one: Laurie Jupiter.

"You are on my list, I just hope you can forgive me. I am the reason your father never went home, the reason he was never there. It's my fault." Laurie didn't say anything as she took the list from Josie, didn't say a word. Dan entered back into the kitchen, he had fully inspected the mansion.

"I will go get dressed and grab my bags." Josie blurted out as she passed Dan, Dan gave Laurie a confused look but she was too focused on the photo that was found within the folded list.

"What was that about? Are we leaving?" Laurie held the photo up. It was a picture of her father and Venus dressed in their costumes, in the background was the mansion that Laurie stood in right at that moment. 

"No. I think we are staying... For a long, long time."

Venus stood in front of Edward Blake's grave, she put down two sets of roses, his hustler magazine, and a black pistol that he had given her. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket and smiled down at the grave. "I love you, you big brute. See you soon." She then stalked away towards her Harley motorcycle... the one with the big smiley face on the engine and she drove off. 

She went home.

[misstinapie]

Watchmen (3.14.9)

Rating:★★★★★Category:MoviesGenre: Science Fiction & Fantasy

After my unsuccessful attempt of seeing it yesterday, I finally had the chance to watch it today and man, I was right of doing such effort. I don’t even know if saying that ‘I loved it!’ is enough to even say what I feel! I mean, I was lucky to not have anyone with me (plus there were a few people then) at all because I really feel like I’d look comical to anyone who’d be viewing my reactions. I was like having goosebumps, faced twitched in different ways of the brutality, my wide mouth left agape for most times... argh! Wow. I loved what Snyder did to the scenes, they were graphic and bloody but not too horrific to make someone puke. It was fierce yes, like that scene of The Comedian hitting Sally was something I think women protection groups would definitely protest to but I sickeningly liked how it was done anyway (oh no, I think I’m beginning to be deranged!). The choreography of the fights were even cool, the fast forward/slow motion doesn’t remind me at all of ‘The Matrix’ (ever since that movie I think most films try to incorporate it on their work which either looked pitiful or just obviously copied). It looked raw to me plus those subtle elements the director did I appreciate so much I’d probably make an entire page if was able to remember it all. What I also liked with it is that it is presented as a whole story and not in parts (Dark Knight is the best example I can think of, I definitely remember thinking that I’ve watched multiple stories and just paid for one) hence a very long (but justified) time. I didn’t even know why my male(take note, male) officemate was implying it was the most boring 2 hours and 40 mins of his life! Just where did he get that?! Well I haven’t read it at all yet I appreciated it for so many reasons to mention. Was it because of how I felt like it was presented so that you’d not favor just one of the main characters because the spotlight was shared by everyone (think of the X-Men films which felt like the director is too biased towards Wolverine) from the team? Or the director’s way of doing everything? Like that opening was so brilliant, I really had that 80s feel, or when they featured The Comedian’s funeral (I’ve had chills on my spine when The Sound of Silence came to play and the cemetery gate was in frame) or how there were a few unexpected funny scenes? There were also iconic wallpaper type scenes (like Dan’s dream where he was kissing Lori and in the background was a detonated bomb) that are so brilliant and the voices of the male actors which totally sounded wonderful (I am really attracted to well toned voice) to the ears it made Batmans’ in the *Dark Knight even worse. There are only two things that bothered me though, like Dr. Manhattan’s nudeness which really felt awkward (darn I don’t even want to imagine what I’d feel when I bought a male companion to watch it) and the guy who played Nixon. I didn’t know him and sorry if anyone of you liked him but he just looked too much of a Nixon with that nose of his. It’s like seeing a caricature of Nixon only physically real. And when Time said that the director made it loyal to the Watchmen fans but made the rest of us left clueless, well, I didn’t feel like it. I know I may have missed a great deal of things when I haven’t read it but it didn’t feel like there were so huge gaps that would make me question why is it this and that (remember Twilight? That one really felt like it was only made for the fans because of too much omissions that leaves the reader to fill in the gaps). In my opinion I think they did what they can do to make it a ‘movie’. The fans waited too long for this and I think they of all people ought to get what they deserve. They should be satisfied. Well I was (even if I wasn’t a fan). * Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it as well.

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Somebody Has to Save the World

by Gina Dhawa

Sunday, 01 March 2009

Gina read Watchmen and not just as pre-movie prep.~

I am First Lieutenant of H.M.S Late to the Party. I didn't read any Harry Potter until long after Goblet of Fire showed up in paperback, I didn't watch Firefly until I decided Serenity was worth a look, and I didn't read The Lord of the Rings until the weekend before I saw The Fellowship of the Ring. So, despite the fact that Watchmen has been lauded as a classic of its genre and a masterpiece of literature, I only got around to reading it last summer. And, since the film is coming out in a week, I thought perhaps an article was in order.

Watchmen is set in an alternate universe, where costumed crime-fighting heroes have been on the scene since the late 1930s. The general plot more or less runs thus: By 1985, the year the novel is set, vigilantism is outlawed, so all the "costumed heroes" of old have been forced into retirement. The Comedian, a government-sponsored vigilante, is murdered. Rorschach, an ex-associate and definitely not government-sponsored, investigates and begins to uncover a greater conspiracy. Meanwhile, the godlike Dr Manhattan is hounded into exile and the other retired vigilantes are forced into action.

The

Watchmen

world is undoubtedly bleak. There is boatloads (quite literally, in the comic-within-comic

Tales of the Black Freighter

) of violence and gore, brought forth just as often by the Watchmen themselves as by anyone else. This is particularly true of Rorschach, arguably the character with the strictest moral code in the novel. He is so firm in his beliefs that he refuses to retire when vigilantism is made illegal. He condemns an ex-villain, now suffering from cancer, for trying out banned medication and is happy to use torture to get what he wants. Yet, in these brutal actions, he is still determined to seek justice. He's searching for the truth about the Comedian's murder.

It's the characters which make

Watchmen

such a success. Even the most overtly villainous characters - and I am thinking here particularly of the Comedian, heroic vigilante, murderer and rapist - are drawn with complexity and whilst it is easy to abhor their particular moral codes, they are nonetheless

human

. It's a stroke of genius to use this particular type of character to explore this idea. These are people who have set out to protect the world from evil, in the black and white world of Heroes and Villains, and come to discover that the world around them is much more complicated. "Who are we protecting [society] from?" asks one character, having quashed an anti-vigilante ("we want reg'lar police!") riot, "From themselves," replies the Comedian.

Watchmen

is not an easy read. The panels are densely packed with references back and forth to characters, people and events that take place before and during the novel and there are so many side stories and minor plotlines that it's very difficult to take in on one reading. It's also complicated by the fact that not every chapter is in panel form, the story is added to by fictional excerpts from one of the character's autobiography and later, magazine clippings. It's a fantastic exercise in worldbuilding and one that I think many fiction writers, including quite a few of those populating bestseller lists, ought to take a lesson from.

I imagine

Watchmen

is a very different beast if you've already got a grounding in comics. I've maybe read one or two in my life, so I might not be able to appreciate any layers of meaning as related to genre tropes, but I don't think it's necessary. The overwhelming sense of the novel is

the world is a messed up, complicated place, but that's humanity

; I think it's just as powerful without outside understanding of the genre.Themes:

Sci-fi / Fantasy

,

Comics

,

Watchmen

~

bookmark this with - facebook - delicious - digg - stumbleupon - reddit

~Comments (

go to latest

)

Wardog

at 09:18 on 2009-03-03Gosh, can I be Second Lieutenant of H.M.S Late To The Party? The thing is, I think I might have read Watchmen, years ago, but I can remember barely anything about it except that it has a naked blue man in it, which makes me think that I maybe didn't read it at all, or just flicked through it at a friend's house or something. Maybe I am, in fact, First Lieutenant of Good Ship Amnesiac. Watchman seems to be such a definitive comic that I've been too embarrassed to admit ignorance but this intriguing review has spurred me to action. I will get off my ass and read it before the film comes out.

Or ... maybe I shouldn't. Despite some serious misjudgements (Evie/V for example), I did actually quite like the V for Vendetta film, which I probably wouldn't have been if I'd been at all precious about the comic...

Perhaps ignorance is truly an advantage after all =P

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Rami

at 18:23 on 2009-03-03I have been seeing the Watchmen comic in a lot of the shops around here, and toying with the idea of getting it. Because, as you say, from everything I've read / heard it is all definitive and stuff. But then, I haven't even read Harry Potter, and that hasn't stopped me enjoying the vitriol on here, so perhaps it's not worth it...

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Arthur B

at 19:46 on 2009-03-03But if the consensus is that

Watchmen

the comic is good, where's the vitriol going to come from?

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Rami

at 23:45 on 2009-03-03Well, replace "vitriol" with "excitement"...

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Arthur B

at 01:35 on 2009-03-04Seriously, though, read

Watchmen

, it's good enough that experiencing it vicariously is not an option.

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Gina Dhawa

at 13:36 on 2009-03-04@ Kyra - I haven't actually read the V for Vendetta comic, but I've never been the kind of person to cling to original canon for its own sake. Which, you know, is a good place to be for an avid reader ;).

@ Rami - I do rec it. I don't know if it's all definitive, but it's certainly one of the best things I've ever read.

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http://fintinobrien.livejournal.com/

at 00:11 on 2009-03-06As a fan of the comic I've been excited about the movie for the past few months, but I think now I'm more interested in the cartoon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT6KpsJs1Io

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http://fintinobrien.livejournal.com/

at 00:36 on 2009-03-06Looks like it was taken off Youtube. :( Here's the Newgrounds original: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/485797

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Sonia Mitchell

at 23:54 on 2009-03-06You prompted me to dig my copy out and have another look through. On my first read I was somewhat put off by the bio extracts and the like, but I read somewhere that they weren't part of the original comic so I felt justified skipping them this time. Though I did love the line 'I dressed up as an owl and fought crime' (possibly misquoted there).

I think you're spot on about the characters, Gina. The world-building is interesting (though possibly less easy for us to identify with than readers in the 80s) but the plot doesn't rely on world alone, which is nice. I like that so much of the enjoyment springs from interaction between people, rather than stock characters reacting to the world situation.

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Arthur B

at 01:54 on 2009-03-08@fintinobrien: sorry about reposting your link in the Playpen, I completely failed to notice you'd posted it before I made my post.

I just saw the movie and I can confirm that it's excellent. Zack Snyder has actually learned how to adapt things to the medium rather than slavishly transcribing the source material (as in

300

), and he makes some changes to the overarching plot to make it easier to adapt to the big screen, but at the same time he understands that the whole plot is really a framing device and the core of

Watchmen

is in the character studies, which by and large he doesn't fuck with.

My only complaint is that - aside from the German version of 99 Red Balloons - there's basically no music from the 1980s from the soundtrack. (In fact, there's a weird fixation on music from the 60s - presumably because the 1960s were when superhero comics were at their most innocent - and unrealistic - thanks to the Comics Code.)

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Sonia Mitchell

at 12:05 on 2009-03-08Me too, and I agree that it was brilliant. Really great balance of loyalty to the source and film watchability.

(I enjoyed the soundtrack, but I'm not all that knowledgable about music so wouldn't have been able to identify it as 60s, just that it was very atmospheric)

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Gina Dhawa

at 12:58 on 2009-03-08@fintinobrien - I have now watched that video about half a dozen times and it isn't getting old yet.

@Arthur - I hadn't thought about the soundtrack like that, but that's an interesting point. I actually think 99 Luftballoons was the best part of the soundtrack, aside from the opening sequence. I can't imagine that being done any better, on any count.

I loved the film too, I thought the changes were well thought out and it all looked stunning. There are people complaining its

too much

like the comic, particularly with regard to pacing, which is a complaint I don't understand. I went with a friend who hadn't read it and she loved it as well.

The casting was perfect as well, particularly Jackie Earle Haley. I was not expecting Rorschach to be quite so... well,

Rorschach

. He's astounding. Loved Ozymandias too, I know a lot of people had their doubts.

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Wardog

at 15:31 on 2009-03-08I have finally finished reading the comic, in time to go and see the film next week - I'm afraid I'm not going to think much of it. To be honest, I think I've just come too late to Alan Moore. I felt exactly the same about Watchmen as I did after I read V for Vendetta - something like "gosh, that's a product of it's time, how terribly quaint."

[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

Tonight, A Lead Singer Died in Detroit. Somebody Knows Why... Somebody Knows... Part I: So Now You Know

Chris Cornell is dead. I almost feel like Rorshach in Watchmen reporting this. “A comedian died tonight.” Well, a lead singer died tonight. This impacted me more profoundly than I once thought. I didn’t think it would, but yesterday I started playing Hunger Strike over and over when I came to some pretty stark realizations. It was so bad listening to it in the car that I wasn’t sure if I could control my emotions visiting a friend who wasn’t even born in 1992. I will try to outline them here for you, so everyone can understand. This is something that I feel compelled to tell.

I was taken back to high school when I first heard of Soundgarden while riding in my brother’s Escort, which was my first car. Damn, that car was not the best vehicle. He had this amplifier in the car, which made the sound concert-like. The two moments I remember was the chorus to Outshined and the beginning riff to Rusty Cage. It was like, oh my God, what is that, I know I’m just a lowly freshman, but that is kind of awesome. My naive freshman mind somehow thought they were the same song at the time. This got me to thinking that if you could pick one year to be a freshman, why not the most seminal year in music. I never really appreciated that fact until now. I love music now because I was a freshman in 1992. I can remember lots of things about that year. I got Pearl Jam’s Ten through Columbia House (I probably still owe those assholes money), which seems like 100 years ago. I remember a rumor starting that Nirvana was going to come to Palmer Auditorium that freshman year in my Spanish class. Coincidentally, I chose the name Gerardo that year for my name because…rico suave, why not. My junior year when Nirvana returned the mainstream wasn’t so hot on them anymore. They came back and played Palmer, but I only remember one guy actually going to see it. His death changed everything. I found out about it before we were to take the ACT test. I find it a bit surreal that it was that particular day because it was a Saturday. Some students didn’t want to take the test, but at the time, I and a lot of others laughed at that stupid notion. I guess the errors of a capricious youth. The funny thing is about Soundgarden was I loved the beginning riff of Rusty Cage, but now that I am older, I really don’t prefer anything else in the song besides that riff. They should have put it in the intro to Outshined because all it sounds more relevant and appropriate with that track. I also remember borrowing aka stealing my brother’s Temple of the Dog cd with Hunger Strike. I never imagined it was a supergroup to honor Mother Love Bone. All I knew was that had Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell on the same song, which made you say..Heck yeah, Seattle! I never knew the story behind it, which makes things even crazier. These bands were all friends. In this day and age, I cannot believe it. The even more insane thing is that all the members of Pearl Jam besides Mr. Vedder were in Mother Love Bone. I remember listening to the Singles soundtrack after seeing it in theatres with my best friend thinking, holy shit, I need to hear that Chloe song. I believe that Eddie Vedder may have had one regret much like Chris Cornell. They were not Andrew Wood. 

Over the next few years, I kept track of Soundgarden even getting back into them with the release of Spoon Man and Black Hole Sun. Yet, they were always in my mind behind Pearl Jam and Nirvana as far as bands from Seattle go. You could almost say that the Smashing Pumpkins slid in there with Siamese Dream. Why is that? I think for the most part the quality of their meh songs was much better. Soundgarden had a great number of songs, but none of their albums had what I call, track to track greatness. I could pop on any track and know the song would be very good. I lost track of Soundgarden as I didn’t really feel one way or another when they broke up. I was in the throws of the New York garage rock revival at that time. Yet, around 2006, I heard about Audioslave. Once again, a few great songs surrounded by a few average ones in my mind, but Cochise was perfect. It was the perfect symmetry of Tom Morello and Chris Cornell. One could make the case that actually this was Tom Morello’s best song and not Rage Against the Machine. Some will say blasphemy, but I would say that Cornell’s more traditional vocals highlighted more appropriately the talents of Morello. I even purchased tickets to see them in Milwaukee at the Eagles Ballroom. I never went. If I knew they would break up soon, I probably would have gone, looking back in retrospect. I have missed so many great concerts due to my drinking, it is not even funny. I either stayed at the bar to drink instead of going or was too hungover to go anyway. Oh, well, I guess. All you can now is…YOLO. Yes, I am sure I was probably hungover when I missed Audioslave. I would hear Cochise in the    In 2010, 

Soundgarden hit my radar again when the lineup for Lollapalooza was announced. They were to play Sunday and I had planned to see them. Yet, the festival took its toll on me as old age was catching up to me even then I guess. I went to see Cypress Hill right before, but could barely stand. My entire body felt an exhaustion I had never really felt before. I sat there on the curb in Grant Park unable to move a muscle. I heard Soundgarden for a few minutes, but I just had to go home. The last band playing can sometimes be a gift and a curse I guess. In my mind, I saw the Strokes on Friday, so I was cool with leaving. Yet, I did feel some sense of regret because I never did watch the video on YouTube from their set. Lollapalooza can be hard anyway. There are so many bands and seeing them all is almost impossible. I was also thinking of my luck as well. When would it run out? 2 years previously at the same festival, I broke 2 knuckles, In 2009, I almost got arrested at the Metro, so in my eyes, I was pushing my luck. I just thought that they had just gotten back together, so I would see Chris Cornell and Soundgarden soon. Not Soundgarden, but I did see Chris Cornell soon unexpectedly.

In 2011, Pearl Jam announced they would be playing 2 shows at Alpine Valley to celebrate their 20th anniversary. I probably would not have gone, except The Strokes were playing. My friend Steve came with too, who was always a good sport. Classic rock was his thing, but he could get into Pearl Jam as well. I remember that it was really rainy that day. So much so, we drank Bud Light in the car before the show, rather than get drenched. It was really a miserable show because we had lawn seats, which is good, if it doesn’t fricking monsoon all night. We got there for the Strokes and I quickly realized something about Alpine Valley. The lawn pretty much sucks because they might as well been playing over at the country club for all I could see. Last year, I returned for the first time and figured out it was still the same. You can’t see jack shit there. I heard some parts of their set, including a duet on Juicebox with Eddie Vedder. We stayed for Pearl Jam hoping to hear some classics. It was mostly their 2000-2010 catalog, which I pretty much can’t stand. If I’m being honest. I kept saying that they were going to play a good one. I said, “Steve, trust me.” I remember not really getting into a lot of the songs, but instead I was drunkenly fascinated by this girl hula-hooping in the mud. We were more entertained by that at one point, rather than Pearl Jam. Oh, well, I guess. The time came for the encore and Steve wanted to beat the traffic, I said, let’s listen to one more song, you never know. The next song was Hunger Strike with a guest appearance from Chris Cornell. My earlier Temple of the Dog experience came flashing back instantly. I would later tell Steve how special that was and I am not sure he truly grasped it, but I did. That is something to tell people you were there. My friend Steve asked after, “Can we go now?” I smiled, “I would think so.” I just thought of it as another concert until in 2015 Steve tragically passed away. This emerged as our last concert together. What a last concert to attend! Time passed again until a couple of days ago when Chris Cornell passed away as well. In a way, I feel a sort of kinship towards Eddie Vedder now because we both lost close friends from that show. I know it is not really the same, but I tell you what, if we ever meet, that is what I’m talking to him about. Also, that Wrigley being drunk thing, I totally understand. Despite my crappy view, I could tell how towering a figure Cornell could look. The man was fairly tall, which people probably didn’t expect this generous, sensitive guy, especially with his hair long like a lion’s mane. As tributes have been posted, many media sites are posting that show. I have been behaving myself, not trolling anyone, but simply posting, “I was there. :). Concerts are a lot like life that way. Sometimes it is all about just showing up. You never know the surreal twists and turns concert experiences can take some time. Stay tuned for Part 2 coming this week where I discuss the legacy of Chris Cornell, Soundgarden, grunge, 1992, and more.

[aion-rsa]

Batman #21 Proudly (and Effectively) Displays its Watchmen Influences

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for “Batman” #21, on sale now.

Tom King and Jason Fabok’s “Batman” #21 marks the beginning of the Dark Knight’s anticipated crossover with the Flash, first teased in “DC Universe: Rebirth,” that will unveil many of the mysteries of the current DCU — including (possibly) the mastermind behind the New 52 universe, which excised five years from our heroes’ lives. “The Button, Part One” leans hard into the “Watchmen” themes that have permeated multiple titles since Rebirth, drawing heavy inspiration from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ classic story.

RELATED: Watchmen’s Comedian Button Is Crucial for [SPOILER]’s Return In Batman

Last year’s “DC Universe: Rebirth” one-shot by Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis and Gary Frank, which re-introduced former Flash Wally West into the current continuity, immediately began the unraveling of some elements of the New 52 reality. The story strongly implied that Dr. Manhattan, the clockwork demigod of “Watchmen,” had altered the bonds of the DCU’s reality for some unknown purpose, while another character called Mr. Oz, whom some have speculated is Moore and Gibbons’ antagonist Ozymandias, has since been seen operating behind the scenes, working toward some obscure stratagem, faking the death of Tim Drake (aka Red Robin) to take him off the board.

“The Button” represents the overdue team-up between the two heroes most invested in this universal struggle, and those most likely to unearth its mysteries. In the “Rebirth” special, Batman discovered, embedded in the walls of the Batcave, the iconic, blood-stained smiley button Rorschach recovered after the Comedian’s murder. Wally West’s return showed current Flash Barry Allen that core pieces of his life had been ripped away, and illustrated how Wally’s role in changing reality in “Flashpoint” weighs heavily on his shoulders.

Now, Batman is finally getting around to investigating that smiley button. And King and Fabok are showing off their “Watchmen” chops, enhancing their story in a way that holds all manner of Easter eggs for fans immersed in Moore and Gibbons’ book, but is simultaneously entirely accessible for those who haven’t read it.

On the Grid

“Watchmen” was noted, among other things, for its strict employment of the nine-panel grid, a device artist Dave Gibbons used masterfully for the story’s rhythmic pacing. Tom King previously wrote for the grid in “Omega Men,” illustrated to perfection by Barnaby Bagenda. He does so once again in “Batman” #21, which adheres almost entirely to the grid, though it does break for a single page as Batman’s time runs out in his fight against the Reverse Flash (more on this in a bit).

The device isn’t necessarily apparent in the first few pages — pages 1 and 2 are each three panels, three rows with a single panel each, while page 3 is a splash. Further, the first two don’t immediately call “Watchmen” to mind, focusing as they do on a scene at Arkham Asylum, where the semi-amnesiac Saturn Girl watches a hockey game she knows will end in tragedy. (There is a quick nod to Moore and Gibbons’ work in the background, though, in the form of a smiley face-emblazoned poster declaring “Arkhman is for Healing.”)

But from page 4 on, which divides into a full nine panels, it’s clear that what’s preceded has also adhered to the grid, combining the left, center and right panels on each tier for pages 1-2, and all of the panels for the page 3 splash, much as Gibbons modified the grid in “Watchmen” to create specific pacing effects. Fabok and King use less variety here than did Gibbons and Moore — “Watchmen” layouts would switch up the selection of combined panels, whereas this issue trades primarily in full-nines, horizontal threes, and splashes. Whether this is by design and will play into the story’s upcoming chapters remains to be seen.

Iconography

The bloodied smiley button, perhaps the most recognized emblem of “Watchmen,” hardly needs its significance explained. But King and Fabok make many subtle nods to the imagery of Moore and Gibbons’ dystopia, beginning right on page one.

Varying perspective, such as an extreme close-up of an object followed by a view of the same object from further back, was a recurring feature of “Watchmen” from its opening pages, where the view pulled directly up from a smiley button in a puddle of blood all the way up to the to the top floors of a high-rise. In “Batman” #21, we begin on a close up of center ice at a hockey game, viewed through a TV screen. In panel 2, when we pull back, a player’s stick has landed, evoking another bit of “Watchmen” iconography — the clock face. If that’s the minute hand, it’s pointed to around ten minutes to the hour. Not a lot of time, and deliberately similar as well, in fact, to the orientation of the blood spatter on the button.

Shortly after, in a scene Bat-fans have seen any number of times before, the Dark Knight stands before a massive wall of monitors in the Batcave. But in the context of such a “Watchmen”-heavy issue, the image evokes Ozymandias observing the world from his own headquarters. In this case, however, every screen is filled with the smiley face, save for four central monitors, one of which is tuned the hockey game.

The smileys overwhelm the image, giving an immediate impression that Batman is simply obsessed with this mystery, but with a moment’s thought this becomes a very strange scene. One of the smiley monitors displays a double helix overlay, suggesting Bruce is running tests on the button’s blood splatter, perhaps conveying that each monitor is devoted to a different experiment or set of data. But with only four remaining screens to keep an eye on Gotham — one shows firefighters at work, another appears to be a news program, a third looks like a bird’s-eye view of the city — why is one devoted to the hockey game? Is this what the Batman’s tests on the button are telling him is important, was he aware of Saturn Girl’s breakdown at Arkham, or is the Dark Knight simply a fan of the sport?

After rotating the button several times over his hand, all while he takes in the game, Batman tosses the button aside, causing it to come into contact with the Psycho Pirate’s mask. The Pirate, of course, was a major figure from “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” DC’s first major universe-altering event; so important that when the dust settled and a new universe was born, Psycho Pirate was the only person to remember the original continuity. Here, a spark passes between the mask and the button, and Batman sees a brief vision of the “Flashpoint” Batman, his father Thomas Wayne.

Batman phones up the Flash to help with this new mystery, and Barry Allen promises to be at the cave… in one minute.

“I saw God”

In that minute, though, the revitalized Reverse Flash attacks, taking revenge for his own death in “Flashpoint” at the hands of Thomas Wayne upon his son, this reality’s Batman. Bats actually holds his own pretty well against against a villain who can move at the speed of thought, taking each punch and even landing a solid hit by momentarily pinning Thawne’s foot to the floor with a Batarang. As the seconds tick down — another motif seen throughout “Watchmen” — Batman knows all he has to do is run out the clock until help arrives.

But the Flash is late.

This is the scene that breaks the grid; the clock runs out and the anticipated event fails to materialize. On the three-panel page, two tall panels split what would be the grid’s center panel, and Reverse Flash lands his knock-out punch in a full-width panel that is slightly taller than the grid’s third tier.

Thawne picks up the badge, which instantly transports him… somewhere; a moment later, he’s back, much as Dr. Manhattan would disappear and immediately reappear throughout Moore and Gibbons’ epic. But when the Reverse Flash returns — in a burst of blue light — his body is burnt and ruined, similar to how Barry’s was when he ran to save the universe in “Crisis.” Thawne’s final words before his seeming death are, “I saw God.”

The World’s Greatest Detective, The Fastest Man Alive

DC has made no secret of the fact that the “Watchmen” characters are central to the “Rebirth” mystery. Now that Batman and the Flash are attacking the problem head on, it shouldn’t be surprising, then, that that the influence of “Watchmen” grows ever stronger. But what’s also notable is how King and Fabok aren’t just using “Watchmen’s” characters and objects like the button, but also studying the storytelling elements that landed Moore and Gibbons’ book not only in the pantheon of comics but also earned it a spot on many literary “best of” lists. The result is not at all academic; they’ve enhanced their own story by using effective techniques, devices with a particular pedigree that enrich the sense of weight and import that the “Watchmen” characters’ arrival portends.

Most importantly, if you don’t know any of this, if you couldn’t care less about the science of comics storytelling. Even if you’ve never read “Watchmen,” you’ve still got a rock-solid story about the Flash and Batman teaming up to solve a mystery and stop a powerful villain. It’s a damn fine superhero action adventure, and really, isn’t that what matters most?

The post Batman #21 Proudly (and Effectively) Displays its Watchmen Influences appeared first on CBR.

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[thecomicsnexus]

Fearful Symmetry

WATCHMEN #5 JANUARY 1987 BY ALAN MOORE, DAVE GIBBONS AND JOHN HIGGINS

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

Moloch wakes up to hear someone intruded his home and picks up a gun for safety. Remembering his last encounter with Rorschach, he checks the refrigerator and inside finds a note that read "Behind You". Moloch turns around to be confronted by Rorschach, who then interrogates him about The Comedian's visit to Moloch's a week before his murder, and makes a reference to Moloch being one of the many victims given cancer allegedly given by Dr. Manhattan. After threatening Moloch by locking him in the fridge, Rorschach realizes that Moloch has no part for discrediting Manhattan. He then instructs Moloch to leave a note in a trashcan with any information regarding to discrediting Dr. Manhattan.

Meanwhile, Steven Fine and Joe Bourquin are at the scene of a murder-suicide in which a man, fearing nuclear holocaust, had murdered his two daughters before taking his own life in front of his wife. After having finish questioning the wife, the detectives leave while Bourquin advise Fine to not let this incident ruin his day.

The newspaper vendor discuss about World War III with a delivery man, who put forward the idea that in World War III, as opposed to World War II, there will be no place to run to. The vendor muse on the delivery man's words before dismissing the likelihood of a nuclear holocaust and start complaining how the war is disrupting his newspaper deliveries.

During this time, Dan and Laurie are having lunch at a diner. Laurie tells Dan that she has no home to go to and her expense account is suspended by the government, as they saw no further use for her after Dr. Manhattan had left Earth. Sympathetically, Dan offer Laurie to stay at his place. As Laurie and Dan leave the diner, they are observe by an unmasked Rorschach, who wait for news from Moloch, via a secret message.

Adrian Veidt is about to meet with representatives from a toy company who are proposing new characters in their Ozymandias line. While walking with his secretary, a gunman attempts to shoot Veidt but only to fatally shot the secretary. Veidt fights and quickly subdues the gunman, who eventually bite into a suicide capsule to prevent Veidt discovering who sent him.

At police headquarters, Fine and Bourquin are looking over evidences taken from the murder-suicide case, reflecting on the recent attempt on Veidt's life, and trying to do paperwork on Edward Blake's murder. They then receive a phone call from an anonymous tip who gives them information on the whereabouts of "Raw Shark".

Rorschach arrives at Moloch's place in which Moloch wanted to see him. He only finds Moloch murdered, with a bullet shot in his head. Suddenly, the police with Detectives Fine and Bourquin have surrounded the building and demanding Rorschach to come out and surrender. Rorschach realizes he has fallen into a trap and attempt to escape. After subduing several SWAT members, Rorschach jumps out of the window and lands on the street where he is immediately overwhelmed by the police. He is then unmasked, revealing him to be the doomsayer who have been appearing sporadically in the city.

TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER

Nearby the news vendor, the kid continues reading "Tales of the Black Freighter" in which the mariner decided to find a way back home and un-burying his shipmates so he could use their gas-bloated bodies to support his raft. The mariner left at night and sustain himself by eating capture sea gulls and drinking sea water. He is soon beset by sharks, who they take away the dead shipmates' bodes. The mariner is then attack by a large shark that he eventually kills it by stabbing a splinter of the mast into its eye. The dead shark provide the mariner with food and support for his raft since it was entangled with its cords.

TREASURE ISLAND: TREASURY OF COMICS

Treasure Island: Treasury of Comics is a book which details the creation of Tales of the Black Freighter and the appeal of pirate comics, which first became popular after the 1950's when comic books were scrutinized (except for certain comic books that were inspired by government-sponsored agents).

In May 1960 Tales of the Black Freighter was created by artist Joe Orlando and relatively new writer Max Shea and published by National Comics (now called DC), and tells the story of "a vessel from Hell" that takes on the souls of "evil men so that they may walk its blood-stained decks for all eternity." Although the title did not escape controversy as it was notable for its horrific scenes of piratical brutality and excesses, it did not lose its audience.

After nine issues, Orlando left the project - due to creative differences with Shea - and he is replaced by Walt Feinberg, a relatively unknown but capable artist who is best known for his western titles.

One of their more notable collaborations was the two-part "Marooned" story in issues 23 and 24. A one-character story about a young mariner shipwrecked by pirates of the Black Freighter and his desperate attempt to warn his hometown of the hell-ship's approach. Until issue 31, Shea quit the project following similar creative differences and he disappeared from the public eye.

REVIEW

The theme of this issue is symmetry and palindromes, feel free to find them all, but the clearest example of this are the layouts for the whole issue. The first and the last page have mirrored layouts. These symmetry can be traced until the very center of the book:

It’s for things like this that Watchmen is considered a masterpiece.

The Black Freighter story intensifies here. I am going to talk spoilers here in case you don’t know how the story ends, after the break...

As you can see in the back of the Black Freighter comic, there is a text for the “Veidt method” that says “I will give you bodies beyond your wildest imagin[ings]”, that’s ironic considering the end.

Also the Black Freighter story seems to “dialogue” with the main action, you can check this in how the captions and the dialogues seem to acknowledge each other.

As it has been said before, Veidt is the only character that doesn’t have a dedicated story (until the third act), so the Tales of the Black Freighter are an allusion to him and his plan for world peace.

To be continued...