Godzilla! Batman! Jackie Chan! Chuck Norris! Shaq! Doc Ock! A Care Bear! Good guys, bad guys and explosions, in The Ultimate Showdown. Watch it now.
Art and animation by Shawn Vulliez
Music and lyrics by Neil Cicierega
(Yes, I have linked to this on the sidebar, but felt it deserved its own post. I love what these guys do with Flash.)
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
On Innocence
A coworker of mine (a fellow student until she finds a "real" job) and I were talking one day about our unseasonably warm weather. It was in the 40s, maybe, and sunny. Not exactly normal for mid-Michigan in January. (You know you're from Michigan when it's 40 degrees F. and you think that's warm.)
This naturally led to thoughts of global warming and half jokes about the impending apocalypse. We're both students of environmental science (her more than me, technically), so this was a natural place for the conversation to go. With me so far?
At this point, I was immediately thinking of DC Vertigo's THE EXTERMINATORS, which had just come out. The whole Man versus Nature theme. It really made sense in the context of our chat. Really, it did. The next day or so, I brought it in for my coworker to read.
THE EXTERMINATORS centers around a reasonably bright ex-con who is starting fresh with a job at his step-father's pest extermination business: Bug-Bee-Gone. Throughout this first issue, Henry muses about Man's place in the world, about fighting nature in a battle (a war, even) that humankind will inevitably lose. He also eviscerates a raccoon, much to his horror and the admiration of his coworkers.
My own coworker's reaction was, essentially, "And I thought you were so innocent." Between the language and the graphic violence (which I had prepared her for), I guess I was surprised at her surprise.
It's kind of funny. Not about the book, though that's funny too. About me. Most people aren't completely innocent. Babies, little kids, some mentally impaired people... They're innocent yes, but most of us? Not particularly innocent. Thing is, I may be more innocent than most. I don't drink, smoke, do drugs, date, even go to parties that don't involve family. By American standards, I really have no life. But we all do have our things, don't we, with which we escape innocence?
And comic books? What a good, safe way to not be totally innocent.
This naturally led to thoughts of global warming and half jokes about the impending apocalypse. We're both students of environmental science (her more than me, technically), so this was a natural place for the conversation to go. With me so far?
At this point, I was immediately thinking of DC Vertigo's THE EXTERMINATORS, which had just come out. The whole Man versus Nature theme. It really made sense in the context of our chat. Really, it did. The next day or so, I brought it in for my coworker to read.
THE EXTERMINATORS centers around a reasonably bright ex-con who is starting fresh with a job at his step-father's pest extermination business: Bug-Bee-Gone. Throughout this first issue, Henry muses about Man's place in the world, about fighting nature in a battle (a war, even) that humankind will inevitably lose. He also eviscerates a raccoon, much to his horror and the admiration of his coworkers.
My own coworker's reaction was, essentially, "And I thought you were so innocent." Between the language and the graphic violence (which I had prepared her for), I guess I was surprised at her surprise.
It's kind of funny. Not about the book, though that's funny too. About me. Most people aren't completely innocent. Babies, little kids, some mentally impaired people... They're innocent yes, but most of us? Not particularly innocent. Thing is, I may be more innocent than most. I don't drink, smoke, do drugs, date, even go to parties that don't involve family. By American standards, I really have no life. But we all do have our things, don't we, with which we escape innocence?
And comic books? What a good, safe way to not be totally innocent.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
On Accidents of Circumstance
RUNAWAYS Vol. 2, Issue 10. Cloak transports the Runaways from California to the Big Apple, in order that they might assist him in identifying the person who attacked Cloak's partner, Dagger, injuring her and sending her into a coma. Cloak is falsely accused, and the Runaways are resourceful and good at working under the radar. They partner up, Gertrude, Old Lace (in the form of a dog), and Victor go one way, Nico and Chase another. Nico and Chase catch a glimpse of the coolest superheroine ever to grace the pages of Marvel comics, and Nico gets excited. Chase, on the other hand, is not so impressed.
--or get born into a family of mad scientists, Chase?
This one panel really did get me to thinking, though. Just how much of one's life path is dictated purely by chance? We always have a choice, yes, but choice tends to be limited by ability, and ability, to a large degree, is random. Personality. Physical ability. Intelligence. These things are shaped in large part by nature. Genetics, upbringing. I'm leaving the nature versus nurture debate out of this because, frankly, it doesn't apply. It's random any way you slice it. If it's not your family's genes that form the basis of who you are, it's how they brought (or are bringing) you up. And upbringing is a factor of your caregivers' personalities and experiences, which for them is also fairly random. Besides, who chooses one's caregivers?
Confused, yet? Don't worry. I'm kind of confused, too.
So, as far as I'm concerned, Chase didn't choose to be born to evil mad scientist parents any more than, say, Jennifer Walters chose to be born into the same family as Bruce Banner and eventually exposed to gamma radiation. Both characters were provided with what they (personally) needed to become heroes. They didn't have to use what they were given to that end. But they did, didn't they? They both worked to get where they got, and that's not chance. That's choice.
Well, they chose their path with the materials provided them, unless you don't believe in free will at all, in which case they're still on equal footing. Aren't they?
--or get born into a family of mad scientists, Chase?
This one panel really did get me to thinking, though. Just how much of one's life path is dictated purely by chance? We always have a choice, yes, but choice tends to be limited by ability, and ability, to a large degree, is random. Personality. Physical ability. Intelligence. These things are shaped in large part by nature. Genetics, upbringing. I'm leaving the nature versus nurture debate out of this because, frankly, it doesn't apply. It's random any way you slice it. If it's not your family's genes that form the basis of who you are, it's how they brought (or are bringing) you up. And upbringing is a factor of your caregivers' personalities and experiences, which for them is also fairly random. Besides, who chooses one's caregivers?
Confused, yet? Don't worry. I'm kind of confused, too.
So, as far as I'm concerned, Chase didn't choose to be born to evil mad scientist parents any more than, say, Jennifer Walters chose to be born into the same family as Bruce Banner and eventually exposed to gamma radiation. Both characters were provided with what they (personally) needed to become heroes. They didn't have to use what they were given to that end. But they did, didn't they? They both worked to get where they got, and that's not chance. That's choice.
Well, they chose their path with the materials provided them, unless you don't believe in free will at all, in which case they're still on equal footing. Aren't they?
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