Infected Worldmind
Who am I?
I'm general counsel for a medium-sized tax-exempt organization that helps court-involved and other at-risk populations clear barriers to success in the community.
I'm also a development/fundraising professional and provide legal advice and guidance to start-up entertainment firms.
I'm a contributor to Funnybook Babylon and my ever-expanding bookshelf is here. I infrequently write about food and take pictures.
I'm also the happiest newlywed in the world.
That's everything.
BY POPULAR DEMAND (Jamaal “Popular” Thomas, Esq.) I have posted a lengthy rebuke of Chuck Klosterman on FBB, even though it has nothing to do with comic books.
Or maybe, as Chucky K might posit, it could have everything to do with comic books?
I suppose it is of a piece with much of FBB in that wags may ask, “Well, if you don’t like it, why do you keep reading it?”
Chris Eckert, with a hilarious and insightful piece on Chuck Klosterman, Led Zeppelin, generalizations and fragmented youth culture for FBB!
Jamaal on conflicts of interest and the problem (well, one of them) with comics journalism. Shout out to David “Provocateur” Brothers for helping me clarify my thoughts on this one.
Life Hasn’t Been Very Kind To Me Lately…
Thoughts on Kendrick Lamar, Killer Mike, Anthony Hamilton & Elayna Boynton, trauma and freedom.
I may not have attended the New York Comic Con this year, but I have read many, many con reports from around the internet. Here are the ten most interesting announcements/developments from last weekend, along with some brief thoughts about comic book conventions. Keep your eyes peeled for a report from our own Chris Eckert, who actually attended the Con on behalf of Funnybook Babylon all weekend.
NB: Chris did attend the Con, but not on our behalf (although we are the internet’s leading source of intermittently published crackpot pop cultural commentary!)
I share some thoughts about Brandon Graham’s King City, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and RZA’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and the joy of being asked to fill the gaps for Funnybook Babylon. Unfortunately, the only Jay Electronica reference is in the title.
Chris Eckert is back with a new installment of his monthly 5-10-15-20 column for Funnybook Babylon. This is a real trip down memory lane for me. Some quick thoughts:
5 Years Ago: Terrible comics. JMS’ Thor, Meltzer’s JLA, Johns’ Action Comics, Loeb’s Wolverine. Sigh.
10 Years Ago: I wasn’t reading comics, but there were some gems of the Jemas/Quesada era - X-Statix, Captain America: Red, White & Blue. On the DC side, there was…. Automatic Kafka? Y: The Last Man? People like those.
15 Years Ago: Yeah, wasn’t reading then either. I have gone back to read Quantum & Woody and Transmetropolitan, both of which are classics in my personal comic book canon.
20 Years Ago: Unfortunately, I’ve purchased all of these comics, many of which are rotting in a long box at my mom’s house (still haven’t gotten around to tossing them).
25 Years Ago: Here’s the stuff. Kraven’s Last Hunt, Byrne’s increasingly weird run on DC’s Superman titles, the beginning of Marshal Law and the end of Watchmen.
30/40 Years Ago: Reprints of these books made me fall in love with comics. Kirby on Captain America. Claremont and MacLeod’s first New Mutants GN. Byrne’s Fantastic Four. And best of all, O’Neil/Adams’ Batman. I think this might be my favorite era of Batman.
I got my USA Today on with an infographic over at Funnybook Babylon. There is an explanation in the linked article if this chart means nothing to do, which it may not!
Great blurb. Can’t wait to see Chris’ longer piece on Marvel’s shipping practices. I think that Jeff Parker (and his editor) have done a wonderful job of working within the new status quo, but I still don’t like reading (full length) comics any more than once a month, even when they’re well executed. I don’t know about any of you, but I feel overwhelmed by culture. I already have an extremely long queue of things to read and watch, so keeping up with books that come out multiple times in a month is kind of a challenge (more often than not, I end up dropping the book)
Some brief, unstructured thoughts about the trailer for Dredd, the adaptation of the famous U.K. serial for Funnybook Babylon. I think it shows some real promise.
“Obviously tons of people die every day, dozens in a city the size of New York alone. Maybe he’ll accept it when someone dies in a non-violent way, but what if it was preventable? What about accidents? Does it only count if it’s someone Spider-Man knows, or is in his direct line of sight? This is not explained. But for the past year or so, Spider-Man has vowed that “NO ONE DIES.” “
-Chris Eckert, from his hilarious look at Dan Slott’s depiction of Spider Man as a moral absolutist who has vowed to prevent death. Great stuff.
I particularly love the doctored panels that close the piece. The final one (shown above) gives us a Spider Man that could only exist in Steve Ditko’s fevered imagination…. “A is A!”
