I am Iron Man... Or I am Monty

Dial B for BLOG, a great comics blog, has a series dedicated to Iron Man in advance of the film opening.


I wound up using Iron Man as an icon in some paintings 10 years ago as a stand in for myself for various reasons which I may write about at some point. I will post some of these when I can dig them up. It was the Don Heck version of the character that I somehow connected to in doing those things, and the way the black eye slits and blocks of color slipped so easily into the way that I was working.

It is a strange moment in the culture when these pulpy obsessions get exposed to the light of the mainstream. At the same time, I have more hope that this time they will get it right somehow. Favreau and Downey + Black Sabbath? Nerdcore, man.

No doubt it will all feel just right for at least the runtime of the film in the front row, I go for complete suspension of disbelief for at least the duration of the actual experience.

In other comics news, keep reading Monty! Jim Meddick has just hit his stride:

More is Less in Online Dating-Predictably/Irrational

I Have a Crush on Online Mixtapes! (Open Letter)

Dear Imeem, Muxtape, Mixwit,

It's an official crush... I can't stop thinking about all of you!

imeem
muxtape
mixwit

Maybe it's just the nice weather and the last mixes you let me make, but I just want to spend more and more time with you all and I am getting no work done. I mean, let's face it, this is not a recipe for "productivity" is it?

I can't embed you right now, I have to do some tshirt research...

Steven

Listening to Richard Pryor Can Help Sometimes

"Let me tell you what really happened... Every night before I go to bed, I have milk and cookies. One night I mixed some low-fat milk and some pasteurized, then I dipped my cookie in and the shit blew up."

Here is a link to a great routine. Not work safe? Depends on your job...

Happy Seders...

Reasons To Be Cheerful Part 3 By Ian Dury

Click on the tape to hear Reasons and What A Waste

Fallows on "The" way vs "a" way (Japan v China dept)

"The" way vs "a" way (Japan v China dept) By James Fallows

Whether or not it even stands up as cultural anthropology, the improvised versus planned styles are worth pondering. Like most dichotomies, there is probably more of an organic relationship between the two approaches. Fallows' photo illustrations of plane refueling in Japan & China are great in almost a Mad magazine breakdown.

From The Onion

Perfect:



Wildly Popular 'Iron Man' Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film

Obama vs. Condi in 2005

Here is a debate in the Senate featuring Rice & Obama that is much more convincing than Obamamania for me. As with Andrew Sullivan (whose site featured a link to this video) I personally believed in the progressive argument for getting rid of Saddam. The Paul Berman argument if you will. See this later Berman article in Dissent as well.

At the time I thought that doing the right thing for the wrong reasons (or straw man reasons) was OK.

I also thought that ideology did not affect competence. Where the fuck was my usual skepticism?

90 Day Wonder

Military officer whose source of commission is the 90-day OCS program. Characterized by feeling inferior to service academy grads. And rightly so.

I told that 90-day wonder that my socks have more time in service than he does.

From Urban Dictionary

No, Of Course Not.

A Chinese spokesman, Qu Yingpu, said Chinese officials were grateful to the police “for their efforts to keep order.” He added: “This is not the right time, the right platform, for any people to voice their political views.”

From the NYT today.

Right, douchebag. We will keep that in mind.

Goodbye Jim Mooney

Mark Evanier & Comics Journal have details, but Jim Mooney died this past week. It may be facile to note that this comes so close to Steve Gerber's death, and heaven knows I don't believe in an afterlife, but it is kind of nice to imagine that there are more issues of Man-Thing and that final issue of Omega The Unknown in heaven. And maybe a Supergirl story or two.

I met Gerber back in 1976 and I remember talking with him about how Mooney's art was perfect for the subversive Omega b/c it was so redolent of those innocent 1960's DC's. Nevermind some nice looking, slightly well-fed Peter Parkers. Yes, I am talking to you, James Michael Starling.

Thinking about those comics it is hard to believe in a way that the images beamed into my cerebral cortex were created by human beings. Man, Mooney drew alot of that stuff!

Rest in Really Well Drawn Peace(where you ink your own pencils), With No Short Cuts or Swipes, Jim Mooney.