Well, now I know what Warren Ellis has been up to. You know, when he isn’t penning mediocre detective novels and neglecting Doktor Sleepless. The favorite writer of mine has been slaving away on an original Avengers graphic novel. And yeah, while I’m pretty excited for it, I really wish he was spending this time and energy giving me more Doktor. Please. I beg you Warren. More Doktor.

Keep Reading »

Don’t let the headline fool you, the battle for Superman’s soul isn’t over. Okay, soul is a bit erroneous. And over-dramatic. The fight for Superman’s wondrous money-making capabilities isn’t over. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been ebbs and flows to the case. The latest has the tide turning in DC’s favor. What does this all mean?! I have no fucking idea.

Keep Reading »

I didn’t see this one coming. I suppose that isn’t surprising, since I cannot see much through the womb of caffeine and masturbating that I exist within. Neil Gaiman is returning to Marvel, and the good man is bringing Angela with him. Yes, that Angela. The one he co-created with Todd McExpensiveBaseBalls way back in the day.

Keep Reading »

Grant Morrison may have shat out a what I felt to be a rather unexciting Superman story within the pages of Action Comics, but that hasn’t stopped me from suckling at his theoretical teat. He has hung a pretty inspiring quote on the Internet at Large, wherein he discusses the beautiful possibilities inherent within the medium of comics.

Keep Reading »

No less than nineteen websites and our own Johnny Hotsauce kicked this across my plate yesterday, and yet I didn’t cover it. Hey man, I was shoveling. Don’t blame me, blame the weather. And general fatigue. Whatever, I know, I know, I suck. Anyways, Vaughan and Martin’s newest collaboration is awesome.

Keep Reading »

Pop quiz! How do you give me a boner? Oh, okay. Yes, yes, yes. Aside from showing me pictures of Benedict Cumberbatch in Star Trek Into Darkness while whispering, “All of this will be yours in a Star Wars format.” You do it by showing me a preview of the upcoming Brian K. Vaughan collaboration with Marcos Martin.

Keep Reading »

Real talk: I fucking adore comiXology. In a world where my LCS lets Rendar and me down every week, it has arrived like a beautiful bastard upon a stunning stallion. Lending me its hand, it murmurs in my ears the promises of taking me to a world where comic books are accessible. However, I have some reservations. Unlike Amazon and B&N’s proprietary services, there is no way to access your files. They’re intangible intangibles, and this is concerning. What if comiXology goes out of business? Or what if – say – Marvel breaks their servers?

Doom!

I will continue using comiXology. It’s convenient, the comics look great in HD. However, they should let us consumers hold our files in our own hands.

Hit the break for Corey Blake’s far more eloquent interrogation of the problem.

Keep Reading »

I’m trying my hardest not to be snarky, because I love Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. However, the last thing that would really glaze my goodies at this point is yet another Batman origin. Well, I better start self-applicating the tests lacquer myself, because that is exactly what we’re getting.

Keep Reading »

[WEEKEND OPEN BAR: The one-stop ramble-about-anything weekend post at OL. Comment on the topic at hand. Tell us how drunk you are. Describe a comic you bought. This is your chance to bring the party.]

I want you to consult your medium.

And I’m not talkin’ about that gargantuan-racked Gypsy babe you met at the bus stop. Do I think it’s righteous that she wore a revealing shawl and was jambox-blastin’ an Among the Living cassette? Yes. Do I think that she actually has psychic powers? No. Unless you like waking up in another state to find that you’ve been drugged, robbed, and’re wanted on an arson charge, you’re goin’ to want to stay away from her.

Trust me, I know from experience.

Anyways, the sort of medium we’re dealin’ with today ain’t of the supernatural variety. Well, not literally (we’ll come back to that). See, the word “medium” comes from the old-tyme Ancients’ expression for “in the middle.” As such, there’re a whole mess of ways to apply the term. Yes, that’s why when you go to Dunkin Donuts, the serving size of hot dirt-water that’s larger than the small but smaller than the large is called medium!

Ta-dah!

When takin’ a stroll across the Arts & Entertainment Dance Hall, we need to look at media as the ways in which creators express themselves. In a sense, any given medium is the means by which a transfer occurs from the mind of the Creator to the mind of the Viewer. It’s actually an alarmingly simple process: an idea is in the Creator’s mind, the Creator shapes some sort of artifact, the Viewer experiences said artifact, and now the same idea is in the Viewer’s mind! Voila!

Stephen King describes the process in On Writing:

Look — here’s a table covered with a red cloth. On it is a cage the size of a small fish aquarium. In the cage is a white rabbit with a pink nose and pink-rimmed eyes. In its front paws is a carrot-stub upon which it is contentedly munching. On its back, clearly marked in blue ink, is the numeral 8.

Do we see the same thing? We’d have to get together and compare notes to make absolutely sure, but I think we do. There will be necessary variations, of course…

I sent you a table with a red cloth on it, a cage, a rabbit, and the number eight in blue ink. You got them all, especially that blue eight. We’ve engaged in an act of telepathy. No mythy-mountain shit; real telepathy.

That’s right, you degenerate broads and bastard boozers clinging to the railing of Spaceship OL — every time you read a book or listen to an album or play a video game, you’re on the receiving end of some genuine telepathy! And when you find it in your soul to create some art? When you show someone the landscape you painted or the sonnet you penned? Yeah, you’ve got it — you’re on the transmitting end of the thought-transfer!

So what’s this all gettin’ at? Well, simply put, I want every goddamn one of you to declare your medium-allegiance. At the end of the day, in which art form are you most invested? Which mode of expression sweep-picks your heartstrings? What is it about this medium that gets your blood pumpin’ and spirit swirlin’?

[What is your medium of choice?]

Keep Reading »

Do you hear this, Allen Drinkwater? Comixology is launching a self-publishing platform for indie creators. You just need to maintain a level of professionalism in the content submitted, which  is pretty much okay for Omega Level’s sponsored creator. ‘Cause the dude is beasting.

Keep Reading »