Crisis! What Crisis?

Having recently revisited Crisis on Infinite Earths, it's strange to remember what an important role it played in comics at the time. There was a frustration for some about the lack of continuity and the multiple-earths. Crisis was an attempt to simplify the DC world and provide a consistent background for new stories.

It isn't clear if it succeeded in its purpose. A lot might depend on whether there were memorable stories produced afterwards, and whether new readers were brought on board to enjoy the company's rich world of comic properties. As each new comic creation has its own fans, getting caught up in the magical comic world, it's hard to judge each new comic age.

My entry period was between 1973 and 1976. Comics of that vintage hold an irrationally forceful attraction to me. Crisis came about at a reentry point, as I was exploring Alan Moore's magical Swamp Thing series and all things related. However, I didn't fall for what I perceived as a blatant sales gimmick. Surprise. Well I followed the alternative, sophisticated comics for a few more years, and even tried once again to become a comic book professional, but by the early 90s, even that fire had faded. Flash forward to 20-teens, and Crisis became yet another entry point. This time, trying to reflect on what happened to my pre-teen love, and what to make of its past, present, and future.

What I can say about the "new" Crises (Identity, Infinite, 52, Countdown to Final Crisis, Final), is it's still trying to sell comics, of course, but are the "Crisis" stories worth reading? Do they serve a creative universe where good stories can be told?

So far, the jury is still out. There are some successes and some fails. They have, however, explored the universe in a way which has allowed creators the chance to tell their stories.

To be continued.

Madness

Generally speaking, I have a happy interior life, but that's because I'm not interacting well with the exterior world. Let's just say my impact with others is minimal.

I'm caught up in noise and clutter that not only detours me from any old job, but from a job that matters.

This hasn't stopped my dreams, which thrive in obscurity, but keeps me from feeling like I'm making an actual contribution to the world.

So what's the stumbling blocks?

Credibility? Accomplishment? Being noticeable?

In a world of war, politics, and individual need, it's a small wonder for all this, but the ambition of dreams drives its own agenda towards, hopefully, a better future.

Moving Forward, and beyond ...

BY CHRIS HLADY

Read Crisis (1985) up until Flashpoint (2011), and figured it deserved a lot of discussion.

So am organizing an event for lovers of comics to meet and catch up with the characters they once loved, and can love again.

Event flows from 5pm - 10pm. Although some elements will be unique, the general theme will be one of embracing the love of comics with others.

We all grew up dealing with boredom, and for many of us, comics became one kind of answer. It's fun to immerse oneself into a creative team's world for awhile. It widens our imagination, and leads us to possibilities that may turn into careers or lifelong loves.

Many of us leave this world behind as grown-ups. It serves its purpose, but then we move on. Nothing wrong with that. Perfectly natural. Why, even in marriage vows, there's talk of leaving behind childish things. One thing that shouldn't be left behind is a sense of idealism and new possibility. This can take many forms, but there is usually something positive in the motivation.

Once upon a time, there was a famous shelving of comics, as "bad for you" and "leading teenagers into juvenile delinquency. The comics industry created a Comics Code Authority to be an inspection on whether comics were maintaining a wholesomeness, and avoiding "dangerous" modes of expression. To be sure, "market forces" are a dubious gauge of "moral development," but it's become the norm to "discover" entertainment and educational material in an unending game of "hide and seek."

How do we know what's good, anymore? So-called "politically correct" material may put a "spotlight" on what's questionable, or even bad, but "human buzz" is the best test of what's entertaining, and more informed opinion can give us clues about what has real staying power in the field. Good examples for staying power in Jack Kirby, so-called King of Comics, particularly in the 1960s, and Neal Adams' work in the late 60s and early 70s. Highlights from different eras define different genres, like Will Eisner's Spirit, and Carl Barks' Donald Duck.

After the 1980s, a time of Frank Miller, Alan Moore, and Neil Gaiman, the comics industry went through surges of better production values, but less universally recognized talent. Some work broke the "entertaining value" but it's debatable about the "education" elements.

So what makes the cut? Does it matter? That's why we need discussion, based on fun, creation, and shared experience.

Come join us Wednesday, December 9, 2015, above Cobra Collectibles at 555 Sargent Ave., between 5pm and 10pm, and we'll make Winnipeg's discussion part of the Red River Comics Clubs Report on Comics in the 21st Century and beyond.

Walking Dead Flashbacks

Hello Me Lovelies,

Okay, this will be mostly about comics, even though it's written while watching Talking Dead. I'm looking at my "Read" List, which includes Detective Comics 439, Superman Family 165, World's Finest 223 and 225, and Death of the New Gods 1-8. I have more to say about the Crises stories I've also recently read. Coming soon.

"Just Survive Somehow."

Way back when I began reading comics in the mid-70s, it was definitely a survival mechanism. Trying to make sense of how powerless it is to be human, comics empowers the reader. For a little while, they are given a tour of some other people's imagination, unlocking amazing adventures in the mind.

In 'Tec 439, the main story is Night of the Stalker, an amazing expose of the Caped Crusader, while delivering some amazing golden and silver age stories as well.

I'll stop there and read now. Can hardly wait.

Cheers.

P.S. Updates to follow.

Comic Books: Always Crap or Mostly-Always Crap? Discuss.

I'm ticked. Not unusual, but this time it's got me writing a post.

Been trying to understand DC Comics -post Crisis on Infinite Earths. 

After that, generally speaking, there was Zero Hour, Kingdom Come, Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, 52, Countdown, Final Crisis, Flashpoint and New 52.

Now there must be some way to refer to this besides "a waste of thirty years," but right now, I'd be willing to write it all off as crap.

Reseting the Bar, Part 1 - New Fun Comics

It's been a while since I've drawn, so this is super rough. At the same time, I was really happy to receive a reply from a big-time icon in the world of comic books, and that got me thinking about the beginning of comic book companies.*

What if, I asked myself, a new company was being developed today?  Forget the past specific history, and just go along an intuitive parallel development?  Why not?   I'll see how far I can take it.

First, a little background.  Growing up as the seventh of eight children, relatively-poor, in a middle-class neighbourhood, I was afforded the luxury of loving comic books, and dreaming of, one-day, joining the profession.  It wasn't much of an ambition, but nothing seemed as much fun.  So, there you have it.

Now, life has a way of interfering with the best laid plans of mice and men, you know of course, and it happened to me, as well.  While I was able to make artwork a priority, I didn't find a way to make it economically sustainable.  I even tried a couple of trips to the San Diego Comic Con (where I met Jack Kirby, among others), in the early nineties.  No luck.

There were a few problems with my career path.  I wasn't nearly focused enough, and I wanted to make my own worlds, rather than work within established expectations.    Funny thing is, people only tend to shell out the dinero when working within those expectations.  Fair enough.  I didn't HAVE to make a living as an artist.

Twenty years later, the art's been few and far between, but it's never too late to give it another shot.  Who knows if the economics will finally make sense?  So here we have it - New Fun Comics.  Fairly descriptive.  Fairly simple.  New.  Fun.  Comics.  An interesting challenge, to be sure.  Perhaps, if I do enough pages, a style and tone will be set that gets people to jump on board.

The primary purpose here is development and experimentation.  I'm not sure what "new" will mean, or what "fun" will mean.  I'm not even sure what "comics" will mean?

It is 2012, after all.  It's a braver and bolder new world
than we've ever seen before.  It's nigh impossible that this project will have legs, but the basic fact is, it's time to get a move-on, and make a difference.



* Comment discussing scope of task.

Over 48 Years Ago

For the last little while, I've been contributing the occasional comment to the Jim Shooter blog, as a way of keeping my toe in the watery world of Comics.

On another matter, I, myself, just turned 48 years of age last Friday. The completion of four dozen circuits of crawling about this slippery planet, futilely trying to make sense of anything.

At this point, I'm not disillusioned enough to think I have an audience. If anyone visited cared a wit about the words contained herein, I'd be absolutely flabbergasted. It is not for readership that I write, then, it is for something else.

Recently, on December 13, 2011, I walked out on belief in God, and kept walking. With the death of Christopher Hitchens, I decided to take another look at "anti-theism" and found some clarity, if not happiness.

So what if there is no God, maybe humanity can take a smarter role in not letting our often-beautiful planet become a wasteland. Do comics play any role in saving our planet? Perhaps, in the absence of an "absolute creator," solutions may be found with those creative voices we have, which are not just writing for entertainment purposes.

Life is still serious business. Some might say unforgiving in every way. It is so unbelievably vast, from an individual human perspective. If comics have conveyed anything to modern culture, it is a belief that anything is possible, and as one famous character, Spider-Man (created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko), came to understand more than 48 years ago, "with great power come great responsibility."

Human beings may be small in their ability to change the world, but neither does it diminish their duty to make a difference, anyway they can.