What the hell happened to Hollywood? I mean- Crocodile Dundee 3? Have the movies ever been as wretched as they are now? I just saw Down to Earth and all I can say is that someone better apologize to Ed Wood. Glen or Glenda is Citizen Kane in comparison to this crap.
Hannibal? You're kidding me, right? I rather watch ice melt.

TV? Realty programming? Yeah, I want to watch a bunch of narcissistic fuckwits narrarating their shallow lives and their contrived escapades. Sure, that redhead on Temptation Island is hot, but have you tried actually watching that show? Go to alt.binaries.redheads- hot redheads are a dime a dozen. Sitcoms? Do you think these twit screenwriters have a special key for smirk? Cop shows? Starsky and Huutch was more realistic than all these Hill Street Blues clones out there.

Novels? Don't get me started. Dean Koontz- a bestseller?! I just read Strange Highways and it makes Youngblood look sophisticated by comparison. And the new sci-fi? Sorry, I don't have a masters in quantum physics. I can't bother with anything I need a fucking slide rule to read.

Music? Well, there's Radiohead and a bunch of anonymous stuff in the Underground, but did you watch the Grammies? You would have to cut my legs off and staple my eyes open to get me to watch that rubbish. Was anyone else praying for a tornado to hit during that odious Super Bowl halftime show? Is anyone else here old enough to remember when Aerosmith had integrity? Steve Tyler looks more Joan Rivers now than Joan Rivers does. That aiee-aiee-aiie he does every other chorus is him screaming when his skin ponytail gets caught in his lingerie.

Folks, let's face it- Comics are the last bastion of creative and imaginative entertainment. I can say without fear of hyperbole that there is more energy and inventiveness in the better comics out there than there is anywhere else. Just another reason to help sustain this fragile industry. There's really nowhere else to go. If I didn't have Promethea and Finder and Lucifer et al, I'd be eating a twelve-gauge.

Well said, brother Chris!

- Lee

I'm in tears...AMEN!

Yeah, I hate Realty TV too. Every house they show costs too much money [img]/resources/ubb/frown.gif[/img]

Don't particularly care for all the reality television either [img]/resources/ubb/smile.gif[/img] Where the hell is my tropical island of beautiful super-models trying to seduce me? Huh?!! Reality, my ass. I avoid that crap like the plague it is.

About Hollywood sucking... think of all the great movies of the 30's, 40's and 50's. Classics were made during this time. Films that have stood the test of time.

Now think of every other movie made during those times. There are always sucky films and there are always great films. Everyone remembers the great films.

Everytime I hear someone bemoan that Hollywood can't make movies anymore,something like Pulp Fiction appears, or the Sixth Sense, or the Matrix, or the Usual Suspects. There is always going to be drivel coming out of the orifice that is Hollywood, but there is also going to be some gems. I've heard good things about an upcoming movie called Memento.

Someone gave me a Dean Koontz novel, Mr.Murder a long time ago. After reading it I got the feeling I just ate the icing off of a cake. Tasted good but not to filling. I think he's popular 'cuz he's a quick read at the airport/bus station not necessarily because he's good. Persnally, there are a few writers I look forward to reading, Terry Pratchett, Harry Turtledove, Elmore Leonard, Richard Marcinko, but here lately I've been trying to find the classics, like, Asimov,Clarke, and Bester.

Just when was Aerosmith supposed to be a bastion of integrity? They're ROCK STARS, for Christ's sake, not role-models. Personally, I feel any rock-star loses their integrity when they give up the drugs, booze and groupie groping.How rock-n-roll is clean and sober?

I actually kinda liked the Super-Bowl half-time show. NStink were almost not bad. And I got a kick out of little 'sweet-and-innocent' Brittany singing 'Walk this Way'. kitty in the middle, indeed. And my Dad asked to get him her. I told him she's 19 and could kill him. Granted he'd go with a smile on his face that we'd need an extra wide coffin for.

But I agree that comics are the last bastion for true creativity. There is a lot of good stuff out there. I'm starting to trim the fat on my reading list. I'm going through Previews, looking at the stuff that sounds interesting and then seeing if they have a web-site. If they do, I peruse it to see if it might be something I'd be interested in reading. If it is, I'll pre-order it. Never know when you come across another Bone or Castle Waiting or Complex City or Xeno's Arrow. But you gotta keep lookin'.

Later.


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[This message has been edited by Chris Medellin (edited 02-23-2001).]

There are a hell of a lot of bad comics out there, but I generally agree - one of the positive aspects of comics being considered gutter art is that we're under the radar of most of the corporate sharks.

Elton John hugging Eminem - what a load of shit! Robert Crumb was right: our own culture snears at us at every opportunity.

Can anyone here name an adventure comic published this year that was more exciting and moving than CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON?

How about a contemporary realistic comic with characters as memorable as YOU CAN COUNT ON ME?

Probably there were a lot of shocking comics this year. Were there any that did shocking as well, and to as much purpose, as QUILLS?

The only bestseller I read this year was the Crichton book TIMELINE. Any time-travel comics this year that were superior to it?

What I have been reading a lot of lately is Georges Simenon. Any mystery comics this year that were better than a single one of his Inspector Maigret books?

The above posts seek to compare comics with the worst of popular culture-- Eminem, Koontz, Survivor. If you compare the WORST comics with these worst specimens from other artforms, which comes out on top?

I appreciate the cheerleading for our worthy if beleagered artform. But I don't think there's anything to be gained by praising comics at the expense of other cultural endeavors.

Entertainment is a personal experience. What is entertaining to one may not be entertaining to an other. Popular entertainment is designed to be enjoyed by the largest percentage of people to yield the largest number of profits. The largest percentage of people don't like to be challenged. When Hollywood repackages a 'hit' concept - it presents these people with a familiar and comfortable movie experience. They subconciously know how the movie will end and what twists will occur in the process of getting there. They are rewarded every time they make these discoveries with a burst of endorphins. They say to themselves, "I'm such a badass - I figured it out before anyone else". Same thing goes for popular music as well.

I believe Hollywood has the capability for creativity and originality - but they sweep that under the rug in favor of the bottom line.

And don't be dissing 'Crocodile Dundee'. I remember sitting in the theatre watching the first sequel. When Dundee was shot by the Columbian Drug Lord I said to myself, "He's not really dead - he switched clothes with that bad guy and the bad guy got shot!" I sat back, enjoying my popcorn and endorphins, and thought, "Everyone in this theatre is dumb except me!"

-Jon
http://www.two-headedtales.com

Dearest Joe:

Thank you for showing us the error of our ways, again. You set the standard I think we should all aspire to. Where would we be without your guidance and wisdom? To think, I would persist in my folly if I didn't have the stern but compassionate hand of Zabel to set right the course! Oh, the humanity!

When someone gives clear and sincere advice, it's a shame to see it met with sarcasm.

Joe's advice is heartfelt, to the point and quite wise.

Joe-

Well, I wasn't comparing their worst with our worst. I was trying to point out to the other Chris that sometimes ranting ,while cathartic, you can loose sight of the goal you're aiming at. There is good and bad in all forms of entertainment. And what's good and bad is extremely subjective.

However,what is being classified as good entertainment in the mainstream media seems to be extremely hollow in terms of creativity and imagination. WHat irks me is Survivor being called ' an event'. The tearing down of the Berlin Wall was an event. The first man on the moon was an event. For all the hype and noteriety Survivor is just a TV show.

Comics, again while their creativity and imagination is subjective, can still be our best source of creativity for writers and artists. All's we need is pen and paper. Talent sometimes doesn't follow through, but for the most part it's fairly easy to find those that have it to those who don't.


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