Exploring Comics by Genre: Western

There's been quite a few really good Western comics. As always, this is only a selection from my reading, and should not be construed as definitive.

Iron West- A family friendly story by Doug TenNapel. It's fun. A bit steampunk, but not really. There's robots. Lots of robots.

Ballad of Sleeping Beauty- I doubt this can be found these days, but if you find it, grab it. It's beautiful.

Lone Ranger- Yeah. It's good. Get over it.

Jonah Hex- One of DC's many Western characters, this one's been through the most versions. The only bit I advise avoiding is the last bit of New52 Hex. He's lame in the modern world, and that was just part of cancelling him anyway.

Caliber- Arthurian knights retold as a Western? Yes, please.

Trailblazer- Palmotti and Gray with a bit of time travel, and a bit of western, and a lotta good readin'.

Spaghetti Western- Not really a Western, but there's some good stuff in this little Scott Morse book. Kid appropriate too.


There are a bunch of other characters from DC/Marvel worth reading in the genre, and other stories outside them that are great. Ghost Rider was originally a Western.CowBoy lookd cute, but I haven't read it.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

An open letter to Spotter Spellen, regarding preorders

Now, you won't find this name in your list. It's a name created for social media, etc. There are plenty of disemployers out there to justify this.

The fact is, you had preorders for your fourth printing of Food Chain Magnate, which has done so much better than your other games, it's ridiculous. Now, instead of taking care of the individual gamers that preordered your game, you've shipped to stores and distributors first. This is a relationship problem. You don't want our money directly; at least that's the message when the game is available in stores and online for weeks before the preorders arrive. Now, you're less likely to get my money in the future.

Why? I don't care how good your game is if you treat me like dirt. Think about it. There's Miniature Market, Boardlandia, Cool Stuff,  and others, all having the game in stock for weeks before it arrived for the individuals that wanted it enough to preorder from you. We thought you might be community minded, because those online shops would have let us preorder from therm for less. We thought you might care about the people giving you money. WE WERE WRONG.

Take some look at companies that are on Kickstarter, like Stonemaier Games. There's two standout things here: 1. There's actual communication and updates reliably available. The community has access to knowledge. 2. The backers get their games first. Period. Shipping address errors notwithstanding, that's what happens.

But, given how you operate, it's now doubtful you'll see my money again. You certainly won't see it directly, when I can get it faster and cheaper from on OLGS.  YOU HAVE FAILED THIS COMMUNITY.

/endrant

Alfred Genesson

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Exploring Comics by Genre: Horror

If you like horror movies and/or books, this post's for you. The horror genre has a TON of material in the world of comics. I enjoy some of it; some is too gory for my taste. But there's plenty of quality material. As always, the list here is hardly definitive, merely a partial survey of what I've read and enjoy.

Swamp Thing- in particular the Alan Moore/Rick Vietch run. There have been college classes on this section. The Bernie Wrightson stuff is also very good, and it should be, as he created it. Other runs vary in quality.

Ten Grand- A J. Michael Straczyinski book following a guy that fights demons, gets killed, and then brought back to life. The first arc is drawn by Ben Templesmith and it's beautiful.

The Goon- A horror-comedy series by Eric Powell. Usually more funny than scary. "Knife to the Eye!" doesn't get old.

30 Days of Night- Ya like vampires? This is a real vampire story. The movie's ok, but the first three volumes of the book by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith are great, scary, atmospheric pieces.

Fatale- Brubaker and Philips do good work, no doubt. This is a very solid, conspiratorial, paranoid Lovecraftian series.

Criminal Macabre- More Steve Niles, this time a monster hunting PI. Frequently abuses alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. Pretty pulpy work, I like it.

The Adventures of Apocalypse Al- A Straczynski story originally written for CBC, this follows a problem solver stopping, well, the apocalypse.

Injection- Warren Ellis has a creepy, part spy, part sf, part monster book. I'm putting it here, because I can't come up with an honestly better spot, and there's more SF I want to write a blurb about than horror.

The October Faction- Another Steve Nile book(the guy writes good horror). Follows a family where the father and mother have a reputation in the supernatural, lots of enemies, and teenagers that want in the family business.

Afterlife with Archie- Yes, Archie comics put out a horror book. It's amazing, a take on zombies where the readers START with some investment in the characters.

Yes, I know there's tons of other books out there. The Walking Dead, Hellboy, BPRD, and several others have good sized followings. I barely mentioned Vertigo books here, and they've had plenty of horror books.

Exploring Comics by Genre: War

Comics have been written about war for almost as long as they've existed. Why? War creates heroes and legends. The inexplicable happens, and the expected doesn't. War comics also have a high percentage of true stories, or based on true stories. Keep in mind this list is far from exhaustive, merely a selection of works I've read.

Fax from Sarajevo: Joe Kubert's account of faxes he received from a friend during the siege of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A combination of portraying his own life, and the faxes from his friend telling of their struggles.

Last Day in Vietnam: A collection of Will Eisner short stories from US soldiers in Vietnam. At times touching and hilarious, sometimes at once.

DMZ: Brian Wood and Eduardo Burchielli explore life following a journalist during the Second American Civil War, in the DMZ of Manhattan. The changes and dangers he faces are followed, to his rise as an influential political figure.

Crecy: A Warren Ellis telling of the battle of Crecy. The story follows a narrating soldier following the King in his campaign against the French.

Peter Panzerfaust: Part Peter Pan, Part WWII resistance fighter. The story of a young man leading a resistance group against the Nazis.

Enemy Ace- Another Joe Kubert creation, about an honorable pilot on the other side in WWI. A good man facing his darkness, and the darkness of his people.Later applied in some stories to WWII by Garth Ennis.

Unknown Soldier- The nature of the story depends on which era you're reading from, but he handles some nasty things during war. The Garth Ennis version has him trying to recruit his replacement.

Dreaming Eagles- Garth Ennis tells of black fighter pilots during WWII, the discrimination they faced, and the progress they made.

War/fix- The story of a journalist that gets hooked on the thrill of the dangers of war. He realizes he doesn't know how to function as a normal journalist, and seeks more dangerous embeddings.

Other characters to look for:
Sgt. Rock- DC's WWII army grunt.    Nick Fury and the Howling Commandos-Marvel's equivalent property
Johnny Red- A WWII British pilot stranded in Russia, who takes command of a fighter wing.

Part One: Crime and Part Two: Spy

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Peter Grant, you may have just become a pox on my wallet.

No, this isn't a book review. At least, not an Injustice Book Review. But I figure Mr. Grant might like to have some more kind words hurled his way, and I JUST finished Brings the Lightning. I know, I'm abandoning my format; it's worth it here.

I've read a fair amount of L'amour novels. I've read some other westerns, which mostly don't measure up. I've read the first Caleb York book from Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins, which was very good. None of them made me lose sleep. Brings the Lightning did.

Congratulations, Peter. May my wallet curse you the rest of your days. PLEASE keep going on Westerns; while I love SciFi and Fantasy, this book shows you have real power in the Western. I don't know how many more you have in you, but if they are near this one in quality, I WILL BUY THEM ALL. Please, give me ways to give you more money. Feel free to quote me.

Yeah, I haven't said anything about the the story, characters, dialogue, or anything else yet.

So, here's my two complaints: 1. I'd personally prefer more authentic vocabulary. That's me, and maybe it's not the right choice. 2. I've read it already; I want the next one. 

On a more serious note, this book has great characters, a protagonist willing to occasionally con the US army(hey, the war just ended and he was a reb), a schoolteacher who needs no fainting couch, and two ex-slaves who come to Walt Ames' (our protagonist) employ. The places feel real; the grass, dust, and dirt in the story are right.  The towns, forts, and wagon train aren't safe, but have their own challenges. The treatment of the Indian tribes is excellent; each acts its own way.

Look, if you're reading this and you haven't yet gotten Brings the Lightning, do it. You won't regret the adventure.


When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Exploring Comics by Genre: Spy

Welcome to the second part of our primer in comic book genres. Espionage, is certainly different than it's presented in popular culture. That's fine, I'll stick more to the ultra-cool versions we see in film and books, though the books tend to be grittier. Again, this is not a definitive view of the genre, or even all of the best material, simply a collection of works I consider good. This will be a shorter post, not due to material that's good, but due to my personal library not having more.

Fire-Brian Michael Bendis wrote interesting things before being a Marvel all-star. This is the story of a college student recruited into Intelligence service. It's his first major work, and blast, it's a good story to make you paranoid about government.

Sleeper- Brubaker and Philips could write comics to make fish thirsty. This book has a great story, and a good twist ending.

Casanova- This is likely the best spot for this trippy series. There's some strange science, great characters, and mind bending twists. Think something along the lines of Dick meets Fleming with perhaps a dash of Dali.

Velvet- Brubaker and Breitweiser put together this story of a field agent who retired to the secretarial pool for personal reasons. She's been framed years later, and now has to pull out all her tricks.

Cowboy Ninja Viking- Do you really need more than the title? Fine. Take folks with Multiple Personality Disorder, and turn each of those personalities into a weapon. Don't try with more than three personalities.

Red- Perhaps you've seen the two movies that are very loosely based on this graphic novel by Warren Ellis. There's only one deactivated agent they're after, and he's very good, and just wanted to be left alone.

 Global Frequency- There are unexploded bombs of a ridiculous variety throughout the world in this Warren Ellis series. Miranda Zero and her 1001 specialists handle them, from appart Soviet sleeper agents to suicide cults taking over office buildings to delusional doctors playing God.

Now, to some titles currently in issues(no trades yet).

Jack Pot from Aftershock comics- Only two issues in, the team is very good, and they have an interesting SF idea about probability and locations going on.

James Bond 007- I was a little wary at first, but Warren Ellis is writing. This feels like James Bond. By that I mean a little closer to the books and current reality than the movies. Has the violence, swagger, investigative skill, and instincts to get the job accomplished.

Action Man- Some or you are like, "What?". A new Action Man comic was launched at Free Comic Book Day this year, and it was a great ride. Check it out.

Next, comics go to WAR.
Part One: Crime


When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Interview with Diogenes Games, and Socialism

Yes, Socialsm: the Game. Diogenes Games is currently running a campaign on Kickstarter to fund this satirical unofficial expansion for Monopoly. Yes, I know several of you are shaking your heads. Comedy abounds. Without further delay:

What's the gaming background of the folks at Diogenes Games?

We all bring diverse backgrounds to our work—the whole team enjoys games, but two of us are really into board games. Personally, I made several games as a kid. In college I was part of a simulation club where we played out very long, very detailed historic simulation and strategy games (maybe a bit nerdy?!) As a Dad, I personally enjoy playing games with my kids – family favorites are Settlers of Catan, Axis and Allies, Ticket to Ride, Monopoly, and Seven Wonders.

To make the game, our professional backgrounds as writers, attorneys, graphic artists, executives, engineers, and manufacturers made the process of creating and publishing the game very smooth.

Talk us through what lead you to develop Socialism: the Game.

The 2016 US Presidential election is CRAZY. A couple buddies and I were talking, and expressing dismay at the socialist and populist themes coming from the left. We started making jokes. Someone said “socialist monopoly”. Drink led to drink. Joke led to joke. And the idea of SOCIALISM: The Game was born. The next day I called an attorney friend (and soon to be SOCIALISM business partner) and said, we’re going to need legal protection. We’re making this. Right now.

Tell us about your economic views. Full on Free Trade, internal Free Trade, or other? Feel free to talk about other sociopolitical aspects as well.

What’s fun about the Diogenes team is the diversity of our views. We are both Democrats and Republicans. Mostly middle and middle right in our politics and economics. Except one guy who is practically libertarian—he really likes to talk but we don’t really listen (kidding). But we are all very pragmatic in our politics. We agree that ideology is a poor substitute for competence and character in a candidate.

We all also agree that socialism is basically un-American. Thomas Jefferson was one of the more left leaning founders of our country. But his ideas of a strong, economically independent nation of land-owning farmers and tradesmen is nowhere to be found now. And we get it—for folks who don’t or can’t “feel the earn” they’re going to “feel the Bern”. They want what other people’s money can buy. But all the members of Diogenes are freelancers or built our own businesses. Socialism kills the entrepreneurial spirit, and maybe the human spirit, too.

SOCIALISM: The Game is a satire on socialist and leftist politics. And what better way to satirize it than to parody Hasbro’s Monopoly?! Socialism would be a game changer for America, the way SOCIALISM: The Game, an unofficial expansion on Hasbro’s Monopoly, transforms one of the greatest games ever. You play on the Monopoly board, with Monopoly money and buildings, but with socialist rules and events dictated by “Fat Chance” and “Communism Chest” cards. Like socialism in real life, it lives by infecting another system.

So capitalistic competition is out, and collective poverty is in. Instead of winning by having the biggest pile of cash, SOCIALISM: The Game, ends when the government owns practically everything and everyone has just 300 bucks or less. But there are a lot of laughs on the way—in SOCIALISM, there are no winners, but there are no losers! Everyone gets a participation award and we achieve equality in dependence (insert group hug here).

Do you anticipate anyone pledging at the 8 or 10k levels? Personally, I'd love to see that as well as your 1M stretch goal. Tell us about those, and the rest of the fun you're having with the campaign.

We are really excited about the $8,000 SuperPAC level. For $8,000 we will distribute 535 copies of SOCIALISM: The Game in Washington DC – one copy for every Senator and member of the US Congress. It will be so much fun to walk into Senator Sanders’ or Representative Pelosi’s office with their complementary game. I’m aware of several people considering it… including one member of Congress.

The $10,000 “Pancake Breakfast” backer level is presenting sponsorship for the “Philadelphia Special Edition” that is available to backers at the $20 level or higher. We chose Philadelphia because ironically, with the Democratic National Convention there this summer, the birthplace of America’s independence may become the birthplace of our dependence if the socialist agenda continues to displace more moderate liberal themes. And we’ll throw a pancake breakfast for you and your friends at your choice of the nation’s capital, or one of this summer’s convention cities—Cleveland or Philadelphia.

The Kickstarter stretch goal of $1,000,000 takes SOCIALISM on the road! We’ll deliver a copy of the game to every governor in America.

Do you have any plans for other unofficial expansions or full games at this time?

We have definitely talked about it, but the timeliness of SOCIALISM: The Game with this election requires our full attention this summer. The team loves to laugh, and we really enjoy working together. Another satirical parody is a very real possibility.

Feel free to rant here.

Laughter is so important right now, particularly with so much tension and bitterness in political discourse. We also need to show our children what all this is all about. And games like this are a great way to accomplish both goals.

SOCIALISM: The Game is serious, and it’s serious fun. It’s a great gift. And great fun with friends. Let’s get social, and as we always say “Please fund SOCIALISM today”!

First, I'd like to say it's nice to see that there are still Democrats and liberals(self-identified) that think Socialism is bad. I'd like to see the 8k level backed, just for the entertainment value. If you're so inclined to join the comedy, please help out.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.