365 T-shirts - the reasoning

This blog should be sub-titled: a journal of my life in geek.

I get my geek on with things about which I am geeky: comic books, Baseball, Ultimate, science fiction, my favorite bands, books I have read and loved, and Jungian psychology to name some of the most frequently traversed subjects.

I began this project simply as a way to count my T-shirts. I own a lot of T-shirts. But how many do I have? Do I have 365? We shall find out.

When I started this blog, I thought about how each T-shirt means something to me. I bought it for a reason, after all. I set myself the task to post an entry about a new T-shirt every day as a way to simply write something every day, a warm up for writing fiction, which is my passion. Writing is like exercise. Warm ups are good for exercise. But after completing a month of blogging about T-shirts, I have learned that this blog serves as a journal; it documents my life in geek, sort of a tour of my interests in pop culture. The blog serves as a tool for self-inventory, for assessment and analysis of self and the origins of self, for stepping through the process of individuation in catalogues, lists, and ranks.

The blog also made me aware that I have some serious gaps in my T-shirt ownership, and I am in the process of collecting some new T-shirts for several of the great popular culture icons that I truly love. Stay tuned.

I was also a bit surprised that people checked out my blog and continue to check it, read it, and even comment on it. I am very appreciative of this readership. Please feel free to share your thoughts in my comments section. I will respond.

Also, please note that I have moved the original introductory text to the side bar. And now, I present to you the most recent entry of 365 T-shirts: a journal of my life in geek. Thank you for reading.
(Second Update - 1310.24. First Update - 1306.05 Originally Posted - 1304.25.)

Thursday, January 9, 2014

T-shirt #294 - The New Shirt - Darth Knight


T-shirt #294 - The New Shirt - Darth Knight or BatVader

This is a new shirt. I had to have it. I love Batman. And I love the character of Darth Vader. It seemed like kismet when I saw this merged logo marketed as "The Darth Knight" shirt or "BatVader," as I like to call it.

I created a Star Wars category now that this shirt brings me to three total Star Wars shirts.

I also have a "Batman Related" category in case you wish to examine all posts related to Batman with one click.

My previous Star Wars related posts:

T-shirt #45: The Evolution of Darth Vader

T-shirt #50: The Rebel Alliance

This shirt brings to mind a question often debated in geek circles: Batman or Darth Vader?

Who is cooler?

Who is better?

Who would win in a fight?

Choose one and only one to have as an action figure? As a cameo in a movie? To be your favorite character?













Who is cooler?

I think Batman wins that debate.

Does anyone aspire to be Darth Vader? Do you want to be kept alive in a breathing apparatus and be a slave to the Emperor and the Dark Side of the Force? Darth Vader is deformed, and he's a bad guy. He kills people for looking at him cross-eyed. He rules through tyranny. Okay, sure, he has a tragic past. He was Anakin Skywalker, a flawed man prone to uncontrollable rages. And he's Luke Skywalker's dad. He seeks redemption in his last moments and is a happy ghost, like something out of My Three Dads. (Okay, I am thinking of the sitcom My Three Sons, but the line of ghosts at the end of the Return of the Jediare all fathers or father figures and so it seems more appropriate to say My Three Dads).

Batman is just cooler. He gets to kiss Catwoman. He's just a man. He has no magic fueled by the Dark Side of the Force. He's a good guy, but he's a bad ass. He beat Superman (see the Dark Knight Returns for details). People aspire to be Batman. People may like Darth Vader. They may even dress up as Darth Vader. Some may aspire to be Darth Vader, but more people aspire to be Batman. It's a fact. There's data to back it up. Compare the numbers of fan sites. More fan sites. More movies. More story and art. More history. A richer and more detailed history. But most importantly, Batman is  GOOD GUY. He's a hero. Darth Vader is not a hero.



BATMAN DOES NOT KILL. This alone makes him "cooler" by most definitions of "cool."

Apparently, this has been a subject discussed some in geek circles. Do your own Google search of Darth Vader vs. Batman for results. Here's a few things I found.

The consensus seems to be that Batman would win. Without the Force, Darth Vader is a seriously broken man in a high-tech iron lung. If Batman can negate the Force as factor in the battle, no problem. In the Star Wars universe, Batman might be the greatest Jedi of all time and kick Darth Vader's ass.

BATMAN vs. DARTH VADER - IGN MESSAGE BOARDS

BATMAN-DARTH VADER Light Saber Duel

BATMAN vs. DARTH VADER BATTLES COMIC VINE


And some people have actually made VIDEOS. This is proof that the Internet is a wonderful place for all kinds of creativity. Or, maybe, proof that people have too much time on their hands.

I like this video, even though Vader prevails. It may be the best of the three I selected. There are others. Sadly, I cannot embed this one. Apparently, Kevin Smith held a contest, so there are several videos. Some are a little stupid.

Batman VS Vader - #DarkSideKnight


I like this next one but though Batman overcomes Vader, he also runs away.


#darksideknight Batman vs Darth Vader




This one has some good humor and also some stupidity.

Batman Vs Darth Vader




This is cute and short, but Vader just stands there while Batman makes off with the Princess.

Darth Vader vs. Batman






Favorite? Oh come on. BATMAN of course. Duh. WEEKLY COMICS LIST Here's the Weekly comics list on Thursday this week because Friday's blog is special and will have nothing to do with comics. Now that I have caught up on some of the issues I am reading, Sex Criminals, which is a wonderful comic, jumps to the second spot. I almost had it dislodge The Walking Dead, but the zombie comic is always a quick and easy read so it continues in the top spot if only for that reason. The Cataclysm comics jump into the top five this week because they are written by Bendis and feature great art with Marquez on the Spider-Man comic and Bagley on the other other. Actually, some of last week's comics crept up in this list, like Flash, which I had not read yet. I am actually completing this entry on the Sunday following (1401.12) the Thursday when I posted this entry originally. I am planning a day of reading Sunday (which as I confessed is the day I am actually writing this one). I will report back on the results of that. I am really looking forward to the Black Widow comic. I have been stacking up many comics that I want to review, but such things will have to wait as I continue to catch up. Recently, I have read Revival, volumes one and two, which I enjoyed immensely, so I am hoping to review those soon, but not today. COMICS FOR 1401.08 Walking Dead #119 Sex Criminals #4 Afterlife With Archie #3 Cataclysm: Ultimate Spider-Man #003 Cataclysm: The Ultimates Last Stand #003 Green Arrow #27 Black Widow #001 Avengers World #001 Avengers A.I. #008 Young Avengers #015 Wolverine #013 Heist #004 Iron Man #020 Daredevil: Dark Knights #008 Batman: Detective Comics #27 Earth Two  #19 Green Lantern #27 Superman: Action Comics#27 The Awakening #002 The Shaolin Cowboy #4 BACK LOG Fairest #22 Sheltered #6 Buck Rogers #4 SPECIAL PURCHASES SEX: The Summer of Hard: Volume One From Image Comics (Casey/Kowalski) Revival Volume Two
BTW (By the way), yesterday (1401.08) was David Bowie's birthday. Had I been more organized, I would have featured a shirt for Bowie yesterday. But I cannot always get organized around such things. I am trying to feature something great for T-shirt #300, which looms, and I am not sure I am going to finish what I am working on in time.
Anyway, Happy 67th Birthday Mr. Bowie. Thanks for all you have given me with your art and your presence in the world. My life, all of our lives, have been richer for it.
COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 71 shirts remaining - chris tower - first publication - 1401.09 - 20:03
Final publication - 1401.12 - 9:24