T-shirt #353 - "Death" - Shi Comic

TODAY'S COUNT: 12 blog posts remaining in the T-shirt year!!

T-shirt #353 - "Death" - Shi Comic

Once I was out for breakfast with my good friend Chris Dilley, who speaks Chinese and has lived in China for short periods of time, and he asked "Why do you have death on your t-shirt?"

"It's from a comic book. Shi."

"Oh."

Sadly, I could not offer much more back than that.

I could not recall the details then that I can share with you here after some Internet searching.

Apparently the Japanese character for "death" and the Chinese are very much similar.

Shi is a character created by William Tucci and came to prominence in independent comics in the early 1990s. Like the shirt's character, her name translates literally as "death." She is a Japanese-American woman drawn into an ancient "shadow war" between sohei warrior monks.

Though the character is often depicted in provocative and sexual poses, the series itself rooted itself in Japanese history, mythology, and spirituality.

Buying the Shi comic was definitely an action in which my ethics came into conflict with my fan boy, basic male hormone-driven lusty nature.

Though tame compared to many of the Manga and bubblegum pop cheesecake of little girls in short skirts popular with the Japanese men, and though Shi panders directly to the fan boys who like to ogle provocatively dressed women, even if they are sohei warriors armed with a naginata who could kill them with a flick of the razor sharp pole arm.

Men are visually wired. This is a fact proven best by evolutionary psychology (even though "intellectuals" dismiss evolutionary psychology as non-factual and anecdotal). I confess that I have a tendency to ogle, though less so now that I am married.

Nevertheless, I like the shirt because it's not a picture of Shi in a position swiped from a picture on pornographic magazine. It's just the Chinese character for "death" because when Shi is involved, death is coming.

I am using this shirt as an excuse to write about other comics. To feel that I have provided enough content, feel free to explore the links to Wikipedia and Comic Vine Shi content farther below. And, because my visual wiring almost requires it, I have a gallery of Shi art, mostly by original creator Billy Tucci. The art is gorgeous, even though, at times, it's swiped from pornography.

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OFFICIAL BOILERPLATE TEXT OF THE LAST TWENTY POSTS COUNTDOWN: Hi. Thanks for reading. I am posting this "boilerplate" text everyday for the last TWENTY posts in the T-SHIRT blog year, which started on March 22, 2013. I will close out daily transmission on March 21st, day 365 of my T-shirt blog-tastic extravaganza spectacular. I will give myself a short hiatus of total non-transmission or  publication for an as yet undetermined period of time, though I am estimating about two weeks. After my blog vacation hiatus, I will resume T-shirt posts on a regular basis, also as yet to be determined (weekly? Twice monthly?) to finish blogging about all the T-shirts that were not featured in the blog year. At some point, once I feel I am rolling along nicely, I will begin regular posting through my main blog: SENSE OF DOUBT. T-shirt posts will direct to the T-shirt blog from SENSE OF DOUBT. I will continue to post THE WEEKLY COMIC LIST, the features of occasional T-SHIRTS I AM WEARING THIS WEEK, book reviews, comic book reviews, and other popular culture nonsense as I have been for a year now but all will go up at SENSE OF DOUBT and some will direct back here to 365 T-SHIRTS. Ultimately, I will begin Internet publication of my fiction, primarily the comic book satire episodic story called POP! among other projects. So, in summary, 365 T-SHIRTS will continue though intermittently. SENSE OF DOUBT will host my main blog presence and fiction writing as well as links to any T-shirt posts shared here. I hope you will continue to follow me in my journey as a writer and a content provider. Thank you for your kind attention and time you have spent with me on this and/or any other day this year. I am humbled and blessed by your readership. - chris tower, blogger, originated 1403.02

BY THE WAY NOTE: 1403.09: Reviewing my page views, I am intrigued that my post for

T-shirt #348 - Kalamazoo College Alumni has jumped to the top of the monthly page views list followed by the WMU post for T-shirt #324 (no, I am not linking them all), the Fantastic Four logo for T-shirt #344, Curious George (#322), and Robin-Time Drake (#323).

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Shi Comic Resources

Shi (Comics) Wikipedia

Shi - Character - Comic Vine

Shi - The Way of the Warrior - Comic Vine

Shi Movie? DEATH IS COMING


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There was a Shi and Daredevil cross over comic. Information is HERE: SHI & DAREDEVIL.

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Comic Reviews

Herein I review the top six comics from my stack from March fifth 2014 as promised two days ago in the blog for T-shirt #351.

Though the blog will grow to a large size with images and the content I am sharing, I do consider these to be "mini" reviews. :-) Really. I mean it. Stop laughing at me.

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SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS 

Do not read on if you wish to remain unaware of what takes places in the following comics:

Afterlife with Archie #4

Moon Knight #001

Velvet #4

Starlight #1

Green Arrow #29

Forever Evil #6

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AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #4

Afterlife with Archie continues to be great with work by one of the most under-rated and yet best writers in the business (whose take on the Fantastic Four in the comic simply titled 4 is still among my favorites) -- Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and the up and coming master of the dark and shadowy Francesco Francavilla.

Issue #4 is the best yet. As Archie leave Lodge manor and heads home to save his parents, he flashes back to childhood memories, mainly of choosing his puppy Vegas, and the bond that they share. This flashback culminates in the scene in which Vegas sacrifices himself for "Archie Master."

Later in the comic, Archie must make a similarly difficult choice as he must take a bat to the skull of his now zombie-fied father, hence the banner image above.

Here's some good sites that go into more depth on the comic and a few pages from it. Truly excellent work!!

AGUIRRE-SACASA GOES INSIDE "AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE'S" BRUTAL TURN

And in an excerpt, Aguirre-Sacasa says: "I can't speak for Francesco, but for me, the biggest surprise -- and the most gratifying thing -- has been the unconditional -- like, completely unconditional -- support this book has gotten from everyone at Archie, from Jon Goldwater on down. It's a labor of love for everyone…"

HORRORTALK REVIEW

Horrortalk is a great blog site full of all things HORROR, which my wife especially will love once I tell her about it.

And lastly, the link below, is a preview that includes a "trailer" because in today's world one can make a movie-style, film-like preview for a comic book (or anything really). And, yes, it's actually very awesome and worth watching.

Afterlife with Archie #4 trailer looks awesome

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Moon Knight #001

If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you already know that I am a very fond fan of writer Warren Ellis, so much so that I have devoted a category just to post concerning him in my category list. For those who are not regular readers, there, I just told you.

So it should be no surprise that I eagerly anticipated the new Moon Knight  comic by Ellis, Declan Shalvey, and Jordie Bellaire.

In the exclusive CBR interview (see link below), Ellis promises a Planetary-esque experience with Moon Knight, which will set all Ellis fans' hearts aflutter as there is a great deal of general agreement that Planetary is if not his best work, surely top five. It's also one of the best comics of its kind ever produced.

Ellis discussed in the interview (again, link below) that his "Planetary process" is to scrape back barnacles to "what excited people about it [the comic, the character] in the first place." This process of scraping has me intrigued and has set my creative juices a-flowing on my own projects.

The Moon Knight comic is a great new look at the character (though I am hoping that the cape and special helicopter eventually make appearances) supplied by Ellis' inventive twist. The ending, which I will NOT spoil here after all, makes a great reversal of an assumption about the character that will produce some very intriguing stories going forward. This comic could easily have taken my top spot for the week, though it's rivaled by other GREAT comics that came out on March FIFTH.

BTW, Quirky thing, because they can be quirky, the Moon Knight comic letters page -- "Going Postal" -- is only accepting hand written letters mailed in the postal mail and marked "Okay to Print." I find this request amusing and wonder how many they will receive. Will they in turn be postal mailed to Ellis or scanned into a Google account or sent via email?

I will share some pages from the comic after the links.

MOON KNIGHT LINKS

WARREN ELLIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ABOUT THE NEW MOON KNIGHT

Charles Skaggs always produces good reviews.

Damn Good Coffee and Hot! - Charles Skaggs' Moon Knight Review

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Velvet #4

Velvet continues to be one of my favorite comics, and for those who like the old 1950s and 1960s spy thrillers, you will find this comic to be one of the best on the market, which is a claim that if I keep making it, I am going to have to back up with an actual LIST. Though my assessment will be flawed because I do not read everything.

This issue is connective tissue, moving the story from one major plot point to the next. You have to be invested in the story already to enjoy it. This is not the kind of thing you can pick up midway.

Set in 1973, Velvet Templeton, a retired field agent, is in the field once again and on the run after seemingly set up for the murder of one of the ARC-7's best operatives. 

One of the best observations by the reviewer shared in the upcoming link is that Templeton is an older woman, though we're not sure how old, surely she's at least in her 40s.

Here's the review I mentioned, a great REVIEW by Benjamin Herman of issues one and two.

In this issue, Velvet costumes herself for prowling about Monaco's annual Carnival of Fools to make contact with an ex-KGB agent named by the woman whom Velvet sprung from prison in the last issue (in the flashback in one of the art pages I will share below). The issues turns quickly with a great action sequence as Velvet intervenes to protect her contact and is almost beaten to death by an assassin. She narrates this sequence, explaining that any fight that lasts more than five seconds is hell. She manages to beat the assassin in a very hardcore and unexpected fashion, (I don't want to give away everything), after which she and her contact Roman, get the heck out of the area. the issue ends with possibly the best cliff hanger yet, one that will turn Velvet's world, and our reading experience, upside down.

BRILLIANT STUFF.

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Starlight #1

Though derivative of the John Carter set up that's been re-used many times in stories and comics (such as the wonderful Adam Strange), Mark Millar takes a new look at the hero visits another world and returns to earth story motif, but here, the aging hero is losing what makes his life on earth worthwhile and no one on earth believes his stories of others planets, aliens, and rocket ships.

Millar is a good writer, though I have not read everything he does. I find him a bit indulgent sometimes (though aren't we all) but I generally have enjoyed his work. His in top form here with a strong story and dynamite first issue. Art by Goran Parlov is exceptional. The art is very reminiscent of Moebius with a bit of Alex Toth thrown in, which I love.

MOEBIUS. If you don't know, GOOGLE.


Though the art I will share is out of order, I like the way it works out of order. Enjoy.

REVIEW OF STARLIGHT - RHYMES WITH GEEK

REVIEW OF STARLIGHT - Nothing But Comics

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Green Arrow #29

Okay, here I go again. Green Arrow is one of the best comics being currently published. It may be the best DC Comic, at least of those I read (and I do not read Swamp Thing though I plan to catch up via trade collections).

Lemire and Sorrentino have transformed this comic completely from its former incarnation, have worked in older popular Green Arrow story lines (Shado), and are developing a rich, complex new mythology.

This issue marks part four of an ongoing story but it ends with such a devastating cliff hanger that I will not even reveal it here.

Suffice to say that Green Arrow will keep hitting the top of my stack. I would have ranked it higher this week if not for the debut of Starlight, which I was eager to read, and of course the others, which were either debuts, easy reads, or, as with Velvet, have the slight edge on the life and times of Oliver Queen.

I have not yet watched the TV show Arrow, and I do plan to at some point, but I am happy that this comic, at least I assume, is not transformed to match that show outside of the addition of the hood and a leaner, greener (as in younger) Ollie Queen.

REVIEW OF GREEN ARROW - RHYMES WITH GEEK
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Forever Evil #6

Damn.

Wow.

Damn.

DC comics' Forever Evil is not quite a match for the other comics in the top six. It's one of those big superhero and villain all universe cross overs in which much is left unexplored because of the nature of the mini-series format and the intermittent publishing schedule (this book has not shipped monthly and on time or so it seems in my flawed mind).

But it's damn good stuff. I like these crossover books generally. And David Finch's art is gorgeous. I am also not a nay sayer and happen to like Geoff Johns' writing.

But I am also a huge NIGHTWING fan and, well, damn, damn, damn. But then heroes are dropping like flies this week (go read Green Arrow), and I am not convinced that Nightwing is DEAD.

But that's what happens. It's well done and the story is solid enough, though not the best I have ever read.

The big surprises are worth the price of admission, especially the final frames.

Here's two reviews.

WORD OF THE NERD - NIGHT WING LIVES

SPOILER ALERT - REVIEW FROM NEWSARAMA

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Shi Comic - COVER GALLERY

COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 12 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1403.09 - 19:23

T-shirt #352 - Cub Fan - Bart Man

TODAY'S COUNT: 13 blog posts remaining in the T-shirt year!!

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T-shirt #352 - Cub Fan - Bart Man

Baseball season is upon us, and I am making my nefarious plans for my Fantasy Baseball Empire with my first draft tonight.

Actually, I am going to wing it. I don't have time to prepare my own stats log and analysis, so I am going with the work of Baseball Forecaster and my own reasonable intuition for this league, in which I placed eighth of twelve last year. I think I can beat that record.

I did not win any of my leagues last year. The best I finished was second out of eight. I finished fourth in the league I run (TIGER TOWNE), third of eight in a league run by my friend Craig, and sixth of twelve in a New England league. I was kicked out of a rotisserie league run by a crazy madman, so I decided to reboot his league with the other players who may well be disgruntled.

Today, I am renewing the "hiatus shirt" mandate in order to possibly catch up by Monday on the seven incomplete blog entries found elsewhere via my main address. They are now sufficiently buried so as not be so persistent to my psyche's wellness, and yet, I know they are there.

Several gravitational anomalies aligned in the galaxy to produce this blog, which originally had been schedule as not one other but two other shirts.

And then I saw this: 365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 66: The Finkatronic Ray, which reminded me of my Cub Fan Bart Man T-shirt as a herald (get it? If you're a comic geek given my picture of Homer-Galactus below, you will get it.) of SPRING and BASEBALL SEASON.

I have given shouts to both the BULLY SAYS COMICS OUGHTA BE FUN and the wonderful Pencil Ink blog, and this morning I decided to let those bloggers know of my appreciation for their efforts with comments on their sites.

Bully is doing a 365 Days of Kirby Tech series, which, yesterday, manifested as tech from the Simpsons comic. Wonderful stuff. Here's one of the pics he shared from Panels from "Captain Cupcake and Pieboy!" in Simpsons Super Spectacular #5 (July 2007), script by Mike W. Barr, pencils by James Lloyd, inks by Andrew Pepoy, colors by Rick Reese, letters by Karen Bates.

Meanwhile, I decided to post -- pretty much -- just pictures today. So here, we go (with a little text in between, D'oh!!) Okay, Don't have a cow, man.

There are 21 entries (including today's) in my Baseball category, which is a sport name that -- as you may or may not know -- I like to deify with a capital letter.

I featured the shirt that goes with this hat in T-shirt #182.

Here's some text from that blog:

T-shirt #80: Detroit Tigers est. 1901 may be my best  Baseball post so far, though T-shirt #115: Chicago Cubs est. 1876 also shares a great deal of good Baseball stuff. I love the sense of history. I love the stats. I love my teams.

But it's all best summed up by this quote from the great Ernie Harwell:

"Baseball is a ballet without music. Drama without words. A carnival without kewpie dolls. Baseball is continuity. Pitch to pitch. Inning to inning. Season to season."

When I saw this T-shirt, I had to have one. I like the Simpsons, but I would not characterize myself as a massive Simpsons fan like some folks.

"Don't Have a Cow, Harry!" refers to Harry Caray, former announcer for the Chicago Cubs, who always used to say "Holy Cow!" and since Bart Simpson often says "Don't Have a Cow, Man" then this is a great joke connection.

Harry Caray died in 1998. Here's a little weird irony: in the 2003 playoffs, one of the Cubs few post-season appearances in the last 20 years. In October of 2003, the Cubs were playing in the National League Championship series against the Florida Marlins (who won the World Series that year), there's one incident that is defined as the losing moment for that Cubs team, preventing them from advancing to the World Series. It has come to be known as the STEVE BARTMAN INCIDENT.

Lifelong Cubs fan Steve Bartman interfered with a catch by Cubs outfielder Moisés Alou. Had Alou caught that ball for the out, the Cubs would have been four outs from the National League title and the World Series. As it turned out, the Cubs lost the game and eventually the series.

Get it? The shirt is "Bart Man" and is from Cubs merchandise no later than 1998 and possibly earlier, and yet it foreshadows the infamous "villain" of the Cubs' 2003 loss. Really, it's a sad thing. Steve Bartman is a well meaning Cubs fan who got caught up in the excitement of a ball coming his way and made a mistake, like we all do (make mistakes that is). It just so happened to be a mistake that is believed to have cost the Cubs a National League title and a shot at winning the World Series.

Remember how in yesterday's blog I mentioned saving time for date night with my lovely wife? Well, here's our sashimi/sushi dinner from Friday the 7th of March using a gift certificate given to use for Christmas.

We love delicious sashimi/sushi at KUMO.

YUM.

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This is the shirt I am actually
wearing today

OFFICIAL BOILERPLATE TEXT OF THE LAST TWENTY POSTS COUNTDOWN: Hi. Thanks for reading. I am posting this "boilerplate" text everyday for the last TWENTY posts in the T-SHIRT blog year, which started on March 22, 2013. I will close out daily transmission on March 21st, day 365 of my T-shirt blog-tastic extravaganza spectacular. I will give myself a short hiatus of total non-transmission or  publication for an as yet undetermined period of time, though I am estimating about two weeks. After my blog vacation hiatus, I will resume T-shirt posts on a regular basis, also as yet to be determined (weekly? Twice monthly?) to finish blogging about all the T-shirts that were not featured in the blog year. At some point, once I feel I am rolling along nicely, I will begin regular posting through my main blog: SENSE OF DOUBT. T-shirt posts will direct to the T-shirt blog from SENSE OF DOUBT. I will continue to post THE WEEKLY COMIC LIST, the features of occasional T-SHIRTS I AM WEARING THIS WEEK, book reviews, comic book reviews, and other popular culture nonsense as I have been for a year now but all will go up at SENSE OF DOUBT and some will direct back here to 365 T-SHIRTS. Ultimately, I will begin Internet publication of my fiction, primarily the comic book satire episodic story called POP! among other projects. So, in summary, 365 T-SHIRTS will continue though intermittently. SENSE OF DOUBT will host my main blog presence and fiction writing as well as links to any T-shirt posts shared here. I hope you will continue to follow me in my journey as a writer and a content provider. Thank you for your kind attention and time you have spent with me on this and/or any other day this year. I am humbled and blessed by your readership. - chris tower, blogger, originated 1403.02
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HIATUS TEXT: REVISED 1402.18:  I have been trying to maintain a hiatus from large or over involved blog posts beginning with the start date of my hiatus on January 20th (almost a month ago) during which time I logged 21 posts, which I consider "Hiatus Shirts." By this term, Hiatus Shirt, I mean the shirt is not one that would cause me to write a great deal on the subject it features. These are shirts about which I can write anything, either a lot or a very little. The hiatus will continue, though as it has for the last few weeks, not consecutively as I will continue to mix Hiatus and Non-Hiatus shirts. The blog's year (365 shirts) draws close to a close. (I like the double word use in that previous sentence.) I hope to finish strong with some good entries with high quality content and imagery on some beloved subjects. To earn this time, I will need to intersperse shirts of little consequence, what I have come to call Hiatus Shirts.

My original goal of working ahead remains. I need time to write the enormously lengthy text to complete the extensive love letter to certain beloved popular culture icons featured on my many special shirts. Even with "Hiatus Shirts," I will try to share some worthy content as I have either an idea, a new suggestion of something to read/look at/listen to, or another installment of my various features, such as the WHY T-SHIRTS item, the WEEKLY COMIC BOOK LISTS, and the SHIRT I AM ACTUALLY WEARING TODAY among others. BTW, this is the standard HIATUS TEXT that I will include in every "hiatus shirt" entry.

Thanks for reading. I am always honored that people have taken some of their valuable time to look at my ongoing web writing project. Keep checking this address. I promise to make it worthwhile.
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COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 13 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1403.08 - 13:11

T-shirt #351: A Distant Soil

TODAY'S COUNT: 14 blog posts remaining in the T-shirt year!!

T-shirt #351: A Distant Soil

Greetings readers. Keeping things short today because it's date night with the wife, a bi-monthly tradition, and I have been working hard lately, so I want to devote maximum time to us, which seems fitting given the romantic nature of today's subject matter.

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OFFICIAL BOILERPLATE TEXT OF THE LAST TWENTY POSTS COUNTDOWN: Hi. Thanks for reading. I am posting this "boilerplate" text everyday for the last TWENTY posts in the T-SHIRT blog year, which started on March 22, 2013. I will close out daily transmission on March 21st, day 365 of my T-shirt blog-tastic extravaganza spectacular. I will give myself a short hiatus of total non-transmission or  publication for an as yet undetermined period of time, though I am estimating about two weeks. After my blog vacation hiatus, I will resume T-shirt posts on a regular basis, also as yet to be determined (weekly? Twice monthly?) to finish blogging about all the T-shirts that were not featured in the blog year. At some point, once I feel I am rolling along nicely, I will begin regular posting through my main blog: SENSE OF DOUBT. T-shirt posts will direct to the T-shirt blog from SENSE OF DOUBT. I will continue to post THE WEEKLY COMIC LIST, the features of occasional T-SHIRTS I AM WEARING THIS WEEK, book reviews, comic book reviews, and other popular culture nonsense as I have been for a year now but all will go up at SENSE OF DOUBT and some will direct back here to 365 T-SHIRTS. Ultimately, I will begin Internet publication of my fiction, primarily the comic book satire episodic story called POP! among other projects. So, in summary, 365 T-SHIRTS will continue though intermittently. SENSE OF DOUBT will host my main blog presence and fiction writing as well as links to any T-shirt posts shared here. I hope you will continue to follow me in my journey as a writer and a content provider. Thank you for your kind attention and time you have spent with me on this and/or any other day this year. I am humbled and blessed by your readership. - chris tower, blogger, originated 1403.02
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Easy to dredge up content for today's blog. I used to write a weekly comic book column for The Kalamazoo Gazette in 1994-1995. I am sad that I am no longer publishing this column (though my blog work is better!!) because it was one of the best and most fun freelance projects I have ever done.

In many ways, my subject matter for the column, like my subject matter for this blog, was driven by my interests. In the 1990s, Colleen Doran was a rising star, and I felt that she deserved more exposure if only in the small way I could provide. What follows is my column about her, redacted from a telephone interview.

Doran has worked for many of the big companies. Look above to see her work on The Legion of Superheroes.

UPDATE on 1403.13: I did not do any research on Colleen Doran when I posted this entry last week as I was planning to reprint my article about her from 20 years ago! However, I knew I had not heard of her doing much lately. And then last night, Warren Ellis resent a Twitter message from Colleen sharing that her comic (written by Ellis) is still hosted on the Internet. It's pretty damn good, too. Find it at the link following.

SUPER IDOL ON ART BOMB 
written by Warren Ellis with art by Colleen Doran

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The following is my comic book column originally published in The Kalamazoo Gazette in August of 1994 after my interview with Colleen Doran.

If you were a comic artist, would you withdraw from BIG paychecks and national distribution with a major company?

That's just what 30-year-old artist Colleen Doran has done.  She quit her job as regular penciller on DC Comics' "Valor" and guest stints on such things as "Sandman" and "The Legion of Superheroes" to write, draw, and produce her own comic book: "A Distant Soil."

This is not so strange.  Many creators are doing the same thing.  The problem with working for a company like DC is that when you finish drawing a 22-page comic, you don't own any of it: DC owns it.  So many creators have left big companies like DC and Marvel to create and publish their own comics, their own property.

Colleen Doran began publishing "A Distant Soil" (ADS) under the umbrella of Aria Press--her own publishing company--in 1991, but the enticements a big company can offer--steady paychecks and drawing favorite characters--lured her away from her own book.  Now, she's back on ADS full time.  She plans to publish monthly through the end of 1994 ("to catch up") and then return to a bi-monthly schedule in 1995.

"A Distant Soil" features two stories. "Immigrant's Song" tells the story of teenagers Jason and Liana Scott, brother and sister, who are on the run from a government that imprisoned them to study their psychic abilities.  "Seasons of Spring" takes place prior to "Immigrant's Song."  It's a story of the Scott family, Jason and Liana as children, their father Aeren--who is a fugitive from the world Ovanan--their mother Jessica, and their brothers and sisters, twins Cari and Tiar.  Also, for Arthurian fans, Avalon made an appearance in issue #5, featuring Galahad, Lancelot, and Percival.

Beyond a simple plot summary, ADS is impossible to describe because it's not like anything else.  Sure, other people do comics in black and white, but ADS possesses an elegance of both art and story that's incomparable.  Doran's book focuses on family relationships, the minutiae of life, the beauty of love.  But it's not sappy.  And it doesn't lack action: there's action scenes, personal relationships, conflicts, schemes, aliens, and psychic powers, too.  But even these scenes are not like the fight scenes in other comics.  Doran's work is thoughtful and elegant.

Doran's ADS is a pretty big hit with comics readers, too.  The first issue sold out three printings, and Doran is about to do a fourth printing of 20,000 copies.  The other issues have sold well, too.  ADS's sales increase 14% with each issue.

One element about which Doran spoke ardently during an interview was characters in ADS who are androgynous or obviously gay.  "I am interested in gender issues and gender roles.  When people say that they don't approve of how other people behave in the privacy of their own bedrooms, this inherent homophobia is a kind of misogyny.  These attitudes persist even among gay men who are hostile to transsexuals and transvestites: they incur my ire, too.  There's never an excuse for bigotry.  We're born with our sexual orientation.  We don't ask what makes someone heterosexual.  Why do we ask what makes someone homosexual?"

These attitudes come through in Doran's depiction of her characters.  Her "gay" aliens Rieken and D'mer are androgynous, and when they do exhibit their feelings for one another, Doran understates the scene, makes it natural, simple.  The result is beautiful and elegant like everything else Colleen Doran does.

HOT COMICS: "A Distant Soil" # 8 is at comic shops now, and #9 is due in September.  If you can't find it, request that your comic shop proprietor order one for you, or order it directly from Aria Press 12638-28 Jefferson Ave. Suite 173, Newport News, VA 23602-4316.

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WEEKLY COMIC BOOK LIST

Originally, I had Moonknight (the new launch written by Warren Ellis) first with Velvet a very close second but since Afterlife with Archie is such a quick read, it takes top spot. Afterlife with Archie did not disappoint. I plan to share reviews of all of at least all of the first six issues in the list below (which I have already read) in a future blog. For now, this is it.

Though I have to mention that I am happy I have read back far enough to get Detective Comics and Green Lantern out of the back log.

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COMICS FOR 1403.05

Afterlife with Archie #4
Moonknight #001
Velvet #4
Starlight #1
Green Arrow #29
Forever Evil #6
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New Warriors #002
Clone #15
Jupiter's Legacy #4
Nova #014
Uncanny X-Men #018
Captain America #018
Iron Man #022
The Punisher #003
Avengers AI #010
Batman: Detetctive Comics: GOTHTOPIA #29
Green Lantern #29
Earth 2 #21
God is Dead #8

BACK LOG
Superman - Action Comics # 29
Fairest #24
Trillium #7

SPECIAL PURCHASES

Atomic Robo - Real Science Adventures - Volume 2

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HIATUS TEXT: REVISED 1402.18:  I have been trying to maintain a hiatus from large or over involved blog posts beginning with the start date of my hiatus on January 20th (almost a month ago) during which time I logged 21 posts, which I consider "Hiatus Shirts." By this term, Hiatus Shirt, I mean the shirt is not one that would cause me to write a great deal on the subject it features. These are shirts about which I can write anything, either a lot or a very little. The hiatus will continue, though as it has for the last few weeks, not consecutively as I will continue to mix Hiatus and Non-Hiatus shirts. The blog's year (365 shirts) draws close to a close. (I like the double word use in that previous sentence.) I hope to finish strong with some good entries with high quality content and imagery on some beloved subjects. To earn this time, I will need to intersperse shirts of little consequence, what I have come to call Hiatus Shirts.

My original goal of working ahead remains. I need time to write the enormously lengthy text to complete the extensive love letter to certain beloved popular culture icons featured on my many special shirts. Even with "Hiatus Shirts," I will try to share some worthy content as I have either an idea, a new suggestion of something to read/look at/listen to, or another installment of my various features, such as the WHY T-SHIRTS item, the WEEKLY COMIC BOOK LISTS, and the SHIRT I AM ACTUALLY WEARING TODAY among others. BTW, this is the standard HIATUS TEXT that I will include in every "hiatus shirt" entry.

Thanks for reading. I am always honored that people have taken some of their valuable time to look at my ongoing web writing project. Keep checking this address. I promise to make it worthwhile.
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COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 14 shirts remaining


- chris tower - 1403.07 - 12:05