Read It...NOW!!!

As I wrote on my other blog, George Carlin passed away today (the 23rd). This has been sad to me, but I decided more than spend my usual (and probably somewhat redundant rant of describing the intricate conspiracies of Secret Invasion and the infuriating ungenius of Dan Didio) I've decided to give a shout out to humor.

My friend Ryan Johnson turned me on to two comics recently which have been highly rewarding reads and made me chuckle.

First, the All Star Batman & Robin. I thought at first that it was just a send up of silver age Batman tales. A lot of tights, a lot of "holy rubber suit" batman jokes. Not a fan. Then I realized that Frank Miller was the writer for the series. Similar to Marvel's series where guest writers take on characters, Frank Miller takes the 60's Batman and twists him into his Dark Knight, curt, introspective Batman he's famous for.

Nothing like Batman painting himself yellow, sipping on lemonade all to piss off Hal Jordan (they don't have a great history by the way). Genius. Sure genius. This series doesn't reinvent or create an elseworlds storyline. It's the same original storyline, with some Miller twist. His language usage, the pompisity of batman...seeing even little dickie grayson refer to Hal as a "rube" is classic.

On a darker note, but one I imagine Miller would uphold, is a series from Dynamite Comics called "The Boys." The comic mocks the JLA magnificent seven (referring to them as The Seven) and demonizes them to the point where they are all about endorsements and money and see saving people as a part time job. The good guys are five characters who have some super powers but spend most of the time showing the corruption of the super groups.

Written very well. Chalk full of irony. And if you're a comics fan, reading the little digs and stabs it takes on the Marvel and DC is pretty entertaining. No character is safe. It's also a comic with a pretty high parental advisory warning (lotta bad language, lotta violence, lotta sex). But the 'raunchiness' is done with fine percision and intelligent wit. It's not gratuitous. It's methodical.

On a day when we all lost a man who embraced pushing the envelope and saying what he wanted, these are two comics that any George Carlin/Comic Book fan will appreciate. So keep the laughter and irony rolling in these dark days.

pb