Dana Augustine

It's Friday night. If you're home, go treat yourself to the mind-blowing visions of Dana Augustine.

Remember the first time you saw Star Wars? Or that first issue of The Eternals? Or your first episode of The X-Files? His stuff is kind of like that. A rare quality these days.

Comics as the New Counter Culture

There’s been a bit of a hullabaloo over that the fact that 2004 is the 70th anniversary of the modern American comic book. For most people, this is one of those nostalgic milestones that reminds us of our lost innocence. 

How This All Works

Here is an interesting episode of This American Life that gives a compelling example of how mythology is still alive and well. An ex-gang banger talks about how he learned how to cope with his lifestyle by taking lessons from the movies; those mythic Mob elements like loyalty and family. 

Hercules/Superman redux

Part one of the Superman/Hercules presentation is up on Comic Book Resources. I was hoping to hand this off and move on but that's the way it always goes. It's been fascinating watching some of the reaction on the message boards. 

It really reminds me of the old debates in the AOL religion section, particularly when it came to polarized topics like biblical inerrancy. It's all clarified things in my mind and helped solidify ideas I've been mulling over. Part two should be up today. 

Quote for the Day: But the coming Superman is of the type of the Masters: They are Masters of Compassion; not only Masters of Knowledge, but of love and knowledge together, which make Wisdom, and it is Wisdom which shall be the characteristic of "the Coming Race". - Annie Besant, 1917

Secret Societies and Superheroes? Say it ain't so...

The quasi-Masonic Orange Order is getting in the superhero business...

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it's... well he doesn't have a name yet, but the Orange Order hopes to win a new generation of fans with their own superhero. The origins of the Orange Order may date from the 17th century battle for supremacy between Protestantism and Catholicism, but they have high hopes for this 21st century makeover.

The Occult is a Misnomer

From the still-raging CBR debate:

The occult itself is a misnomer- this kind of material is mainstream and has been since the days of the pulps. You can get material on the "occult" in every bookstore or library in the country, or on half the shows on the Disney Channel. What were once occult themes are in almost every comic book story out there, which I write about in the book.

The Spandex Files: Pantheopolis

It's a truism that superheroes are nothing new. Pulp superheroes like John Carter, the Shadow, Doc Savage and Tarzan predate Action #1, just as comic books like Ally Sloper's Half-Holiday long predate Famous Funnies. 

A True Homage

From The CBR Debate:

"Swipe" is a ambiguous word. There's some of the egregious swipes we saw in 90's on one hand and exactly what describe what you describe on the other.

To tell you the truth, I think of it as an homage in the deepest and most honest sense of the word. I think this was Siegel's way of paying tribute to the figure that inspired him most by paying tribute to what may have been the most inspiring image of that figure to him. I've showed the other images that tie into the Hercules legend on my blog and that was just a cursory overview of some of the themes he traded in.

Some of you guys may think I'm being this little snitch, trying to spoil everyone's appreciation of this icon like some revisionist biographer. Not at all- as with Spandex, I'm trying to deepen and broaden people's appreciation and understanding by showing the roots of this genre and how powerful and compelling these icons are to fans and creators.

Layer Cake & the New British Gangster Mythos

 

When most Americans think of England, they tend to think of tired, old cliches. In Yankee minds, England conjures up bucktoothed colonels, ruddy beefeaters, shrivelled aunties and raging queens prone to saying things like " Pip, pip", "cheerio" and "duckie." 

Geometry

All That is Hidden...

...shall be revealed.

“Never draw what you can copy; never copy what you can trace; and never trace what you can cut out and paste up.” -Wally Wood

THE CLARK KENT CONTROVERSY KONTINUES!

First of all, let's establish the meaning of the term "swipe." I'm looking at this from the point of view of a graphic artist. "Reference" or "inspiration" often means "knocking off" in the trade. You take an image and futz around with it - change things, move things around- until you come up with something new. The action lines and placement details in this piece seem out of the realm of coincidence.

Is the Cover to Action Comics #1 a Swipe?

It is the single most iconic image in the history of comic books. But was it swiped?It is the single most iconic image in the history of comic books. 

But was it swiped? 

Forever Jung

I know what some of you are thinking: "The occult? Gods and superheroes? Is this guy off of his rocker?" Well, maybe, but there is an established methodology I'm trying to follow in looking at these issues. 

What I Mean by "Gods"

 

I've been doing a lot of radio interviews these past few weeks and I can tell that people are a bit thrown by the term "gods." I get the feeling some of these folks aren't exactly sure what I mean- do I think we should follow Homer Simpson's example and pray to Superman? Not exactly. 

The Norman Conquests and Secret Societies

History tells us some ragtag Scandinavian tribe came out of nowhere in the 10th Century and within a few decades conquered northern France, England, Sicily and Syria. 

Quite a feat. 

Spandex Forever!

From the Our Gods Wear Spandex blog. 

I'd like to thank everyone who's picked up the book! As I've said this is just the beginning of what I hope to become a long cultural conversation, and I intend to use this blog to turn readers on to books and other cultural artifacts that I think will augment the experience of those of you interested in these topics. Now for all of you old school Marvel maniacs, I am going to present the news in a manner you may find strangely familiar...