Everyone knows the joke bands such as Psychostick (personal favorite of this sexy author), but what about the bands who form themselves around the joke, becoming the thing they are lampooning? Then one becomes Meta, reaching so many levels they can rent rooms for a highrise. One such band is the relatively new Nekrogoblikon, with their newest, Heavy Meta.
With so much writing on parallel dimensions, alternate universes, and “what if?” storyline’s, I thought I would take my love for canonized stories and embark on a mission as a continuity buff to explain how comic book characters survive through an elastic sense of time. I had the liberty of meeting with comic book writer J.M. DeMatties, who was signing re-released copies of his 1993 graphic novel “Mercy.” As I arrived at Jim Hanley’s Universe this Wednesday, I thought it would be a good idea to ask the man who wrote such greats as Kraven’s Last Hunt, and the 2004 Eisner Award winning “Formerly Known as the Justice League” his take on the way in which characters are placed within arcs.
Death Metal. From Cannibal Corpse to Six Feet Under, Death to Dethklok, Kataklysm to Obituary, the genre is full of staples and go to’s. Another name to throw in the hat should be Bone Gnawer, hailing out of Florida and Sweden, and dragging the fresh and still dripping Cannibal Crematorium towards our darting eyes…..
Along time ago in a galaxy far, far, away…….lived a hustler, and gambler who smooth talked his way across the universe with charismatic charm as he found his way to the leadership role of Cloud City. In case you haven’t noticed, I am talking about the one and only Lando Calrissian from the Star Wars lore.
Have we as members of the comic book fandom lost our roots to this genre of camaraderie and cultural heritage? The written values, and artistic panels have seem to lost its meaning in regards to pop cultural imagery and larger than life stories. What I mean by this, is that the convention scene has been overridden by the New York Comic Con’s transformation into a “Hollywood” phenomenon, by which fans purchase countless tickets to re-sell them while celebrities take over with their expensive autograph sessions.
After all the burtality, all the core, all teh post-whatever, all the alt this and that, the old school styles will always have their days, because they survived the fires. THey were here through all the hate and slander, and they know what they are about. Today’s choice slab is from Texas’ own Immortal Guardian, with their new ripper Revolution Part 1! Prepare your face for power metal savagery!
In a world of constant remakes and reboots such as Planet of the Apes, and Mad Max, what can we say for re-vamps within the comic book industry? Chris Warner’s Barbwire comes to mind at this point. With a limited series run from 1994 to 1995, the Dark Horse team (the original CGW) backed Warner’s creation during the cyber punk and post-apocalyptic settings of the early 90’s.
