Great moments in decision making

When I worked in oil & gas, I found the business involved a lot of penny-pinching from the top down; I spent a lot of time looking for solutions which would save the company money. In my new job, the emphasis lies more upon spending money wisely, rather than miserly.

So it was I found myself at Alibris, trying to choose between two copies of a book which were in the same condition:

How am I supposed to make a responsible decision when the only thing setting these two copies apart is... hm, $6,359?

How some trends in popular fiction leave me cold

"Alive and breathing in the hundreds of thousands in not-so-far-off lands are beings who have the physical form of children, yet who have been robbed of the spirit, the innocence, the essence of childhood."

"High school kids, junior high too, boys and some girls. They wore the blood that spattered all over them with pride. They hacked, mutilated, all the while smiling at the faces of fear and horror they created. Adults looked on and encouraged them..."

"From the very beginning, they teach you how to kill. I mean when you arrive at the camp, the first thing they do is kill a guy, and if you are a recruit they call you over to prick at him, to chop off his hands and arms."

All quotes from They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children by Romeo Dallaire; concept borrowed from Too Busy Thinking About My Comics II by Colin Smith.

Review: Ditkomania#91

For all my interest in Steve Ditko's work, I'm still best acquainted with the stories he published through Marvel Comics - at best, I've dabbled in the rest of his output. Nothing makes me realize just how comparatively lacking my Ditko education has been than when the latest issue of Rob Imes' Ditkomania fanzine arrives in my mailbox (#91, above, is the most recent issue).

Articles in Ditkomania do a terrific job at examining the whole of Ditko's career, often making repeated references to his self-published work (the work I'm least familiar with); other articles involve creators with personal working histories with Ditko; it's a fanzine whose letters page frequently features Dave Sim, Mort Todd and now Javier Hernandez - it feels like an inner circle of Ditkoites.

In an age where the internet allows fans to converse, share reviews, research bibliographies and post fan art, it's amazing to me that the fanzine persists at all; never underestimate the fondness some people have for the hardcopy! Ditkomania's publishing history and physical copy suggest standards and an editorial voice, something the all-inclusive democracy of the internet doesn't permit.

This issue highlights Speedball, with articles about Ditko's stories featuring the character, how the character was treated after Ditko left (the author is much too kind, all things considered) and discusses some more obscure Ditko creations with similar abilities. The previous issue featured a fascinating lengthy article by Ron Frantz, an independent publisher who worked with Ditko in the 1980s; issue#91 sports a larger-than-usual letters page with Frantz himself answering letters; it works very well. There's also some original art, including a coloured front & back cover, an unusual feature for the publication (made possible by Kickstarter).

Ditkomania can be purchased here!

Review: Canada at War

This would have been great subject matter four days ago...

Canada at War: a Graphic History of World War Two is a 2012 graphic novel from publisher Douglas & McIntyre, writer Paul Keery and illustrator Michael Wyatt. Using plain language and clear illustrations, it describes Canada's involvement in World War II, from the post-WWI misgivings about involvement in European wars to some post-WWII fallout. Special attention is granted to those Canadians who won medals during the conflict.

This isn't quite a graphic novel - it is told through words and pictures, but has so much material to cover that it's really an essay with copious illustrations and very little sequential storytelling. One exception is a sequence detailing how Rev. John Foote helped evacuate soldiers from Dieppe, then allowed himself to be captured so he could help Canadian prisoners. It's a fine story I hadn't heard of before and definitely worth singling out, but as I say, it's one of the few moments of the war given a dramatization.

The text is written in a very simple manner, probably so it could be used in classrooms. Heck, ESL students would probably do well with this book. It's not as sophisticated as the sort of comic books I read in my youth; I think you could hand to a primary student and he'd do okay (although you'd have to weigh that against all the blood in this book).

It's worth noting neither of these creators have a background in graphic novels, which probably contributes to the "illustrated textbook" feel of the tome. Wyatt's work uses a lot of Photoshop effects - I wouldn't be surprised if all or most of it was composed there. Details like the one above, showing a soldier offering himself as bait to snipers to protect the rest of his squad are fascinating. In all, the book told me a lot about my nation's involvement in the war which I didn't know about; if you're teaching about Canada in WWII in a classroom, or missed out on learning the details (we had a term on WWI in my high school but not WWII), this is a fine piece.

Privileges of being The Man

I don't often discuss my career as a university librarian except in my (quite) occasional series Across my desk, where I consider unusual books & blurbs from the library. I have made it known on the blog how I used to work for Marvel Comics and that I chose to terminate that second career a little more than a year ago.

Now that I'm no longer participating in the comic book industry, I wonder... am I in a better position to do it some good?

I don't mean just in terms of the Kickstarters I've been backing (although I have backed quite a few), but in how I can better use my knowledge of the comic book artform for the university.

Just recently, librarians became very interested in ordering additional graphic novels for our collection; I was glad to see it because our collection isn't terribly well-developed and the titles they had chosen were books of excellent standing. For instance, we pride ourselves on housing Canadian content, yet we didn't have a single work of Dave Sim's on the shelf (just a minor oversight); now we're getting a full set of Cerebus.

I don't normally step out of line, but I complimented the selector on the titles being purchased and offered a few suggestions; the next thing you know, every one of my suggestions was being added to the collection. So far I've used my influence to increase the amount of Canadian content in our graphic novels (it helps that I know a few Canadian creators personally) and some European talent; I have not, however, suggested anything from my former employer (thus, nothing I wrote).

Additionally, my knowledge of comic books landed me in a position to help organize our own comic art collection, which has been sadly neglected; because this collection emphasizes comic strips, I've been blessed with furthering my understanding of comic strip history; it led my purchase of Sam's Strip, amongst other collections.

I once worried I was part of the problem; I'm pretty sure I'm closer to being part of the solution now.

Unearthed: Rawhide Kid#94

Having invoked Larry Lieber's Rawhide Kid two days ago, I feel the need to examine some of his work a little more closely - especially for the benefit of those of you who haven't read his Rawhide Kid stories; so, let's turn back time to 1971 and "Day of the Outcast," written and drawn by Larry Lieber.

"Don't make me slap leather!" Rawhide declares on the cover; he must have had premonitions of being written by Ron Zimmerman. One is quickly drawn to the African-American cowboy on the right - definitely an unusual sight in popular fiction, especially in 1971. To remind you a little about how comic books were at the time, Larry's brother Stan had developed numerous major black characters in his Marvel titles of the day: Gabe Jones, Black Panther, Bill Foster, Joe Robertson, the Falcon; Stan had affected some genuinely thoughtful stories about race in the 1960s (Daredevil#47's "Brother, Take My Hand" and Avengers#32's "The Sign of the Serpent"). In just a few months, Luke Cage: Hero for Hire would become Marvel's first black hero with his own book (followed by Gunhawks, another problematic Marvel western series). Given the standards brother Stan had raised, one would expect something of a smiliar stature, based on the cover.

Am I spoiling the journey by telling you right now, this book does not deliver?

We open on a typically pastoral western scene as Rawhide Kid sees a man thrown from his horse. The ever-helpful Kid rides up to assist the stranger, but the fallen man - Rafe Larsen, the black man from the cover - recognizes him as a famous outlaw and comes up from the ground swinging, assuming Rawhide is trying to rob him. Rawhide hits him back, then asks, "why it's so hard for you to believe that I only wanted to help you?" Rafe answers, "Because yore white -- and I'm black!" Rafe proceeds to lecture Rawhide about how the Civil War ended slavery, but not oppression. "I've been freed -- but not from hate, bigotry, and cruelty!" In flashbacks, we see white men firing their guns at Rafe's feet to make him dance; he resolves to carry his own guns and practices until he's a perfect shot. "From here on out, men will call Rafe Larsen 'Mistuh!'"

Hearing Rafe is bound for Paradise Flats, Rawhide asks to accompany him but Rafe still sees no reason to trust him. "Yore still a white man! And I don't trust white men!" Riding into Paradise Flats, Rafe immediately draws attention from the locals; three of them demand Rafe drop his guns. "If yuh want muh hardware, try takin' it," Rafe rejoins. Rafe shoots at all three men, killing one and blasting the guns from the hands of the other two (a typical comic book western hero trick). Witnesses affirm to the sheriff how Rafe wasn't the one who started the fight, but the sheriff suggests Rafe should abandon his guns all the same. Rafe ignores the advice; the two surviving men begin plotting their revenge.

Rafe enters a hotel where a clerk declares he "won't rent to black men!" Rafe points a gun at the clerk until he supplies him with a room. The two stray gunmen set out and murder a man who just won a poker game; they take his money and watch, plant just the watch in Rafe's hotel room and claim to the sheriff they saw Rafe murder the man. The sheriff searches Rafe's room and finds the watch; he demands Rafe turn himself in, but Rafe leaps out the window and runs for his horse. Just then, Rawhide comes into town (it's not clear why he fell hours behind Rafe). Rawhide has no idea what's going on, but decides "Runnin' away won't help you!" So he shoots Rafe's guns out of his hands and lets the sheriff arrest him.

What?

The same Rawhide Kid who runs from the law every other issue doesn't think other outlaws deserve the same consideration? Even though he had no idea Rafe was running from the law in this instance? For all he knew, Rafe was being chased by a gang of thieves. It's a fairly common trope in these western hero books for the outlaw protagonist to convince another young outlaw to turn himself over to the law and avoid the same mistakes the hero once made, but in this case Rawhide is completely ignorant of the situation.

Rafe is locked up in the jail, but the two murderers start riling up the townsfolk into a frenzied lynch mob, declaring they should "save the town the expense of a trial." The sheriff tries to defend Rafe, but he's knocked out and the mob drag Rafe from his cell. Fortunately, Rawhide Kid butts in again and with guns drawn, forces the mob to let Rafe go (back to his cell). "Every man, white or black, is entitled to his day in court! It's just as simple as that!" By now, Rawhide has a suspicion of who killed the man - the two men who survived the gunfight with Rafe earlier. Somehow the sheriff hadn't thought of this, even though he was on the scene immediately after the first killing and saw the two survivors, then thought nothing strange of it when those two men pinned the second murder on Rafe. Rawhide chases down the first gunman, but before he can confess, the second gunman shoots his pard in the back (apparently that was easier than ambushing Rawhide? criminals are a stupid, cowardly lot). Rawhide catches the second gunman and receives a full confession.

In the wrap-up, Rafe is set free. "But only until the next town... and the next passle of haters!" As Rafe rides away, we discover the sheriff knew all along the Rawhide Kid was also an outlaw, but didn't do anything about it. There are some unfortunate implications there...

Parting thoughts: On the one hand, Rafe's distrust of white people is justified in that every white man we meet hassles him (or tries to kill him). On the other hand, his introduction to Rawhide at the start of the story - his utter paranoia preventing him from trusting Rawhide - paints Rafe in the wrong. Throughout, Rawhide Kid is never in the wrong; fair enough - it's his book. But the story doesn't challenge him or his beliefs in any way. He wants to be Rafe's friend; he wants to keep Rafe from running from the law; he wants to keep a mob from killing Rafe; he wants to prove Rafe innocent of murder. The aforementioned "Sign of the Serpent" milked some good drama from the Avengers reacting to racism, but Rawhide only cares to see Rafe receive his day in court. The racism of the mob and the killers does nothing to alter Rawhide's reactions. The Rawhide Kid is fine the way he is - it's Rafe who needs an attitude adjustment, as if he'd only been friends with the Kid he'd have presumably had an easier time in Paradise Flats.

Finally, there's the closing moment where the sheriff reveals he knew who the Rawhide Kid was. So, the sheriff arrests Rafe after two white men with reason to hate Rafe deliver an unlikely testimonial; but the notorious white man outlaw Rawhide Kid comes to town? Heck, he's no problem - he even helped the sheriff arrest Rafe! Just a good ol' boy.

Given Marvel Comics' track record with race at the time and how marginalized the western comic books had become by 1971, there was a real opportunity here to let something fly in under the radar - something a lot more explosive about race, given the real world time frame the story was set in (and real world events influencing popular culture). Ultimately, I'm afraid all the story seems to say is, "Racism is bad; but, uh, we're cool, right? You know I'm not racist, yeah?"

Breaking news: unpopular console is unpopular

I didn't consider owning a video game console to be an important part of setting up my home, but a few years ago my younger brother was very excited about the Xbox, especially because of their Halo games. From playing games with him, I gradually wore down my resistance to owning a console; it helped that he knew where I could buy an Xbox 360 second-hand and about a sale for copies of Halo 3 at just $20.

My first 360 died in short order, but by then I was hooked; after playing Halo 3 through I was impressed by the storyline and I wanted to keep playing; I bought a brand-new 360, went back to the older games in the series and bought the new entries as they arrived; I've dabbled in a few other Xbox titles, but really I'm in it for Halo; anything else is a distant second.

Xbox recently released this trailer for Halo 5, debuting on the new Xbox One console:

And my first thought was, "why would Master Chief wear a cloak when surely his armour provides all the environmental protection he needs?" The rule of drama, I suppose.

My second thought was of the nature of Halo sequel trailers; Halo 2 revealed the story was escalating - now the Covenant were assaulting Earth; Halo 3 noted the war with the Covenant was about to end; Halo Wars was selling a strategy game based on the franchise - something completely new; similarly, Halo 3: ODST introduced a protagonist who was much more vulnerable than the Chief; Halo: Reach promised to involve players in a notorious battle of the Covenant war, the place where humanity suffered its worst defeat.

Then, the game developer Bungie parted ways with Halo and the difference in 343 Industries' trailers is striking; Halo 4 promised more of Master Chief & Cortana. Well, very good, many fans were eager to see them again. But Halo 5? More of the same. Hey, it's Master Chief again. Hey, there's something Forerunner-like lying under a desert. There's nothing about this trailer which fires me up as a fan - it seems like "more of the same."

Which, the thing is, I may be a fan, but I'm not in the tank. I still consider myself a casual gamer. Virtually everything about the Xbox One has suggested hostility towards the consumer, a platform so restrictive they didn't trust them to lend their discs to friends! They've quickly begun dialing up some damage control and reversals of policy, but again, I'm a casual player; I don't want another console, I'm pleased with my 360.

This is where the Halo 5 trailer missteps, I think. Considering how unpopular the console's policies are, consumers' general reluctance to upgrade and Halo's status as the premiere Xbox franchise, I think this trailer needed to be more than "usual business." It needed to either show the fans something tantalizingly new or raise the stakes. It does neither.

But I'm not about to dance on Xbox's grave; I'll skip the One and stay with 360 the same way I skipped Microsoft's Windows Vista and stuck with XP; eventually, Microsoft came along with a new operating system designed with consumers in mind rather than CEOs & CFOs; if the One tanks, I expect something similar. Regardless, Xbox will still be collecting money from me on Xbox Live, right? For them, it's the no-lose scenario.