How Research Works: XXIII

OUTSIDE: 2PM

PI
It sure is a nice day today

GRAD STUDENT
I was thinking...

PI
...That you should spend it in the lab?  I agree.

GRAD STUDENT
But...

PI
Grad students enjoy nature nice days by overhearing the joy of others through the window of their lab.

GRAD STUDENT
I'm not sure if thats true.

PI
Maybe not.  You should do some empirical research to be sure.

Moebius vs Galactus

I'm always seeking out new, interesting things to read or watch.  After reading Blacksad (which is outstanding) and seeing all kinds of TinTin stuff around Montreal, I've been trying to get into European comics.  Its sort of intimidating.  Not only is (mostly) everything not in English, but the system of publication is completely different, and I don't know enough about the creators to get any sort of reference.

So far, I've found the works of Moebius to be a good entryway into European comics.  Not only is he prolific across multiple genres, but he is so well known that a fair amount of his work has been published in English. His style is also rather familiar given how much influence he has had on the look of American comics (and American sci-fi movies) over the last several decades.  

Incidentally, Moebius was responsible for the art on my favorite thing ever written by Stan Lee, Silver Surfer: Parable.  Its out of print at the moment, but I really can't recommend it enough.

Swamp Thing vs Geoff Johns (Revisited)

I can admit when I'm wrong.

Rebooting Swamp Thing's entire character from scratch isn't the worst way to make this work.  I really isn't.  I think the character deserves better than being dragged through a silly Geoff John crossover, but I actually sort of like where this is going.  For now it seems like the essence of the character is being preserved, while the some the baggage that comes along with it is being quietly ignored.  The (re)introduction of John Constantine into the mix is surprising, but encouraging.  The Constantine/Swamp Thing dynamic is an essential part of the best Swamp Thing stories, so I'm glad to see it return.  Its still don't necessarily agree with bringing these characters back, but at least its being done (sort of) well.

Of course, I don't see how all this couldn't have happened without canceling the China Mieville series.  Marvel seems to have no problem trusting their readers to differentiate their more adult oriented books from the all ages fare (though neither D.C. or Marvel's mainstream books are exactly suitable for children at the moment), so I'm not sure why the two books couldn't coexist.  And really, D.C. isn't canceling Hellblazer, even after bringing John Constantine.  Oh well.  For now, I'm just hoping that the new Swamp Thing series will feature a good creative team.  Blatantly stealing from Alan Moore is only going to get D.C. so far.

The Dark Knight Harry Potter

Remember when these were children's books about taking classes and making friends at a school for magic?



Remember when it was 1997 and these books were new?  I haven't always been a fan of the books or movies, but its going to be strange to not have any Harry Potter media coming out after 14 years of it being more or less ubiquitous.

Ads

You might have noticed that there is now some advertising on this blog.  I implemented Google Adsense mostly to get some better reports on the traffic that this blog generates (not much).  I'm really not trying to make money off this thing, so please don't feel like you should click on anything on my account.  If something appeals to you then by all means, but the last thing I want is to throw up some annoying ads just to make a few pennies.  Same goes for any Amazon links I post.

How Research Works: XXII

GRAD STUDENT OFFICE: 11am

GRAD STUDENT
Hey! Is one of those coffee drinks for me?

OFFICE MATE

Nope.  Both for me.

GRAD STUDENT

Well then I'm sleeping in the office again.

OFFICE MATE

I'll unfold the cot.

GRAD STUDENT

When did we get a cot?  This is the best day ever!

OFFICE MATE

Everything about this is sort of sad.

How to read comics

Lately I've been inspiring a bit of nerd rage by commenting by being negative about some recent developments in D.C. comics.  I thought it would be nice to balance this with some positivity.  With that said, I fully expect this to inspire more rage in the comment section.

Just as an aside, a good way to express nerd rage is to click on advertisements or buy things after clicking on sponsored Amazon links.  Just saying.

Vacation Batman

This is late because I was on vacation last week.  I have a few of these in the can now, so it should be smooth sailing for the next few weeks.  The mix is some old stuff, some new stuff, and some stuff in between.

I don't know anything about the context in which the picture was taken, I can only assume it was awesome.

Old Brand New

1.  Tuesday Moon- Neutral Milk Hotel

2.  Deep Blue Sea- Grizzly Bear

3.  Stamp- The Rural Alberta Advantage

4.  Shine- Apples (In Stereo)

5.  Angela Surf City- The Walkmen

6.  Old Flame- Arcade Fire

7.  Grown Ocean- Fleet Foxes

8.  Satellite- The Kills

9.  Another Sky- Akron/Family

How Research Works: XXI

THE LIBRARY: 11pm

ATTENTIVE UNDERGRAD
You are the T.A. for my class! Is that the exam you are printing out?!

GRAD STUDENT
Er... Yes?

ATTENTIVE UNDERGRAD
Shouldn't you print that out someplace more secure...

GRAD STUDENT
Probably.

ATTENTIVE UNDERGRAD
...like in the psych department.

GRAD STUDENT
Hm.  That implies that the psych department printer can be used for something other than printing pictures of turtles and kittens.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I don't think this needs to be a thing at all.  Even the title makes no sense.



The fact that this is being discussed as the start of a new franchise is hilarious.  Did anyone involved see any of the previous Planet of the Apes movies... not good at all.