Hi-Sci-Fi

This image was uploaded with the post Simpsons Hentai: Playboy Gone Cartoon Wild.

by Irma Arkus

Not sure how much trouble the magazine industry is in, but Playboy is most definitely attempting to reach out to new audiences by going Hentai. November Playboy features Marge Simpson on its cover, and an in-depth interview will give us “insight” into sexy, Julie Kavner-voiced life of the Simpsons femininity.

Let us forgo the fact that Playboy’s sexuality is cartoonish enough, after all turning women into “bunnies” for source of amusement is pretty Hentai already, but the Playboy’s homage to one of the most beloved cartoon characters in the longest running animated series may carry multiplicity of meanings.

The issue has plenty of geek appeal. Touted are the likes of Stephen King, Benicio del Toro and Tracy Morgan meant to appeal to an entirely new subset of potential, future Playboy readers. In fact, the issue is shamelessly attempting at ingratiating itself to “readership” period, except that it does so by sexualizing one of the least sexy, maternal, meek and family-oriented characters embodying the lackluster houswives of low-income families.

The Devil in Mrs. Simpson is drawn by Matt Groenig successfully sexualizing the maternal goddess of the Simpsons family. It has serious connotations as to what a growing audience of The Simpsons fans, mostly kids that grew into men we know today, is perceiving as sexy.

It may somehow appeal to their inner Homers, or insinuate that yes, all Homers can find their own Marge, a faithful companion who not only bears the burdens of raising a family on shoe-string budget, but also happens to be a great, feisty gal in the sack.

On the other hand, it just may be that Playboy is finally getting into Hentai, looking for lusty thrills in cartoons.

Watch out for Playboy issue featuring Marge in November. The publication will make the Simpsons coverage available online.

This image was uploaded with the post Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-creator Joe Shuster.

by Irma Arkus

Turns out, Joe Shuster, creator and animator of Superman, wasn’t the average “boy next door” after all, as the latest book by Craig Yoe, “Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-creator Joe Shuster,” documents his BDSM work.

The book, available in bookstores and libraries (? Not sure on that one, but I am trying to get you to spend less and read more, yeey!), documents the rare and obscure samples of Shusters work in erotica.

Turns out, in the wee hours of the night, Shuster was drawing images for an independent magazine, “Nights of Horror.” The erotic nature of the magazine made it technically unavailable, sold under counters, until it was banned by rising movement towards censorship.

Shuster’s moonlighting as a creator of erotica, esentially labels him as a man with a “secret identity,” similarly to that of Clark Kent / Superman. One thing is for sure - after reading the “Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-creator Joe Shuster” you will never be able to look at the Shuster’s characters the same way again.

That makes me kind of happy too, as the polished, uber-American-rah-rah-USA type Superman seems inadequate for contemporary audience. The latest cinematic incarnation of Superman fell short of my expectations, as it reproduced the images associated with Superman from the 1980s, rather than looking to transform the character and propel him into the future.

Even though the uncovered art has very little to do with Superman, it does allow us a peak at the mind who created him (or co-created him, better said). Perhaps the “Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-creator Joe Shuster” will do just that, peeling away the layers of the innocuous, the corporatized and the infantile, and replacing those with the kind of characters that captivated audiences in the early stages of Shuster’s work.

Either way, the collection provides a grand overview of underground artist work that Shuster and his contemporaries were very much a part of, and will perhaps allow us to deconstruct and discard the illusory puritan imagery of the 1950s era with a more realistic picture of the time and its people. [Amazon]

This image was uploaded with the post Marvel Zombies Short.

by Irma Arkus

Haven’t had enough of Marvel zombie madness? Apparently, neither did Scott Fields and James Ojala, who lovingly made a short film dedicated to their fave dead-but-alive superheroes. Check out the 2:09 short here.

This image was uploaded with the post BSG: Cylon Wars, Coming To You In Comix.

by Irma Arkus

First of all, if you haven’t received the news yet, make sure to tune in on this Friday, as the new episode of BSG will premier.

This episode will be so cool that your head might explode. It is also fractionally (and that includes the frak) longer by about 3 minutes.

You will feel exhausted, kicked in the nuts, but more importantly, you will realize that living BSG-sans is no way to go on.

But wait! There is an answer to your problems, as BSG Cylon Wars premier in comic books.

Newsarama reports that Dynamite Entertainment will issue a four-issue comic series that will explain the first of Cylon wars, a sort of Caprica tale.

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi - Live with Robbi Rodriguez.

Introducing Robert Robbi Rodriguez, comic book artist known for his amazing art: Haze, Tek Jansen (yes, we are inching closer to deity that is Stephen Colbert), Maintenance, and currently working on writing and illustrating a provocative independent series, Frankie Get Your Gun!

Robbi Rodriguez represents some of the best of the contemporary graphic novel art. I encourage you to check out Maintenanceat OniPress, his blob, and make sure to glance at Frankie (see illustration).

Now, I do have to say that talking to Robbi was great, and you can listen to our conversation below, or download a copy for posterity. However, I have to admit, that I’ve experienced some problems with the earphones in the studio during the recording process, which is why I’m a bit awkward (as in, I could barely hear him :), and sometimes ask twice about the same stuff, all of which is compounded by my heart’s pitter patter at the thought of most handsome man in the universe, Tek Jansen…booo!!! I guess we’ll just have to have Robbi Rodriguez on again! Awwww.

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi - Independents, All About Indie Comics, live with Chris Brandt.

This week we had the pleasure of having Chris Brandt join us live to discuss his latest documentary, “Independents: A Guide for the Creative Spirit,” a showcase of indie comic book artists. Being an independent anything these days is a difficult as well as exciting prospect, and Brandt, a long time artist as well as a fan, dedicates this film to the art of comic book creation.

Check out the Independents.

This image was uploaded with the post Ode to Superdickery.com.

This image was uploaded with the post Ode to Superdickery.com.

by Irma Arkus

Behold the amazing Superdickery.com! Apparently, the Silver Age of Comic Books was laden with bad marketing ploys.

To get you to purchase the dandy comic featuring your favorite super heroes, the editors produced eye-popping oddities on covers.

Superman acting like a tool, Wonder Woman experiencing bondage session tied to a phallic object, and monkeys, loads of monkeys. People, this was not a Silver Age of comic books, but age of superdicks, S&M addicts and big apes! (click on images above to see larger samples of this phenomena)

Thus I present to you with Superdickery.com. Collections which started with Mike Miksch encountering one of these curiousities, only to develop into an obsession with followers. Not only is Superdickery.com a website with a precious collection of gems, but a lively community featuring hundreds of members who regularly converse on subjects of ‘dickery.

Listen to the interview with Mike Miksch below, and make sure to visit his Superdickery.com website!

This image was uploaded with the post Why I Hate Wonder Woman…Sometimes.

by Irma Arkus

Alright. You’ve heard me say it a million times, and I will say it again - I hate Wonder Woman. To all of you who are thinking back to what and how Wonder Woman started, I say booohooohooo. I know that a lot of things had more than fantastic beginnings, but in this case, how does that excuse for a female appendage of a superhero character, emulsified in boob-a-rific Wonder Woman? I find her detestable. Why you ask? Because Wonder Woman exemplifies so many things that are characteristic of so many badly constructed female excuses for superheroes.

Oh, what’s that? You want me to clarify? SHE IS LAME.

Latest on Wonder Woman camp - Diane Von Furstenberg has written a Wonder Woman comic book.

Now, for those of you unfamiliar with my secondary obsessions (y’know, apart from crazy science and massive amounts of science fiction,) I happen to love fashion.

And apparently, Von Furstenberg dedicated a whole new line of clothing to Wonder Woman, including writing this limited edition book on subject of Wonder Woman, features writing by Gloria Steinem, whom I also happen to admire a lot.

You know what that makes this particular book “Be the Wonder Woman You Can Be: The Adventures of Diva, Viva and Fifa”? Pure shameless promotion of uber-expensive pieces of clothing that probably Wonder Woman herself cannot afford (after all, why would she wear same costume over and over again, especially after all those bondage sessions in the 60s?).

I know what you’re going to say — but it’s going to charity! How can you be so heartless? I say boo again! You want to donate to charity - Why bother with clothing then? Why not just donate the cash where it’s needed?

This “product” my friends, is an equivalent to a Superman comic book about how wonderful Gillette Mach 3 shavers are. Worst of all, it entails Gloria Steinem in order to appeal to my inner feminist — Or should I say — confuse my inner feminist?!!!

But what does this have to do with Wonder Woman? Or for that matter, comic books? Nothing. Just further proof of utter lameness. So, there. I await your arguments. Hit me with your best shot.

This is shaping up to be a big week for comic book nerds everywhere. Iron Man is hitting the theaters this Friday, and on Saturday May 3 as you crawl out of your sleepy post Iron Man night dreams, it will be FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! Every year comic shops all over the place will be giving visitors their choice of free comics which are a great way to tr out new series, check out some interesting new companies, artists, and writers. If you are interested in learning more, like what is available, etc., head over to the Free Comic Day Website to learn more.

This image was uploaded with the post Afuganisu-tan.

The creating of tan’s or little cute mascots for such things as computer OS’s has long been an interesting part of fan creation that has created countless comics and illustrations. A recent little gag strip that uses a copious amount of real history and politics in order to construct funny little stories that are actually kind of thought provoking has come to light thanks to the wonders of the internet. You can read the complete “Afuganisu-tan” saga HERE. And yes it is an overdose of cuteness, you have been warned.

This image was uploaded with the post Superman: Siegel Family Has Been Awarded Rights to Character.

by Irma Arkus

Jerome Siegel’s heirs have been awarded partial rights to Superman.

Jerome sold his share of Superman’s creation to his co-author Joe Schuster over 70 years ago. Now that the Siegel family regained partial control of the copyright, Time Warner will have to pay part of their proceeds of franchise to the family, which according to some experts, may deter some of planned sequels to 2006 big screen revival.

Meanwhile, /film announced that there is plan to get Superman vs. Spiderman, as Siegel signed a contract with Marvel. Strangely, co-directors are both Sam Raimi and Brian Singer. Jake Gyllenhaal is contracted for role of Spiderman, which Toby McGuire respectfully declined this time around.

Still no word on who will be the next Superman. One thing is for sure, Brandon Routh is not reprising his role.

This image was uploaded with the post Skrulls: Secret Invasion Coming Out!.

by Irma Arkus

Marvel is ready for its release of Secret Invasion comic series.

The appearance of Skrulls, the shapeshifting deviants plotting against so many of your heroes, and Earthlings, was first intimated in New Avengers #1 (read: long time ago). Since then, we have experienced Skrulls in many forms. From small grey ones with laser guns, to more sophisticated copies of your favorites, exhibiting their visage as well as their powers, such as in case of Elektra.

The fabulous thing about Skrulls is that they are a dark, mysterious alien force, a threat so grave that seemingly entire Marvel universe must coalesce in order to resist. Skrulls are bent on elimination of Earthlings, because as we found out, their very religion posits that Earth really belongs to them, rather than us…and those overdeveloped, spandex-wearing, muscle-bound demi-gods.

So many excellent plot-lines, so many unsolved mysteries are owed to appearance of Skrulls, and their shadowy, Machiavellian plans. Most recently, the Hulk-gone-red phenomenon has been discussed at length, and all fingers point to possibility of Skrulls having something to do with these drastic changes.

The most interesting thing about Skrulls is that their carefully planned interference has caused fragmentation across the superhero lines. Friends cannot trust friends any more, and there are no longer any enemies, because the humanity itself is in peril.

As a result, Nick Fury and Iron Man are both trying to independently assemble a trustworthy team that will help spur off the incoming Skrull attack, bringing to light new faces and old enemies.

The Secret Invasion series is a stroke of genious. Why? Because it reinvents fear. Constant and continuous paranoia of our heroes is coupled with desire to form communities, cooperate and survive. And yet, the mistrust, combined with fear of other: a possibly more superior, more crazy, religious other, the kind that appears normal one minute, and then changes shape into a dangerous, fanatical other; is blinding and dividing.

Strangely enough, just as Bond performed for us the exaggerated fears of Cold War conflict, the Secret Invasion too taps into our contemporary confusion and fear fueled by ideas behind terrorists, Iraq War, as well as economic and political corruption.

Marvel has already released a sneak preview of Secret Invasion: Prologue. And this week, ew.com has an exclusive look at the first 10 pages of Marvel’s first issue.

This image was uploaded with the post Green Arrow Black Canary #6.

The covers for these books lately have just been so good I just had to sit and write about them. I mean what is better than a hail of laser fire being jumped through by the Black Canary, her face thrown back in rapturous glee, along with her boy toy, the Green Arrow, perched on the back with arrow nocked back and ready to fire in mid air? Beyond the cover though, this book has really been a treat the last couple of issues. The Green Arrow is put through the emotional ringer with the shooting of his son by an unknown assailant. Dinah, the Canary, on the other hand, has been standing by her man and keeping Oliver’s well known temper in check with calm emotional support as well as putting him in his place, quite literally when it comes to her superior stunt cycle driving abilities, among other things. Issue #6 starts off with Mr. Arrow and the sultry Black Canary sporting Eastern European big money hustler styled costumes that are so well drawn that their identities are concealed to even the reader. This is one thing that comics really have the advantage of silence over for example as a cartoon, as voice actors would be dead giveaways. Of course using accented dialogue to really conceal the characters helps as well, but the point is, once they burst out of their costumes, it really acts as not only as a genuine surprise, but also of a method bringing the reader into the knowledge of being in medias res as opposed to what seemed like an action packed intro of perhaps some sort of as yet unconnected plot.

The big plot of course though is that Oliver and Dinah are looking for who shot Connor, and their theory is that he was shot using a helocopter with cloaking invisibilty. Through a bit of verbal sparring that leads to actual physical sparring, the gangsters they meet reveal the existance of the chopper, which they later come in contact with in the issue that just like an invisible helocopter would, suddenly hit out of nowhere. This leads to the chase scene that the cover art comes from and the final twist in a full page scene that does what any good comic book should, and that is leave you wondering what is going to happen next.

The action really is cranked up in this issue compared to the angst ridden hospital scenes of the last issue, which really provides a counter weight. In that issue, the presense of the clock is particularly heavily felt as it is repeated with small changes in its hands and is seen hanging over Oliver like the angst and dread that he has for his son. There is also the excellent use of flashbacks to give even more emotional weight as he deals with the fact that he was never really there for his son and now in the time where he is finally able to connect with him, he is taken away and now reduced to a vegetative state. With the weight of the past issue’s darma and flashbacks hanging over this issue, it almost seems as if having the helicopter magically appear and the action romp that follows in which the Green Arrow and Black Canary shoot it down seems of course a bit too convenient. The art kind of falters a bit too when Arrow and Canary switch drivers in mid air on the motorcycle that really fails in bringing to life what could have been an operatic moment of movement. Back to the simplicity of taking down the chopper though, the simplicity just further sets up the real scene of impact, which is also the big finish, and that is the revealing of who they find flying the chopper. Again, the simplicity is simply to set up the reveal, but in true classic comic cliffhanger fashion, that only serves as a teasing glimpse. In other words, there be a mystery to solve, and I am interested to see how it unfolds in later issues as well as the anticipation of the well crafted visual and narrative complexities that are being bought to each issue, even if you can probably consider them action comic cliches, they are still done quite well, which elevates it to a really good read.

Other than that, if you have not picked up Warren Ellis’ Gravel #1 that came out a couple of weeks ago, I suggest you give it a look. It’s twisted horror theatrics along with the great no-nonsense hard ass lead, makes for a great read. It reminded me of Sandman in parts in terms of its use of classic horror comic visuals that are shockingly engrossing.

This image was uploaded with the post Jeff Smith’s “RASL”.

The creator, self publisher, artist, and author, of the seminal comic Bone has just recently released a fantastic new comic entitled “RASL,” pronounced rassle, like “let’s go on out in the yard and have us a rassle after we chug these beers.” I picked it up the other day and it looks like quite the interesting series. Jeff Smith recently did an interview at Newsarama where he explained the premise of the book in a much better way then I could. He says:

“RASL is this guy who has a special immersion suit that allows him to go into other dimensions. It’s a very sci-fi idea, or at least a far-out idea of physics, where he straps these giant engines on his shoulders and knees, and using thermo-magnetic forces, he can actually warp space around his engines and step into a parallel dimension. And if you give him enough money, he’ll go to those dimensions and steal things for you. He’s found a really lucrative market in doing things like getting someone their own Mona Lisa, or something like that. A world leader who is really rich can pay him go get their own Venus de Milo or whatever.”

If that does not excite you, then I am not going to ask what is wrong. The first issue, puts us right into the action as RASL spray paints his name on a man’s house and steals a painting with the man in the room. He then runs away from cops, straps on his suit, and poof, makes a jump into another dimension. RASL, the character, is drawn in a very gritty, muscular caveman look, and judging by the first issue he is quick as well is resourceful and cagey. However, the real interesting character is what appears to be an Agent Smith sort of character dressed in a black suit who has a horse like monkey face that will adorn the cover of issue #2 that is due out in May.

Another cool thing about RASL is that is entirely self produced by Jeff Smith’s own Cartoon Books and he has been posting some interesting articles on his Blog about self published comics of late that are a really good read. In the age of self produced internet web comics, the rebel spirit of self production seems hardly the immense task that is, but it is still cool to see something like this come out and made available through the traditional comic book store market. Go check it out and see what you think.

This image was uploaded with the post Comic List and Picks for Feb 13.

This image was uploaded with the post Comic List and Picks for Feb 13.