strength through study

Last week was Spring Break, providing me an opportunity to reflect on the semester so far. And the reality is -- seeing the semester through to its end is going to be a battle. Tough choices have been made. But when hasn't university been a challenge for me?

I returned to college to pursue a Bachelor's degree nearly five years ago at the age of 30. (I received a technical college Associate's degree in Printing & Publishing in 1996.) As a first-generation, non-traditional liberal arts student, the learning curve has been steep. I've repeatedly stumbled and fallen in pursuit of my goal in the years since. Some of those scrapes, scratches and hits have been self-inflicted; I've bungled the financial aid process, over-reached myself academically, and lost sight of priorities. Some, though, have been out of my control; administrative mistakes were made to my detriment, physical health issues cost me two whole semesters, and a recurring anxiety disorder has complicated things throughout.

*

Please, know that I'm not complaining; I'm not a "woe is me" type of person and have absolutely no patience for self-pity in others. There's always someone somewhere who has it worse. And they're not whining -- they've accepted their lot in life and are living it. The way I see it: Life is a series of goals with countless hurdles along the way. Sometimes you clear the hurdles with ease; sometimes they take you down. If they take you down, your choice is to give up or continue. I'd rather reach the goal bloodied and crawling than not at all.

This semester, anxiety has really knocked me down. The root problems are perfectionism ("If I can't excel, I shouldn't even try at all") and feelings of inferiority ("I'm just a working-class kid who doesn't deserve college"). Irrational, I know. So, what's the plan? First, take advantage of the free mental health counseling that UW-River Falls has available for its students; I'm not a fan of "mental" counseling, but I know it'll help me and provide the documentation that I'll need to secure financial aid for next school year. Second, withdraw from three of my four classes; one I can and will take again within this same academic year as a Summer course, ensuring that the semester isn't an entire bust. Third, dedicate my energies for the next month-and-a-half to my remaining class; "strength through study."



Which brings me to FINALS. Spring Break also provided me the opportunity to do some comix reading. Will Pfeifer and Jill Thompson's FINALS originally came out as four issues in 1999; I would have purchased it then, but missed out due to my LCS closing. Thanks to Vertigo's "Resurrected" line, I finally had the pleasure of reading it in this new inexpensive collected form. An academia satire, the story follows five students in their final semester at Knox State University. KSU's motto -- "Strength Through Study" -- and mission drives its students to take their learning to extremes. Film Studies major Wally Maurer is making a "hyper-cinema verite" movie; Comparative Religions major Nancy Bierce has established her own cult; Criminal Justice major Dave Oswald has become a masked bandit; Theoretical Engineering major Tim Pike has built a time-machine; and Anthropology major Gary Skelton has gone native. It's a manic, thoroughly entertaining black comedy rich in concept, execution and detail.

I discovered Pfeifer's work via his 2004 AQUAMAN run; his CATWOMAN (2005-2008) made me a believer. He's one of my favorite serial-comix writers, exhibiting a real knack for telling fun stories with great characterization and cliffhangers. FINALS was Pfeifer's first major comix project, and it's clear that he's been delivering from the get-go. The opening "Thanksgiving Dinners" scene in Issue/Chapter 3 is especially clever in what it accomplishes. I fell in love with Thompson's art via 1994's BADGER: SHATTERED MIRROR; I've followed her career ever since. The draftsmanship-meets-looseness style on display in FINALS seems to bridge that of her earlier works and her more current SCARY GODMOTHER era projects. Thompson's repeated use of fish-eye perspective throughout FINALS adds a schizophrenic, paranoid edge to the reading experience. At 100 pages for only $7.99 US, the book is definitely worth tracking down.

My own university experience may not be as extreme as the students' at KSU, but it's been challenging in its own way. By being reasonable in my goals, approach and expectations, however, I have no doubt that I can -- and will (eventually) -- succeed. From FINALS:

"Now, go...! Go and carve out your place in the world!"

- - -

* "Last Hurdle" by A. Jones.

where's the cap'n?

Last week, Kevin "Bank of Kev" McKeever pointed me to a financial article by Jonathan Berr speculating on the abandonment of the "Cap'n Crunch" cereal brand by Pepsi/Quaker Oats. Berr made some astute observations, but by no means stated matter-of-fact that the good Cap'n* was "retiring." That didn't stop media outlets from jumping to conclusions though. In fact, Quaker is possibly gearing up for a new-generation return of their "Where's the Cap'n?" promotion.

**

I was 9 years-old when the original "Where's the Cap'n?" promotion hit. And it was epic. Well, "epic" in the context of '80s-kid-culture epic. As Mr. Breakfast describes:

In 1985, Cap'n Crunch disappeared from boxes of Cap'n Crunch cereal leaving a question mark and an empty silhouette in his place. The "Where's The Cap'n?" campaign encourage[d] kids to decipher his whereabouts through clues on the back of the box. In December of 1985, it was revealed [that] the Cap'n had been hanging out in the Milky Way [galaxy].

The months-long promotion targeted me and my contemporaries from every direction. In addition to the cereal box exteriors and interiors (via maps, decoder strips, detective badges, etc.), there were television commercials, print ads, an 800-number, a music video... Like I said, epic. It was interactive, immersive, and fun. It was also cynical commercialism at its finest, and my brother, friends and I ate it up.

In the quarter-century since, media in all of its forms has fragmented and specialized; the ability to pull off another successful "Where's the Cap'n?"-like stunt seems highly unlikely. With the exception of tragedies, it seems to me that there are few opportunities anymore for that level of shared experience among kids. Which is kind of sad. Yes, '80s kids' culture left a lot to be desired. But it connected those of us who were a part of it. And it left us a lot (of junk and junkfood) to remember with smiles.

- - -

* For a deconstruction of cereal mascots a la what WATCHMEN did for superheroes, see James Sturm's THE CEREAL KILLINGS.

** Images from Cover Browser.

die with your mask on

After months of teasing, Steve Bissette announced last week that his new book, TEEN ANGELS & NEW MUTANTS is finally available. Subtitled "Rick Veitch’s Brat Pack® and the Art, Commerce, and Karma of Killing Sidekicks," its 400+ pages analyze Veitch's career, his BRAT PACK, and the intersections between comix history, the superhero-sidekick phenomenon, and modern teen culture. Veitch shared the following that same day:

This book grew out of an article I commissioned from Steve Bissette when I was planning a special hardcover edition of BRAT PACK a couple years back. I asked Steve to write a short history of what was going on with me, the comics scene and my co-publisher while I was creating the original BRAT PACK. Steve dug into it deeper than I could have ever imagined... [H]e has produced what must be the most comprehensive, contextual, far-reaching and in-depth analysis of a graphic novel ever written.

You can order it directly from the publisher or from Amazon. I immediately ordered myself a copy, and I look forward to pouring myself into it ASAP.



I discovered Veitch's King Hell Heroica via THE MAXIMORTAL in the early '90s, which led me back to BRAT PACK. Burnt out by the Marvel, DC, Image and Valiant superhero comix hype-machines, the Heroica definitely spoke to my "fuck superheroes!" mindset of the time. The stories were raw, brutal and sincere; genuine artistic expressions from an independent creator. Looking back on it nearly 20 years later, they likely served as a bridge between what I thought comix were and what I realized they could be.

I had the pleasure of revisiting both books a number of months ago and they ring more true now than they did then. Here's hoping we get the continuing story someday... Until then -- I've got a 400-page thesis to read.

crippled baby steps

*

Ally Comix has been a part of my life for 25 years.

In 1986 I met my oldest friend, Craig Thompson in Mrs. Sparr's 5th Grade homeroom. We instantly hit it off as geeky, goofy low-income kids. We also happened to be the two "best" artists in our grade level, according to our classmates. (One guess as to who was considered the best.) Soon thereafter, during a sleep-over at his place, Craig introduced me to the world of comix via an honest-to-god spinner rack of comix in his bedroom... Jim Shooter's Marvel and the black-and-white independents of the time were a revelation. I was absorbed -- obsessed -- and instantly started collecting them and dreaming up my own stories featuring my favorite characters. I also intuitively became obsessed with the craft of comix. How they were created and by whom became a favorite, years-long library research project. Which led to Ally: Phase One... Moving beyond dreaming up stories for established characters, I started dreaming up my own characters and stories. As did Craig, as did our little brothers, as did a neighborhood friend. So we started our own comix company -- Alli ("with an 'i'") Comix, which evolved over the next couple of years into Ally Comics. Our li'l bullpen would take turns meeting around our families' kitchen tables, brainstorming, jamming, drawing, and making comix for ourselves and each other. We kept our "company" and our comix going through Junior High.



In hindsight, Ally: Phase Two established itself during and after High School in a couple of forms. I met my second oldest friend, Chris Wood in 1991 when his family moved (back) to Wisconsin. Chris and I attended the same church with our families and frequented the same comix shop. The initial meeting was awkward, but we quickly bonded over a desire to create comix; he was an artist and I fancied myself a writer. Over the next number of years we'd sit at the coffee shop brainstorming, jamming, and planning submissions and publishing endeavors. Then he moved. Around that time, Craig had gotten back into comix (after taking a lengthy break for non-geeky socializing and girls) and I had recently befriended another comix-creator wannabe, Tim Seeley. I introduced Craig and Tim, and we -- no surprise -- started brainstorming and jamming on prospective self-published ventures. Thus was born Ally Publishing, which became Duck Puppet Press, which promptly went the way of the dodo bird as we parted ways for educations and careers a few months later.

A decade passed, and I had given up on what I perceived to be an "impractical" dream. I still read and loved comix, mind you, but I had no desire to create them. (Or so I thought.) I thrilled to Craig and Tim's established professional comix careers, a proud friend. Chris and I had drifted apart. And I had become close friends with a fellow ROBOTECH fan and comix enthusiast, Jonathan Switzer. We'd talk daily about our favorite fictional universe, the latest comix we'd read, and life in general. At some point, Jonathan had shared with me a character and story he'd dreamt up when he was a kid -- Scwonkey Dog -- a story he still tinkered with and hoped to publish someday. "Inspiring! That reminds me of Ally Comics..."

Cue Ally: Phase Three. The Summer of 2007 found me heartbroken, unemployed, and in a rut. I had picked up my final paycheck from the job I'd been let go from just a couple of weeks before. Driving to the bank, I was thinking: "What's my one constant love in life...?" Then it hit me. "Comix, of course!" I wanted to explore them again, create them again. And -- for some unknowable reason -- I was moved to reconnect with Chris after far too long a time to share my revelatory moment. "I'll call him after I cash my check." I cashed the check, was rolling out of the bank parking lot, and my cellphone rang. It was Chris(!). Before I could share with him my own news, he -- in his charmingly manic way -- shared with me his... He was creating comix again! We talking for hours. We brainstormed, jammed on ideas, and started making plans. When Jonathan and I next talked, I shared with him what had happened. Jonathan started laughing. "Just a couple weeks ago, I started working on SCWONKEY again!" Brainstorm, jam, plan. Ally Comix was back. Over the next year, we conferenced, created, and made arrangements. Things felt fated.



Unfortunately, life got in the way for all of us. After an underdeveloped "company" premier at Wizard World Chicago 2008, the fire we had faltered. But it's not been extinguished. Jonathan has never given up working on SCWONKEY. Chris is back working on THE GOLDEN AGE. My own AMERICAN NARADA is coming soon, and old projects are being dusted off. The Brain, the Heart, and the Soul -- all allies in making each others' dreams and stories a reality. But it won't be easy. I know that. Lives are being lived; lessons are being learned. "Baby steps" may be too ambitious a goal for Ally: Phase Four. "Crippled baby steps" is more like it.

If you can't walk, crawl. If you can't crawl, roll. Just never give up.

- - -

* Logo designed by Jon Thompson.

prisoner of gravity

*

TVOntario announced today "the launch of its new digital Public Archive, a free online resource that unlocks four decades of made-at-TVO educational programming that stands the test of time." What caught my attention was the following:

TVO’s Public Archive features beloved TVO programs that have defined TVO over the years. It launches with over 375 programs and segments that would take more than five days to watch. The site includes episodes of ... Prisoners of Gravity... New content will be added to the Public Archive regularly.

PRISONERS OF GRAVITY! Or -- as fans of the show affectionately refer to it as -- POG!

POG originally aired from 1989-1994 and featured interviews with science fiction, fantasy and horror authors and comix professionals. The episodes were structured topically and hosted by Canadian comedian/writer/producer Rick Green, most familiar to American PBS viewers as "Bill" on THE RED GREEN SHOW. It was a wonderfully quirky series; think Brian Lamb's BOOKNOTES meets Space Ghost's COAST TO COAST. ... come again? Well, as POG historian Rachelle "TedDog" Shelkey says at her POG fansite SIGNAL LOSS, "Prisoners of Gravity is a rather difficult series to explain":

What made Prisoners of Gravity different from your average talk show was it also incorporated a quirky fictional wraparound to explain the settings and the hosts. These aren't normal television episodes we're watching, but pirate broadcasts. Our main host, Commander Rick (Rick Green), was frightened by the state of the world and decided to flee Earth by attaching a rocket engine on to the roof of his car. His idea works, surprisingly enough, until he crashes into the side of a secret telecommunications satellite, Reality 1. Starting in season two, the cast expands slightly. Rick is joined on the satellite [by his] not-quite-faithful sidekick Nan-Cy, a sentient computer who either helps or hinders broadcasts depending on her mood. The two pirate broadcasters override the signal of the nature show "Second Nature" in order to air their show "Prisoners of Gravity," much to the annoyance of Second Nature's host Enrico Gruen (also Rick Green). This plot sounds more than a little silly, but works surprisingly well onscreen.

It got this prisoner of gravity's attention. In the early '90s, Wisconsin Public Television aired and re-aired a package of ten POG episodes Friday nights at 10 PM for about six months. A car-less teenager from rural Central Wisconsin, the show enabled me the opportunity to become familiar with the personalities behind the books I loved. Harlan Ellison. Neil Gaiman. Frank Miller. And many more. It introduced me to the works of John Callahan and Dan Piraro, among others, and served as a library visit suggestions' list for years to come. It was a virtual sci-fi/comix convention panel discussion every week. Subjects such as censorship, racism and environmentalism, to name just a few, were highlighted. POG demonstrated that the speculative fiction genres and the comix medium could be serious venues for serious topics.

POG also reminds me of a different era in fandom. In the days before the modern internet made it easy to connect to fellow fans and to aquire "lost" treasures, one had to work at it. During the years following POG's WPT airing, I'd occasionally re-watch the handful of episodes that I had recorded on VHS tape, and I'd wonder... Where can I get the episodes I missed? Are there more episodes than those I saw? What's the story behind this show's story? The answers rested with fellow fan, Canadian "TedDog" Shelkey who operated a POG fanclub and fandub service out of her apartment with the "help" of university equipment. ("Fandub," short for "fan dubbing"; media sharing between fans via audio and video cassette swaps.) I found out that there were over 100 episodes(!), and she found out about the specifics of the PBS run; she had some of the episodes I missed and many more that I had never seen, and I had a few that she still needed. I mailed her my tape of episodes and a blank VHS cassette, and a month later she returned them. But this time the blank tape featured twelve POG episodes -- a tape I still have and watch.**

Old-school fandubs may be dead, but the future is now. TVO currently has 25 episodes of POG officially available for viewing. With about 137 episodes produced, hopefully we'll see more added soon. A wealth of additional clips can be found unofficially (with affection) at Shelkey's YouTube channel.

This is Commander Cass -- signing off.

- - -

* Art by Ty Templeton.

** Special shout-out to my ROBOTECH brother, Christopher "Fer" Goodnough who I met through his fandub service back in the day.

giant marshmallows

*

In 2009, Things From Another World interviewed Tim Seeley about his property, HACK/SLASH. The following got my attention:

TFAW.com: So, you went to college with Craig Thompson?

TS: We’re both from central Wisconsin, but Craig came from an even smaller town than I did. We both went to a college prep school in Wausau, which was the biggest town either of us had ever lived in. We got along pretty well. Craig was kind of the introspective loner, while I was the party guy. ... I’ve always been a fan of his stuff, and Blankets is one of my favorite comic books ever. He did the intro to the first Hack/Slash collection. ... We’ve known each other for about 15 years.

TFAW.com: It would be really interesting if you two wrote short stories for each other to draw!

TS: A mutual friend of ours wrote a script that Craig and I both drew about a giant marshmallow once. We were curious to see how different it would look. That was a blast. I wish I still had it!

By the summer of 1995, I was sitting on a pile of comix scripts that I'd written with plans to illustrate for a personal zine. Inspired by Harvey Pekar's AMERICAN SPLENDOR and Rick Veitch's ROARIN' RICK'S RARE BIT FIENDS, the stories were a mix of quotidian anecdotes and dream diaries. One strip was based on a recurring childhood nightmare that I'd had about, yep, a giant marshmallow...

ONE PAGE. NINE PANELS.

PANEL 1: Kitchen dining room. Round family table in room's center. Single campfire-style marshmallow centered alone on tabletop. Evan, wearing pajamas, stands away from table, observing marshmallow.

EVAN: [caption] There's a marshmallow on the table.

PANEL 2: Same as Panel 1, with two exceptions -- (1) marshmallow has tripled in size; (2) Evan is startled.

EVAN: [caption] And it's... GROWING.

PANEL 3: Same as Panel 2, two exceptions -- (1) marshmallow has grown to cover whole tabletop; (2) Evan, panicked, turning away to run.

EVAN: [caption] Gotta get out of here!

PANEL 4: Close-up on Evan, terrified, running out of kitchen into nearby hallway. Background, marshmallow fills and consumes entire kitchen dining room.

EVAN: [caption] WHERE? My room!

PANEL 5: End of hallway. Evan frantically opens bedroom door, looking wide-eyed over his shoulder. Foreground, marshmallow squeezes into hallway.

EVAN: [caption] Still growing!

PANEL 6: Bedroom. Evan, exhausted but smiling, sits with back against closed door.

EVAN: [caption] There. I'm safe.

PANEL 7: Evan thrown away from door, ever-expanding marshmallow shattering it open.

EVAN: NO!!

PANEL 8: Close-up on Evan, hysterical. Marshmallow constricts and consumes him from all sides.

EVAN: [caption] I can't BREATHE! ... SUFFOCATING me! ...

PANEL 9: Black.

As Tim mentioned in his TFAW interview, one afternoon Craig and I visited him with arrangements to illustrate the script "to see how different it would look." The following roughs -- the first by Tim, the second by Craig -- were the result...





Neat, huh?

P.S. Tim nailed it, BTW.


"Kiss it, Thompson!"

- - -

Special thanks to Jonathan Switzer for scanning the originals.

* "Marshmellows Backlit" by Jonathan Kantor.

panel criticisms

In just over a month's time, THE PANELISTS has become one of my favorite comix blogs. It's a must read, especially if you feel the comix medium should and can be taken seriously. As they explain in their first post:

Our goal here is to bridge the gap between academic and popular criticism, to write reviews and essays with the rigor of good scholarship but in an accessible voice. We also plan to use the convenience of blogging to support experiments in collaborative criticism that would be harder to pull off in print.

And, so far, those "experiments in collaborative criticism" are my favorite aspect of the blog. Consider these two comix panels...



... The first is from John Porcellino's KING-CAT. Panelist Derik Badman evaluates its elements here; fellow Panelist, Isaac Cates reinvents and reevaluates it here. One panel. Total word count? Over 1200(!).* The second is from Jean-Michel Charlier and Jean “Moebius” Giraud's BLUEBERRY. Panelist Craig Fischer critiques it here; Badman follows up by critiquing it here. Total word count? Over 1000.

Fascinating stuff!

The above are just a couple examples of the entertaining scholarship that Badman, Cates, Fischer, et al. are regularly posting. (See also: "Brickbrickbrick" and its comments' section.) If you love comix and smart writing, THE PANELISTS is a joy to read.

"Like" them on Facebook; follow them on Twitter.

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* Because of this exchange, I was moved to finally purchase a KING-CAT collection for myself after years of knowing I should. I loved it. I've purchased more since, and intend to subscribe to the zine ASAP. John P.'s rightly considered a comix genius.

at the movies again

Nearly five months ago, I was thrilled to hear that Roger Ebert was returning the thumb to the airwaves:

"Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies," a weekly half-hour film review program, was announced today [10 September 2010] by its producers, Chaz and Roger Ebert. The program continues the 35-year-old run of a reviewing format ["Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down"®] first introduced by Gene Siskel and Ebert and later by Ebert and Richard Roeper. It will return to its birthplace, launching nationally on public television...

I love quality storytelling in all media. But finding the gems in among all the garbage can be a real challenge. So I value professional critics' opinions in helping me budget the time and money I spend on entertainment; I may not always agree with what critics say, but I appreciate their informed insights. This is especially true with film. If I'm going to sacrifice an estimated two hours of my life and spend upwards of $10 on a movie, it damn well better be worth it. In high school, "Siskel & Ebert" were my go-to critics for all things film; as an adult, "Ebert & Roeper" helped me gauge my DVD rentals and purchases and movie theater visits. Unlike comix, film is not my forte. Consequently, in the years since Ebert and his collaborators have left the air, movies have barely been on my radar. The return of AT THE MOVIES was exciting, welcome news indeed.

A press release from 3 January 2011 announced, among other details, the program's premier date (21 January), primary critics (The Associated Press's Christy Lemire and Mubi's Ignatiy Vishnevetsky), website ("It will include material from the show, and a great much more created especially for online"), and progressive philosophy...

This is ... a new Golden Age for film viewing, he [Ebert] said. With the rise of video on demand (VOD) via cable and such streaming services as Netflix, Amazon and Mubi, many moviegoers have immediate access to thousands of titles. "To reflect that, we'll have a regular segment called 'Hot and Now,' reviewing films that home viewers can actually watch right then and there after the show goes off the air."

So, how is EBERT PRESENTS AT THE MOVIES? Two weeks in, I'm quite enjoying it. Lemire seems to approach films as experiential wholes; Vishnevetsky as collections of technical parts. After watching a clip from a current film, they'll summarize it, discuss it, occasionally debate, pass judgment with either a "thumb up" or a "thumb down," and move on to the next film. It's a familiar and comforting formula. Perhaps too comforting. Lemire and Vishnevetsky are so polite with each other when they disagree that opportunities for deeper critical insights have been missed. I want to see sparks -- like those between Ebert and Siskel and, later, Ebert and Roeper -- and from those sparks I want to be enlightened. Hopefully, as their working relationship grows (it's only been two weeks after all), Lemire and Vishnevetsky will be more inclined to drop their guard and speak their minds. In addition to the familiar back-and-forth, the new AT THE MOVIES also features an "Ebert" segment and one-or-more "from the field" segments. Ebert's segment features him typing a review from his office while a voice-over reads it and film clips play, culminating in a literal "thumb up" or "thumb down" judgment from the program's namesake; his meaningful presence lends authority and a nice continuity to the viewing experience. The other segments highlight film classics and themes presented by a variety of top-notch reviewers, providing the audience an intermission of sorts to symbolically step outside from the theater for a bit. To end the program, each episode has wrapped with an amusing excerpt from the original AT THE MOVIES; it's fun, and I hope the producers continue the practice.

The new AT THE MOVIES really is an enjoyable show, inspiring me to reactivate my Netflix account and pay attention to movies again. It can be watched weekly on PBS or viewed anytime online. See you on the balcony.

godland

Narada is the Hindu god of service. When given the choice between accepting his own enlightened award or helping others to attain theirs, he chose the people. He surrendered becoming one with Brahma -- surrendering even the gift of communion -- to minister to humanity's needs. In so doing, Narada traveled the land serving and instructing his earthly brothers and sisters via sarod (art), sutra (words) and yoga (deeds). Often portrayed as a "demigod of light," scholars have drawn the obvious parallel between Narada and similar gods Quetzalcoatl and Jesus.

The American Narada is me. I've evolved over my 30-plus years from Christian to Agnostic to Humanist. I share the conviction described by Unitarian Universalist minister Kenneth Phifer:

Humanism teaches us that it is immoral to wait for God to act for us. We must act to stop the wars and the crimes and the brutality of this and future ages. We have powers of a remarkable kind. We have a high degree of freedom in choosing what we will do. Humanism tells us that whatever our philosophy of the universe may be, ultimately the responsibility for the kind of world in which we live rests with us.

It's no surprise, then, that I adopted the moniker while researching Hinduism in preparation for a study-abroad trip to "Golden Triangle" India last year. I identify with Narada's benevolent deeds, words, and dedication to the arts -- his legend providing a metaphor through which to serve, reflect and create.



Thus this blog. AMERICAN NARADA will feature life reflections and media highlights. It will include service journals, be a hub for my creative endeavors, and provide me a place to talk about my favorite communicative medium, comix.* The plan is to post weekly, providing room for occasional "special" series. I hope you'll find something of worth.

Thanks, in advance, for humoring me. Welcome to godland.

- - -

* Comix, i.e. "comics," "comic books," "graphic novels," "sequential art," and ilk. "Comics" are comedians; "comic books" are books written by or about comedians; "graphic novels" are explicitly violent and/or pornographic prose; "sequential art" is animation and artworks in a shared gallery exhibit... Get the point? "Comix," on the other hand, is comix -- the word respects convention while still branding the medium's holistic collection of attributes and traits as unique. The medium includes single panels, strips, magazines, collections, original short and book-length stories, etc. presented in print, on the web, digitally, and otherwise. I use "comix" in advocacy.