Tag Archives: 1990s
That ’90s Comic Book
No, not Peter Bagge’s HATE. I mean that ’90s comic book you’ve never heard of.
A short-lived little funnybook called DROP DEAD, which any fool could see was inspired by Bagge’s neat stuff. Some kid who called himself Matty Boy Anderson was barely out of high school when he started cranking out copies, and timidly mailing them to review periodicals like Factsheet Five, and cartoonists he admired, such as Bagge, Roy (Trailer Trash) Tompkins, and Evan Dorkin.
It began in 1993, when self-publishing meant a trip to Kinko’s. The black & white interior was cheap to print (and fun to huff), but full-color covers were expensive. So typically an office color-copier was secretly abused for free, someplace prior. With a book stapler, you were all set to collate and fold your comix. This is the way it was done. Plus, not sinking your life savings into a print run left you more open to trading, which is also the way it was done. When you submitted your publication to Factsheet Five, you indicated whether trades were welcome. If you did, you found yourself with quite a “zine” collection, very rapidly.
It was actually pretty grand. Continue reading
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Filed under Bad Influences, Comix Classic & Current, Late To The Party, Magazine Rack
In Praise Of Screaming Women
I used to call myself a horror-movie buff in the 1990s, so I’ve heard all the grievances about “scream queens” and “final girls”. And, you know, those complaints worked; now every female protagonist in movies is an unstoppable “badass”. I saw the recent space drama Gravity, and I was mystified why so many people disliked it. Then I looked into the details; modern audiences rejected a Sandra Bullock who freaks out and cries when things go sour. Never mind that it’s part of a character arc; females must always be steely and in control.
Well, like so many aspects of modern film, that’s boring. Another victim of political correctness in movies is the Girl Who Can Scream. The scolds among us will suggest that men get a perverse satisfaction out of seeing women in jeopardy, but that’s only the perverts. For the rest of us, it’s a human fire alarm, when it’s done right. It signals that things are really, really bad. They even used to put it in the trailers.
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Filed under Bad Influences, Faint Signals, Girls of BIUL, Nostalgic Obsessions, Saturday Movie Matinee
10 Reasons Why I Love Gummo
If you’ve never seen Harmony Korine’s 1997 meisterwerk Gummo, you are doing yourself a great disservice. Rarely do I recommend a film so unabashedly, or so often. It has been my favorite movie for almost a decade, regardless of mood. I’ve seen it a hundred times, easily, and it continues to amaze me in new ways. And yes, it shocks, in a manner I draw great inspiration from. But beyond its often hilarious jolts, Gummo is the most explicitly human and raw film I’ve ever seen. The believability of the scenes- some scripted, some improvised- is so overwhelming and authentic, it pulls you into their world with all the force of the tornadoes that set the film’s events in motion. And you may find yourself every bit as devastated in their wake.
Gummo loosely tells the story of the residents of Xenia, Ohio, a quasi-fictional town that was savaged by tornadoes at an indistinct point in the past, and never fully recovered. The film centers primarily on a small group of children, but as we explore their ruined world, we meet a larger cast of characters, almost all portrayed by “non-actors”. Some are legitimately mentally retarded. It all gels amazingly well, providing a heretofore unseen view of what liberal assholes call “white trash”. I love it so dearly that I could go on endlessly about it, so I’ve decided to instead whittle my thoughts down to my ten favorite (more or less) things about my favorite movie. Here we go! Don’t forget to put out the cat! For god’s sakes! Continue reading
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Filed under Bad Influences, Faint Signals, Saturday Movie Matinee, Unfairly Maligned
5 Fabulous Fanfares
In the Before Times, when music on the radio was not analogous to commercial interruption, a band of musicians had a three-minute window to set the world on fire. Many groups took this responsibility with great gravitas, crafting an introduction to their big number that would grab listeners by the scruff of the neck and pull them uncomfortably close for the duration. These were songs that made turning the dial impossible.
And to state the utterly obvious, they don’t make ’em like this no more.
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Filed under Bad Influences, Faint Signals, Nostalgic Obsessions, Thousand Listen Club
Duran Duran
This strip is from ten years ago, and the last panel takes place twenty years ago. I didn’t get into weed heavily until around 1998, though. Sometime around the creation of the initial run of strips, interestingly enough. I don’t know, it’s hazy. Wonder why.
While an art school sophomore, I got a homework assignment that involved duplicating a known master’s art. I chose Rembrandt. This other kid chose Nagel. While the class spread our hard work out on the hallway floor for critique, an eccentric and stout professor (with a wonderfully incomprehensible name) dropped in from next door to speak with our teacher. As he did, he trod upon the counterfeit Nagel, scuffing and mangling it. He played it off like an accident, albeit halfheartedly, but we all knew it was a deliberate mercy killing.
Duran Duran takes their moniker from the Jane Fonda science-fiction ort Barbarella, a film so godawful, the director wisely stuck all the nudity in the opening credits.
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Filed under Bad Influences, Comix Classic & Current, Nostalgic Obsessions
Fatboy Slim
“Praise You”, which is now stuck in my goddamn head too, features a sample from the theme from Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, so adjust your prejudices accordingly.
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Filed under Comix Classic & Current, Don't Know Don't Care
Dead Can Dance
I’m literally drinking in a bar while I’m posting this. It may surprise you, but that’s just how I roll.
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Filed under Comix Classic & Current
Laibach
I swear to god I thought I did a strip on Laibach. I had to look all over to make sure I didn’t. I can see it in my head! I can see it!
Okay, for one, I vividly remember this song opening differently, going straight into the dirgelike LOOOOOOOOOOO:
I’ve never found a version different from the one posted. Did I imagine it? Did I hear a remix, or was the CD skipping?
Two, another vivid memory: a high school buddy purchased a Laibach album, back when they came packaged in cardboard “longboxes”. He said the inside of the longbox was lined with swastikas, which prompted a stimulating discussion about the peaceful origins of the symbol. And he was Jewish! I have found no evidence online that this packaging ever existed. What the fricasee, did I goddamn dream it? What would THAT mean?
Thirdly, in my mind, I conflate “White Law” with this similarly-titled song:
Now you share my special level of Hell.
Finally, I’m certain that I’m not the only one who remembers when this turned up on 120 Minutes:
I’m counting this as a strip.
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Filed under Bad Influences, Faint Signals, Nostalgic Obsessions
Body Count
A friendly reminder not to shoot the messenger.
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Filed under Bad Influences, Comix Classic & Current, Late To The Party
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