ONE LINERS

The best thing about this column is that when I just don't have any

organized thoughts to put together in a given week, I can get away with

this format. =)

  • OK, here are my only comments on Star Wars movie. I liked themovie. And I think more people will realize how good this onewas after they've seen the next movie or two.
  • I've never read any of the STAR WARS comics. I find it odd inthe same way I found DC's release schedules for STARS ANDS.T.R.I.P.E. or MARTIAN MANHUNTER that Dark Horsereleased both the first issue of their movie adaptation along withthe TPB collecting the entire adaptation. I'm sure there's sometheory behind that. It boggles my mind. I think they'd have beenbetter off to just release the TPB, even with two separate covers-- an artist's cover and a photo cover. I suppose it's just all part ofthe Star Wars madness that's gripped the country lately. I mean,could you imagine Dark Horse doing the same with Frank Miller'sFAMILY VALUES graphic novel?!?
  • Chris Eliopoulos writes to inform that therewill be a DESPERATE TIMES tradepaperback collecting the 4 issues of theseries that were printed along with all thebackup strips from the pages of THESAVAGE DRAGON and some new stuff,including fan art. It's due out in Septemberand looks to be packed full of goodness forthe money. So if your shop sold out of thehilarious book co-starring comicdom's onlydrunken sloth (literally), tell them to order itfor you now. You can thank me later.
  • Also, I should give a little plug to Phriend Phil's web site. It was hisDVD of The Predator which I watched last week, and I shouldthank him here for that and plug his excellent web site, filled withcomputer models of various Star Trek vehicles and ships. It'ssome great 3-D computer work. Take a look.
  • I asked my local Pokemon distributor this week when the StarWars Pokemon action figures were coming out. You know --Pokemon Kenobe? She said they were coming in next week,along with the rare variant figure. (In case this needs saying: Yes,we were joking.)
  • J. Torres, hoping to be the single most-talked about creator inPipeline history, wrote in this week to let me know that MonsterFighters Inc. #1 has a currently official release date of June 8th.
  • J. Torres still has a long way to go before he beats Warren Ellis or Erik Larsen.
  • I was so happy to hear that QUANTUM & WOODY isreturning this fall to print that I did the only thing any fan could doto honor this announcement: I caught up on THE BLACKPANTHER. It's an excellent comic. Not as good as Q&W, butdone in the same style and lots of fun. Now I'm having a blastrereading Q&W.
  • FANBOY #5 this week features Batman artists including NealAdams and Frank Miller. For his next trick, Mark Evanier willhave Alan Moore write a WATCHMEN spoof for FANBOY#7. . . Steven Bissette will draw.
  • The longer I read comics, themore I'm convinced that theonly way to do so is in batches.I'm enjoying BLACKPANTHER now more thanever before because there's no4-week wait until the nextchapter in the story. And let's face it -- my memory stinks.
  • Picked up a copy of REDRIVER from Stephen Blue atMadison Square Garden acouple of weeks ago. It's reallyweird. I have to read it againbefore I can decide if I canrecommend it. It's pretty far outthere. But he's a really nice guy, who's genuinely enthusiasticabout what it is he does. He's also got a distinctive art style that'sfun to look at. So look out for his stuff.
  • I was pleasantly surprised by CAPTAIN AMERICA:SENTINEL OF LIBERTY #11. I have allthe issues of the series so far but haven't readany of them since the fourth issue or so. Here,though, Mark Waid pulls together alight-hearted, character-oriented script forWalter McDaniel and Anthony Williams topencil. I think it works out rather well.
  • I think THOR gets the award for book Ikeep buying but not reading. Issue #13 just came out and I don'tthink I've read the darned thing since issue #4 or #5. I like thebook but it's one that easily confuses you with all the Norsenames. I need to read this one in a big batch.
  • I still believe that the majority of the BULLDOG rumor thatRich's Ramblings has posted will eventually come true. It justmakes too much sense for it not to. Of course, this is a topic foranother column entirely.
  • Just so that people don't accuse me of being a "typical on-linecolumnist," allow me to diverge from popular opinion andcommonly stated "fact" for a moment to say: I've never seenCLERKS or MALLRATS orCHASING AMY and haveeven less interest in theircomics. AUSTIN POWERS isnot a great movie. It has itsmoments, but I don't see vague attempts to string catch phraseafter catch phrase along on a thin string to be the recipe for agreat movie.
  • I also resent WIZARD putting AUSTIN POWERS on its cover.Pathetic. And the real comic book art backup choice wasn't thatgreat, either. I love Adam Hughes' art, but I'd prefer to have aless pandering choice sometime.
  • I also think Dawson's Creek is one of the best most consistentlywritten show on television today. To a limited extent, GEN13could do well by aping that style for its comic. I'm surprised wehaven't seen more comics trying it yet.
  • The title of this column is a complete misnomer. Only a couple ofthese bullet points have been a one-liner. It's the thought thatcounts, though.