RETHINKING GENERATION X

JOE CASEY PREDICTS THE FUTURE



I finished reading "Wildcats v3" up to issue 19. After that comes a five-part series that promises to wrap-up the Zealot storyline once and for all. Sadly, I'm missing an issue from that section, so I've held off on reading it. I might just go out and buy the trade paperback. Also, there was a tease in issue #19 that the storyline would run through issue #25, but the book didn't make it that long. I know the 24th issue finishes with an actual ending of some sort, so I'm not worried about a never-concluded cliffhanger, but still. Disappointing.

I've been hooked on Casey's "Wildcats" for the last couple of weeks. I wrote about Dustin Nguyen's art on it last week, but need to hit on Casey's lead character this week. In the lead-up to "Wildcats v3," Spartan took over control of Jacob (Emp) Marlowe's company, Halo. Then, Spartan absorbed Voodoo's powers, making him a ridiculously powerful android. And, near the end, discovered a new (extra-dimensional) power source that promised to change his company and the world.

Suddenly, Spartan is a man on a mission. He wants to change the world for the better through technology, capitalism, and rampant consumerism. Nothing will get in his way. He'll buy out whoever he has to. He'll advertise as much as necessary. He'll push through where others might tread lightly. He is laser focused, unwilling to accept compromises or excuses. He'll work his people to the bone, and then cut them off when they start to waste his time.

He's Steve Jobs in many ways. He's using marketing to push a future he believes in, one that he believes will make the world a better place in every conceivable way. He's expanding out to new markets. He's making his brand omnipresent. His company uses secrecy to preserve its lead. He doesn't deal well with government interference. He comes across as cold and mean, at times, but he's really being honest and logical. He'll get what he wants because he knows that it's right.

PODCAST-A-PALOOZA



  • The "No Better Than Average" show hosted Chris Eliopoulos, discussing his path into comics and how things work in the industry today. This won't be as informative for die-hard comics geeks as it will be for those who thing the Marvel movies are cool and, hey, they still print comics? But it's an entertaining hour and there are some funny stories in there for you. He also talks about the transition to computer lettering and how they at first tried to mimic hand-lettering, which ties neatly into my "Generation X" comments above.
  • For those of us who eat up tales of the earliest Image days, the Sidebar podcast had Dan Panosian for a chat about art, the early days of Image, fatherhood, and more.
  • Jake Parker appeared on The Sketch Zone podcast to talk about his career and his art. If you want to know how he started SVSLearn.com, this is the place to get the story. Now I'm just waiting for a month quiet enough to pony up the fee to take as many of those classes as I can. Less than $15 will get you full access to all the sites classes for the month, including Parker's lessons on how to draw anything, how to draw comics, how to draw perspective, etc. And as a reminder that even the professionals are fanboys, thrill to the moment in the podcast when Joe Mad likes a drawing of Parker's and Parker gets excited.The Nerdist Writer's Panel interviewed Amy Sherman-Palladino, who has absolutely no connection to comics, but who created "Gilmore Girls," one of the greatest television shows in the last twenty years. There. I said it. Lots of comics geeks like the show, too, so don't make fun of me.Right now, I'm listening to Orbital in Conversation with Mark Buckingham. It's an hour-long interview, followed by an hour of audio from the opening of his art gallery where he discusses his art a bunch. Interesting stuff, and it's what prompted me to re-read "Generation X" this week.

Next up: Image Comics has its own podcast now, hosted by David Brothers. The first episode is an interview with Joshua Williamson, who wrote the wonderful "Ghosted" series and is still currently writing "Nailbiter" and "Birthright."

PIPELINKS

  • I don't agree with everything Caleb writes here, but I do think this is a nicely written opinion piece breaking down all of those Looney Tunes/DC crossover covers. Maybe I'm just a pushover for these things and these characters, but I liked them more than he did. And the more I look at them, the more I think Terry Dodson wins with his Wonder Woman "What's Opera, Doc?" cover...

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