Showcase Presents Booster Gold vol. 1; A Hardcore Review

What the fuck can I say about this mother fucker? 80's cheese? sure. But with some great writing and sweet art. Booster Gold is Michael Carter from the 25th Century. A former All-Everything quarterback for Gotham University, Booster had it all, potentially. But Booster lived most of his life in poverty, as his father had gambled away the family's life savings and then left afterward. Carter's mom and sister were all he had, and they lived in the ghetto. His only way out, make the big time through professional football. And he would have, if he could have just waited till he left school for the pros. But Michael's mother's health was failing, and without an operation, a very costly operation done in zero gravity, she was a goner. So Booster took on with the organized crime racket and started shaving points. He vowed never to throw a game, just make things work for those guys with crooked noses. And he got busted. Guess what kids, crime doesn't pay. Unless you're an "elected" official. Cause, then it pays up the ass. Thrown out of school and his professional status pretty much less than zero, Carter left home and took up a menial job as a night watchman of the Metropolis History Museum. With security bot, Skeets at his side, Booster recognized and incredible opportunity, steal some relics and travel back in time to become a super hero. A super hero with mega endorsement deals and movie contracts. He reprogrammed Skeets and did the deed.
Showcase Presents Booster Gold volume one is over 600 pages of "are you fucking kidding me?" But it's awesome. It didn't come highly recommended by my comic book dealer, as he reads everything that isn't television or movie related that comes into his shop (he did speak highly of Ambush Bug volume 1 though), but I decided to take a chance. I mean 600 plus pages for under twenty bucks is pretty fucking sweet. Especially if I enjoy the fuck out of it. AND I DID! For the most part Booster Gold was written with pencils by Dan "The Death of Superman" Jurgens and mostly having been inked by Mike DeCarlo, this tomb was amazing. So much better than volume one of Showcase Presents Green Lantern. Probably because it took place in the seriously fucked up 1980's instead of the seriously whacked out 1950's where every woman was supposed to be June Fucking Cleaver, but for some reason had a hardon for being married, even when they were an heiress to a multi-million dollar aircraft company (stupid bitch). i had fun the whole way through this ride. Jurgens knows how to craft a compelling story about an extremely vapid and superficial character. And some of the plot twists... totally fucked up.
The best part of the book had to be, straight man Skeets. Providing his knowledge of the verbal vernacular of the times to the woahfully wordless-smith Gold was hilarious. Correcting all of his misuses of 80's slang was hilarious. And it seriously rocked cause in my head I was hearing the voice of Skeets from the Justice League Unlimited cartoon who was voiced by Billy West (Futurama) while I read. And even though I was not reading comics in the 80's, this book definitely encompassed the idea of the 80's. Especially if you compare it to Brett Easton Ellis' American Psycho. There was a lot of materialism involved. Money grubbing and fame seeking, Booster Gold provided laughs, cheers, boos and even some sympathy along the way. His story reads like that of so many inner city youth who's only possible escape from poverty are sports, or illegal means. And in Gold's case, it turned out to be a little of both.
Booster Gold volume one had guest stars galore. The Legion of Superheroes made an appearance as Booster Gold tried to save the president from an assassination attempt. The Teen Titans, or at least Donna Troy showed up for like one fucking panel. Batman, Robin, Superman and the mid 80's incarnation of the Justice League showed up, which included Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Rocket Red, a seriously 80's version of Black Canary and Guy Gardner, with amnesia. But it could have not had any of these other characters, and just included perrenial mort, Rainbow Raider, which was an awesome story by the way and an android Booster, which wouldn't have worked without Superman, and the Dimension X crew.
Honestly I do not know what the fuck I was expecting from this book, but I got more than I bargained for and I now include Booster Gold and Skeets among my favorite characters. Gold sought to be a super hero for all the wrong reasons, fame and money. But he ended up being a super hero none the less. With that, I give Showcase Presents Booster Gold volume 1 a train wreck of a debut as its grade; as it also included his first appearance and origin stories. In 1993, in ECW a wrestler debuted who was so unorthodox that the wrestling world was forever changed. "The most homicidal, suicidal, genocidal maniac known to man" appeared in the ECW Arena. Bound to a dolly with a chain, with his mouth covered like Hannibal Lecter, Sabu emerged. Throwing chairs and attacking fans, the man who was considered revolutionary among his peers, but never saw the coin he deserved, made his mark on American soil. Sabu went head to head with the relatively new wrestler, The Tazmaniac (Taz) in a match that saw slingshot leg drops, suicide dive planchas and Asai Moonsaults. In his ECW debut, under the guidance of manager hunter Q. Robins III and with his handler, 911, Sabu defeated Taz, the man he would eventually win the ECW tag team titles with, and main even the very first ECW pay per view against. "The human highlight reel of professional wrestling," and whirling dervish of the squared circle cemented his place in the annals of professional wrestling.

Jay & Silent Bob Chasing Dogma; A Hardcore Review *SPOILERS*

Kevin Smith's one note loser duo of Jay and Silent Bob first made it onto comic books with the Clerks comic book. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for dick and fart jokes, even on your graphic novel shelf. With writing by the enigmatic Smith and art by the seriously underrated Duncan Fegredo (Girl, and Tank Girl) seriously push the envelope of decency and self respect in this, god knows what the hell it was supposed to be about. But it did have the amazing origin of Suzanne which was hinted at in the end credits of Mallrats. Although they did redo said origin in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.
The artwork is fucking amazing. As only Fegredo can offer. You can follow Duncan on his official twitter account.... You can follow Duncan on his official twitter account.... or Smith for that matter. Aside from the professional formalities of whoring those two. Hope they have the decency to send that shit back my way. Especially since Smith stole the whole pigtails gimmick from me when I bumped into him at Wizard World 2005 in Los Angeles and then put it in Clerks 2. I want my two dollars.
Anyways, the story follows, I guess, lovable losers Jay and, his hetero life mate, Silent Bob as they get kicked out of Trish "The Dish's" living room after overstaying their welcome and ruining her interview with some Entertainment Tonight ripoffs.
Right now I am watching Chelsea Handler do standup, and it has me wondering if she really is a slut, like she pretends to be with her routine.
So the two bust down in the television section of an electronics store AND, wait for it..... watch the entire John Hughes library. Lunch Box starts crying and Jay of course probably starts dry humping something. Thing I don't get is the sheer number of bitches who think Jason Mewes is hot. I'm not gay, but I wouldn't fuck him WITH YOUR DICK!
The two get kicked out and then decide to go the Shermer in Illinois to become the resident weed suppliers for the white bread suburb. But hey, everyone has to have a dream, right?
Meanwhile, Suzanne jailbreaks from a train wreck from Provasic labs. Making like Harrison Ford in Fugitive with an incompetent Tommy Lee Jones lookalike chasing after her.
Somehow she runs across the duo and Jay makes his famous "super monkey" speech. But not before the two make it to someplace in Illinois where they hang out in a high school where Anthony Michael Hall and Emilio Estevez somehow haven't aged and are STILL in high school. Here's the twist, they are the chronic connection at that school, and they kick Jay and Lunch Box's asses and toss them in a locker room with a bunch of naked guys.
I can't really capitalize on an endearing moment on this book. Probably cause there really wasn't one. However, I am not saying all stories have to have viable substance or meaning. Cause I am pretty sure most of the comics I've done don't have people rethinking their lives. It's just pure entertainment at the lowest common denominator folks.
But, the art work, all in black and white and the writing mixed together are what make this such a great book. The style is way different from the Clerks comic, but expanding the View Askew universe. I honestly wish Smith put out more comics. And I wish Duncan get more credit for his truly unique style of work.
The time it took me to get back to this book, after probably at least a few years since I last read it was worth it. Since Kevin Smith is known for his dialog and plot I am going to go back to a great heel promo from ECW. Steve Corino, the self proclaimed "King of Old School" came out to the ring to confront the "Human Suplex Machine" Taz in what was a great cowardly heel moment. Corino told Taz that he could beat "the most miserable son of a bitch on the planet" easily. However, just moments before he had injured himself lifting 600, no 800 pounds on the bench press. The whole time, the crowd was chanting, "Taz is gonna kill you!" Since an obviously injured Corino was unable to make a run at the Champ, he brought out a man who could.... Chris Candido.

The Crow; A Hardcore Review

The penultimate gothic graphic novel ever. Written and drawn by James O'Barr back in the days when comics went from being just for kids, to being driven towards a more adult audience. Created by a distraught O'Barr after losing his girlfriend to a drunk driver, the ink poured out in graphic chapters of metaphorical payback. In much the same way that I originally formed Youth in Asia to be somewhat autobiographical in that very similar metaphorical nature.
Visually very different from the high quality and "image" conscious books of the day. It stands as an independent triumph in the comic book world, that spawned more than half a dozen sequels from different creators and a reboot from none other than Todd McFarlane. The Crow also made its way to the big screen in an adaption starring, in his final role, Brandon Lee, three sequels and a television series; not to mention the toys.
And 16 years after the Brandon Lee driven epic, and almost twenty years after the original graphic novel, there are rumblings of a remake of the 1994 feature film. As of this blog post, rumor has it that former underwear model and wanna be gangsta rapper, "Marky" Mark Wahlberg to reprise the role of the late great Eric Draven.
But this review is about the James O'Barr comic book. The use of varying art styles by O'Barr keep the story flowing extremely well. During the present time sequences, O'Barr relies on hard line work and basic graphic stylings. Where as in the flashback portions, gray scale and wash are used to give a softer side to the uber gritty revenge based storyline. Much in the same way that the Brandon Lee classic used filters and colors to give Eric Draven much needed balance.
There is no real "return" chapter to the story. Draven, pretty much shows up and starts his killing spree. And sure the book's artwork is a bit dated, but what Kirby classic from the 60's or seventies isn't dated by its physical appearance. It's part of the book's charm.
The multi kill sequence in Top Dollar's hangout is epic in much the same way as the movie version's massive shootout complete with brooding lighting, massive blood loss, and a few choice words. The thing I really like about The Crow is its use of poetry and music lyrics for chapter breaks and to set the mood for the coming events. As prophetic as Eric Draven's character is, he still uses soliloquy during the final moments of his tormentor's lives.
The history of the deaths of Shelly Webster and Eric Draven is different than the movie, in that Shelly and Eric were killed along a rural highway, after celebrating their engagement. T-Bird, Top Dollar, Fun Boy, Tin Tin, Tom Tom and Skank are all packed into T-Bird's car and stop when they see the couple broken down on the side of the road. Without much thought, the gang murders Eric and then begin to torment Shelly. Raping and killing her, with Fun Boy doing the deed after her head is blown off.
The whole time the crow is instructing Eric not to look into certain portions of his life with Shelly. To maintain focus on the mission at hand. But Eric is motivated by his true love for Shelly. He cannot help himself in wanting to see those once beautiful moments of his life. Moments that once brought him peace. And that love and peace is what fuels his vengeance. Draven can't be killed. He can't even be hurt. And with the death of those who wronged him and his beloved, he can finally be at peace.
For those who are new to my Hardcore Review, you may wonder what I use to grade the projects I review. Well, I don't use stars, letter grades, percentages or even fucking smiley faces. This is the Hardcore Review, and I utilize hardcore moments in professional wrestling history to grade the projects I review. The classic tale of justice and balance by James O'Barr rates a moment people never thought they would see. The place was Asbury Park. The promotion, Extreme Championship Wrestling. The combatants, Bam Bam Bigelow, the hometown hero, and the World Television Champion, Taz. After a pretty huge battle, including a modified belly to belly overhead suplex by Taz, putting Bigelow through a table. But that's not the moment. The moment came a tad later when Taz jumped on the back of The Beast from the East and locking in his dreaded Tazmission. Out of the field of view of the ref, but clear to those watching on pay per view, The Beast tapped. But since the ref didn't see, the match didn't end. Bigelow threw his legs out from under him, sending both himself and Taz crashing through the ring, to the cement floor underneath. Who rose first was the Beast, who then dragged a near unconscious Taz back into the ring and pinned him to win the World Television Title.