The Factual Opinion

Woodshed: Absolutely Meknificent

-A belated "so this happened" is in order: Comics of the Weak has moved over to the Comics Journal, where it will appear on a weekly basis every Friday morning. The first four are up now.

It's very, very tempting to write a self-congratulatory bit of faux history for COTW, but the truth is that it was a tossed off idea that became this blog's institution. It was never designed to get me a gig writing for money, or to be thrust into an antagonistic relationship with the comics industry, and yet, it did both. It took over this blog's tone a long time ago, and it probably comes as no surprise to our 15 or so longtime readers that I was nearing exhaustion with it in the last year or so. The Journal's offer came along at the exact moment--barely 24 hours--after Nina and I had agreed that this site was in need of some kind of basic overhaul, if only because the two of us were finding the experience stagnant.

Moving forward, the plan is for TFO to update on a somewhat more consistent basis--three times a week is the current plan--and the random nature will be making a welcome return. That doesn't mean that there won't be comics reviews on a regular basis! Nina has a lot to say, and I'm as excited to read that as I hope you are, but for the time being, COTW's time on the Factual is at an end. I'm really stoked for this blog's next phase, and I'm forever grateful to those of you who have stuck it out with me. It's because of you that I've gotten the chance to write and interact with some of my own personal heroes. Thank you so, so much.

POSSIBLE EXIT STRATEGIES

-Nina's review of Supurbia is up now, you can find that by scrolling down or clicking this link. I can count on one hand (the number is three) the amount of times I couldn't finish reading a comic that Nina ended up writing about, and Supurbia--which is such a piece of shit that I guessed it was written by some bargain basement celebrity even before finding out that was actually the case--is lucky number four.

-In the land of things that don't suck, you'll find My Friend Dahmer. Derf's hybrid of autobiography and straight-up reportage is one of the best comics I've read in a long time, and the first non-fiction one that I've been excited about on a visceral level since Guy Delisle's Pyongyang. There were a ton of people blowing smoke about that mediocre Green River Killer last year--I really hope that all of that ensuing disappointment won't turn people off from reading Derf's work, which is what a legit grown-up comic is supposed to read like.

-Over at The Comics Journal, you can find the first four Comics of the Weak's (1, 2, 3, 4), two of which feature work from Nate Bulmer and Abhay Khosla. Abhay needs little introduction--he's the funniest person writing about comics--but in case you've yet to read his stuff, you can find a great selection over at his Twist Street tumblr, and, of course, The Savage Critics. Nate Bulmer's comics are a recent find for me, part of the blessings I've run into since I stopped being such a close-minded prick about webcomics. He's very, very funny, and I'm glad he agreed to join the squad.

-That's it for now. There's a great article about Camus versus Sartre in the New Yorker, and I totally recognize and celebrate how cliched and ridiculous that statement sounds.

The Wife: Normally Likes Bad Puns, So Ya'll Must Have Really Screwed The Pooch

Supurbia #1
By Russell Dauterman, Gabriel Cassata & Grace Randolph
Published by Boom Comics

SUPURBIA: Yes. That's the words "Super" and "Suburbia" mixed together like Brangelina or....well that's the only one I can think of right now. I'm sure there's a million others.

Anyhow - the name says it all, in more ways then one. This is, at least for this issue, about some superheroes who are part of some team called the Meta Legion and who also live on the same street, in the same suburb.

Why wouldn't they, I suppose? It makes sense. Living amongst "like minded" or rather "like super-powered" people would make you feel comfortable, right?  

Oy....I don't really know how to write about this comic. Seriously. I guess it's a cute idea? When I was explaining the premise to my friend he said, "so, it's like The Unit, but with superheroes?" And, the answer is yes. That's basically it. 

In this issue, every couple of pages we're introduced to a different couple, their particular dynamic, who they are and what their powers are, and how they fit into the Meta Legion. I suppose I could type it all out, explaining to you who's who and what's what - but that's already been done. It's been done in the comic book. That's where you can find all of that info. And since I already spoiled the part about it being in a suburb, there's not much else in the comic to get into besides the specifics of the character relationships, so...there's that.

Here's something. The very first vignette shows this huge, powerful guy - he's got massive strength, can read minds, perhaps he's even faster than a speeding bullet - and he leaves his pretty blonde girlfriend at home as he goes off to work. And it made me think of some issue (or issues?) of some version of Superman a few years ago. Forgive me, as you know I don't really keep up. But I do remember someone showing this comic to me (and perhaps I even read it), and that it chose to explore the question "what would it really be like to be in a love relationship with Superman?" Can he hug you? Or do you put yourself at risk of death with every embrace? Does he ever have the time or space in his head to just focus on the woman in his life, or will she always be second, third, fourth, or fifth place? It's interesting to realistically explore unrealistic situations, and I find that sort of exploration to be the basis for some of the best comics that I've read. I'm not sure if it's good for the basis of a story, but it seems like it would be a good subplot, a good bit of flavor to go with all the regular stuff they do in these things. Again, not that I'm an expert, but at this point, I guess I've read a good amount of comic books.

Maybe this could be a fun, comic-book version of Desperate Housewives? I don't think so. This is the first issue and it was a whole bunch of set-up, and as it went on, it seems like it's mainly going to be about this Meta Legion and, for now, the cliff hanger is that the "First Lady" (the chick who's married to the guy who seems to be the leader of the Meta Legion, and who happens to be dying) is a double agent or shape shifter or alien or just not who she seems to be.

It's a cliff hanger, I don't know if it's a good one, but it is a cliff hanger. Some of the characters are interesting. But to me it just feels tiresome. It feels silly to have created a whole new set of super heroes and relationships to explore this particular storyline. Is that a weird thing to say? I don't know - do we need more super heroes? I have a hard time with these kinds of off brand super-heroes. They always feel like runner-up stories. I'm not sure why that is, but it just seems like a waste of time. This comic didn't make me angry, or sad. It just made me feel tired and sad. There's so much better places to be than this.

-Nina Stone, 2012