Someone's shadowboxin' my house, yeah
And that, my friends, is the cap on Behind the Music. A new story kicks off on Monday. I'd hoped to accompany it with some new changes and tweaks to the website, but I don't think they'll be finished in time, so I might need to hold off for another week or two. Rats!
I just finished off the first hardcover volume of The Ultimates. I figured I should give it a try, since I've enjoyed the appearances of Nick Fury and others in Ultimate Spider-man. On the whole, I really enjoyed it! It kind of feels like 24 with Superheros... big plot twists, big action set-pieces, lots of conspiracies and doublecrosses, and a good helping of soap-opera-esque personal interaction. It also has some of the most gorgeous artwork I've ever seen in a book published by Marvel.
But the one thing that drives me nuts is all the cameos of real-life people. Mind you, I love it when they use real-life military and political leaders in the World War II flashbacks. It's the history nerd in me... the same one that lets me really enjoy The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. But cameos from current day people, especially celebrities, just drive me up the wall. It's a minor issue, but that didn't stop me from cringing everytime George Bush or Shannon Elizabeth or whoever else popped up.
Sam Logan
Are you safe to leave behind every anchor in your mind
Today's comic is dedicated to my good buddy -- and everyone's favourite website code-monkey -- Ashton. I don't know if he actually coined the phrase "hot piece of man candy" himself, but he was certainly the first person I ever heard using it.
Something funny has happened up here in Canada. There is a man -- a man who dislikes unelected senators. He also doesn't like MPs who switch political parties without running in bi-elections. He is our new Prime Minister, and he has just decided to round-out his cabinet with an unelected senator and an MP who has just switched political parties without running in a bielection. Here's the full story.
Now, Mr. Harper is a Conservative, and I generally am not. But that's OK! He won the election, fair and square. I respect that. And I don't expect our national politicians to only do things that I agree with. I just expect them to do what they say they are going to do. Is that so much to ask, really? Is that so naive?
Hey, stop laughing back there!
Sam Logan
Asteroid blues
My friend Jesse Betteridge has a website that some of the Canadian animation fans in the audience might find interesting. As you may or may not know, up here in the Great White North we have an organization called the CRTC that helps protect our country by banning unrelenting threats to the very fabric of Canadian culture like the Cartoon Network. That means that we have to rely on Canadian networks to rebroadcast the programs found on Adult Swim and elsewhere. Often, they never do. Can you believe Cowboy Bebop and Invader Zim still haven't aired on Canadian TV?
Fortunately, we have Mr. Betteridge to piss and moan on our behalf. Or, if you would like to directly assist him in his crusade, you can visit his website and allow him to direct you all in unison like some unholy army of anime nerds. Me, I don't even have basic cable, but I still feel his pain, and I have a feeling there's at least one other canuck reading this who does as well. If you are this man or woman, give his website a look!
Sam Logan
