feed the beast
So, holidays, right? That magical time of year when we’re supposed to have huddled around the bonfire, telling stories of our past lives as members of Western Civilization, at least as much as we can between the group crying jags and the fending off of the rats or whatever. But hey my bonfire was pretty nice and I got some real shiny and inspirational rocks and I’d like to tell you about them! It is important to know what is going in your artist’s head so you may brace yourself for what comes out his ass, I always say.
HOLIDAY MOVIES FOR THE MISERABLE WHO HAVEN’T GOTTEN TO SEE ANYTHING
If you haven’t seen them and can still catch them, I’d rank the ones I saw: Synecdoche, New York, Slumdog Millionaire (because my heart is not in fact stone, artistic output nonwithstanding), Role Models, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Benjamin Button is not that bad – if I see a truly bad movie I’ll be sure to tell you all about it – but eventually you’re like aw dude don’t pull that lever again buhuhuh wahhh plus Synecdoche covers the same sort of themes and you actually remember that movie once it’s over.
What is interesting about Role Models is, well – it’s a formulaic mainstream comedy, in basic form, but it’s always very funny, about as well-executed as mainstream comedies get; that’s that out of the way – but, one, it’s about some seriously non-mainstream shit, which is one reason why it’s not been a great big legendary comedy sleeper hit, and two – analyst hat time – it illustrates the importance of theme in comedy, because it doesn’t really have one. Mechanically it’s as good as Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, or Office Space, and pretty close to Superbad even, but: it’s not great. Because it doesn’t have a theme.
You see with the really great comedies, they get you laughing, and then, while you’re laughing, you glom onto the theme, and then you start rooting for the movie while you’re laughing at it. Yes! Work sucks! Teen sex! Asians can be wacked-out hedonists too! But Role Models is about, uh: energy drinks; big brother/big sister programs; and LARPing. No shit. You can sort of string the title in between those subjects, and pretend it’s a theme, but you may as well go around yelling “lightning bolt.” So with Role Models, you’re pretty much stuck just laughing at the jokes. Which are good. Rent it at least.
HOLIDAY COMICS
Well they aren’t holiday comics technically but I went and bought me some print comics to try and sort of know what is going on in the wider world of published artists. These are also all at least minimally good recommended reading.
Best is Renee French’s Micrographica, not that it needs my tiny approval since it has blurbs from freaking Jim Woodring and freaking* Jenna Fischer on the back. It looks like a cute, fat little minicomic about cute things, but it actually rules – especially for those of you who like poop, or think it’s extra funny, like I do. I did lots of goofy giggles at this book. It’s that kind of object.
(*I had used the word “fucking” here, but then I remembered how Google searches work.)
Tying for second is Craig Thompson’s Good-Bye, Chunky Rice, which I guess is sort of old actually having been penned in 1999 now that I look at it, but it was new to me because I am slow and old. Anyway the black-and-white line work is firmly at the “makes me sick” level. That’s a thumbs up. The story is all squee and emo but at that nicely tuned level where you don’t feel the urge to go on the sidewalk and slap people; if you’re in the mood for that sort of thing check it out.
In other coming-out-from-under-the-rock developments I finally took it upon myself to procure a volume of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim books, and, well, I can totally see the appeal – he’s a good, agile storyteller with a nice light sense of humor. On the other hand, at least in volume 2, the art is kind of rough and demonstrates such an uncanny ability to crap its pants during climactic scenes I started calling O’Malley the anti-Jeff-Smith in my head. Which of course means I was probably saying this out loud on the bus, for that is precisely how I roll.
It was still overall quite a fun book I thought.
What should I have been reading or seeing instead? I am sure the internet will tell me where I have gone wrong.
Also I have a short comic coming out Wednesday probably and a long-promised freeform one coming out sometime around the end of the week.
the inevitable, tragic results of intravenous eggnog lattes book larnin'