Quick announcement

This just in-- I've decided to take a decidedly less cynical tack with the posts that I post and will only post positive things for a while, lest I become labeled as a curmudgeonly young man by all three of my readers.

That said, I would like to wish the Blessed Virgin Mary a belated yet reverent birthday greeting:
O most holy Mother of God, we offer unto you our thanks and devotion, in commemoration of the blessed day of your holy birth. We humbly ask you to wrap your mantle of protection around us, your unworthy children who are so prone to straying from your Son's flock. And we ask that you please intercede for us and our loved ones, so that we might all be united in God's divine Kingdom at the end of all things. Thank you, dear Mother. Amen.

Next, I would like to announce that the comic strip post series will continue. I will post the next blog entry this weekend, as I haven't decided which series yet to write about. So stay tuned.

A.M.D.G.

'Ad' Nauseum

The sickening hype that surrounded (and still does) our idiot president has been rubbing off on similarly disgusting trends as of late. Take, for instance, Amazon.com's main web page: http://www.amazon.com/

Amazon's head honcho Jeff Bezos (more like 'Bozos') quaintly addresses Amazon visitors as "Dear Da Vinci Code fans". (More like "Dear moronic fans of crappy writing"--ok, I'll stop. Especially since my own writing frequently brushes up against that same level of quality and even strays into it.)

If you must read the tripe that is churned out by Dan Brown, consider reading it for free at your local library or at any bookstore. That way, Dan the blasphemer won't collect another royalty that he probably doesn't deserve.

A.M.D.G.

A new 'golden age' (II)

Last time, I had discussed Prince 'Not so' Valiant. That didn't go over so well, so this time I'll discuss Popeye.

Popeye was created by cartoonist Elsie Crisler Segar and started as a bit character in the comic strip Thimble Theater in mid-January 1929. He was originally intended to be a briefly-important walk-on character, mostly amusing due to his deformed features. (First appearance shown here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Popeyfirst.png )

What he did was take over the whole series by 1930. And in 1931, Segar created his next best character, J. Wellington Wimpy, who was well-spoken and polite yet shamelessly sponged off anyone for food. (I think everyone knows someone like this in their life.) Here's a particularly fine (and gruesome example): http://www.math.pitt.edu/~bard/bardware/popeye/popeye10c.gif

During the 1930s, Thimble Theater became one of the finest newspaper comics due to its potent blend of bizarre characters, sharp writing, zany humor, quirky artwork, and often suspenseful plot threads. I can't think of any comic strip that has been like that, before or since. And I know enough about comics, so just take my word for it... And in addition to that, on Sundays, Segar wrote and drew a smaller companion strip to Popeye titled 'Sappo'. It was about a short guy with a fat wife who later acquired a mad scientist as a tenant. Here's a sample of that here: http://www.bullworks.net/daily/1933sappolg.jpg

Popeye's creator, E.C. Segar, died an early death in late 1938 of a liver disease. As such, his work didn't really have the chance to go into a period of decline, or 'jump the shark' as almost every other comic strip has. The Popeye comic strip eventually did decline years after Segar's death and still continues today under the mediocre hand of Hy Eisman (as you can see here: http://joshreads.com/images/0606/i060604popeye.jpg )

Fortunately, the best years of this comic have been preserved and resurrected. In late 2006, Fantagraphics published the first of a six-volume series that covers the complete run of Popeye as written and drawn by Segar. I've seen the first 3 volumes at Joseph Beth Bookstore. Check it out if any of you happen to drop by there. (... That's what I thought I heard...crickets. No really, I hear crickets chirping outside my office window...)

Popeye is better known for his cartoons, which can be acquired as public-domain released DVDs that one can pick up at almost any drugstore. But I'm not here to talk about cartoons. I'm here to talk about comic strips. There is a VAST difference...

And as far as I know, Popeye is not affiliated with Popeye's Chicken restaurant chain.

A.M.D.G.

Fine, I'll write another damn post...

This post is about Ted Kennedy.

First off, I'm just going to say that I'm glad that he is gone. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say! And another thing, the fact that so many people--stupid garden-variety liberals and moronic Republican politicians among them--regard him as a tragic hero from a tragic family demonstrate how far into stupidity this once-great land has sunk. Senator Kennedy was a rabidly pro-abortion, tax-happy political hack and doesn't deserve mourning aside from his family.

And now he has faced, or is still facing, or has yet to face his judgment in the hands of a stern yet just God. I guess we'll find out where exactly he went after we enter the Gates of Heaven.

I just had to get that out of my system. The next post will be a little more light-hearted, if that helps.

The New Translation

Right. So I've heard on Sacred Heart Radio (740 AM) about the developments of the soon-to-be-revised English text in our missals. According to Rich Leonardi (I'm pretty sure it was him, but do correct if I'm wrong), these changes will be taking effect around 2011. I'd prefer it come NOW, but I should thank God and the Pope that it is coming at all.

This event appears to be part of a trend among Pope Benedikt's post-Vatican II reforms. (Vatican II needs reforms badly, but I won't get into that right now.) One such example to be revised in our regular mass is when the priest says: "The Lord be with you", and the pious(?) in the pews respond "And also with you". Only now--er, soon--the response will be 'And with thy spirit'. So it should more or less resemble the English translations that you will find in churches that offer Tridentine Latin masses.

Another correction that I look forward to is changing the Nicene Creed from 'We believe...' to 'I believe...' This is an important distinction. Granted, the present way makes logical sense, as we recite this Nicene Creed in unison with our Catholic brethren. BUT. It is vital for us to say such a creed on behalf of our respective selves, as forming a personal bond with Christ is of paramount importance to our spiritual evolution and our ultimate redemption. Community is important, and we are to support all of our fellow believers one way or another. But God does comes first in our lives as He should always. (Well said--I should really put that last sentence into daily practice in my own life, though all too often I don't...)

AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM.

A new 'golden age' (Part I)

...of classic comic strip reprints. (Please be advised--This is serious Nerd Territory. I know I promised to discuss scooters in the last post, but that can wait until Fall.)

In 2007, many reviewers, bloggers, workers in the graphic arts industry, and simpletons came to the conclusion that a new era of comic strip reprints had arrived. By the dawn of that year, several classic comic strip reprint series were now beginning to see (re)print, joining some titles that had begun in the past 2 years; in addition, several new reprint titles were being announced, and continues today.

Now that you know the premise, in this new series of blog posts, I will discuss various different comic strip projects and explain the significance of the strip in question. Sure, the Sunday comics of today pretty much suck (except for Dilbert). Marmaduke is drawn with what seems to be a distressingly shaky hand, and the dialog is nothing to write home about either, unless it is about how much said dialog sucks. Even Garfield is but a shadow of his formerly cynical self. (Check out 'Garfield Minus Garfield' here-it's an improvement: http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/ )

So the first subject in this blog series is 'Prince Valiant'. Sounds like a goody-two-shoes loser, doesn't he? And he kinda looks like one, too--here's what he looks like most of the time: http://content.expressen.se/blog/17/47/81/ninnibeth/images/Valiant.jpg

But in Volume 1 of Fantagraphics' second go-around at reprinting the entire 45-year run of the comic, young Val (as the narrator refers to him) has been nothing short of ruthless in his adventures, killing his enemies outright and with a purpose. It's complete with grisly humor as Prince Valiant makes snarky remarks in the vein of James Bond, as he kills a particularly bothersome bad guy. I've only read the first complete year (1937), and I am hooked. Volume 2 comes out Spring 2010 with the years 1939 and 1940, so I'm pacing myself. But I read slow, so it kind of works itself out...

If you're curious, here's an example. (Pay particular attention to panels 3, 6 and 7 to get my drift.)
http://www.fantagraphics.com/images/flog/mike/200907/valiant-pg50-newedition.jpg

A.M.D.G.

Our Idiot-in-Chief: Part I in a series

Good evening. After starting a blog a month and a half ago, it finally occurred to me to write a 2nd post. So, due to that, and in the meantime bowing to popular demand (okay, so someone asked a question about my blog), I've decided to post some posts about topics that will deal with religion, politics, cartoons and anything I find randomly amusing that most other people wouldn't.

So let's focus our attention on one Mr. Barack H. Obama. What a swell guy! He's going to fix our economy any day now... yep... Wait, what's that, Ohio? You say your unemployment rate is higher than the national average? And maybe you're a little bit jaded about economic recovery right now? In 2012, just be sure to make a RIGHT turn, and you might turn out better this time. If not, it's probably your own fault...

Anyway, I was reading the London Times Online and came upon the following bit of pseudo-news: http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2009/08/the-b-grade-that-haunts-obama.html

I couldn't help but laugh. That's our boy, Barack (er, Barry, rather). If you can't win by charm, try chutzpah. But it works better when you're leader of the free world. But not always, in some cases. (And what the hell constitutes the 'free world' today, anyway? The only 'free nation' is Somalia, apparently. And that's because it has no functioning government.) That's right, less government = greater freedoms.

Man, Barack. Even old G Dubs pulled better approval ratings in his first year in office, and wasn't he our worst president ever? Even when the Left wins, they end up as losers.

Well, if you read this far, thanks. If you're lucky, next time I'll write about scooters or something. You're welcome.

A.M.D.G.