raul grau
May 7, 2005, 09:25 pm
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/oneshots1.jpg" hspace=10 align=left border=0 alt="One-Shots logo">By Wil Kitchenmaster (JackofnoTrades), wil589@go.com
Are We Cool Yet?
I’ll confess it right off the bat. I’m only seventeen. As compared to most of you, I’m just a kid, who knows nothing of comics’ glory days. No doubt I’m some punk who’s riding the movie craze and being a geek because it’s become cool.
Being a geek is cool now, right?
With comic movies dominating the box office, signs would point to yes.
There has never been a better time to be a Star Wars fan. The final movie comes out in under a month, and it’s all a lot of people are talking about. But when I start talking about the next Troy Denning trilogy that comes out this summer, Dark Nest, their eyes glaze over. And don’t get me started when I try to tell them that the best Clone Wars stories are found in Republic.
I was in Borders a little while ago, and saw one of those fashion magazines girls are always reading. On the cover, it said geek chic. I got confused. The man that corresponded with said cover-blurb was no geek. Glasses and a white button shirt do not make you a geek. All that means is that you have poor eyesight, and an affinity for white buttons. When I wear my Green Arrow shirt with a pair of nice black slacks, and a white button shirt over it, left open, that’s geek chic.
Being seventeen, I’m still in high school. Do you know how many other comic book readers I know in my school? One. The kid that got me back into comics in seventh grade. And in eleventh grade, I got him back into comics. We owe each other our lives.
That said, the freaky Goth kids read a lot of manga. But they’re also freaky Goth kids, so no one talks to them. (Coincidently, manga came up as spelt wrong in the spell check.)
But I should be popular, right? I'm one of the biggest geeks in school. I should be like Joe Cool.
Out of the top 100 highest grossing movies of all time, seven are comic book movies. Including both Men in Blacks.
Oddly enough, Empire Strikes Back is the Star Wars movie furthest down the list. (Twenty-something.) If that doesn’t enrage most of the Star Wars fans on this board, I’ve got two words for you. Boba Fett. He's my favorite.
Skywalker comes up in the spell check just fine.
Very happy to hear R.A. Salvatore’s Homeland novel is being published as a comic by Devil's Due. I’ve always felt they’d make a good transition to the medium, and Drizzt is an amazing character. Just really dynamic, very fun visually. Duel scimitars all the way.
Oddly enough, out of the Amazon.com top 100, six books are sci-fi or fantasy, the bread and butter of geek reading. And the top of that list is Harry Potter. Harry Potter, should, in theory, be training a bunch of little kids into becoming geeks. Because Harry Potter is cool. And we are too. We are cool, right?
My favorite comic book movies have been, so far, the ones with the most mature rating. I’d watch The Punisher before I’d watch Spider-Man. I’m not sure why. I think they tend to stay the closest to the source material. Just look at Sin City. That practically was the source material.
I bet you’re thinking, "What does this kid know? So far, he’s just rambling. Is he even making a point? I bet his favorite comic is X-Force: Shatterstar."
Right now my favorite comics are, in no particular order, Astonishing, Adventures of Superman, GL: Rebirth, Iron Man, Ult. Fantastic Four, and BoM: Life during Wartime.
Not to say that I don’t read others. Those are just my current favorites.
Big events seem to be getting some media coverage. Isn't Entertainment Weekly talking about comics or comic movies every other week now?
House of M vs. Infinite Crisis? Couldn’t care less, as long as they both give me a nice story. They are kind of silly titles though, wouldn’t you say? I’d not want to try to convince my friends that House of M was the best thing I’d ever read, even if it was. And I’m just really sick of the word Crisis. Crisis on this, Crisis with that. Oh dear, Ma Kent has a stubbed toe, it’s a Crisis! Eight issue mini-series about her toe. I guarantee if it’s written by Joss Whedon, drawn by Jim Lee, and has CRISIS on the cover, it's a best seller.
For that matter, what’s with the four miniseries counting down to the crisis on the covers? Didn’t we just have the Countdown to Infinite Crisis? Or did Countdown to the Countdown to Infinite Crisis not have as much zing as a title?
I almost wanted Johns to bring back Hal Jordan as a teen, just so he could be in Teen Titans. I’m not sure why. Maybe erase his memory and start him over again at 17. Wouldn’t that be a mind-blower? I just like the idea of a teen Green Lantern, supposedly the best GL, being mentored by Kyle. But then again, I like Kyle. He’s my favorite.
I own both sets of Batman: TAS on DVD, but whenever friends come over, they’d rather watch my Reno 911 set, or my Family Guy stuff. Batman was just as cool a show. I know they watched it when they were kids. And if this geek stuff is in, then what gives?
I play videogames, and I still think Halo would make an awesome comic. It’s just begging for it. Someone please talk to Bungie for me. They’re starting to ignore my pleas.
Robot Chicken is a hilarious show. All my friends love it. Adult Swim really has a winner there. And it’s got geek humor. Hey, most of Adult Swim is geek humor. And Adult Swim is incredibly popular. Put comic ads on Adult Swim, then we’ll see what happens.
I like the DBZ manga. Make fun of me all you want, but that stuff was violent. Anime, I couldn’t care less about. The only anime I like are Cowboy Bebop and YuYu Hakusho. Then they went and put YuYu on Tonami, all edited, and it almost ruined the experience for me.
Do I dream of growing up and becoming a comic book writer? Of course. What character would I tackle? What’s my dream gig? A saga of a time traveling serial killer. That would be crazy. If not that though, then I’d love a shot at a Flash/GL book. I just like Wally and Kyle’s dynamic. Could I get away with saying I like the Flash/GL interaction at a party, though? Would it make a girl like me more? It should. We're cool. Right?
My dad came into my room and asked what I was doing, and I told him I was writing an article I was planning to submit to my favorite comic website. He asked me if it was one of those "internet things." I told him yeah. He wished me good luck, and then muttered something about how I need to get a job.
So is being a geek cool? No. It never was. You can be cool, and be a geek, but being a geek isn’t cool. Popular kids aren’t going to run to the comic shop just to maintain their image.
Is the idea of being a geek cool?
Yeah, I think it is.
Geeks have great memories, unlimited creativity, and a wonderful sense of what’s right and wrong.
I’m proud to wear the label, and I’m pretty cool, too.
But would I trade my comics to date the hottest girl in school? No.
I’d feel like I was cheating on Emma Frost.
She’s my favorite.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Wil Kitchenmaster is a high school senior with far too much time on his hands. Hit up www.starwarsfanworks.com/goldsquadron to see what will hopefully become the first X-wing audio drama series written, directed, and starring Wil. You might also run across him if you play Halo 2. He'll be the one owning you.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
One-Shots is an ongoing, revolving column, ready and willing for your contributions. Please read over our <a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=32883" target="_blank">guidelines</a> first, and then send your submissions to Raul Grau at columns@comixfan.cjb.net.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its staff.
Are We Cool Yet?
I’ll confess it right off the bat. I’m only seventeen. As compared to most of you, I’m just a kid, who knows nothing of comics’ glory days. No doubt I’m some punk who’s riding the movie craze and being a geek because it’s become cool.
Being a geek is cool now, right?
With comic movies dominating the box office, signs would point to yes.
There has never been a better time to be a Star Wars fan. The final movie comes out in under a month, and it’s all a lot of people are talking about. But when I start talking about the next Troy Denning trilogy that comes out this summer, Dark Nest, their eyes glaze over. And don’t get me started when I try to tell them that the best Clone Wars stories are found in Republic.
I was in Borders a little while ago, and saw one of those fashion magazines girls are always reading. On the cover, it said geek chic. I got confused. The man that corresponded with said cover-blurb was no geek. Glasses and a white button shirt do not make you a geek. All that means is that you have poor eyesight, and an affinity for white buttons. When I wear my Green Arrow shirt with a pair of nice black slacks, and a white button shirt over it, left open, that’s geek chic.
Being seventeen, I’m still in high school. Do you know how many other comic book readers I know in my school? One. The kid that got me back into comics in seventh grade. And in eleventh grade, I got him back into comics. We owe each other our lives.
That said, the freaky Goth kids read a lot of manga. But they’re also freaky Goth kids, so no one talks to them. (Coincidently, manga came up as spelt wrong in the spell check.)
But I should be popular, right? I'm one of the biggest geeks in school. I should be like Joe Cool.
Out of the top 100 highest grossing movies of all time, seven are comic book movies. Including both Men in Blacks.
Oddly enough, Empire Strikes Back is the Star Wars movie furthest down the list. (Twenty-something.) If that doesn’t enrage most of the Star Wars fans on this board, I’ve got two words for you. Boba Fett. He's my favorite.
Skywalker comes up in the spell check just fine.
Very happy to hear R.A. Salvatore’s Homeland novel is being published as a comic by Devil's Due. I’ve always felt they’d make a good transition to the medium, and Drizzt is an amazing character. Just really dynamic, very fun visually. Duel scimitars all the way.
Oddly enough, out of the Amazon.com top 100, six books are sci-fi or fantasy, the bread and butter of geek reading. And the top of that list is Harry Potter. Harry Potter, should, in theory, be training a bunch of little kids into becoming geeks. Because Harry Potter is cool. And we are too. We are cool, right?
My favorite comic book movies have been, so far, the ones with the most mature rating. I’d watch The Punisher before I’d watch Spider-Man. I’m not sure why. I think they tend to stay the closest to the source material. Just look at Sin City. That practically was the source material.
I bet you’re thinking, "What does this kid know? So far, he’s just rambling. Is he even making a point? I bet his favorite comic is X-Force: Shatterstar."
Right now my favorite comics are, in no particular order, Astonishing, Adventures of Superman, GL: Rebirth, Iron Man, Ult. Fantastic Four, and BoM: Life during Wartime.
Not to say that I don’t read others. Those are just my current favorites.
Big events seem to be getting some media coverage. Isn't Entertainment Weekly talking about comics or comic movies every other week now?
House of M vs. Infinite Crisis? Couldn’t care less, as long as they both give me a nice story. They are kind of silly titles though, wouldn’t you say? I’d not want to try to convince my friends that House of M was the best thing I’d ever read, even if it was. And I’m just really sick of the word Crisis. Crisis on this, Crisis with that. Oh dear, Ma Kent has a stubbed toe, it’s a Crisis! Eight issue mini-series about her toe. I guarantee if it’s written by Joss Whedon, drawn by Jim Lee, and has CRISIS on the cover, it's a best seller.
For that matter, what’s with the four miniseries counting down to the crisis on the covers? Didn’t we just have the Countdown to Infinite Crisis? Or did Countdown to the Countdown to Infinite Crisis not have as much zing as a title?
I almost wanted Johns to bring back Hal Jordan as a teen, just so he could be in Teen Titans. I’m not sure why. Maybe erase his memory and start him over again at 17. Wouldn’t that be a mind-blower? I just like the idea of a teen Green Lantern, supposedly the best GL, being mentored by Kyle. But then again, I like Kyle. He’s my favorite.
I own both sets of Batman: TAS on DVD, but whenever friends come over, they’d rather watch my Reno 911 set, or my Family Guy stuff. Batman was just as cool a show. I know they watched it when they were kids. And if this geek stuff is in, then what gives?
I play videogames, and I still think Halo would make an awesome comic. It’s just begging for it. Someone please talk to Bungie for me. They’re starting to ignore my pleas.
Robot Chicken is a hilarious show. All my friends love it. Adult Swim really has a winner there. And it’s got geek humor. Hey, most of Adult Swim is geek humor. And Adult Swim is incredibly popular. Put comic ads on Adult Swim, then we’ll see what happens.
I like the DBZ manga. Make fun of me all you want, but that stuff was violent. Anime, I couldn’t care less about. The only anime I like are Cowboy Bebop and YuYu Hakusho. Then they went and put YuYu on Tonami, all edited, and it almost ruined the experience for me.
Do I dream of growing up and becoming a comic book writer? Of course. What character would I tackle? What’s my dream gig? A saga of a time traveling serial killer. That would be crazy. If not that though, then I’d love a shot at a Flash/GL book. I just like Wally and Kyle’s dynamic. Could I get away with saying I like the Flash/GL interaction at a party, though? Would it make a girl like me more? It should. We're cool. Right?
My dad came into my room and asked what I was doing, and I told him I was writing an article I was planning to submit to my favorite comic website. He asked me if it was one of those "internet things." I told him yeah. He wished me good luck, and then muttered something about how I need to get a job.
So is being a geek cool? No. It never was. You can be cool, and be a geek, but being a geek isn’t cool. Popular kids aren’t going to run to the comic shop just to maintain their image.
Is the idea of being a geek cool?
Yeah, I think it is.
Geeks have great memories, unlimited creativity, and a wonderful sense of what’s right and wrong.
I’m proud to wear the label, and I’m pretty cool, too.
But would I trade my comics to date the hottest girl in school? No.
I’d feel like I was cheating on Emma Frost.
She’s my favorite.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Wil Kitchenmaster is a high school senior with far too much time on his hands. Hit up www.starwarsfanworks.com/goldsquadron to see what will hopefully become the first X-wing audio drama series written, directed, and starring Wil. You might also run across him if you play Halo 2. He'll be the one owning you.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
One-Shots is an ongoing, revolving column, ready and willing for your contributions. Please read over our <a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=32883" target="_blank">guidelines</a> first, and then send your submissions to Raul Grau at columns@comixfan.cjb.net.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its staff.