Comics Anticipation....Making Me Wait...

Waiting for comics that have been announced, but that have not come out yet is a big part of being a comics fan.  The new book has a writer you really like, an artist that is good, and a character or two that you really enjoy.  So it has to be GREAT!  Right?

Well......not necessarily.
Comics are a hit and miss media.  It's easy to make bad comics.  It's hard to make mediocre comics.  And it is almost impossible to make really, really great comics.  That magic lightning of comic greatness only ends up on the page once in a while.  But as fans, we keep hoping.  And when that next project sounds like it has increased odds of maybe, just possibly manifesting into our reality as a genuinely great book, well... we get all excited with the possibility.

Luckily, for me, I am a fan of mediocre comics and I even secretly love the really bad comics.  So there is plenty there to keep my attention.  But I still keep hoping that this next book is going to be the one that redefines what is possible in this incredible media called comics.  I am 100% positive that there are untapped riches of comics that have not been discovered or imagined yet.

So learning to enjoy the anticipation phase of comics is important.  Anything is possible when Writer X meets Artists Y and Z while exploring Characters A, B and C!
Also, to be fair, a lot of what we love about comic characters takes place between the panels and between issues anyway.  There has never been a Doctor Strange comic as cool as the Doctor Strange in my imagination.  And every time a new Doc Strange project is announced I think, maybe this time the good doctor's true mystical potential will make it onto a page.
Don't get me wrong, there have been Good Dr. Strange comics.  But there has never been a truly GREAT Doctor Strange comic....Yet.  But he is Sorcerer Supreme again, so maybe someday soon...

So what books are in Anticipation Mode right now?
Thanks for asking.

Guardians of the Galaxy.  Can Bendis unlock the wacky weirdness that is Rocket Raccoon?  And not ruin it with too much Tony Stark?

Fearless Defenders.  Will Dani Moonstar get a chance to show how incredibly cool she is while standing back-to-back with Valkyrie?  Hel Yeah!


Books that have passed out of Anticipation Mode and into actual comic pages?
The Iron man reboot.  A good book, so far.  But not Great.
The Fantastic Four/FF Fraction takeover.  Hickman's FFs were literally "fantastic" 80% of the time.  So Matt Fraction has big shoes to fill.  But he is doing a good job of making things fun and he is really capturing the "family" vibe of the Fantastic Four and the FF.  So far so good.

Young Avengers #1  Wow!  What can I say.  This time the actual book is better than my level of anticipation!  A Great Kick Off to new series with some of the most interesting young Marvel characters.  If you can get your hands on this book, read it.  Billy is doing well intentioned, but really stupid things (just like his mom, the Scarlet Witch does).  I mean, even Kid Loki was trying to stop him.

Newly moved into Anticipation Mode...Young Avengers #2
Can Kieron Gillen and James McKelvie keep things at the high level set by #1?  Will this be more than just one Great Comic?  Will if be a great Story Arc?  Or dare I say it, a Great Comic Series?  We shall see...  Anything is possible.

Anticipation can be fun.
-- Jay Larsen
PS: You can read my new Comic, Giga-Geekery #1, with a minimum of Anticipation.  Just Click Here and go get one!

New Year, Marvel NOW!

I have already said that I have an affinity for Marvel comic books, so I may be biased.  When comparing DC's New 52 "reboot" with Marvel NOW!'s "non-reboot", Marvel wins hands down.

Good things were already happening at Marvel in 2012: Fear Itself (the 2011 event) was finally over. Hickman's run on Fantastic Four and FF were amazing!  Bendis ran Avengers for longer than any other writer in Marvel history, and he did amazing things with them.  Fraction's Iron Man was solid.  Defenders got resurrected with a bang and retired with a whimper (sorry Marvel, it wasn't all good).

The big event of the Marvel year was AvX, Avengers vs X-men, which sounded like a gimmick, and ended up being pretty damned good.  I especially liked when Black Panther slaps the science out of Tony Stark just as he was going to go all Civil-War-Serious on us again.  (Tony only gets to tear the world apart once a decade!)  Cyclops started sliding into madness years ago (in my opinion) and the Phoenix Force just made it so everyone else could see it.  AvX managed to hit the other books without making them slaves to the "big event" (which shows that maybe Marvel is learning from it's past mistakes.)  Wolverine reopening the school turned out to be a really fun ride and showed what an ensemble cast book could be like, in Wolverine and the X-men.  New Mutants had a great year (thanks Abnett and Lanning) especially the "Date with the Devil" issue #37--possibly the best single issue I read all year!

Marvel did get bought by Disney last year.  This still kind of creeps me out and makes me worry, but so far so good.
Marvel movies did great: Avengers anyone?

So 2012 was a good year for Marvel.
And then they announced Marvel NOW! (which has to have CAPS and an Exclamation Mark!) the new "not a reboot" of the Marvel line.  Uh Oh!, I thought to myself.  Marvel is going to do a DC-style New 52 (which I did not think turned out well for DC).
But so far, so good in my opinion.

Marvel moved all their most popular writers and artists around, giving them fresh books to work on.  This resulted in some really good endings to some of the existing story arcs.  Fantastic Four, Avengers, New Avengers, Iron Man, Spider-man all got interesting stories that their old teams wanted to tell before they left.

And NOW! the new Marvel NOW! issues have been coming out (with more promised for later).
Bendis is on X-men now.  He did my least favorite thing and did a time travel story where the 1960's teenager X-men meet the new screwed up X-men.  I didn't want to like it.  But it is turning out to be really great.
Matt Fraction has taken the Fantastic Four on an intergalactic road trip.  And put a replacement FF team on Earth to hold down the fort.  I can't wait to see what happens next.
Fraction and Aja have are also 7 issues into a new Hawkeye series that is one of the coolest things being published right now.  It is hard to describe, but a joy to read.
The new Thor series is good.
Avengers is going cosmic, Hickman style.
Spider-man just killed Peter Parker (again) and replaced him with Doc Octopus!  (Don't worry kids, it is the 50th anniversary of Spider-man this year.  I'm sure Peter will come back to us somehow.)
And there are still more NOW! titles that have not come out yet.  Fearless Defenders, an all Girl X-Men Team, Nova, and Guardians of the Galaxy!  I am Groot!

This could end up being a great year for Marvel Comics!  I think they are doing a lot of things right with their "not a reboot".  It's a great time to jump on and Marvel didn't throw all their history and continuity into the garbage.  I like it so far.  But maybe it's just me?

-- Jay

New Year, Old 52

I always seem to end up reading Marvel Comics.  Even as a kid.  But I always liked Batman and found Wonder Woman interesting but poorly written.  But it was Iron Man and Captain America that I would read over and over again.  I like the idea of Superman, but the actual Superman in the comics usually bored me.

As I got older, my tastes stayed the same.  I would dip into DC territory once in a while.  Hey Green Arrow got interesting for a bit.  Green Lantern got good for a while.  But mostly it was Batman that was worth reading.

So when DC announced the New 52 "reboot" of the DC Universe, I gave it a try.

I read dozens of their number 1's, and as the year went by I was reading fewer and fewer DC books.  I wanted to like Birds of Prey, but it went nowhere.  Flash has had great page layouts, but not a good plot to be seen.  Superman had all sorts of potential and just left me yawning.  Green Lantern (which I had been enjoying before the reboot) enslaved Hal Jordan to Sinestro and put me into blackest boredom.  Green Arrow just sucked... The only surprise was Wonder Woman, whose book has stayed very good all year by basically remaining independent from the rest of the DC Universe.  I am convince the Wonder Woman kissing Superman in Justice League is a different Wonder Woman than the daughter of Zeus who has been kicking ass in Hades and Olympus.

There were a few sparks of interest on Earth 2, but I'm not sure that book will ever stick with any of those characters long enough to make it really interesting.

And there has been Batman.  Batman, especially the Synder/Capullo series, has been fantastic!  I can't say enough about how good Batman has been.  That maze of the Owls sequence will go down in comics history.

But that's it.  Batman and Wonder Woman.

DC said this was a great time to jump in.  DC said we didn't have to know all the back story to understand these characters.  But it didn't turn out to be true.  The "reboot" didn't reboot nearly enough for me.  And the end result was kind of a wash.  I back down to reading Batman and Wonder Woman again.  Sorry DC.  I tried.  Maybe it isn't you.  Maybe its me?

Thankfully, there is still Marvel and other comics companies.

-- Jay

Comic Mashup Christmas Special

Christmas means lots of things to lots of people.

But mostly it means reruns of Christmas Specials from the past.

Comic Mashup Theater is proud to rerun last years Christmas Special: The Secret of the Box.

And Don't forget to ask for Silly Putty in your Stocking!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Nutcracker Mashup Nightmare Before Christmas

Comic Mashup Theater is proud to present:
A full course meal of tasteless terror and turgidity.
Nutcracker Nightmare.
It goes from Soup to Nuts in under 60 seconds.

Continued After Next Advertisement:

And Don't forget to grab a copy of Jay's Comic, Giga-Geekery #1, which contains scenes of food and beverage consumption.  

"A smart and witty comic presentation for your consideration." - Sir Eggs & Toast

Counting Down to Geek Fest 2012

Only a few more days until LarsenGeekery's next live show,  Geek Fest 2012, a concert and vendor fair put on by Seattle Browncoats Charities.  Spirited music, spirited performances and Spirited Shopping in Shoreline, WA.

Shoreline Conference Center, 18560 1st Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155 on December 15 & 16, 2012. Hours: Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sunday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

We will be there with all our best Geekery Gear: Coffee Hero Cards, Prints, Comics, Bags, Hoodies, etc., etc., etc...  Oh, and there will be music and other vendors as well.

If you can't be in Shoreline this weekend, stop by the LarsenGeekery Store, it's always open.

A Hundred Thousand Comic Mashups

Comic Mashup Theater is proud to present:
He is Special!  He is Ready!
He must fight a Task Force of a Hundred Thousand Foes!

Continued After Next Two Advertisements:

And Don't Forget, you can get Jay's All New, All Original Comic, Giga-Geekery #1.  Makes a great Hanukkah, Solstice, Yule, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Years Gift.

It's 502, Time To...

Comic Mashup Theater is proud to present,
In honor of the new Washington State Law, I-502,
As of Dec 6th it is legal to possess small amounts of marijuana.
Fire up the comic bongs!

Unfortunately, there are no legal places to buy marijuana in Washington State, yet!
Bummer...
But it is a good start.
Hopefully the Feds will leave the state alone on this issue.

New Comic full of Frivolous Frivolity

I'm pretty excited to announce that my newest comic book, Giga-Geekery #1: Emperor Jack's Day Off, is making its debut right here!  Ta-Ta-Dah!  That was a horn flourish...

It is the story of how Emperor Jack tries to beat the Monday Blues by taking a day off.
He leaves a plate of Eggs and Toast to run the government while he is away, and amazingly, his breakfast does a pretty good job while he is away having fun adventures.  And it is written, penciled, inked, colored, lettered, printed, stapled and folded by me, Jay Larsen.

You Can Read a Preview of Giga-Geekery #1 by Clicking Here!

You Can Buy a Copy at our Etsy Store by Clicking Here!  Only $3.00!

You can see all of my original comics by Clicking on the Comics Tab at the top of the LarsenGeekery.com page.

We will be bringing copies, hot off the press, to our next live show,  Geek Fest 2012, a concert and vendor fair put on by Seattle Browncoats Charities.  Great music and performances and Great Shopping in Shoreline, WA.

Shoreline Conference Center, 18560 1st Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155 on December 15 & 16, 2012. Hours: Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sunday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

So what are you waiting for?  Get yourself a copy of this All-Ages-Friendly Comic and get yourself some tickets to Geek Fest 2012!

I'm pretty excited.  In case you missed that part.  -- Jay Larsen

I Took On a Challenge

I took on a challenge and the challenge took November.

There is this November Novel Writing thing every year where people try to write a novel in one month.
I decided to write, draw, letter and publish a comic book in one month, November.
This November.  So I have been really busy (self inflicted) but I almost have a comic book finished, so there is that!
No, I did not make a Godzilla comic.
I made an Emperor Jack comic!

More on that later.  There are still a few days in November left...

Don't Get Consumed By Consumption

If you must shop on Black Friday, be safe.
And enjoy those leftovers!
A Public Service Announcement from Comic Mashup Theater and LarsenGeekery.com

Coffee Hero of Canton Greeting Card

Just finished designing a new Coffee Hero Greeting Card just in time for Geek Fest 2012, a concert and vendor fair put on by Seattle Browncoats Charities. 
The show will be in Shoreline, WA this year, and it has expanded to two full days.

Shoreline Conference Center, 18560 1st Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155 on December 15 & 16, 2012. Hours: Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sunday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

This Coffee Hero Card available in our LarsenGeekery Etsy Store and we will be bringing some to the show.

This year is also the 10th Anniversary of Firefly, the Joss Whedon TV Show that featured the irascible Jayne Cobb, the Hero of Canton and owner of the most famous hat in all of Geekdom, the Jayne Hat. 

I hope the Browncoats like the design.

And although Jayne Cobb drinks his coffee with Xiongmao Niao, I don't recommend it.  Only Mudders drink that stuff.

-- Jay Larsen

Ah, the Good Old Days

Gotta love those old comic books.
Books where the artists were under paid and in a real big hurry.
And the writers were just bat-shit crazy.
Check this out:

"There was one savant who was consumed with the desire to know that secret which the world considered unknowable...and in his own laboratory he nurtured what was to become his master!"

Wow!  That is some purple prose!
What editorial force made him write that?

Get Ready for Geek Fest

LarsenGeekery will be vending at Geek Fest 2012, a concert and vendor fair put on by Seattle Browncoats Charities. 
The show will be in Shoreline, WA this year, and it has expanded to two full days.

Shoreline Conference Center, 18560 1st Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155 on December 15 & 16, 2012. Hours: Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sunday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

We attended the show last year and had a great time.  Listened to great Geek Music and did some Christmas shopping for the geeks in our lives (and there are lots of them, let me tell you).  This year we are excited to be showing our complete line of Geekery Art and Gear.

The Browncoats are a fan group based around the popular show and movie Firefly (and Serenity) by Joss Whedon.  

Proceeds from this year’s event will support Urban Rest Stop, which provides shower and laundry facilities to those in need, and Food Lifeline, which feeds the hungry in western Washington.

So make plans to go to the show.  And wear your Jayne Hat!

(new image by Jay Larsen.  What do you think?  Should it be a poster?)

The Secret is Out!

The Secret is Out!  You can get one of these in a New York minute.
Just visit our LarsenGeekery Etsy Shop to order your very own
You're Smashing! Happy Hulk Greeting Card
Designed by Jay Larsen

If you need more than just a handful of greeting cards, feel free to contact Jay directly.
Use our Contact Us link.
We've been shipping cards to Oakland, St. Louis, Seattle and points in between.  (Hey, East Coast when you going to get in on the fun?)

Our Etsy Shop has the full line of Posters and Prints, as well as Greeting Cards and lots of great 3-D gear as well, Totes, Purses, etc., etc.  So get browsing and shopping or Hulk might get angry.  And you won't like Hulk when he is angry!

Stop Freaking!
Keep on Geeking!