Monday, January 30, 2012

Primitive Mythology (The Masks of God)

1959 - 1968
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Any number of volumes may list Joseph Campbell in their footnotes and references and influences. Pop culture knows him best as the man who influenced George Lucas to write Luke Skywalker's story as within the context of the traditional mythology described in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This book as well had been mentioned in the multiple interviews of Campbell and Lucas as influential, and I saw the Masks of God series listed elsewhere in my readings, so I knew I had to put it on my list.
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WHEW! This book took forever to read! As fascinating (and repulsive) Campbell's observations on primitive mythology are, I could only read a few pages at a time before falling asleep or putting it aside for easier entertainment. I won't deny that parts of this book were simply above and beyond my intellect and archeological education, but a textbook (even an extremely well-written textbook) is still a textbook. I can't recommend this book to anyone but those pursuing a study of these themes as a career.
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Still, the book is full of all kinds of nuggets- or rather, seeds- for the development of mythology and modern fiction. While this volume concerns itself primarily with primitive mythology (i.e. tribal ceremonies) there is still a good deal of mysticism and other witchcrafticism that is still around today, if only in the realm of fantasy and not religious belief.
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I should probably read the rest of the series and Campbell's other works. I have every reason to believe that Book 1 is the most boring of the lot. But I probably won't. The years I listed above is the time Joe spent researching and writing this book- the contents completely take place before the time of recorded history. So it's a bit of a headache in terms of my timeline. Maybe I'll revisit Joe when I finish reading my future timeline / sci-fi booklist- which will probably coincide with when I retire in my sixties and have grandchildren.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Captain America: Red, White & Blue

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This collection houses a rag-tag assembly of short stories about Captain America from different artists and writers that take place in a variety of settings. I almost left it out of the blog because it spans a very wide range of timespans. With the recent Hollywood treatment, much of the public is aware of Cap's background even if they aren't comic fans. I wanted to hit on Captain America's WWII experience and subsequent re-awakening in the Marvel universe without dwelling on it too much, since I'm not a huge fan. This collection I found at the library seemed like the perfect fit.
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It started off well with an origin story by Paul Dini and Alex Ross, two blockbuster creators in the comic world. Several of the stories were done very well. There were multiple chapters involving children that hit the right notes to tug at the heartstrings.
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However there were several 'what if?' stories that strayed so far from the original mythos that it simply left the reader puzzled at how it could possibly fit in, and some so stylistically dark that it seemed strained and forced.
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The last sections are reprints and other stories revolving around the much-publicized death of Captain America. Having not followed recent C.A. storylines, I was very confused at which stories were cannon and which were alternate tellings of his death. The bits focusing on the reaction of Cap's friends and the public to his death were also equal parts touching and choppy, leaving me both nicely touched by a tragic storyline but also annoyed at the lack of cohesiveness and continuity.
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More a tribute than any sort of story or theme, I tentatively gave this "graphic novel" a positive review for some great artwork and diversity of style, but hated it personally for having no chronology or meaning.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Fast Track

So, I signed up to be a guinea pig.  Nick Horton ( see his schtick here: http://www.theironsamurai.com/ ) is a Zen meditating Olympic Weightlifting trainer.  Nick is slick: waxed-back locks of wavy beach hair tops his closely shaved, chiseled face.  Cowboy boots poking out from beneath his tight black jeans made little stabbing kicks toward me as he walked over to greet me.  Nick didn't smell like Axe body spray; but he looked like he would.  Actually, he smelled of chocolate milk.   His t-shirt advertised "A no-nonsense plan to look great naked" and his smile promised the same thing.  He offered up a turquoise jeweled hand for me to shake: two bracelets, three rings.  And just like that...I put my wellbeing  into his hands.

Nick Horton and Peter Curcio ( http://twitter.com/petercurciord ), a registered dietitian, are writing a fat-loss book and I have volunteered to be a test subject for their research efforts.   Their basic theory is that you will be a lot less fat if you do two things:  eat nothing and lift weights.   The tricky part is the timing of both.

Today, I am currently halfway through my 5th consecutive 24hr fast.   I eat about 800 calories or so between these interval fasts.  Binary binging: one big meal a day....on again/off again.  This is crazy stuff.

The weight training that I'm subjecting myself to, consists mainly of core strength exercises.   No sexy, satisfying, manly exercises like bench presses and such.  No...just swinging a kettle-bell between my legs like I'm winding up to throw a 35lb iron purse, backwards, over my head.  And push-ups.

I'm curious/excited to see where this whole thing leads.   Stay tuned.    

Friday, January 6, 2012

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: X-Men

1963-1965
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At last! The age of Marvel's Merriest Mutants! Although many iconic characters came out of the Marvel Bullpen during the early sixties, my favorite has always been the X-Men. X-Men #8 is the oldest comic in my collection (would be worth hundreds if it wasn't in pretty raddy shape). The X-Men have gone through many different versions over the last 48 years, but they have always been underdogs and lived on the fringe of the superhero cosmos. DC's many heroes were adored by their public and rarely fell into disfavor, and when they did it was usually caused by a simple misunderstanding. Similiarly, the Fantastic Four and Captain America were generally accepted by both readers and their fictional worlds to be great heroes. But Stan Lee really does deserve his place in comic book history for the real-world dynamics he brought to otherwise outlandish characters. For all of Spider-Man's problems and the Hulk's status as more monster than hero, they were still accepted by readers as popular culture.
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As a small child I wanted to be Spider-Man when I grew up. The Incredible Hulk was one of the most popular shows on TV. But I don't think I had even heard of the X-Men until I became a serious collector around the time I was ten. In fact, they were very much a mystery to me until I was formally introduced to them in the infamous Secret Wars series. The X-Men were secretive and unappreciated in both reality as well as the Marvel Universe.
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With early Marvel comics, you knew what you were about to read. The unitiated are quickly educated. There is high-camp, simple illustrations, and poor dialogue supporting weak plots. Stan and his writing team were silly, taking unabashed joy in their creations, even if it meant for cringe-inducing narrative and jokes. But Stan took the interrelations of the DC Universe (such as the JSA) and took the stories one step further. Battles in New York fought by the Avengers had ramifications that could be seen in other comic titles. Even in the earliest days with a handful of titles, the editorial staff was careful to note the order of the stories with connotations for the reader to understand in what order of events different events happened in different cross-titles. As far as I'm concerned, Stan Lee is the father of modern-day geek continuity. *1
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The interrelations of the comic book characters was also an intentional motif on the storytelling. Not just to create a sense of realism within a city full of superpowered beings, but also to create dynamics and comparisons between the unflagging moralism of Captain America and the angry violence of the Hulk. The X-Men were hyper-aware of their sub-human social status in the Marvel U, and from their earliest days often made joking comparisons of themselves to the Fantastic Four and other "superheroes". These sarcastic comments carried a tremendous emotional weight about their own moral and social status that was unspoken in the text of the comics but carried to the reader through the simple medium of a twenty cent comic. This emotional context and 48 years of ethical dilemma storylines would not have quite the impact it does if the X-Men existed in a vacuum rather than living in the shadows of the Avengers and Fantastic Four.
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It's not for me to pinpoint the apex of Jack Kirby's career. While some of the artwork here is crude compared to his later work, he gets major points for creating the look of the Marvel universe! But even as crude as much of it may be, some of the art in these early X-Men comics nail a style that was unprecedented and still sets the tone of modern mutant mystique.
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Check out the very first appearance of Cerebro: The look of this mighty mutant-finding computer has changed many times over the years (often looking like an Apple II) but I think this original Kirby design is as good as any.
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I love this battle spread. Small and simple by modern fold-out panorama standards, but this was the first time the teams met and in 1964 I bet this was epic.
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And who knew Professor X had a boner for Jean Grey back in the day? Wasn't she a teen when she joined the group? That's just wrong!
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While I'm on a roll here... What is up with Bobby Drake's milkshake? I hope that's a perspective issue, and not a malted milk bigger than his torso!
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Clearly I've gotten side-tracked. Fear not loyal X-Fans! There will be plenty more of the X-Men to come in this blog. We've only just scratched the surface.
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*1 In my sub-biased opinion, Marvel reached it's own epic heyday of continuity during Jim Shooter's dreadful Secret Wars II crossover event. Although the SWII comics blew harder than the Beyonder at his first gay club (*2), the organization of the massive tie-in comics spread across the entire Marvel roster. Hard-core readers like myself used the rectangular checklist on the editorial page each month to track the order of events sequenced across the entire Marvel Universe in order to track both the movements of the SWII storyline as well as other large crossover events happening at the same time. Although SWII is no defense of the much-hated Shooter, one can't fault him for putting a great deal of effort into keeping the Marvel Universe a cohesive and co-existing entity.
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*2 In fairness to Jim Shooter, who has alienated many comic creators with his policies and alienated many comic readers with his tepid writing, I had the chance to meet him recently at a signing and he truly is a nice old guy. I've been following his blog in which he tells 'his side of the story' and I believe that he is a decent guy who loves the creative medium of comics and only ever intended to better the industry through sound business practices and good story-telling. But Secret Wars II still sucked, dude.
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