Chickity China

HOORAY! TODAY WE CELEBRATE ONE OF THE THREE PILLARS OF INTERNET COMMUNICATION: THE UNDER-APPRECIATED CAPS LOCK KEY!*

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY TO ALL!

* (THE OTHER TWO ARE THE COMIC SANS FONT AND THE EXCLAMATION POINT!!!!!!!!)

Windows 7 Party Ad – Censored Version – Watch more Funny Videos

Found via the always wonderful Drink at Work. Go there if you want to see the original video in all its glorious marketing brilliance. It combines the authenticity and nobility of a 2:00 am pick-up line used on the last girl at the bar with the excitement of a 1950’s instructional video on home economics followed by a Valium chaser.

Added: Well, crap. Microsoft must have gotten all pissy and had it removed.

Woo hoo! Found another one!

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152
Writer and Artist: David Petersen; Cover: David Petersen
Archaia Studio Press

It wasn’t until I picked up Mouse Guard that I realized how much I missed fantasy storytelling. My junior high and high school years were filled with fantasy novels and short stories. (The right-hand sidebar may list some of them right now.) But after enough of them, the books appeared formulaic and empty. I abandoned fantasy for a mix of superheroes and classical literature. Mouse Guard was engaging and exciting enough to pull me back in and remind me of everything great about the fantasy genre.

Mouse Guard exists in the world of mice, a world much like the medieval human world of 1152 AD. The Guard, doing duty as soldiers, guides, and detectives, are sent to find a missing merchant. The search leads them into battle with monsters and political intrigue within the various mouse communities. The story is fairly simple and straightforward as the Guard find the source of a potential invasion and warn the mice back home.

Mouse Guard does lack one of the defining aspects of traditional fantasy literature: magic. After decades of fantasy worlds ripped directly from the D&D player’s handbook, the typical wizardry feels a bit tired and worn out. By sticking with adventure and abandoning the magical, Peterson creates a story that feels as real and lived-in as anything I’ve read in a very long time.

As much as the writing choices create this wonderful miniature world, Peterson’s art carries just as much of the load. The mice and their living spaces are drawn and colored with a care that makes them feel as if this world exists in every forest and backyard. David Petersen’s beautiful work makes the reading experience as pleasurable as a graphic novel could be.

The hardcover Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 has an MSRP of $24.95, but I’ve seen it online around $16. Treat yourself and get the hardcover version. It’s a story you won’t regret reading or owning.

Greek Street # 1
Writer: Peter Milligan; Pencils and Inks: Davide Gianfelice; Colors: Patricia Mulvihill; Lettering: Clem Robins; Covers: Kako;
DC Comics – Vertigo

Greek Street # 1 is only a buck and has 40 pages of story. That’s all of the good news.

On the bad side, the dialogue is clunky in a lot of places, including the opening exposition from a stripper informing us that all of the old stories are recurring. It’s less-than-believable stripper-talk, and it sets the whole issue off to a very bad start. “Hello, readers, I’ll be your narrator for these opening bits.” The rest of the issue is a rather well-worn Hero-of-a-Thousand-Faces the-old-stories-are-being-relived-again plot. It’s been done before, and done a lot better. If you want old myths retold today, then pick up Douglas Rushkoff’s Testament series. It has some clunky dialogue at points, but the story has a much better opening. If you specifically want Greek myths relived, then pick up Fred van Lente’s and Greg Pak’s Incredible Hercules. It hits the high notes that Greek Street aspires to, and does it with a few laughs thrown in. You can skip Greek Street, unless you just want the 40 pages of comic for a buck.

Despite the bad opening, it does have one of my favorite stripper scenes in a comic:

I’ve never been to a strip club, but I hope the music is as good as SEXY SEXY BODY! TOUCH ME SEXY SEXY!

Not only does the music work, it’s still going when we return many hours later:

Hell Yeah! That’s some music fit to strip by!

In closing, I can only add

SEXY SEXY BODY! TOUCH ME SEXY SEXY! SEXY SEXY BODY! TOUCH ME SEXY SEXY!

Hat tip to Q!PAW for reminding me about the stripper scene.

The Homeless Channel
Writer and Artist: Matt Silady; Cover: Matt Silady
AiT/Planet Lar

The Homeless Channel is one of the those graphic novels which doesn’t fit into any easily defined categories for easy consumption. It simply succeeds through a well-told story. While its premise of a 24-hour cable channel devoted to broadcasting the homeless could easily fall into the heavy-handed and trite, Silady creates a believable world that doesn’t pound us on the head with its message.

Darcy Shaw begins the story by pitching an idea for a channel to broadcast nothing but original shows and stories about the homeless, including a live, uncensored overnight feed with footage of homeless people living and sleeping in the streets. The network accepts it as a way to gain positive publicity even if the idea fails. The story unfolds with Darcy handling a startup network, her schizophrenic sister, the effects of corporate sponsorship to artistic integrity, the hazards of a good cause morphing into mere exploitation, and a budding work romance.

None of the novel enters into after-school-special territory due to Silady’s deft storytelling. Darcy’ mission is never certain and feels like it could turn at every page. The penultimate scene between Darcy and her sister moves through how real the characters feel. And the final scene reinforces the hopeful uncertainty running throughout the book: dream and act big or stay home.

The Homeless Channel remains Silady’s best work only because nothing else has been printed yet. His website states that he is working on a new graphic novel, but it hasn’t been updated in months. Hopefully we will see more from him soon.

Review at Boing Boing which led to my purchase: Homeless Channel: raw, smart comic about homelessness

Matt Silady’s website