As I was gathering together what I wanted to talk about for this fourth part of me telling you what the best non-superhero comics are that you should be reading, I came to the realization that all of them are written by Warren Ellis.
Who the fuck is Warren Ellis you may be asking yourself? He's a crazed Brit comic writer who spends way too much time on the internet researching all sorts of weird shit that he somehow puts to use in his material.
In terms of more mainstream-aimed comics, he's responsible for stints on "Iron Man", "JLA Classified", "John Constantine: Hellblazer", "Thor", "Excalibur", and currently on "Astonishing X-Men". His limited series "Red" has been adapted into an action flick starring Bruce Willis and is on the way as well. His material, mainstream-aimed or not, is always popping with strange and brilliant ideas, and the comics that I'm going to mention here are no exception.
By the way, if comics still aren't your thing, he wrote a novel a year or so ago called "Crooked Little Vein", which you should Google right now and check out regardless...
TRANSMETROPOLITAN
DC/Vertigo Comics
Artist: Darick Robertson
In the seedy future, gonzo journalist Spider Jerusalem is on the case as he gets himself into all sorts of mishaps and dust-ups, never forsaking his journalistic integrity...or something of the sort. Filled with equal amounts absurd hilarity and "holy shit" moments, Ellis' classic "Transmetropolitan" is a masterpiece of comic fiction, with more nods to Hunter S. Thompson than you can shake your schlong at.
ORBITER
DC/Vertigo Comics
Artist: Colleen Doran
A love letter of sorts to the space program and venturing into the unknown, "Orbiter" is a science-fiction mystery in which a space shuttle re-appears ten years after vanishing in deep orbit. Only one of the astronauts on board remains, and the ship itself is covered in an organic material and hastened with alien technology. It's only when a group is assembled to figure out just what happened that things start to come together, right before they take a left turn and you're left with an emotional, awe-inspiring conclusion. The stunning artwork of Colleen Doran only makes "Orbiter" all the more special.
PLANETARY
Wildstorm
Artist: John Cassaday
A pulpy, almost X-Files-esque ongoing series in which a whacky team of heroes learn some shocking truths about our world. Aliens, monsters, and various other sorts of unmentionable horrors are told with such deft precision and intelligence that you'll be surprised just how addicting "Planetary" ends up being. Plagued with shipping delays throughout its run, the series sadly came to an end a bit prematurely, but should be given a look regardless.
BLACK SUMMER
Avatar Press
Artist: Juan Jose Ryp
I'm cheating again a little bit here, because there are various types of superheroes and supervillains that appear in "Black Summer". However, when's the last time you saw a Superman-type hero murder the President and his top advisors? And that's just the beginning! "Black Summer" is fairly "Watchmen"-esque in terms of the world and costumed folk that it presents, and begs the question as how much power can one person have before it ends up corrupting them? The artwork of Juan Jose Ryp is some of the most detailed and graphic that you will ever see.
CRECY
Avater Press
Artist: Raulo Caceres
Told from the prespective of a soldier during the epic Battle of Crecy (look it up), "Crecy" finds Ellis packing in so much information in terms of medevil weapon uses and battle strategies that you'll have a hard time not being impressed in some way, shape, or form. That, and the fact that Ellis draws so many interesting parallels between this war from centuries ago and the war in Iraq that your head will spin. Quite short, but the exquisitely detailed artwork of Raulo Caceres makes "Crecy" worth picking up by itself.
That's all the Ellis even I can handle for now, but more to come soon!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Comics That Deserve Your Time & Attention, Part 3
This third segment that features comics/graphic narratives that deserve your time and attention is brought to you in part by...well, me I guess.
Anyway, here's some more comics of the non-superhero variety that you should definitely check out...
CRIMINAL
Marvel/Icon
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Like noir-ish type comics like "Sin City"? If so, check out "Criminal", which much like "Sin City" before it, features a revolving set of desperate characters who either put themselves or are put in some dire situations. A creator-owned title from "Captain America" writer Ed Brubaker and "Marvel Zombies" artist Sean Phillips, "Criminal" found a new home under Marvel's indie imprint Icon, and is best enjoyed in the massive hardcover Deluxe Edition which collects all of the Icon storyarcs.
THE MAXX
Wildstorm
Writers: Sam Kieth & William Messner-Loebs
Artist: Sam Kieth
Originally published during the early days of Image Comics through the Wildstorm imprint, Sam Kieth's "The Maxx" focuses on a title character who believes himself a superhero, but in reality is a homeless vigilante, whose sole contact is his social worker Julie. In between all this is murder, rape, and salvation, as Kieth drops little visual hints that suggest nothing is what it seems in this world. While it lost steam by the time its thirty-some issue run concluded, "The Maxx" struck such a chord that it inspired a short-lived animated series on MTV, and remains a cherished comic work to this very day as well.
BLACK HOLE
Pantheon
Writer/Artist: Charles Burns
A labor of love that took well over a decade to complete, Charles Burns' "Black Hole" is a metaphorical story that transports readers to early-70s Seattle. Among a group of teenagers is an STD known simply as "the bug", which leaves its victims with physical deformities ranging from grown tails to shedding one's skin like a snake to having a mouth form on your neck. Shunned by normal society, we witness how things go from bad to worse to total nightmare for all involved. By the end of "Black Hole" though, one cannot help but feel truly touched to a degree, as this is something you won't be able to get out of your head for quite some time.
THE CROW
Pocket Books
Writer/Artist: James O'Barr
"The Crow" is mostly known as the 1994 action movie in which star Brandon Lee was killed on set. With an added feeling of mourning thrust upon the film, it was a hit at the time and still remains a fan favorite, but what most people didn't, and in some cases still don't, know is that the film was based on a comic. Created by James O'Barr as a way of coping with the death of his girlfriend, "The Crow" is a harrowing and violent tale of the resurrected Eric Draven seeking revenge on his killers. Loaded with odes and nods to O'Barr's favorite music acts (Joy Division and The Cure among them, with Eric himself semi-modeled after Iggy Pop), "The Crow" set the standard for goth-themed tales of vengeance, and still strikes an emotional chord to this very day.
More to come soon...
Anyway, here's some more comics of the non-superhero variety that you should definitely check out...
CRIMINAL
Marvel/Icon
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Like noir-ish type comics like "Sin City"? If so, check out "Criminal", which much like "Sin City" before it, features a revolving set of desperate characters who either put themselves or are put in some dire situations. A creator-owned title from "Captain America" writer Ed Brubaker and "Marvel Zombies" artist Sean Phillips, "Criminal" found a new home under Marvel's indie imprint Icon, and is best enjoyed in the massive hardcover Deluxe Edition which collects all of the Icon storyarcs.
THE MAXX
Wildstorm
Writers: Sam Kieth & William Messner-Loebs
Artist: Sam Kieth
Originally published during the early days of Image Comics through the Wildstorm imprint, Sam Kieth's "The Maxx" focuses on a title character who believes himself a superhero, but in reality is a homeless vigilante, whose sole contact is his social worker Julie. In between all this is murder, rape, and salvation, as Kieth drops little visual hints that suggest nothing is what it seems in this world. While it lost steam by the time its thirty-some issue run concluded, "The Maxx" struck such a chord that it inspired a short-lived animated series on MTV, and remains a cherished comic work to this very day as well.
BLACK HOLE
Pantheon
Writer/Artist: Charles Burns
A labor of love that took well over a decade to complete, Charles Burns' "Black Hole" is a metaphorical story that transports readers to early-70s Seattle. Among a group of teenagers is an STD known simply as "the bug", which leaves its victims with physical deformities ranging from grown tails to shedding one's skin like a snake to having a mouth form on your neck. Shunned by normal society, we witness how things go from bad to worse to total nightmare for all involved. By the end of "Black Hole" though, one cannot help but feel truly touched to a degree, as this is something you won't be able to get out of your head for quite some time.
THE CROW
Pocket Books
Writer/Artist: James O'Barr
"The Crow" is mostly known as the 1994 action movie in which star Brandon Lee was killed on set. With an added feeling of mourning thrust upon the film, it was a hit at the time and still remains a fan favorite, but what most people didn't, and in some cases still don't, know is that the film was based on a comic. Created by James O'Barr as a way of coping with the death of his girlfriend, "The Crow" is a harrowing and violent tale of the resurrected Eric Draven seeking revenge on his killers. Loaded with odes and nods to O'Barr's favorite music acts (Joy Division and The Cure among them, with Eric himself semi-modeled after Iggy Pop), "The Crow" set the standard for goth-themed tales of vengeance, and still strikes an emotional chord to this very day.
More to come soon...
Monday, August 23, 2010
Comics That Deserve Your Time & Attention, Part 2
Last time around I named a handful of superhero-less comic works that wholeheartedly deserve your time and attention. This second part is no different, and features some titles that you may find yourself familiar with...or maybe you won't. Either way though, these works deserve to be checked out.
Thank me later...
MAUS
Pantheon Books
Writer/Artist: Art Spiegelman
The Pulitzer Prize winning work from cartoonist Art Spiegelman details his struggles coming to grips with his holocaust survivor father's account of his time surviving Nazi-run Poland and the horrors of Auschwitz. Metaphorically illustrating himself and other Jews as mice and Germans as cats, "Maus" is a powerful tale that deserves to be read and cherished for generations to come. Originally published in two seperate parts, the complete story has since been collected in a handsome hardcover format. "Maus" is the definition of what the graphic/comic narrative is capable of being as it conveys to the reader such raw emotion that would be only be lost were it a more traditional, prose-driven book.
V FOR VENDETTA
DC/Vertigo Comics
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: David Lloyd
Forget the lame Wachowski brothers-produced flick from a few years back. Alan Moore's "V For Vendetta" is an epic study of a totalitarian world. A person known only as V who wears a Guy Fawkes mask uses a young girl named Evie to strike back at the dictatorship who for all intents and purposes made him what he is. But is V a freedom-fighting hero, or is he simply little more than a terrorist? One thing about the movie that royally ticked me off was that is completely missed the aspects of moral ambiguity that populates Moore's work here, made all the more vivid by the brilliant washed-out art of David Lloyd. This is truly epic storytelling, and once you open this graphic novel up and start reading, you'll forget all about the movie adaptation.
THE FILTH
DC/Vertigo Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Chris Weston & Gary Erskine
Greg Feely is a middle-aged man in a rundown city whose life is little more than caring for his ailing cat Tony and masturbating to porn. However, unbeknownst to Greg, is the fact that he is really Ned Slade, special negotiator for The Hand: a secret organization whose job is maintaining the social status quo by eliminating unhealthy variations of all sorts and kinds. Whether this ranges from pornstar Anders Klimakks, whose black-colored semen is being processed to fertilize women to death, to mysterious pocket worlds that threaten to overtake our very own, "The Filth" is definitely something that you won't soon forget. Not always the most comprehensible, and definitely not for everyone, "The Filth" is a total nightmare that should not be ignored.
WANTED
Top Cow
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist J.G. Jones
I may be cheating myself here a little bit by claiming this list isn't including any superhero elements, but I just have to include this. Remember that "Wanted" movie from a while back with Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie? Well, the comic that it was adapted from is absolutely nothing like that piece of dogshit. Wesley Gibson is a down on his luck guy with a cheating girlfriend and a dead-end job. Then one day, Wesley learns he is the son of The Killer: the greatest supervillain who ever lived. That's right folks, superheroes and supervillains were real once, until the villains won and wiped any memory of superheroes away from history and reduced them to appearing in comic books. The villains rule, and with the recent demise of his father, Wesley learns his dying wish was to make his only son not be a pussy anymore and be made more like him. As Wesley joins the Fraternity, he soon comes to learn that he has the freedom to kill, maim, rape, and destroy whoever and whatever he wants to. But an uprising by the insane Mr. Rictus threatens to ruin Wesley's good time, and soon enough, he and his partner Fox are fighting for their survival. Unapologetic, sickeningly nihlistic, and loaded with dark humor, "Wanted" is simply a blast to read, and something that you'll have a hard time getting our of your head afterwards.
More to come...
Thank me later...
MAUS
Pantheon Books
Writer/Artist: Art Spiegelman
The Pulitzer Prize winning work from cartoonist Art Spiegelman details his struggles coming to grips with his holocaust survivor father's account of his time surviving Nazi-run Poland and the horrors of Auschwitz. Metaphorically illustrating himself and other Jews as mice and Germans as cats, "Maus" is a powerful tale that deserves to be read and cherished for generations to come. Originally published in two seperate parts, the complete story has since been collected in a handsome hardcover format. "Maus" is the definition of what the graphic/comic narrative is capable of being as it conveys to the reader such raw emotion that would be only be lost were it a more traditional, prose-driven book.
V FOR VENDETTA
DC/Vertigo Comics
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: David Lloyd
Forget the lame Wachowski brothers-produced flick from a few years back. Alan Moore's "V For Vendetta" is an epic study of a totalitarian world. A person known only as V who wears a Guy Fawkes mask uses a young girl named Evie to strike back at the dictatorship who for all intents and purposes made him what he is. But is V a freedom-fighting hero, or is he simply little more than a terrorist? One thing about the movie that royally ticked me off was that is completely missed the aspects of moral ambiguity that populates Moore's work here, made all the more vivid by the brilliant washed-out art of David Lloyd. This is truly epic storytelling, and once you open this graphic novel up and start reading, you'll forget all about the movie adaptation.
THE FILTH
DC/Vertigo Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Chris Weston & Gary Erskine
Greg Feely is a middle-aged man in a rundown city whose life is little more than caring for his ailing cat Tony and masturbating to porn. However, unbeknownst to Greg, is the fact that he is really Ned Slade, special negotiator for The Hand: a secret organization whose job is maintaining the social status quo by eliminating unhealthy variations of all sorts and kinds. Whether this ranges from pornstar Anders Klimakks, whose black-colored semen is being processed to fertilize women to death, to mysterious pocket worlds that threaten to overtake our very own, "The Filth" is definitely something that you won't soon forget. Not always the most comprehensible, and definitely not for everyone, "The Filth" is a total nightmare that should not be ignored.
WANTED
Top Cow
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist J.G. Jones
I may be cheating myself here a little bit by claiming this list isn't including any superhero elements, but I just have to include this. Remember that "Wanted" movie from a while back with Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie? Well, the comic that it was adapted from is absolutely nothing like that piece of dogshit. Wesley Gibson is a down on his luck guy with a cheating girlfriend and a dead-end job. Then one day, Wesley learns he is the son of The Killer: the greatest supervillain who ever lived. That's right folks, superheroes and supervillains were real once, until the villains won and wiped any memory of superheroes away from history and reduced them to appearing in comic books. The villains rule, and with the recent demise of his father, Wesley learns his dying wish was to make his only son not be a pussy anymore and be made more like him. As Wesley joins the Fraternity, he soon comes to learn that he has the freedom to kill, maim, rape, and destroy whoever and whatever he wants to. But an uprising by the insane Mr. Rictus threatens to ruin Wesley's good time, and soon enough, he and his partner Fox are fighting for their survival. Unapologetic, sickeningly nihlistic, and loaded with dark humor, "Wanted" is simply a blast to read, and something that you'll have a hard time getting our of your head afterwards.
More to come...
Friday, August 20, 2010
Comics That Deserve Your Time & Attention, Part 1
Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I'm a comic book geek. Always have been, probably always will be. Keep in mind however that by the term "comic book", I'm not necessarily talking about superheroes.
Superheroes have for the most part dominated the medium since its inception, and for the most part continue to do so today. What gets lost in the middle of it all however is the fact that there are so many intelligently written and incredibly compelling comic works out there that garner little to no attention, which in itself is a crying shame.
This first segment of this blog will focus on a collection of titles that deserve your time and attention, and will make you forget that comic books are loaded with nothing but spandex-clad people...
THE WALKING DEAD
Image Comics
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artists: Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn
An ongoing series of zombie survival horror, Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" is every zombie fan's dream comic come true. Main protagonist Rick is a cop who wakes up out of a coma to find that the world he knew is now overrun by a zombie apocalypse. As he scrambles to find his missing family, Rick soon learns that the worst thing about this zombie-filled world isn't necessarily the zombies themselves, but the human survivors who haven't quite coped too well in this new world. Horrific and gripping, "The Walking Dead" became a smash for Image Comics, so much so that AMC has been prepping a live-action prime-time TV adaptation set to premiere in October.
JOHN CONSTANTINE: HELLBLAZER
DC/Vertigo Comics
Various writers & artists
Forget that lame "Constantine" flick from a few years back with Keanu Reeves. The real John Constantine that we know and love is a blonde, British, chain-smoking, bad ass master of black magic and bad luck. Over the years that "Hellblazer" has had various revolving creative teams, the best that stand out are the titles written by Garth Ennis, whose deconstruction and rebuilding of Constantine rank among the pivotal chapters of the character. And speaking of Garth Ennis...
PREACHER
DC/Vertigo Comics
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Steve Dillon
An ongoing series that ran into the late 90s, mad Irishman writer Ennis' title ranks among the most prolific in Vertigo's stable. "Preacher" revolves around the ass-kicking Jesse Custer: a reverend who smokes, drinks, screws, and swears probably much more than he should. By the time we get to Jesse's origin however, you'll have quite the understanding why. Oh yeah, he also has the power to issue a command at anyone to make them do whatever he wants; which comes in pretty handy as he, his gun-toting girlfriend Tulip, and the Irish vampire Cassidy traverse America's heartland on a search to make God answer for what he has stricken upon mankind...all the while as they avoid government agents, religious cults, and a decent abundance of perverts. Laced with pitch-black humor and straight-out horror, "Preacher" remains a comic geek favorite to this day.
THE NIGHTLY NEWS
Image Comics
Writer/Artist: Jonathan Hickman
What happens when those brainwashed by the biased and corporate-controlled American media strike back at it? Nothing good for anyone involved that's for sure. Graphic designer Jonathan Hickman lends a unique art style on top of a conspiracy-laden story of a group of people that have been brought together to fight back. "The Nightly News" is definitely something that isn't for all tastes, but it is something that is shockingly introspective while at the same time equally mind-blowing.
That's all for now folks, but there will be more to follow soon...
Superheroes have for the most part dominated the medium since its inception, and for the most part continue to do so today. What gets lost in the middle of it all however is the fact that there are so many intelligently written and incredibly compelling comic works out there that garner little to no attention, which in itself is a crying shame.
This first segment of this blog will focus on a collection of titles that deserve your time and attention, and will make you forget that comic books are loaded with nothing but spandex-clad people...
THE WALKING DEAD
Image Comics
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artists: Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn
An ongoing series of zombie survival horror, Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" is every zombie fan's dream comic come true. Main protagonist Rick is a cop who wakes up out of a coma to find that the world he knew is now overrun by a zombie apocalypse. As he scrambles to find his missing family, Rick soon learns that the worst thing about this zombie-filled world isn't necessarily the zombies themselves, but the human survivors who haven't quite coped too well in this new world. Horrific and gripping, "The Walking Dead" became a smash for Image Comics, so much so that AMC has been prepping a live-action prime-time TV adaptation set to premiere in October.
JOHN CONSTANTINE: HELLBLAZER
DC/Vertigo Comics
Various writers & artists
Forget that lame "Constantine" flick from a few years back with Keanu Reeves. The real John Constantine that we know and love is a blonde, British, chain-smoking, bad ass master of black magic and bad luck. Over the years that "Hellblazer" has had various revolving creative teams, the best that stand out are the titles written by Garth Ennis, whose deconstruction and rebuilding of Constantine rank among the pivotal chapters of the character. And speaking of Garth Ennis...
PREACHER
DC/Vertigo Comics
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Steve Dillon
An ongoing series that ran into the late 90s, mad Irishman writer Ennis' title ranks among the most prolific in Vertigo's stable. "Preacher" revolves around the ass-kicking Jesse Custer: a reverend who smokes, drinks, screws, and swears probably much more than he should. By the time we get to Jesse's origin however, you'll have quite the understanding why. Oh yeah, he also has the power to issue a command at anyone to make them do whatever he wants; which comes in pretty handy as he, his gun-toting girlfriend Tulip, and the Irish vampire Cassidy traverse America's heartland on a search to make God answer for what he has stricken upon mankind...all the while as they avoid government agents, religious cults, and a decent abundance of perverts. Laced with pitch-black humor and straight-out horror, "Preacher" remains a comic geek favorite to this day.
THE NIGHTLY NEWS
Image Comics
Writer/Artist: Jonathan Hickman
What happens when those brainwashed by the biased and corporate-controlled American media strike back at it? Nothing good for anyone involved that's for sure. Graphic designer Jonathan Hickman lends a unique art style on top of a conspiracy-laden story of a group of people that have been brought together to fight back. "The Nightly News" is definitely something that isn't for all tastes, but it is something that is shockingly introspective while at the same time equally mind-blowing.
That's all for now folks, but there will be more to follow soon...
Friday, August 6, 2010
The Unbreakable Eric Rothharpt
A week or two ago, I received an invitation over Facebook for a benefit show at the Silo, dedicated to none other than Eric Rothharpt. At that moment and time, all of the sudden a flood of memories involving the man ran through my mind, something that hadn’t happened since I heard about his tragic and untimely death, which had occurred quite some time before I was made aware of it. I wanted to take enough time to gather together the right words to express about Eric, and not just about what he meant to me personally, but what he meant to every single person he ever met.
When I left the area that my hometown resided in five years ago this month, I had fallen out of contact a bit with the people I grew up with and went to high school with and such. Sadly, Eric was one of them. The last thing I had heard about him was from my girlfriend at the time, who had heard that Eric joined the military. That in itself surprised the hell out of me to be honest. The Eric I knew was this short, scrawny kid with punked out hair and a kind of goofy attitude. However, one other thing Eric possessed was this universal appeal to everyone around him: everyone couldn’t help but love the guy. The whole time I knew Eric and went to Boone, I never knew anyone that didn’t like him. He was funny, smart, and knew how to make you laugh…to put it bluntly, he was just too damn cool. Memories of his coolness and all-around randomness are so vast and varied that it’s hard to narrow them all down. I remember how we had joked around about forming our own punk band called “Electric Kool-Aid” after coming across a pamphlet that detailed the slang terms for LSD and laughing about them all. I remember at a punk show at the firehouse how he jumped on my back for an impromptu piggy-back ride (that didn’t end well for either of us mind you) and more besides. Like I said, Eric was just too damn cool.
Having a universal appeal and overall coolness is one thing, but being a good-hearted individual is something else entirely. And yet, Eric was that too, and he was in spades. He was a good kid who grew up to become a good man, and was even a good soldier all on top of that plus. How one person could qualify to fit in all of these categories I myself will never know, but the one thing that I am damn sure of is that I am a better person for having known Eric. All of us who knew Eric, no matter in what sort of capacity, are better off for having known him. And the world as a whole is all the worse off for not having Eric Rothharpt in it.
Until I see you again brother, you’ll always have my undying love and respect.
When I left the area that my hometown resided in five years ago this month, I had fallen out of contact a bit with the people I grew up with and went to high school with and such. Sadly, Eric was one of them. The last thing I had heard about him was from my girlfriend at the time, who had heard that Eric joined the military. That in itself surprised the hell out of me to be honest. The Eric I knew was this short, scrawny kid with punked out hair and a kind of goofy attitude. However, one other thing Eric possessed was this universal appeal to everyone around him: everyone couldn’t help but love the guy. The whole time I knew Eric and went to Boone, I never knew anyone that didn’t like him. He was funny, smart, and knew how to make you laugh…to put it bluntly, he was just too damn cool. Memories of his coolness and all-around randomness are so vast and varied that it’s hard to narrow them all down. I remember how we had joked around about forming our own punk band called “Electric Kool-Aid” after coming across a pamphlet that detailed the slang terms for LSD and laughing about them all. I remember at a punk show at the firehouse how he jumped on my back for an impromptu piggy-back ride (that didn’t end well for either of us mind you) and more besides. Like I said, Eric was just too damn cool.
Having a universal appeal and overall coolness is one thing, but being a good-hearted individual is something else entirely. And yet, Eric was that too, and he was in spades. He was a good kid who grew up to become a good man, and was even a good soldier all on top of that plus. How one person could qualify to fit in all of these categories I myself will never know, but the one thing that I am damn sure of is that I am a better person for having known Eric. All of us who knew Eric, no matter in what sort of capacity, are better off for having known him. And the world as a whole is all the worse off for not having Eric Rothharpt in it.
Until I see you again brother, you’ll always have my undying love and respect.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Alive & Well...?
Last Thursday I turned 26.
26 years old, something that I honestly thought I would never live to see.
Holy shit, I’m approaching 30!
It doesn’t seem all that long ago that my overall outlook on life was a bit bleak to say the least. At 21 I already felt burned out with no sense of direction. I occasionally went to community college, never thinking that it would actually get me anywhere, and drifted from shitty job to shitty job in the meantime. To really summarize things, all I had really thought was pretty much the equivalent of “fuck the future”.
“Fuck the future”.
That was my mentality, and that phrase in itself pretty much sums up my lack of drive at the time.
Then something happened…
I was introduced to the work of Charles Bukowski, and for the first time in my life, I actually related to something in the literary realm. Here was this down-on-his-luck-type of guy, who struggled with all things related to booze and women alike, yet somehow had this degree of humanity shining through in his work that one wouldn’t be able to see just by coming into actual contact with the man. I admired him so much, his poetry and prose alike. Thanks to Bukowski, I began having a love for literature that I never had before.
After exposing myself to as much of Bukowski’s work as I could get my hands on, I found a new appreciation for all the books I was “forced” to read in high school. "Of Mice and Men", "Moby Dick", "1984", "To Kill a Mockingbird"…all the works that were force-fed to me I read over again with this newfound consciousness that I was never aware I possessed…and I was made all the better for it. That wasn’t all however, as I would be exposed to a whole new world of authors who, as cliché as it may sound, actually spoke to me like none ever had before: D.H. Lawrence, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Ken Kesey, and more besides.
Yes, Bukowski practically helped me put my shit together and get my life in order…because I didn’t want to become that middle-aged guy with nothing to call his own staring down the inside of a whiskey bottle. That in itself may sound like a bit of a conundrum to anyone familiar with Bukowski’s work, considering the fact that the man himself didn’t achieve fame or notoriety until he was much older, and here I am at 26 as a struggling writer and perhaps would-be author.
Regardless of whether or not I actually achieve any sort of notoriety, there is one simple fact that remains: I’m not giving up. Tenacity is a powerful thing for one to possess, and knowing that I’ve come this far now after being written-off in my teens as a drug-raddled loser, the only direction that I can possibly go is forward.
That’s the lesson here folks. No matter if you’re looked down upon by others for whatever reasons, no matter how you may be labeled, no matter what anyone tells you that you can’t do…don’t give in, and don’t give up. It may sound like a cliché-type of thing to hear, but one thing I’ve noticed over the past few years is that those who believe themselves to be on a higher social status and automatically look down on someone for whatever reasons never truly stop being tools…and yes, we should all know how to properly identify tools at this point and time :)
Seriously though however, those who get looked down upon more often than not somehow manage to rise up and be better than they themselves could have ever imagined. They strive and move forward, and provide many a shock to others in the process of doing so.
And that kids is the moral of the story here. No matter how down and out you may find yourself being, know that you aren’t the first and certainly won’t be the last to feel that way. Just know that you can rise up, grow, evolve, and be better than anyone could have ever thought or hoped for you to be…and in the process you can teach some of those fuckers who labeled you a loser a thing or two about a thing or two.
Don’t give up, don’t give in.
…and now we resume the dick & fart jokes!
26 years old, something that I honestly thought I would never live to see.
Holy shit, I’m approaching 30!
It doesn’t seem all that long ago that my overall outlook on life was a bit bleak to say the least. At 21 I already felt burned out with no sense of direction. I occasionally went to community college, never thinking that it would actually get me anywhere, and drifted from shitty job to shitty job in the meantime. To really summarize things, all I had really thought was pretty much the equivalent of “fuck the future”.
“Fuck the future”.
That was my mentality, and that phrase in itself pretty much sums up my lack of drive at the time.
Then something happened…
I was introduced to the work of Charles Bukowski, and for the first time in my life, I actually related to something in the literary realm. Here was this down-on-his-luck-type of guy, who struggled with all things related to booze and women alike, yet somehow had this degree of humanity shining through in his work that one wouldn’t be able to see just by coming into actual contact with the man. I admired him so much, his poetry and prose alike. Thanks to Bukowski, I began having a love for literature that I never had before.
After exposing myself to as much of Bukowski’s work as I could get my hands on, I found a new appreciation for all the books I was “forced” to read in high school. "Of Mice and Men", "Moby Dick", "1984", "To Kill a Mockingbird"…all the works that were force-fed to me I read over again with this newfound consciousness that I was never aware I possessed…and I was made all the better for it. That wasn’t all however, as I would be exposed to a whole new world of authors who, as cliché as it may sound, actually spoke to me like none ever had before: D.H. Lawrence, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Ken Kesey, and more besides.
Yes, Bukowski practically helped me put my shit together and get my life in order…because I didn’t want to become that middle-aged guy with nothing to call his own staring down the inside of a whiskey bottle. That in itself may sound like a bit of a conundrum to anyone familiar with Bukowski’s work, considering the fact that the man himself didn’t achieve fame or notoriety until he was much older, and here I am at 26 as a struggling writer and perhaps would-be author.
Regardless of whether or not I actually achieve any sort of notoriety, there is one simple fact that remains: I’m not giving up. Tenacity is a powerful thing for one to possess, and knowing that I’ve come this far now after being written-off in my teens as a drug-raddled loser, the only direction that I can possibly go is forward.
That’s the lesson here folks. No matter if you’re looked down upon by others for whatever reasons, no matter how you may be labeled, no matter what anyone tells you that you can’t do…don’t give in, and don’t give up. It may sound like a cliché-type of thing to hear, but one thing I’ve noticed over the past few years is that those who believe themselves to be on a higher social status and automatically look down on someone for whatever reasons never truly stop being tools…and yes, we should all know how to properly identify tools at this point and time :)
Seriously though however, those who get looked down upon more often than not somehow manage to rise up and be better than they themselves could have ever imagined. They strive and move forward, and provide many a shock to others in the process of doing so.
And that kids is the moral of the story here. No matter how down and out you may find yourself being, know that you aren’t the first and certainly won’t be the last to feel that way. Just know that you can rise up, grow, evolve, and be better than anyone could have ever thought or hoped for you to be…and in the process you can teach some of those fuckers who labeled you a loser a thing or two about a thing or two.
Don’t give up, don’t give in.
…and now we resume the dick & fart jokes!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
How to tell if you're a tool...Part 3: The End
Well, we meet again. Since things these days tend to be produced in “trilogy” form (whether they are various series of movies, books, broken condoms, etc.) I figured what the fuck…let’s drag this “ways of knowing whether you or someone you know is a complete tool” a little bit farther, just for shits and giggles.
So strap yourselves in folks, this shit is going to be nothing less than epic…okay no it isn’t but you get the idea nevertheless…
So, here’s a final round of ways to tell if you or someone you know is a tool:
If hearing the words “From Judd Apatow and starring Seth Rogen” gets you excited
If you have a barbwire or tribal band tattoo wrapped around your bicep (seriously, you aren’t just a tool, you’re a douche bag too)
If you’ve just bought a LeBron James Miami Heat jersey
If the only time you read a book is when the movie comes out from which it's adapted
If more than half of your sent text messages are “American Idol” votes
If you think comic books are just kids’ stuff
If you base your political opinions from anchors and hosts on Fox News
If you think to yourself, “why isn’t Bill O’Reilly’s show longer?”
If you think the NFL is still exciting to watch
If you’ve ever gotten Jimi Hendrix and Lenny Kravitz confused for one another (and yes, I know people that often do)
If you think “Wanted” the movie was better and more believable than “Wanted” the comic
If your first reaction when seeing Stephen Hawking is to laugh
If you don’t believe in evolution
If you consider “Law & Order: SVU” a great cop show…or even a great show period
If you think actually furthering your education is a waste of time
If you smoke Parliament Lights
If you “had to have” an iPad on launch day
If you only own vinyl records just for decoration (somewhat guilty)
If you watch softcore porn late at night on Cinemax
If you wear clothing made by Affliction
If you don't think Adam Sandler flicks are formulaic in the least
If you are reading this blog (haha, gotcha!)
That’s all, it’s over…rejoice and be merry motherfuckers…just remember, DON’T BE A TOOL!
So strap yourselves in folks, this shit is going to be nothing less than epic…okay no it isn’t but you get the idea nevertheless…
So, here’s a final round of ways to tell if you or someone you know is a tool:
If hearing the words “From Judd Apatow and starring Seth Rogen” gets you excited
If you have a barbwire or tribal band tattoo wrapped around your bicep (seriously, you aren’t just a tool, you’re a douche bag too)
If you’ve just bought a LeBron James Miami Heat jersey
If the only time you read a book is when the movie comes out from which it's adapted
If more than half of your sent text messages are “American Idol” votes
If you think comic books are just kids’ stuff
If you base your political opinions from anchors and hosts on Fox News
If you think to yourself, “why isn’t Bill O’Reilly’s show longer?”
If you think the NFL is still exciting to watch
If you’ve ever gotten Jimi Hendrix and Lenny Kravitz confused for one another (and yes, I know people that often do)
If you think “Wanted” the movie was better and more believable than “Wanted” the comic
If your first reaction when seeing Stephen Hawking is to laugh
If you don’t believe in evolution
If you consider “Law & Order: SVU” a great cop show…or even a great show period
If you think actually furthering your education is a waste of time
If you smoke Parliament Lights
If you “had to have” an iPad on launch day
If you only own vinyl records just for decoration (somewhat guilty)
If you watch softcore porn late at night on Cinemax
If you wear clothing made by Affliction
If you don't think Adam Sandler flicks are formulaic in the least
If you are reading this blog (haha, gotcha!)
That’s all, it’s over…rejoice and be merry motherfuckers…just remember, DON’T BE A TOOL!
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