I promised you a celebrity Fanboy of the Month, didn’t I? I know you’ll all join me in welcoming July FBOTM Captain Lucky to Fanboys of the Universe! Whether you’re a longtime fan or newbie, be sure to spend some time over at the fun and fabulous Lucky Legendary site and learn all about Captain Lucky and the whole Lucky Legendary team. Having just moved back to Los Angeles, I, for one, am thrilled we have the Captain and his friends protecting the City of Angels. Why, just the other day, the whole Lucky Legendary gang swooped in and beat the living heck out of the guy driving off with my car. True, he was a valet, but you should have seen them in action! Luckily, we’ve got the Captain protecting the site all month long. I’ll also be hooking up with the Lucky Legendary folks at Comic-Con later in the month to bring you all the latest news on their adventures! Now, on to the good stuff:
• Get your desktop calendar, featuring July FBOTM Captain Lucky, on the Downloads page.
• Check out the first shots from Captain Lucky’s photo shoot in the Gallery.
• Read more about Captain Lucky in his bio in the FBOTM Lounge.
• Be sure to check out Captain Lucky’s origin story and weekly web comic adventures at LuckyLegendary.com.
You may be wondering where Captain Lucky’s FBOTM VIdeo is. The truth is that it came back from editing and might be a little too...revealing (and I’m not talking about his secret identity). I’m going to have to run it by Captain Lucky before I dare to share it with the world. It will either air in its entirety (Yay!), or I’ll send it back to be re-chopped (Boo!). Stay tuned as this story develops…
Have a great weekend! If you’re in the US, have a safe and fun 4th of July! If you’re not in the US, have a safe and fun 4th of July!
“You should like balls infinitely better,” said Darcy, “if you knew the first thing about them.”
-Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
You can do a lot in a week. You can lose weight on the SlimFast diet plan. You can create the heavens and the Earth. You can also read our Summer FBOTU Book Club selection: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. Of all the things you could conceivably do in a week, the latter will probably be the most fun.
I know, between zombies and Jane Austen, Jane scares you more. Don’t be intimidated! All you need to know about that era is that all social interactions were strictly dictated by the norms of the time. Sons were considered valuable heirs, and daughters were burdens who must be married away as soon as possible. Love was usually secondary to a practical or advantageous match. Women who yearned for choices and independence were considered insolent and dangerous. Now...throw zombies into all that, and you’ve got a party.
Discussion begins Friday, July 10 in the Books Forum. Don’t miss out! Start reading (or keep reading) today! Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is available for $7.77 at Amazon, or wherever books about balls and zombies are sold. It’s the perfect reading for a summer holiday weekend!
It’s a less than impressive Load this week in terms of quantity (not quality). I still have five or six more titles to read, which I’m saving for the holiday weekend. I’ll chat those up over in the Comics Forum, as I get to them. In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been reading as of press time. But this is just my list; feel free to share your own thoughts and your own Load! Let us know what’s rocking your comics world this week!
FBOTU Comic of the Week
Batman and Robin #2: Damien is 10. What?! I thought he was 13 or 14. Ten is entirely too young to be Robin. I realize that he’s a wild child and that through Dick’s patience and Alfred’s stoicism, they’ll teach the little monster to be human. It’s just that I’d like all that to happen in the next issue, so we can get on with it, and Damien can stop being such a nuisance. Damien doesn’t want to play by the rules. Damien runs off on his own. Damien gets kidnapped. He’s like part Dawn Summers and part Scrappy Doo. The highlight of this issue, though, is when Alfred gives Dick the classic drag queen pep talk. When things get tough, just put a little more mascara on. It does the trick, ‘cause Dick straps his bat heels back on and goes out into the night, ready to take on the world and save that horrible little brat. Damien’s in trouble? Must be Wednesday.
It all started innocently enough. Kill a little time, read a little Green Lantern. At first, I scoffed at the color wars and the introduction of all the other Lanterns of various hues. I mean, associating qualities and personalities to colors is pretty arbitrary. Blue could just as easily have stood for frigid and depressed as mellow and peaceful. Still, I read on and soon met the goofiest character with the goofiest name in comics history: Larfleeze. You know comic creators are running out of ideas when you get to Larfleeze. I have to imagine it was the last slip of paper in the name jar at DC Comics. If you have no idea who I’m talking about, Larfleeze is a cross between Greta Garbo (he just wants to be left alone) and a warthog (with a face only Mama Larfleeze could love). Hal Jordan keeps saying he looks like Gonzo from the Muppets, but I think he looks more like Uncle Deadly:
So, for the past several weeks, I’ve been taking shots at Larfleeze and the whole Green Lantern craziness, never realizing DC’s insidious plan was about to take hold. I was enjoying a little bag of sliced apples the other day. Perhaps you’ve seen them at the grocery store. They’re intended for kids’ lunches, because, I assume, kids shouldn’t use knives to cut their own apples and can’t bite into them, because kids are always missing their front teeth. As an adult, I love the little bags of apple slices, because, frankly, I’m just lazy. Anyway, as I was enjoying my apple slices, I couldn’t help commenting out loud, “An apple a day keeps Larfleeze away.” WTF?! Where did that come from? I dismissed the slip of the tongue and tried to forget about it. But I couldn’t. As fast as Larfleeze devoured the Green Lanterns, he devoured my train of thought. Suddenly, I was rewriting song lyrics in my head:
Oh Larfleeze
Well you came and you took without thanking
Then they sent you away
Oh Larfleeze
For a solid hour during my morning commute, all I could think about was ridiculous, repugnant Larfleeze. ("I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of Larfleeze.") Then it got worse:
He walked up to me and he asked me to dance
I asked him his name and in a bright orange voice, he said
Larfleeze, La-la-la-la-Larfleeze...
I have since added such nonsensical phrases as “Another day, another Larfleeze!” and “What would Larfleeze do?” to my verbal repertoire. Needless to say, I’m terrified of opening my mouth in meetings now, for fear I’ll say something like, “Let’s not put the cart before the Larfleeze here, Bob.” It’s becoming somewhat unbearable, and I realize now the sheer power and might of the Orange Lanterns. They get into your head and take over your mind, until all your thoughts and words and actions belong to them. It’s like “A Total Eclipse of the Larfleeze.” Aigh! See? My only hope is to pass this madness on to you. With the color wars in high gear, and the Blackest Night epic event just around the corner, it’s going to be a long day’s journey into Larfleeze this summer.
Larfleeze
Say it loud, and there’s music playing
Say it soft, and it’s almost like praying
Larfleeze
I’ll never stop saying
Larfleeze
It’s Comic Book Wednesday, which means a new installment of Comics of the Universe special feature Reignbow and Dee-Va! It’s a very special episode this week, as Dee-Va teaches us how to use high heels and false eyelashes as deadly weapons. It’s shocking I didn’t know how to do that. Once again, my American public school education has failed me. Clearly, Reignbow and Dee-Va have much to teach us. Read the latest installment here and tune in next Wednesday for another lesson!
To learn more about indie comic book creators Brian Andersen and Celina Hernandez, please visit SoSuperDuper.com.
San Diego Comic-Con is a sprawling wonderland of comics, toys, games and entertainment. But no matter what else you do at the Con, you must make time to visit the heart and soul of gay comics fandom: Prism Comics. The Prism booth is the headquarters for gay fans. You can get all the latest info on gay comics, meet creators and mingle with other fanboys and fangirls. But you know what’s even more fun than just hanging out at the Prism booth? Volunteering at the Prism booth! I’ll be there off and on during the course of the convention, along with Prism’s amazing (and attractive) staff and volunteers. It’s a great way to meet people, learn more about gay comics culture and help out a fabulous organization. Here’s the scoop on volunteering:
Volunteers will greet people and answer questions about Prism Comics. Don’t worry! Prism will provide you with information sheets. You’ll get to help sell books, assist with creator signings and be an ambassador for gay comics! Volunteer time slots are approximately two hours long at various times from Wednesday, July 22 through Sunday, July 26, so you’ll still have lots of time to see and do everything on your agenda. Prism is also looking for volunteers to help at two fabulous after-Con parties: a Womens’ Comic-Con Night Dance Party at Rich’s Dance Club on Thursday, July 23 and a Men’s Comic-Con Night Dance Party at Rich’s on Friday, July 24.
If you are going to Comic-Con and want to volunteer or would like more information, please write to Ted, your friendly Prism Volunteer Coordinator at ted@prismcomics.org with the following info:
1) Your home and/or cell phone number.
2) Which day(s) you are attending Comic-Con.
You will be sent a schedule of volunteer times. Since Comic-Con is sold out, Prism cannot provide passes for volunteers. If you have friends who are coming to the Con and might like to volunteer, please spread the word. You don’t have to be gay to apply! So let your gay-friendly comic book friends know, as well! Read more about Prism at their website! See you at the Prism booth!
It’s killing me that I missed this. My hunky warrior toon would have been a perfect addition to Proudmoore Pride 2009, an in-game pride festival held on June 20 for gay and gay-friendly fans of World of Warcraft. I had the perfect little outfit he could have worn, too. Grrrr. I’ll know better next year and will get it on my calendar sooner. For anyone else who may have missed all the fun, here’s a quick re-cap from the Horde perspective. The march is first, then the party starts around 2:40 in Booty Bay (of course):
There’s another Horde video here, plus a view from the Alliance side of things here. While it will undoubtedly be viewed (and dismissed) as the height of gay geekery to most, I actually find it kind of moving. To me, it’s pure triumph of the human spirit, and who knows? It may be the only pride festival some people ever get to attend. Well done, gaymers, well done! You can find out more about the Guilds who sponsored the event at their respective sites:
I first discovered the Strangers with Candy gang in their previous foray into television, Exit 57. The fact that Exit 57 isn’t out on DVD, and that all I have are poor-quality bootlegs, is outrageous (and probably illegal). Thankfully, I have the Strangers with Candy DVDs and can play them on a loop all day long. In last week’s QOTW post, I was droning on and on about the practical application of the endless supply of useless pop culture information in my head. This week’s quote is actually a very good example of that. Whether with family, friends, enemies or co-workers, whenever anyone asks me a question that I don’t know the answer to, instead of saying, “I don’t know” (and run the risk of getting slimed), I just say, “Fandango? Hobocamp? Ho...hobocamp!” The confusion, annoyance or glee it inspires in others is priceless! So, here’s the set-up. Jerri Blank is trying out for cheerleader and reaches the most difficult part of the audition:
Coach Wolf: Jerri, uh, what does V-I-C-T-O-R-Y spell?
Jerri Blank: Fandango? Hobocamp? Ho...hobocamp!
-"The Blank Page,” Strangers with Candy
Is there anything in the world better than Amy Sedaris as Jerri Blank? I think not. In fact, let’s give away Strangers with Candy: The Complete Series on DVD to the first poster who can tell me the name of Jerri’s co-star in her Tijuana donkey show. Just post your answer in the comments section. Now, let’s watch the whole scene! Enjoy!
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