Other Comics News Parade-O-Links 05192013

(Iron Man #49 cover by Gil Kane.  Stolen from Cover Browser.)

Here are some things I found interesting in the world of minicomics, comic books, graphic novels, small press, self publishing, zines, webcomics, cartoons, digital comics, other, etc. wrestling during the week weeks ending 05052013 05122013 05192013:

 "No one will ever have your life, so tell me what it feels like." -Grant Morrison. 

• Hello brothers and sisters.  Thanks for dropping by.  This is going to be a long weird rambling Parade-O-Links.  I write these things here and there during fleeting moments of free time then try to edit them together over the weekends.  My past few weekends have been busy.  One of my kids had pneumonia.  I was busy with work and got stuck working extra hours.  You know.  Regular life stuff.  It happens.  So, this Parade-O-Links is a combination of what should have been three separate posts.  Some of this news is old news but, in a way, these posts act as an archive or diary of my comics life so I'm leaving the old stuff in.  Thanks in advance for reading what may be a mess.  They can't all be winners.

(Left to right:  Brian Marcus, Supergirl and Jeremy Massie.  Image stolen from Cavalier Comics facebook page.)

• This month started off with another Free Comic Book Day.  I've come to think of FCBD as a holiday.  Maybe the best holiday.  Unlike other holidays, FCBD does not cost me hundreds of dollars.  I get to take my kids out for a free stack of comic books paid for by the fine comic book retailers of America.  Thanks comic books shops!  Thanks to Cavalier Comics of Wise VA specifically.  Usually, I will try to hit more than one comic shop on FCBD but this year my kids were sick so we kept things simple.  The crowd at Cavalier seemed to be pretty strong.  Maybe the most crowded I've seen it on a FCBD.  More ladies and children than I had noticed before.  My kids and I got everything we wanted from the FCBD selection and picked up a few other comics and toys. It was a very good Saturday morning. On the drive to and from the shop, we listened to a mix CD I made of James Kochalka's kid friendly songs.  (Or, basically the James Kochalka songs that don't have curse words in them.  Neigh Neigh and Woo Woo is one of my kids' all time favorite songs.)  I think their were around 50 comics this time.  My kids and I picked up around 40.  I've only had time to read a few of them.  Maybe I'll find the time to talk about those comics soon.  My mom read the Walking Dead comic and liked it.  
• The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival is over.  This is most likely because I can't stand the word "Graphics" and I put a curse on it when I was a boy.  Sorry.  (It makes me think of skin graphs.  Shiver.)

• AOL, a company that once made money by mailing people "free" compact discs... apparently still exists.  But worst of all they murdered the entire staff of  Comics Alliance.  (We've not seen the bodies, but trust me, they are dead.) And it was the worst kind of murder.  Death by brand management.  In an exclusive Wall Street Journal interview, top AOL assassin "brand manager" Susan Lyne paused from chewing on the flesh of Chris Sims long enough to swear that she would personally murder every comics blogger in North America by the end of the fiscal year.   This my friends is what your death will look like. The last thing you will ever see. 

• Iron Man 3 came out a while back.  I guess it's a big deal and all.  Jim Rugg drew an Iron Man thing here.  I still have not seen it but I can already tell you that what I like most about it is that it does not have a subtitle and that the words "rise of" and/or "rises" are not in the title.  Iron Man was pretty much my favorite thing on Earth (other than Star Wars) when I was 13.  I sure knew a lot about how to make a billion dollars in the international box office when I was thirteen.  In fact, I look at the whole pop culture world right now this instant and it looks exactly like the posters on my bedroom wall when I was thirteen.  However, my tastes in movies and music started to get a bit weird when I turned 17 so get ready for some crazy stuff in 2017 ya'lls.

(The greatest drawing of all time.)

• Dean Trippe recently drew the greatest drawing of all time.  Wil Wheaton mentioned it here.  I don't know if you can see this or not because maybe facebook hates you but here is a process video thing of the greatest drawing of all time. 
• Mike Dawson drew the 100% true history of Wham!
• Tom Spurgeon went to Stumptown and wrote 100,000 words about it. 
• Doctor Venom and Cobra Commander had this crap figured out 30 years ago. 
• There is an increasing amount of good indie and alternative stuff on Comixology.  Maybe you should look into finally getting one of those computers. 
• This Infinite Corpse thing is looking good.  Some of my fave comics peeps are already in there. 
• Unless you’re Scott Kurtz. Seriously. Fuck that guy.
• Paul Pope draws books. 
• Ed Kramer, still creepy, still gross.  If you see me at a con someday, buy me a drink and ask me about Dragon Con.  

• We are all going to die. 
• I'm sad to see that Demon Knights is coming to a close.  I like that comic for several reasons.  It has Jack Kirby's The Demon it.  It's not a super hero book but it is a team book.  And mostly because Robert Venditti writes good comics.  The book has been getting better and better.  Bummer. 
• Pfft.  That's how I make sandwiches. 
• Writing about super hero comics is easier.  You don't have to explain what they look like.  They look like super hero comics. 
• Writing about this sort of thing takes a bit more work.  Because, well Jesus, just look at it. 
• Real text message from my future ex-wife on the occasion of our fifteenth wedding anniversary this past Friday.  "Thanks asshole.  I don't want to hear from u or see u today.  Got it?! GOOD!"
• Go look at these rad robot benches J. Chris Campbell made. 




• Diane Nelson now has a new guy to whom she must explain just what the F exactly she had to do with Harry Potter. 
• DC Comics Entertainment thanked Grant Morrison for carrying them around on his back for the past 20 years by making some cookies with comics are painted on them. 
• Chester Brown had a birthday recently.  Chester Brown is the best.
• I don't know.  It's hard to say really.  But in the whole of this life I've loved maybe two women.  I married one of them.  And the other, I never even held her hand.   
• Ya know Ike, if only you could get rid of all the actors.  Animation! You could pay to have someone draw the characters in!  That's genius.  Oh, if only you had access to to a movie studio THAT WAS MUTHERDUCKING BUILT ON ANIMATION!
• Adams only seems to have once really gone soft-porn.
• The great Howard Chaykin on the great Carmine Infantino. 
• I think one thing the older generations had over us was the ability to unashamedly hate someone.  We really need to work on that.  We can all do better.  Each of you, I'm calling you out, all of you, you need an enemy.  Focus!  What can you do today to make an enemy?  Maybe you have to turn heel.  Maybe you need to slap some random Eisner nominee in the mouth at your next con.  Seriously people.  When was the last time you saw someone freak out and flip a table in artists alley.  We can do better. 
• I am done with you and I feel awful. 
• Remember last year when I told you that history would mark those Kevin Keller comics as the most important comics of 2011?  I continue to be right.  Same as always. 
• Maybe you should go to Spartansburg and check out Ashley Holt's hair art. 
• New hockey comics from Rob Ullman. 
• Hateball tour 1993 Athens GA USA. 
• If you are into manga then I guess you already know about this. 
• Speaking of manga.  Sports Illustrated continues to be the leading source of comics journalism in all the world. 
• Okay, listen: I agree with the words up above that happened to make sense, but -
• Jon. Fucking. Hamm. Is. Not. A. Nerd.
• "This wasn't a fight between Star Wars fans and Doctor Who fans with lightsabers and sonic screwdrivers drawn," 
• I'm now going to type some words that may or may not make sense and may or may not be part of a cosmic spell to make the Earth's core rotate in the opposite direction every third Tuesday-  Derek Ballard is going to be drawing a Shia Labeouf written comic.   (Derek Ballard is the real deal ya'll.  This comic will be great.)
• Ballard also wrote about every comic he read in April.
• Hayhurst had been patrolling nightly for about a year before his mother saw him on TV and found out about her son’s alter ego. He said she was “a bit shocked” but accepted his nighttime gig.
• I got your voice repeating endlessly.
• Could you guide me in?
• Could you smother me?

• That time Batman stopped murder with pants.
• But still I'd leap in front of a flying bullet for you!
• I only got my name I only got my situation.
• I just need my number and location.
• Never ever listen to the fans.  Only listen to the customers. 
• And maybe your mother. 
• But that's it.
• Generation X is sick of your bullshit.
• Please send him an email. 
• If you live long enough you'll see all the tyrants sainted.  No one gets to sound clever by agreeing with history. 
• When you walk in the room everything disappears.
• When you walk in the room it's a terrible mess.
• And finally...Peter was such a loving dog.

Oh, and one more last thing!  Did you know you can leave comments on these posts here at file under other?  It's true!  And, I'll probably respond.  Twitter and facebook killed the message boards but that's no reason why you can't argue with me, praise me or leave me recipes.  It's your intronet.  Have fun!

And that's just a taste of some of the interesting things going out there in the wonderful world of comics and things. I can't keep up with it all but I do keep up with a lot of it on twitter and I try to re-tweet the good stuff. You should probably follow me there. If you did something to make comics better this week then high-five!

Your best pal ever,

Shannon Smith

p.s. Say you want a leader but you can't seem to make up your mind. I think you'd better close it and let me guide you to my twitter feed.
p.p.s. Let's pretend we went to high school together on facebook.
p.p.p.s. Google + is another place you can read the same thing I posted here.
p.p.p.p.s. I'll tumblr for ya.

Other Comics News Parade-O-Links 04282013

(Crazy Cartoon Nutsy Squirrel cover stolen from DC Comics.)

Here are some things I found interesting in the world of minicomics, comic books, graphic novels, small press, self publishing, zines, webcomics, cartoons, digital comics, other, etc. during the week ending 04282013:

"There's no easy way to say this, Shannon. You're a crazy cartoon squirrel. You always have been. It's time you knew the truth."  -Robert Newsome.

• In his occasional Comics Group Think series, Tom Spurgeon asked "In What Ways Does The Culture Of Comics Have An Impact On How Business Is Done?"  I answered.  As did several smarty pants people.  It is worth a read. Bob Temuka's response got me to thinking that, on the bright side, at least it is now easier for we the fans customers to call out the companies when their practices are not so great.  If twitter had been around when Jack Kirby was trying to get his pages back from Marvel I think he would have had them in a couple of weeks.  Maybe a couple of days.  And that in turn would have actually improved the relationship between Marvel and Kirby.  And maybe Kirby would have done more work for them.  More money for Kirby, more profit for the company and more comics for the fans customers.  So, maybe if you do the right thing you win.  And maybe if you screw over everyone you lose.  But what do I know?  I had a banana and a pack of "Toast Chee" crackers for lunch.  Food for people so broke they can't even afford their fake cheese flavored food stuffs to have an S and an E on the end. 
• Oh, and here is the smoking gun. 
• This article (which I also saw first at The Comics Reporter) about the shuttering of Graphic Smash got me thinking about the early 2000s when there was so much discussion and worrying on the message boards (message boards are how you complained about how you were wronged by entertainment products before twitter and facebook) about the best platform/model for webcomics.  And I'm not just thinking about Joey Manley and his subscription based sites.  (Shaenon Garrity talks about her experience with that here and it is a must read if you want to walk down webcomics memory lane.)  Thank God for people like Manley that said, hey, maybe we should try to figure out a way to get paid.  But I'm thinking more about the different webcomics community platforms that came and went.  There were so many different platforms that people invested so much time and money into.  "This will be the MySpace for Comics!"  "This will be the facebook for Comics!"  And we were all so frantic to get on board.  Oh the horror of all the stalls being filled in the new digital shopping mall before we got ours.  I'm sure I created a login for every upstart webcomics platform between 1998 and.... yesterday.  

(This is a Star Wars piece by Jack Kirby.  It is amazing.  I don't know where it came from or why it exists.)

• I did a really crazy thing this week.  I invested a lot of money into file under other.  I've invested a lot of time into this site over the years but not a lot of money.  But I felt the need.  I felt I had to take action.  News came that the film rights to Daredevil had reverted to Marvel and I felt like it was my duty as a citizen of teh intronets to get to the bottom of what actor should play Matt "Daredevil" Murdoch in the next Marvel movie.  So, I took a very large business loan and I hired the very best market research group that money can buy to present to you, dear readers, exactly who should play Daredevil.  The results are surprising.  I hope you appreciate the financial sacrifice my family and I have had to make to bring you this important information. 
• W.  Maxwell Prince talks to The Beat about Comixology's Submit program.  There is an increasing amount of neat stuff on there. 
• Tom Spurgeon wrote 100,000 words on MoCCA and SPACE and most all of them are interesting. 
• Valerie Gallaher made some predictions on the future of comics.  I'm doubtful of some of them but terrified of most. 
• Sometimes I forget to mention it but comic books do continue to burn in hell. 
• Drunk Iron Man will always be my favorite Doctor Who.
• Martin Pasko's favorite Doctor Who will always be Superman. 
• Todd Klein's favorite Superman will always be Joe Shuster.
• Remember how Time Warner and DC Comics Entertainment didn't acknowledge the 75th anniversary of Superman at all?  Well, Wired threw together a brief history of the feller. 
• People.  Have we ever really taken a moment to think about how bizarre it is that not only is there an ongoing TV show adaption of an ongoing comic book but there is a live talk show that comes on after that show where they sit around and talk about that show.  Is Walking Dead the most successful comics-to-television project ever?  I don't think the '66 to '68 Batman show had a Mike Douglas hosted talk show on after ever episode.  (Oh, man that would have been great.  Just imagine the cigarettes.)  Mad Men has won twelve thousand Emmy Awards and it does not have a post show talk show.  I guess my point is this; Dang, The Walking Dead is a big deal.
• You guys are keeping up with the ongoing oral history of Marvelman/Miracleman right?
• Kids like all kinds of things. 
• Here is a look at an early Carmine Infantino Charlie Chan comic.  I don't know anything about Charlie Chan but the character was apparently a big deal.  Decades of movies, TV shows, books and comics.  Crazy. 
• And some Infantino Flash covers. 
• Whenever I have a major life decision to make, like where do I want to live, I turn to Peter Porker The Spectacular Spider-Ham.
• Never read the comments. 

(They read the comments.)

• That new Nobrow anthology looks pretty good. 
• Jack Kirby made 200,000 comics.  On a single random Tuesday in 1962.  And he took that afternoon off to stand in his front yard looking awesome. 
• Gabby Schulz has posted a few new comics recently.  Great stuff. 
• Patrick Dean has a new comic for sale in his store.  "The Grizzly".  I'm excited. 
• Rob Clough covered Jon Lewis' True Swamp.
• Rob McMonigal looks at Sara Lindo's Super Lobotomy. 
• Daryl Ayo talks about that new Mark Millar thing, Jupiter's Children Legacy.  I read it too.  It was, something.  Maybe I'll get around to typing up some thoughts on it. 
• Indie wrestling fan, writer, promoter and publicist (and possibly other things) Michael "LLakor" Ryan passed away.  I did know know him or even really know who he was but I had read some of his things.  Here is a great piece he wrote about El Generico.  Seriously, go read that.  It's like a real super hero origin.  And here is a nice thing El Generico wrote about LLakor.   You can read the same writers on the internet for years and never even think to pay attention to their names.  Pay attention to the guys/gals you like.  And maybe let them know. One day they will be gone.  So will you. 
• And finally...I threw the fireball in Ronnie Garvin's face in Charlotte in February of 1987.  Now actually, we just did it because I was going on my honeymoon so that way I could get suspended for a couple of weeks.

Oh, and one more last thing!  Did you know you can leave comments on these posts here at file under other?  It's true!  And, I'll probably respond.  Twitter and facebook killed the message boards but that's no reason why you can't argue with me, praise me or leave me recipes.  It's your intronet.  Have fun!

And that's just a taste of some of the interesting things going out there in the wonderful world of comics and things. I can't keep up with it all but I do keep up with a lot of it on twitter and I try to re-tweet the good stuff. You should probably follow me there. If you did something to make comics better this week then high-five!

Your best pal ever,

Shannon Smith

Oh wait.  What?  Francis?  Oh alright.

p.s. Say you want a leader but you can't seem to make up your mind. I think you'd better close it and let me guide you to my twitter feed.
p.p.s. Let's pretend we went to high school together on facebook.
p.p.p.s. Google + is another place you can read the same thing I posted here.
p.p.p.p.s. I'll tumblr for ya.

Top 10 actors that should play Daredevil in the next Marvel movie.

It was announced/mentioned this week that yes, the film rights to Daredevil have returned to Marvel.  Therefore it's time to get serious about some link baiting fan speculation on who should be the next Daredevil actor.  My cat Our crack team of pop culture experts has but together the following list so that you don't have to.

10.  That guy from that Homeland show.

Pros: Is a talented actor with red hair and looks exactly like Matt Murdoch.

Cons:  Already played Captain America in Band of Brothers.

Likelihood: 4%

9.  Louis C.K.

Pros:  Has red hair.

Cons:  Not a lot of it.
Likelihood:  17%

8.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Pros:  Has red hair.  Has is own super hero like race car driver fire suits and helmets.  Once won a race in a car with Batman painted on the hood.

Cons:  Hollywood could not afford him.
Likelihood:  8%

7.  Sheamus.

Pros:  Has red hair.

Cons:  Sheamus sucks.
Likelihood: 48%

6.  Christina Hendricks

Pros:  Has red hair.  Is Christina Hendricks.

Cons:  Not a man.
Likelihood: 73%

5.  Prince Harry of Wales.

Pros: Has red hair.  Probably has Kung Fu Grip.

Cons:  I don't think he is an American.
Likelihood: 2%

4.  President Barack Obama

Pros:  Irish.

Cons:  Not Catholic.
Likelihood: 26%

3.  El Generico

Pros:  Has red hair.  Has superpowers far beyond Daredevil's wildest dreams.

Cons:  Apparently no long exists thanks to Vince McMahon.
Likelihood: 4%

2.  Patrick Dean

Pros:  Once dyed his hair red.

Cons:  None.
Likelihood:  100%

1.  Walton Goggins

Pros:  Best actor on the planet.

Cons:  Does not have red hair.
Likelihood: 0%

So there you have it.  Do you have thoughts and ideas and opinions?  Well, they are wrong.  But, you can still share them on the new official file under other message board.  Tell us what you think!

(And by us I mean me and imaginary government internet police that monitor this site.)

Your best pal ever,

Shannon Smith

Other Comics News Parade-O-Links 04222013

(Superman #423 cover by Curt Swan stolen from wikipedia.)

Here are some things I found interesting in the world of minicomics, comic books, graphic novels, small press, self publishing, zines, webcomics, cartoons, digital comics, other, etc. during the week ending 0422013:

"One of the interesting things about the development of the Internet as a tool to have conversations is that the possibility of something taking place is often seen as the same thing as something that actually takes place. It's mistaking the abstraction of an argument as a direct correlative event to something in the real world. If we can argue something is possible, that's all we need to do: a potential bias = a bias, a potential construction by which something might happen = it could have happened and might as well have. It's very multiverse friendly. We should probably stop."  -Tom Spurgeon.

• Hello brothers and sisters.  Welcome to another late special weekday edition of the Parade-O-Links.  I sort of talked around this last week but I'm still trying to find the best way to do this thing.  Ideally, a new installment would be up every Sunday morning but my weekends have been booked solid lately.  I'm still not sold on the idea of this being a weekday thing but maybe it will have to be.  Look, there is almost no stability in my life right now so I'd better not make any promises.  Things will happen when they happen.  Hang in there. 
• Last week, April 18th to be exact, marked the 75th anniversary of the debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Superman and Lois Lane characters and arguably the birth of the comics industry in the USA, one of the main brands upon which the company currently called Time Warner Inc. would be built and decades of profits in toys, clothes, cartoons, theme park rides, TV shows and movies.  In light of all that success I was curious to see how the owner of Superman would acknowledge this historic day.  They didn't.  DC Comics, DC Entertainment and Time Warner Inc. made absolutely no mention of the event.  At least not on any of their websites.  And, curiously, it was one of the few weeks of the year where there was not any new Superman comics.  You could say that what Time Warner did to Superman last week was the opposite of celebrating his creation.   I was disappointed.  Superman is kind of a big deal and you only get one 75th anniversary.  Actually, most things never get a 75th anniversary.  Just think of the magnitude of the idea of Superman.  How many ideas do you have in your life?  How many good ideas?  How many of those ideas to you act on?  How many of them actually happen?  How many of them succeed?  How many of them are remembered or make any impact at all?  Just in entertainment alone think of all the ideas that have come and gone in the last 75 years.  All the comic books, comic strips, radio shows, TV shows, movies, toys, games, electronics, appliances, automobiles, fashion trends, food brands, retail chains, governments, countries... everything.  Just think of everything that has come and gone.  And there is still Superman.  One of the most successful ideas of all time.  And how did we treat the guys that gave birth to it?
• Superman's "birthday" was celebrated though.  At least in Cleveland.  And here is an older article about the house where it all happened.  Comics Alliance posted some nice Superman art.  
• Mark Waid and other folks talked on twitter about favorite Superman moments.
• Kurt Busiek says that Superman should be in the public domain.  I agree.
• Steve Bissette gives and example of how trying to do the right thing is actually a thing that is possible and has been done in the past and surprisingly did not bring DC or Marvel to their knees.
• Whenever people that actually make money in comics talk about money it is either super encouraging or absolutely soul crushing.  Never in between. 
• The creepy adventures of creepy DragonCon founder creepy Ed Kramer continue to be creepy. 
• Amazon is making it easier for the indie creator to get her/his work on the Kindle. 
• Here is a look at some of Carmine Infantino's early Timely work. 
• I'm excited about this news of new Alternative Comics works by some of my favorite creators. 
• Here is a look at the cover from Patrick Dean's next comic.  Dean all but has this season's Minicomic MVP wrapped up.  Let's hope he stays injury free through the playoffs. 
• Adam Casey exhibited some music themed art. 
• You can't tie down a banjo man. 
• "i wrote ithat movie a while back. hard to remember what its about."
• Haters just be jealous of Santoro's hair. 
• It's always a good time to check in on what Eleanor Davis has been drawing. 
• Ben Towle's Oyster War at io9.
• Jim Starlin interviewed at CBR. 
• The 30th episode of Robert Newsome's talking and music thing. 
• And finally... contrary to belief, Colt Cobana didn't create Five Dollar Wrestling.  I know you all think because he has a "podcast" coming from "live from the studio"... apartment!

Oh, and one more last thing!  Did you know you can leave comments on these posts here at file under other?  It's true!  And, I'll probably respond.  Twitter and facebook killed the message boards but that's no reason why you can't argue with me, praise me or leave me recipes.  It's your intronet.  Have fun!

And that's just a taste of some of the interesting things going out there in the wonderful world of comics and things. I can't keep up with it all but I do keep up with a lot of it on twitter and I try to re-tweet the good stuff. You should probably follow me there. If you did something to make comics better this week then high-five!

Your best pal ever,

Shannon Smith

p.s. Say you want a leader but you can't seem to make up your mind. I think you'd better close it and let me guide you to my twitter feed.
p.p.s. Let's pretend we went to high school together on facebook.
p.p.p.s. Google + is another place you can read the same thing I posted here.
p.p.p.p.s. I'll tumblr for ya.

Other Comics News Parade-O-Links 04172012

(One of my all time favorite covers by the late great Carmine Infantino.  Notice that you have your "Frazetta Pyramid" but the pyramid is turned on its side.  Which, I think says a lot about Infantino's style.  Super master level skills with everything tilted and skewed beyond expectations.  Just right outside the comfort zone.  Full of energy and a subtle edginess.  Image stolen from bipcomics.)

Here are some things I found interesting in the world of minicomics, comic books, graphic novels, small press, self publishing, zines, webcomics, cartoons, digital comics, other, etc. during the week ending 0417013:

"No more hurting people." -Martin Richard.

• Hello brothers and sisters.  It has been a while since the last Parade-O-Links.  I've been making my little list throughout the days and working on the column but I've just not been able to get the thing together.  I'd love to have a new Parade-O-Links up for you every Sunday morning but, my life has been challenging lately.  Times is hard.  A lot of awful things have happened.  We mourn for those we've lost.  We pray for those that have had tragedy forced upon them.  And, it's sadder each time.  You don't really get used to it.  It just piles on.  Maybe the weight of it makes you stronger and maybe you can carry the burden but the weight is there.  Heavier and heavier.  But we press on.  Ya know, I'm a guy, staying up past midnight writing about a hobby I can not afford to have.  But here we are.  We press on.   I'm reminded of a gym teacher I had at Saint Paul Elementary School.  His name was Tom Payne.  He was a character.  I remember one day, I think it was sixth grade gym class, he stood up and he said, "Kids.  Do you want to know what the meaning of life is?  All through your life you are going to hear people talk about it.  What does it all mean?  Why are we here?  What is the meaning of life?"  He turns around and he grabs a piece of chalk.  He writes on the chalkboard.  Real big.  He writes to huge words.  "HAVE FUN."
• And I don't even know what that means.  I think it's gotta be more than that.  But it's not a bad start.  Times is hard brothers and sisters.  But we press on.  If for no other reason that somewhere down the road we'll share some laughs.  And to those that try to keep us down...you've got to live with me breathin' baby.

(A panel from one of the issues of Carmine Infantino's water planet story in Marvel's Star Wars.  Image stolen from the Jedi Council at theforce.net.)

• The great Carmine Infantino passed away earlier this month on April 4th at the age of 87.  He was a lot of things in his career.  Inker, penciler, designer, art director, editor and publisher.  But to me, he was the guy that drew the coolest looking, most exciting Star Wars comics.  And to me, when I was a kid, that meant that he had the most important job on Earth.  I met him, gosh, close to 10 years ago now, and he seemed to be a sweet man.  I had him sign some Star Wars comics and he had a story about each issue.  He remembered drawing them, and remembered conversations with Lucasfilm about what could and could not be in them.  He seemed to really enjoy the issues that took place on the water planet.  They were pre-Empire Strikes Back and were a huge contrast to the desert and sterile space station locations of the first Star Wars film.  (Years later we would see a Star Wars water planet and sea dragon type creatures in Attack of the Clones but it was nowhere near as cool as what Infantino did.) That work was a good example of what Infantino was in comics.  He took what you gave him, The Flash, Batman, Star Wars etc., and pushed it a bit further.  Turned it on its side.  Skewed the perspective so that it felt like you were falling into the image.  His drawings were like a broken mirror.  It felt like if you held the paper the wrong way it would cut you.  And those lips he drew on the female characters,  you knew if they kissed you it would be fatal.  He didn't draw the stuff "on model".  He drew it better than model.
• Mark Waid spoke about Infantino here.
•  Neal Adams spoke about Infantino here. 
• The Comics Journal remembered Infantino here.
• The Gary Groth TCJ interview with Infantino here.  With an additional piece here. 
• The "collective memory" at The Comics Reporter. 
• Roger Ebert also passed away since last we met here on the Parade-O-Links. When I was a kid, Sneak Previews and At the Movies were a big deal.  Most of us just called them "Siskel and Ebert".  Other than stuff like Starlog and the TV commercials, Siskel and Ebert was about the only place you could get a look at new movies.  The main thing I took from Ebert as a critic and a writer was his enthusiasm.  A lot of critical writers hide their enthusiasm if they have any of all.  Never be ashamed of what you like.  That is just stupid.  The notion that you will get closer to the objective truth by denying your personal truth is just idiotic.  And always want the things you like to try and be better. 
• All I knew about Margaret Thatcher I learned from comics and rock music.  The lady was ahead of her time.  And by that I mean she should be on Fox News right now. 
• Another non-comics obituary I'd like to point to is that of Mrs. Ann Gregory.  She and her family bought the town newspaper from my family when I was just a baby.  She would be a great friend to my family and a positive presence in my life.  Saint Paul, Virginia is a very small town but reading her obituary I'm struck by how much she accomplished and how many people she reached through her work.  Sometimes, here in these hills, here in this valley, you feel like you can't reach beyond the hills to the rest of the world, but she did.  Her life was full of honors and titles but none of them were achieved out of ambition.  All she accomplished was out of a commitment to the service of others.  She was a very impressive person and will be missed. 
• Congratulations to this year's Eisner Award nominees.  I've been paying attention to the Eisner's for a decade or more and this might be the first time where I have a work or a creator that I'm excited about in every category.  It's kind of like, dang, they nominated my twitter feed.  Are the Eisners getting more savvy in their awareness of indie comics and webcomics or is everything mainstream now?
• The winner of comics kerfuffle of the month went to the "Saga saga".  First teh intronets thought Apple was banning things because they hate teh gays.  Then teh intronets decided maybe Apple did not hate teh gays but only hated boners.  Then the CBLDF reminded us that boners are totes legal.  But some retailers said, I don't care, I ain't selling boners.  Then Comixology came out and said my bad bro, my bad.  So now you can read all the boners you want.  I guess.  Which is kind of where we were before it all started but now a lot more people know about that Saga comic.  But it still kinda sucked.  Teh intronets everybody!  Seriously though, Tom Spurgeon summed up the more important parts of the story here.  One of the best things about this issue was that Spurgeon got to talk about boners in, I think, three separate blog posts.  So, that was a good week for me in my comics internet reading.  "Mostly, though, anyone that interprets the clumsy negotiation of a potentially troubling content policy by a corporate entity as some sort of failure to make sure that the PR image of involved business is treated with some perceived level of demanded respect is a scary person. Fuck that. Question everything. Tiny boners 4-ever."  Tiny boners 4-ever indeed.
• Boners.
• In other news, just last week, I became the owner of a cell pad pod phone for the first time ever.  That's right.  I have a "smartphone".  Mine is an android phone and the Comixology app was the first app I installed.  So no Apple store for me.  All the boners I want!
• Boners.
• Speaking of boners Comixology, remember that whole deal where Comixology and Marvel tried to give away over 700 comics to way over 700 people and it all blew up?  Well, just like they promised, they delivered this week.  I got the comics I wanted easy as pie.  Like, ridiculously easy.  Like, faster than I could eat my dinner.  I did not chose to own all of the comics but I got a lot.  A lot people.  And I'm loving it.  So, boners or no boners, high five Comixology.

(Doctor Who reads comics.  Of course.  Image stolen from Bleeding Cool.)

• The Fluke Mini-Comics and Zine fest took place back on April 6th in Athens, Georgia USA.  Sadly, I missed it.  I was going to go but things occured.  So, I did what any hard working comics blogger would do and I called up the most dangerous man in the world, Henry Eudy on my email phone.  (Which does not exist.)  Our conversation went like this:

from the desk of file under other, April 3, 2013:

Dearest Bro Duder,

Are you still going to Fluke?  I unfortunately cannot go.  Again.  Due to the horrors of going through a separation/divorce and needing to use my spare time knocking over convenience stores to pay for my kid's braces.  

If you are going, would you be interested in writing another con report for file under other for absolutely no reward whatsoever? 

If so, please send the following fax to Dave Sim:

"Dear Mr. Sim,

No one has a fax machine anymore therefore you have received this via magic and you are either a wizard, elf or troll.   Please forward this fax to Shannon Smith via your magic ways so that he will know whether or not Henry Eudy can write a con report.

Sincerely,

Gloria Steinem"

from the desk of Agent Henry Eudy, April 3, 2013:

I received the following reply by way of it being taped to the topside of a badger that somehow appeared in my living room:

"Dearest sirs,

I can't be bothered to give a damn about your completely insignificant con report. Frankly, if yours truly and my amazingly underrated and misunderstood tracings of women from Vogue aren't the main attraction at a convention, then why bother anyway? It's all too insipid. Probably a woman is behind this. What kind of name is Shannon anyway? Humph. Anyhow, I got tracings to do and rants to write. You two pansies figure this our your own selves."

Graciously yours,

David Albert Sim"

Weird, huh? Plus I think it was all written with old cigarette butts. Anyhow, I am planning on making FLUKE although I already know I'll have to bail out a few hours early to get back home for an prior engagement. Still, I should be able to experience enough for a solid con report. Sorry I won't be seeing you there. Good luck with those robberies and such.

---- H.

Sadly, Agent Eudy's mission was to be aborted due to life events happening.  Like they do.  But all hope was not lost.

from the desk of Agent Henry Eudy. April 5, 2013:

Hold the phone! I did have an idea for a perfectly good con reporter. I believe all around good guy and fancy beard grower Adam Casey will be at FLUKE. Might make a pretty good Henry H. Eudy replacement, if you ask me. 

And so it would come to pass that Adam Casey and his beard would journey to Fluke and record the important details of this most important event.  And now, dear reader, you can read the whole thing here. 

(Glorp mania takes over Fluke.  Image stolen from Shawn Daughhetee's facebook.)

• Here is a comic about how it is apparently hard to openly like things if you are a girl.  Honestly, this notion has never made any sense to me.  I just don't get being insecure about the things you like.  And I also just don't get that there have apparently been generations of girls around this world afraid to openly like video games.  I guess everyone's perception is different but I thought pretty much every girl on post-industrial electricity having Earth since the Atari 2600 played video games.  My high school girlfriend and her little sister both beat my ass at Super Mario Bros y'all.  For those of you that do not live in my reality, I offer you both condolences and congratulations depending on which you would prefer.
• There have been several of transgendered comics characters before.  You people are aware that things happened prior to six months ago right?  But, either way, high five transgendered folks!

• Do you need things rated on a points scale before you buy them?  Or, do you need to look at a points scale after the fact to validate your purchase and in turn your overall value as a human being on planet Earth?  Well, congratulations. 
• Robert Venditti and Van Jensen talk about Green Lantern.  (Hey guys, don't forget you promised to have Tomar-Re in every panel.  Thanks!  Chicken Fish Head Guy forever!)
• Ben Towle of Oyster War and many other things was interviewed at Comics Coast to Coast.
• Jill Thompson on creating the t-shirt art for WWE's CM Punk. 
• Another installment of Pádraig Ó Méalóid's Marvelman history is up. 
• Finally a jihad we can all get exited about.

• Above is a picture of the world's happiest illustrator Ashley Holt with his head on a stuffed version of The Demon.  I think Ashley had a birthday since our last Parade-O-Links.  That's as good a reason as any to post this picture.  (But I was going to post it anyway.  I think Josh Latta made it.)  I believe Robert Newsome also had a birthday since our last P-O-L.  And according to the facebook, April 16 was Brad McGinty's birthday.  Happy birthday y'all buncha geezers. 
• Josh Latta:  Social Media Queen.
• I've never been to MoCCA but I liked this piece Darryl Ayo Brathwaite wrote about it. 
• How about instead of step 5 we just slash your tires and burn your house to the ground you ignorant douche face?
• BREAKING:  Producers of the upcoming film adaptation of Dave Sim's Last Girlfriend have announced that the role of the fax machine will be played by Bradley Cooper. 
• Here's a tip for all you young copywriters: stop sucking so hard.
• Tom Spurgeon does some very interesting talking about comics at Deconstructing Comics. 
• A while back, Tucker Stone (still not dead) talked about Thanos and Judge Dredd and other things.  That Thanos comic sure looks weird.  Speaking of Thanos, one day earlier this month I was driving down the road listening to a sports talk radio station and I heard a radio commercial for Marvel's Thanos Rising.  That happened.  I swear to you that I was not under the influence.  Speaking of Judge Dredd, I watched that Dredd movie.  I liked it a lot.  Liked the look of it.  Loved the sound design.  I could listen to motors and gadgets for hours. 
• And finally...Iron Man's a drunk ya know.

Oh, and one more last thing!  Did you know you can leave comments on these posts here at file under other?  It's true!  And, I'll probably respond.  Twitter and facebook killed the message boards but that's no reason why you can't argue with me, praise me or leave me recipes.  It's your intronet.  Have fun!

And that's just a taste of some of the interesting things going out there in the wonderful world of comics and things. I can't keep up with it all but I do keep up with a lot of it on twitter and I try to re-tweet the good stuff. You should probably follow me there. If you did something to make comics better this week then high-five!

Your best pal ever,

Shannon Smith

p.s. Say you want a leader but you can't seem to make up your mind. I think you'd better close it and let me guide you to my twitter feed.
p.p.s. Let's pretend we went to high school together on facebook.
p.p.p.s. Google + is another place you can read the same thing I posted here.
p.p.p.p.s. I'll tumblr for ya.