Sadly, Twelfth Night was never to be seen performed live on Canadian shores. A meeting to decide which province would host the honor of welcoming Shakespeare turned quickly to violence after a representative from New Brunswick impaled the Nova Scotian Premiere with a harpoon. To this day, Twelfth Night is banned from Canadian theatres, in memory of the four hundred and twelve lives lost in the riots following that initial meeting.
In 1867 we were finally able to put aside our differences because we realized that only as a united Canada (under colonial British supervision) could we fully exploit the first Nations people who had been here long before we came with our petty squabbling. It was a beautiful day in Canada's history, and lasers mounted on elk were fired into the night sky to mark the occasion.
142 years of Canadian years later, it is today's new comic day. The following are some of the titles I'm picking up:
Batman and Robin # 2 - As Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely steadily work to write a new chapter in the Batman mythos, fans still show mixed reactions. Nightwing may have been the ideal candidate for the Bat mantle of those put forth in Battle for the Cowl, but can he be truly compelling at this stage in his development? He does have an interesting dynamic with Damien Wayne, who I personally think actually can be engaging as Robin. The arrogance, the perspective that is at times detached from human companion - it will be interesting to see how he develops.
This issue will also expand on the newly introduced villian Mr. Pig, who appeared in Batman and Robin # 1 as one of the creepiest Bat-villians we've seen in a while.
Captain America Reborn # 1 (of 5) - Obviously, today's big ticket comic release is the one which heralds the return of original Captain America Steve Rogers. Done by Brubaker and Hitch, there's a fair amount of buzz around this title, mostly relating to how it will affect Bucky's current place in the Marvel Universe. I'm also pretty apprehensive.
Bucky's filled the Captain America boots in a way that was more compelling than Steve Rogers has been able to for a very long time. His self-doubt, shady history, and obsessive need to honor Steve's memory all work together to make him a very deep, layered personality with an interesting new take on the dynamic Captain America has with the people around him - including the New Avengers, the Falcon, and Black Widow. Hopefully we won't see these new dynamics relegated to the sidelines in the coming months to make room in the limelight for Rogers.
Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth # 1 - Why is there another Deadpool title on the shelves? Between this title, Daniel Way's Deadpool, and Deadpool: Suicide Kings, as much as I love him, does the infamous Wade Wilson really need three monthly releases? With two of those both being ongoing series, no less.
I'll still pick this up, especially since the first arc involves a crossover with Marvel Zombies in the form of zombie Deadpool's severed head. It just seems a little too obvious, even for Marvel, that they're simply pushing for more dollars from a character that's on the hot list right now. I expect to see a fourth Deadpool title next month, written by Ryan Reynolds and titled "Deadpool: Awesome Explosion". It'll happen.
Greek Street # 1 - The latest Vertigo offering; a new, ongoing series written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by David Gianfelice that retells classic tales from greek mythology in a contemporary, London red light district setting. I'm hooked. I've always been a fan of mythology from antiquity, and who doesn't like to read about strippers and street thugs killing to the tune of classic literature? The premise sounds like a new Baz Luhrmann movie, only if Baz was on crack while writing it and real blood was shed in its making.
On other fronts, sometime this week (probably tomorrow) my profile of Lar deSouza will go up on The Fabler Blog. I was taken aback by his sheer, almost overwhelming friendliness. Which was a good thing when I interviewed him, since I'm a pretty big fan of his work on Looking for Group - his cheery disposition and helpful attitude went a long way to keep me from losing my cool at talking to someone who produces a comic that I love/read regularly.
If you didn't hear already, somewhere in the chaos following the death of a particularly eccentric former pop king, the legendary Jeff Goldbum also passed away. Fortunately, he received a very touching and appropriate eulogy on the Colbert Report the other night, given by Jeff Goldblum. I laughed so hard I almost peed out of my eyes. If you're in the US, you can watch the video below. If you're in Canada like I am, you're shit out of luck because we don't have the same video streaming privileges as our Southern Neighbors.
| Jeff Goldblum Will Be Missed | ||||
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