Weekend Reading: Sherlock Holmes, Conan, and Spider-Man

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, Marvel Comics,

For starters, let’s all wish writer Tom Spurgeon a speedy recovery. He took a blogging break earlier this year for health reasons and his essay about his health, his love of comics and his work is even more essential than his already-essential blog. If you read nothing else today, make it this.

Now let’s see what else is going on across the internets:

Sherlock: Oh, that lovable curmudgeon Sherlock Holmes is causing trouble for the uneducated, easily threatened, fragile book burners of America. Apparently, A Study In Scarlet, a classic Holmes adventure, features an insensitive remark about Mormons. Imagine, a fictional character - not Holmes or Watson - from Victorian England having an unprogressive attitude. Forgive me while I clutch my pearls and head for the fainting couch. Galleycat has more on the story, including links to downloading the public domain book for free.

Don McGregor: The writer of Killraven and Black Panther (to name but two) has some thoughts about his wife Marsha on her birthday.

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DC’s Comic Book Ratings

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,

DC Comics has announced that they will no longer carry the seal of the Comics Code Authority on the covers of their comics.

Instead, they are going with a new cover ratings system that you can read about at Newsarama.

It’s a good start, but I think that someone should come up with a more accurate way to rate the comics. And that someone could be me. Here are my new ratings suggestions:

S - SOMEONE
We hope someone will buy this comic.

R - REFRIGERATOR
A woman will get stuffed into one.

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My New X-Men Team For 2011

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Marvel Comics,

I love words and phrases and funny names. I love it when new ones pop up and I love it when they get shortened, abbreviated and all slanged up as technology alters the way we communicate.

I especially like the words, slang and proper names that show up in comic books.

Back in the 1970s, Marvel Comics' writers contributed lots of great character names, words and phrases to the MU.

Sometimes it was driven by censorship - the Comics Code Authority didn't allow mainstream comics to use the word "zombie," so Marvel invented "zuvembie." Or giving Luke Cage a Code-approved exclamation like "Sweet Christmas!"

Mostly it was driven by tremendously creative writers like Steve Gerber twisting and tweaking the language and coming up with names like F. A. Schist and Dr. Bong, and Steve Englehart creating Roxxon Oil, and Don McGregor, Archie Goodwin, Gerry Conway, and others piling on.

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