Snoochy-boochies
Snoochy-boochies
So I went with Seth to see Saw today in Westwood and afterwards went to Chili's for a late lunch. I'd heard that Kevin Smith had opened a Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in the area a while ago and, sure enough, it was staring us in the face as we walked out the restaurant after our meal. We decided to cross the street to check it out. I ended up picking up volume five of The Invisibles. As I was browsing, I looked up at the counter to watch the workers watching the clips of Kevin Smith movies to see what their reactions were, and sitting right there in front of me leaning back in his chair and stroking his beard was Jason-fucking-Mewes, the "Jay" of "Jay and Silent Bob". It was random, yes, but no stranger than my everyday life has become since moving to Los Angeles.
Saw, by the way, is worth seeing.
D
[0CT. 31 UPDATE]
Reading:
Listening to (I started pretty much at the top of my library playlist and worked my way down):
posted by Drew @ 9:31 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I've been to Kevin Smith's original Secret Stash in Red Bank, NJ on three separate occassions, while visiting friends, and not once have I seen the Lunchbox in person, nor his ever-faithful sidekick. My best friend, who lives up that way says she's seen Jay Mewes around a few times, including once just roaming the local mall. Damn the luck!
Oh, and I know I'm probably in a minority, but I think Alan Moore is one of the most overrated writers in comics. There, I said it.
I used to think the same thing about Alan Moore. I was never very impressed with Watchmen. I thought From Hell was to be respected mostly for its thorough research rather than its story or character development. It wasn't until I started reading his ABC line and the stuff he was doing with Supreme that I really started to respect the man. Now, the more I read of him, the more respect I have. To put out the volume of work he does each month--and I hear each of his scripts is a so-called "novel"--with such consistent quality baffles me. I wish I could say the same for Warren Ellis. I think when he works on too many titles per month, there's a marked decline in the quality of his work. It's still better than much of the other stuff that's put out there, but it's just not as consistently good compared with some of his own other work every month.
I also forgot to ask who you do like as writers right now. So: who do you like as comic writers right now? (Also: who are you?)
It's not that I don't like any of Moore's work. I just think much of it, along with him as a creator, is overrated. Stuff like Watchmen, which may have been revolutionary at the time, just seems dated now. It's not his fault that everyone aped his darker, deconstructionist take on super heroes, but it does feel old and played out now. His Swamp Thing is supposed to be something truly amazing, I found it to be just pretty good. Definitely hits the mark as a well written, creepy and atmospheric horror comic, but it's not really quite as super duper as people would have you believe. Probably my favorite work of his is Top Ten. GREAT book that I would love to see more of. I agree with you about From Hell by the way. I feel almost the same way about League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The research he put into that is awe-inspiring, but unless you have someone point out all the really cool literary references and such, it's just a somewhat bland adventure comic that borrowed some Victorian era characters and ideas.
Right now some of my favorite writers are: Mike Carey on 'Lucifer'. He's taken Gaiman's 'Sandman' as a jumping off point and created a body of work that is just as epic and, in my opinion, even more fun to read. Bill Willingham on 'Fables'. 'Fables' is probably the best comic being published right now. Every issue is good. Most issues are excellent. Willingham continues to use classic characters to tell stories that are inventive and surprising. Brian Michael Bendis on 'Powers' is always good. Kurt Busiek will always be one of my favorites. His 'Conan' from Dark Horse is friggin' great. Garth Ennis is a favorite of mine. A lot of his work is fairly average, but he is also capable of some truly amazing work, like 'Preacher'. There are a few others I really like, but that's enough for now.
Also, I'm me. I have no idea why that first message came up as anonymous.
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