http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:GMGuity&section=today deviantART RSS for by:GMGuity en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:51:06 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/28889263/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/28889263/ Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:45:18 PST [link]

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Far be it from me to sneak in a shot at Lady Gaga wherever I can but the latest column is up - have a look, won't you? [link]

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/26931901/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/26931901/ Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:35:37 PDT [link]

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/26768984/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/26768984/ Sun, 23 Aug 2009 06:42:11 PDT
Not only do I have the answer to that question, but I use the word “kerfuffle” for the first time in my life. Come check it out by clicking on this [link] right here!

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/25972359/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/25972359/ Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:18:35 PDT
"…oops."

All this and apparent beef between Rob Liefeld and Peter David - that's this week's edition of I'M JUST SAYIN'... [link]

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/25770799/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/25770799/ Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:48:39 PDT
Y'ever feel like you could almost see how a chain of events will come to pass? I like to call it "Writer's foresight," because sometimes people's lives will fit a certain narrative model. And I'll tell ya - considering this woman has never met an epiphany she couldn't MISS, I do NOT see her personal story ending well.

I'll bet anybody $100 she winds up drunk and insane like "Lola" from "Copacabana:" Her name was SArah...she was a MOron...she sported shoulderlengthbrownhair, and a foureyedvacantstare...[link]

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/25472622/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/25472622/ Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:45:13 PDT [link] - Marvel’s too busy promoting their new X-Men & Teen Tony shows on Nicktoons, but don’t you dare miss their BEST series adaptation YET! You WANT some of this. You NEED some of this. It’s the Spectacular Spider-Man, and he is BACK!

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/25324078/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/25324078/ Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:08:58 PDT
If every person who practiced the "withdrawal method" of birth control were lined evenly along the Equator, and Billy were to circumnavigate the globe at 150 miles per hour - how often could Billy expect to spot a dumbass? 45 points.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/25233517/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/25233517/ Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:43:51 PDT
...and her knees were sore the whole next day...

...and that was just three more guys who'd never call back.

Also: I'M JUST SAYIN' #62 is up, and we discuss the upcoming AMAZING SPIDER-MAN* #600, CAPTAIN AMERICA #600 and BATMAN & ROBIN #1. Come get some right here: [link]

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/24509658/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/24509658/ Thu, 30 Apr 2009 07:18:37 PDT



Saturday, April 18 2009: The Eastville Comedy Club
Hello everybody, I hope you're having a fun night - my name is Greg Manuel, and apparently I am the stealthiest black man alive.

You know how people have nicknames at work? Like "Coffee Machine Stan," or "Flirty Jim," or "Simone the Self-Absorbed, Brown-Nosing C*nt" - you know, nicknames? Well at my last three jobs, "Greg" was my middle name, between "Oh" and "You startled me."

Apparently, without the swish of an Avirex jacket and thirty pounds of bling, you can really sneak up on white people. Who knew that dressing in head to toe from The Gap was like NINJA GEAR for a black guy?

Anyhoo...I hope we're all having fun, I know I am. I love performing comedy, but I'll tell ya...every time I get onstage, I get a little nervous. Not so much from the act of performing standup, but see...y'never know - this right here could be my big break, and I am scared of being famous.

I didn't always used to be this way, either - back when I first started? I couldn't wait to get famous. I would tell crowds that I was in rehab, just so they would think I was famous. Not anymore, man - because people have cameras, and ho's will talk. And that's WAY too much pressure to behave, son...

People have cameras, man. Everybody has a camera and they will snap a picture at the drop of a hat. Like that crazy dude who took his dick out on the 7 train. Remember when you could take your dick out on the subway? Man, those were the days, weren't they?? How soft have we gotten as a city? Used to be, if somebody had their dick out, you either looked or you didn't. Now people are taking pictures, calling the cops...acting like they'd been subject to some traumatic incident or something.

Trust me, folks - there's a lot worse that could happen to you on the 7 train. You could be on your way to a Mets game, for instance. Or coming back from one - just sayin'...

But yeah man, people have cameras and ho's will talk. A ho will tell ALL your sh*t, and she'll do it on Oprah. Heed well, the lesson of Spitzer! Eliot Spitzer, man - brought down by a 'Jersey whore.

Show of hands - who hasn't been there??

But I love doing this man, I can't help myself. Because in no other line of work can I ask the sorts of questions that I like to ask. You can't work in a restaurant and go around asking customers, "have you ever had to take a shit...right after you get out of the shower?

It's a perfectly good question...we've all been in that situation - and it's annoying as hell, right? You feel like you wasted a perfectly good shower! - but nobody's interested in hearing that sort of thing right when you're handing them a bowl of chili...

You can't work at the Information Desk of the Holocaust Museum and when someone comes to you with questions, say to them: "Now I have a question for you, good sir: Y'think Schindler's List has a blooper reel?"

I will bet anybody in this room $100 that the answer to that question is YES...I think there exists on a shelf somewhere in Hollywood a filmreel containing footage from the Train Station to Dachau scene, with some extra in the background sporting a chicken suit...but I'm telling you - serious, high-minded museum-goers find such things gauche...and will not hesitate to report you.

And the question that's on my mind lately? President Barack Obama...first black president of the United States - are we over that already?

Seriously, shouldn't we be marvelling over that a little bit longer? I thought I'd never see a black President in my lifetime. But I guess after you give a retard two terms, the notion doesn't seem like that much of a stretch, anymore...

But seriously man, some of my friends - black friends, even - they've moved on already! I'm like, "Can you believe we were witness to history like this?" And they're all, "Yeah, sure - now shh! For the Love of Ray J is on..."

And that's just peculiar to me, because I remember Election Night - and the last time I saw that many happy, excited black people in one place on the same day, O.J. Simpson was walking out of court a FREE MAN!

You know what that says? That says for a long time, the closest we ever thought we'd get to equality was, if you had enough money to be able to get a white woman to marry you, you probably have enough money to get away with killing her!

Go figure, you know?

Anyway...I'm gonna leave y'all with this thought - in about two days my girlfriend and I will be celebrating the 7th anniversary since our first date...and thinking about it reminds me of a time when we were watching Seinfeld...and the episode with the gymnast came on. And Jerry was all excited about being with th... ]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/24378975/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/24378975/ Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:46:52 PDT
This week's issue of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ends with Peter catching Aunt May in bed with J. Jonah Jameson...SENIOR.

That's right - JJJ's heretofore long lost, 80 to 90 something year old deadbeat DAD, in bed with Peter Parker's 70 to 90 something year old AUNT.

It's okay...let the hurt in. Let it cleanse you.

It's no easy feat for me to tell you this news, my friends and fellow Deviants...for that final page has rendered me blind, and I am typing from memory of where the keys are.

It's okay, though. Let it in.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/24255575/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/24255575/ Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:53:19 PDT Well…you know how when you were a kid playing Little League, it was your turn at bat, and there were maybe one or two of your buddies in scoring position? And you can feel the moment, right? You want nothing more than to get one good pitch hanging right over the plate so you can send that ball screaming into No Man’s Land…but what you actually manage to do is send a dribbling grounder right into the first baseman’s waiting glove?

That’s what THE FLASH: REBIRTH #1 was - a slow ground-out to first.

I'm Just Sayin'...#56 -> [link] I discuss the return of Barry Allen to the DC Nation, and the pending arrival of the Phantom to the Sci Fi Network. Come get some.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/22893260/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/22893260/ Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:51:14 PST
I'm Just Sayin'...#45 - > [link] Peep it. It's good for you.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/22838315/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/22838315/ Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:16:25 PST [link]

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/22481733/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/22481733/ Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:13:09 PST
My latest column is up, and in it I give Frank Miller's Will Eisner's THE SPIRIT a good look...and you can too, by clicking this [link] right here.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/21940432/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/21940432/ Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:56:13 PST [link] right here...

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/21794931/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/21794931/ Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:13:12 PST [link]

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/21455180/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/21455180/ Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:18:12 PST
Check it out here: [link]

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/21333409/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/21333409/ Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:26:27 PST
The 44th President of the United States is also the FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT of the United States.

Over the last few days, weeks, months…I joked about this night. I dreaded this night. I had high hopes about this night. I went to an audition for NBC’s STAND UP FOR DIVERSITY for the express purpose of avoiding this night in my own head.

But when the projections came in, and John McCain made his concession speech just moments ago, tears fell down my face as I watched students at Spelman College weep openly. They fell down my face as I watched them fall from Jesse Jackson in Harlem. And they kept on falling as I thought of my grandmother, who passed away in March and how she would’ve loved to have seen this. She was a lifelong Mets fan; she went nuts when they won in ‘86. I can only imagine what she would’ve said about tonight.

As a first generation American, I had been very lucky in my life to be spared a great deal of the racial baggage in our country, and while I’d always viewed race and racism with a mix of curiosity and sadness, I have always been aware of what role it’s played in our country. But now everything changes.

So many things that I thought I knew about this country have faded into vapor. They’ve gone the way of the quark. They’ve gone the way of phrenology. They’ve gone the way of Jim Crow.

My God...WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/21038562/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/21038562/ Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:04:16 PDT
I took a Variety column from earlier in the month, that had a little aside note that 20th Century FOX might be interested in reviving the DD property. So that got me thinking...what would I like to see?

For Part 1 - COSTUMING - click here ~~~> [link]

For Part 2 - CASTING - click here ~~~> [link]

And for Part 3 - STORY - click here ~~~> [link]

Hope y'like the read. Feel free to offer thoughts if you feel like it!

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/20320033/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/20320033/ Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:10:24 PDT [link]) and have a look!

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/20212890/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/20212890/ Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:09:40 PDT
I'm still a little stunned when I say this...I think I was watching our next President! I thought I'd be an old man at BEST before I'd see that day!

Did anybody else get that feeling?

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/19146237/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/19146237/ Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:13:05 PDT
I turn to my girlfriend: "So, uh...am I a comedian?"

Her response: "Honey, if you never told another joke in your life, you'd still be the greatest comedian I've ever known."

Ladies, I hope you were taking notes. Because THAT is how you get your man to take out the trash.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/18995537/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/18995537/ Mon, 23 Jun 2008 05:49:52 PDT
I guess that's why I'm only just a little bummed at that news. He left us a LOT to remember him by. Plus I've gotten to see him live a coupla times. And on top of that, I got to meet him and shake his hand at a book signing a few years back. I got to tell a personal comedic hero just how much his work meant to me. So I'm feeling down about the news, sure...but I'm very grateful all the same.

Thanks for spending some time with us and changing my world the way you did, George. I'll be thinkin' of ya the next time I'm in a gift store, when I ask for my gift.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/18195522/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/18195522/ Tue, 06 May 2008 12:06:45 PDT I never expected the guy to open the floodgates would be one of my favorite comic book writers, and one of the best character writers out there.

Anyhoo...check out "I'm Just Sayin'..." #9 by clicking right here ---> [link]

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/17551557/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/17551557/ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:34:22 PDT [link]

If you want to see the first three, just click on my name in the byline and my other three issues will appear!

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/17286158/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/17286158/ Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:56:03 PDT [link] - but I just found this over at NEWSARAMA, and had to pass it on. Such a sad day...he will be missed:

DAVE STEVENS PASSES AWAY

Newsarama has learned via a close friend of the artist’s that Dave Stevens died last evening of complications due to leukemia, with which he had battled for many years. He was 52 years old.

Born in Lynwood, CA on July 29th, 1955, Stevens is best known for his work on his creator-owned The Rocketeer, which was first published in as a backup in Mike Grell’s Starslayer in 1982. Stevens’ style, which was wholly his own, but owed much to pulp artists of the earlier part of the 20th century was loved by his many fans, while his story merged the pulp sensibility with a modern sensibility.

Stevens’ first professional comic work was inking Russ Manning’s pencils for the daily Tarzan comic strip starting in 1975. Dave always kept at least one finger in comics while he was working on storyboards or animation, providing covers for Comico’s Jonny Quest series or other work.

The Rocketeer appeared in small installments throughout 1982 to 1995, and was turned into a film in 1991 by Walt Disney Pictures. The comic book version, in its way helped usher in the re-popularization of Bettie Page.

Mark Evanier has written a short obituary which can be found here. ([link])

There are no plans for a public service.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/17089481/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/17089481/ Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:44:18 PST
...I am trying to just power through the week until all the necessary arrangements have been made. But just to try and keep things somewhat upbeat, here is a joke I dug up...

"The other night my girlfriend and I are watching Seinfeld, and the episode happens to be The Gymnast. Then comes that one line where the gymnast tells Jerry of what she'd heard about comedians and their supposed...legendary sexual prowess. Ultimately she tells Jerry: 'You may tell jokes, Mr. Seinfeld, but you are no comedian.'

"I turn to my girlfriend: 'So, uh...am I a comedian?'

"Her response: 'Honey, if you never told another joke in your life, you'd still be the greatest comedian I'VE ever known.'

"Ladies, I hope you were taking notes. Because THAT is how you get your man to take out the trash."

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/16552655/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/16552655/ Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:32:20 PST
Then a day comes along, and that funny looking stranger does something nice for you. Sucks, doesn't it? Not the part that they did something nice - now you can't call them that nickname anymore:

"Hey, Martin!"

"Martin? I thought he was Harry No-Neck."

"Yeah, that was before he gave me that kidney."

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/15476206/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/15476206/ Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:19:46 PST
Unh! Reincarnation joke, baby. HIT me! :-D

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/15328686/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/15328686/ Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:10:21 PDT
That just floors me; the idea that right now, in different parts of the globe, or possibly all in one specific city, someone is being born, someone is dying, someone is being conceived, someone is being robbed, someone is riding a bike, someone is drawing inappropriate sketches of Spider-Man in the edges of a copy of Modern Bride magazine as they sit in their doctor's waiting room...hell, somewhere, right this very moment, a waiter is telling a man, "I'm sorry, but we just ran out of vegetable dumplings. Can we interest you in the pork?" IN THOSE EXACT WORDS!

So here it is:

Somewhere, Right This Very Moment...

Complete the sentence. Be as creative as you like, because odds are, by the time you write it down, it's probably happened TWICE.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/15128370/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/15128370/ Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:05:24 PDT
In order to fit the model of a Shakespearean Tragedy, a story has to have the following three elements:

1) An Avoidable Catastrophe

2) A Despicable Villain

3) A Dumbass

The Dumbass takes the place of the hero that you'd normally expect the story's protagonist to be. Except you can't count on him or her to do the right thing when the chips are down. The Dumbass is there to screw it all up and get as many people killed in the process as possible. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark? Dumbass. Macbeth? Dumbass. Othello? Dumbass. King Lear? King Dumbass. Romeo & Juliet? Hell, that's two Dumbasses right there.

I think that's why so many people are always griping about the Star Wars prequels - reminds'em too much of high school English.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/15070388/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/15070388/ Mon, 15 Oct 2007 09:03:23 PDT
Among other things in this book, apparently the coyote is the 9th fastest land animal in the world.

Interestingly enough, roadrunners don't even place in the top ten.

So what's the deal, Wile E.?

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/14888268/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/14888268/ Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:44:50 PDT [link]

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/14666329/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/14666329/ Sun, 16 Sep 2007 21:13:02 PDT

The Rules:
- 8 random facts about the person in question.
- Tags should be posted in a journal or a blog.
- Tag 8 more people and leave them a message that they've been tagged.

1. I have been able to draw the Superman emblem clearly since I was 6 years old.
2. Ever since Spider-Ham #1, I have a special affinity for anthropomorphic superheroes.
3. My first joke performing standup went like this: "I've decided that you can only hear so much about Tiger Woods, and still give a sh*t. I think we've all forgotten one very important thing. IT'S STILL GOLF." Being black, they weren't expecting that from me. Got quite a bit of applause for it, too.
4. I enjoy all six Star Wars movies immensely, and for the life of me can't figure out the prequel hate.
5. Bret Hart, Sting and Ricky Steamboat are my favorite professional wrestlers of all time.
6. If I could, I would teach a college course on humor. I think the mechanics behind what makes something funny is intriguing, and will discuss a joke at length with anybody.
7. Anytime I see a baseball field, I want to play a ball game.
8. I firmly believe Angelina Jolie will die young. A little morbid, I know, but she totally gives off that vibe! Anybody willing to bet me money, bring it brotha!

I will now tag the following people:

, , , ,
, , , ,

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/14531821/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/14531821/ Fri, 07 Sep 2007 14:38:47 PDT
I have to say, his passing more than anything made me think about life and how one should live it more than anybody's. Stabbed in the heart by a stingray, while filming on location for a documentary series titled Ocean's Deadliest. I knew right then, that a million people were gonna have a million things to say about this - and even I had to admit that the potential for irony in your line of work must be off the charts if both South Park AND the Simpsons can predict your fate that far in advance - but that's not the important thing. You can't deny that he was doing what he loved, right down to the last.

And the fact that he worked in a career that could kill him isn't as unusual as you'd think. Just about all of us are doing the exact same thing. Except for most of us, it's the slow, soul-draining death kind of job. You know the kind I mean; the kind of job where you have to spend 40 hours a week dealing with people you don't like, in an industry you don't care about, with a boss you don't respect. The kind of job where you sit at a desk for hours on end, the clock couldn't move fast enough, the creepy-crawlies work their way from the bottom of your feet all the way up to your windpipe. The kind of job where you might lock yourself in a restroom stall every twenty minutes, alternating between increasingly desperate sessions of furious masturbating, and placing your hand on the edge of the toilet, and slamming the lid down over and over and over again...

...You know - just so you can feel something.

I'm glad to say I'm halfway there myself. I'm still working towards my ultimate career goal, but at least for now, I'm at a job I like. Which is the first time I've been able to say that since I started working some twelve or thirteen years ago. But the goal is to go out like the Crocodile Hunter. Because say what you will about the guy, he died doing what he loved.

Annoying dangerous animals.

Live the dream, people. Live the dream if it's the last thing you do.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/14408249/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/14408249/ Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:02:48 PDT
Myself and several of his readers answered the question of where we stand on continuity in comic books, and while we all seemed to be in favor, the different perspectives made the discussion all the more interesting. To check out each installment, please click on the links below.

PART ONE: [link]

PART TWO: [link]

PART THREE: [link]

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/14267839/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/14267839/ Tue, 21 Aug 2007 06:38:48 PDT
And then this week, I come to learn that Leona Helmsley has died.

Which I suppose just goes to show - sometimes the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away...and other times, He does so in reverse order.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/13814307/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/13814307/ Fri, 10 Aug 2007 11:29:42 PDT I have a few days every so often where I jump back and forth on whether or not I want to keep trying to be a comic book writer. When will I learn not to read newsarama.com? The following is in regard to Marvel's current success in book sales:

NRAMA: To what to you attribute this? Is this just cyclical, and you happen to be enjoying a couple of great months? Do you foresee a longer-term trend here? What’s your overall take on the situation?

JQ: I attribute this to the incredible hard work that all of our creators and my editors have done over the last few year.

All well and good, sure...I may not agree with everything Marvel has been doing for the last three years, but okay. I found it easier just to focus on what comic books I DO enjoy, and lend no monetary support to those that represent a direction that I don't like. BUT, he has to keep talking...

JQ: The small peanut gallery can complain and hate Civil War as much as they want, just as they hated the New Avengers and every single new initiative (pardon the pun) that we've done over the last three years, but the incredible success we're having right now is because of all of those seeds that were first planted with Avengers Disassembled and House of M. I know, I know, we've destroyed the Marvel Comics that you've known and loved and yet here we are with more people reading Marvel than ever.

EDIT: August 10, 2007 - It took some comments from fellow Deviants for me to really figure out what I wanted to say, because when I read the above quote, I couldn't even think clearly. I may have blacked out; I may even have started frothing at the mouth and barking uncontrollably...which would've freaked out our cats.

But to me that quote smacked of an arrogance and a narcissism that upset me to no end, and is unbecoming of a guy who's been blessed - that's right, BLESSED - with the opportunity to work with a full world of characters that have such a rich history. Marvel characters have a very specific set of rules that apply to their universe, which I feel Quesada and his favorite writers feel that they don't have to pay any attention to if they don't want to, because they think they can ignore continuity "for the sake of a good story." To which I want to say: "Um...numbnuts? NO, YOU CAN'T." Forty years of writers and artists and editors working their butts off, doing their absolute best to contribute to this beautiful, wonderful literary tapestry - who do you think you are that you can forego all of that?

The DC Universe is the one that's built to withstand change without explanation. Think of how many times the Joker is thought dead...only to pop up again further down the line. Big deal? Not so much, because that WORKS in the DC world. It's expected. Buuuuuuut...and here's the rub, folks: in the Marvel Universe, the DETAILS MATTER. How well do you think The Winter Soldier's return into Captain America's life have worked, if Ed Brubaker didn't make sure he had every detail nailed down good and PROPER?

Simply put: You can't do DC things in the Marvel Universe and get away with it. Because guess what - the only thing you're going to do...is give birth to your very own peanut gallery.

I actually use this example as part of an online panel discussion that's going to appear over at insidepulse.com soon - it's like deciding halfway in the middle of a chess game, that you're gonna take one of your pawns and multi-jump half of your opponent's pieces. Then when your opponent looks at you trying to figure out what in the hell you think you're doing, you say, "What? More people will play if we do it this way! Oh, and by the way...I jumped your rook there. DRAW FOUR."

This probably didn't do my aspirations of working for Marvel Comics any favors - because yes, even now, I STILL want to write for Marvel - but if I kept that inside, I think I would have exploded. But now I think I'd best get back to work.

]]> ~GMGuity http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/8379409/ http://GMGuity.deviantart.com/journal/8379409/ Wed, 05 Apr 2006 23:31:24 PDT
"Another study links TV and teen sex
April 5, 2006 Edition 1

By Reuters

"Certain teenagers who watch more television are more likely to become sexually active than those who spend less time in front of the tube, a new study shows.

"Dr Sarah Ashby of the University of Wisconsin School of Public Health in Madison and her colleagues found that, among a group of 4 808 boys and girls younger than 16, those who said their parents disapproved of sex - nearly three-quarters of the group - were more likely to start having sex in the following year if they watched two hours or more of TV daily.

"The findings, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, support the hypothesis that 'kids who are at overall lower risk of initiating sex may be more influenced by things that they see', Ashby said."

So, the scapegoat is TV again? So "Spin the Bottle" is just an old wives' tale? I thought we decided it was the Internet. No wait - wasn't it Hip Hop...?

Haven't we heard this before? Again, this is why I would be a TERRIBLE reporter. Because I would've been on TV, and when the time came for that story, here's how it would've gone:

"Look folks - here's the real culprit behind teen sex. HUMAN CURIOSITY. You don't have to be a parent to detect a pattern. It's really very simple, and television, the internet or whatever the carnal Boogie Man of this generation really has very little to do with it, and as parents your best bet is to keep this from happening until your child is 18. No younger, no older. BUT, here it is: at SOME point in your child's life, just as it was with YOU - that's right, YOU. Remember the days when you were pining for breasts, having filthy dreams and growing hair in new and exotic places? - he or she will ask another child the following three questions:

1 - What's that?
2 - Can I touch that?
3 - What happens when I touch that?

"And since these are modern times, your child may ALSO say, 'I have one of those too!' So, do be prepared for that. Oh, yeah - that and you may already be too late. Yep. Odds are, you're too late, and you have been since your children were 15. Your kids are doing all kinds of filthy, naughty things - just like you did, remember? Sure you do - things that you never even THOUGHT of doing, even with the spouse sitting right next to you.

"They're doing it all, Mom and Dad. They're doing it all...

"And lying right to your face about every bit of it...

"Just. Like. You. Did.

"It's ten p.m. Do you know where your children are? Do you, REALLY? What do you mean, I'm fired?"

I dunno. Maybe the Daily Show would take me... ]]> ~GMGuity