92615_RAA_LooseCannon_Text_R1_PROOF

Mimi and I got up at 3 am and drove to the top of the volcanic crater where NASA trained Harrison Schmidt and Gene Cernan for Apollo 18. It’s 10,300 feet above sea level. The cloud layer is between six and eight thou sand feet, so we sat above the clouds and watched the sunrise on the tallest point on Maui. Then we mountain biked 38 miles all the way down to the ocean in just over two hours. It was amazing, especially for me, as I am becoming more of a creature of habit in my old age. Amazing, and exhilarating to try something new. So, in honor of my Dad’s probationary new lease on life, and the sheer adrenaline-pumping terror of cooking down a volcanic crater as fast as I could, I’m going to turn over a new leaf. I’m going to try a few new comics each week, just to see what I’m missing by buying the same old stuff every Wednesday. And I recommend that you do, too. Best. Column. Ever. March 30, 2001 The longer I pay attention to the comic book industry, the more I see the effects of polarization. On. or off. Love or hate. Hal Jordan or Kyle Rayner. Geez, if there were more sideways comics, like the experimental issues of Cerebus or FF , or Jim Krueger’s Fly Boys , you’d eventually have a small cadre of comics fans facing off against each other about which is better: "up" versus "down." I mean, it’s so bad that The Simpsons The Simpsons has a character named "Comic Book Guy" who does nothing but expound in absolutes. Even the real world thinks that comic book fans, if they think about them at all, are a bunch of maladjusted folks who look at the world through black-and-white glass es.But there really is one of those things that needs to be looked at in a "yes or no" sort of way, and that’s the viability of the monthly periodical for mat. Now, the last few weeks, you’ve read from me a love letter to my missing cat, an ode to my mis-spent youth, and a tip of the cap to me dear old Dad. You might be wondering, "where is that loose cannon who wrote the first coupla columns." Where’s that guy who’s bent out of shape with the mount ing injustices of the comic book world? Who’s this guy who’s filled with the milk of human kindness? Pardon me, while I roll up my sleeves. Sure, I’m pissed.

Ready?

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