Townie guide to... gettin’ freaky geeky
Monday, May 12, 2008
Joel Pfannenstiel (“a German surname which translates roughly to ‘man with unhealthy Darkwing Duck fixation’”), owner of Astrokitty Comics & More (“Woot!”), proprietor of Comiculture Vulture blog on lawrence.com (“And I draw a lot of busty, half-naked women and absurdly cute animal people on napkins in local restaurants”)
Years in Lawrence: “When my home planet of Wichita was destroyed, my rocket-shaped crib jettisoned through the far reaches of space and landed smack dab in the middle of Lawrence, KS in 1999. I’ve now adapted to your ‘local music scene’ and this curious yet enjoyable aspect of life known as ‘the arts.’ Plus, the lack of Pro-life bumper stickers is a nice change of pace.”
Which has a greater stigma, comic books or polygamist cults? Each is accused of corrupting minors and involves collecting in some form. How did this art form fall so low? Comics, that is—not polygamy.
“Comics have had a long, strange and spotty history here in the U.S. Unlike polygamist cults, there’s a lot less forced marriage. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure Thor is the actual son of Odin and I don’t know how many of your average cult leaders’ claims of divine heritage can be proven simply by pointing to a copy of ‘Tales to Astonish.’ Also, what’s this about minors and comic books? The average comic-reader demographic skews way older than 12 these days. I think, hands down, it’s polygamist cults FTW.”
I, uh, have a “friend” that dumped a goodly amount of his adolescence and money into comic books. Can this “friend” sell off his stockpile of poly-bagged Todd McFarlane “Spider Man” #1 issues and buy a diamond encrusted yacht or something of equal value that will attract all the girls who ignored me in junior high—I mean, uh, ignored my “friend” in junior high?
“Investing in comic books for future financial gain is a bad idea. It’s also kind of anathema to how I view the whole ‘comics as art/literature’ thing. Comics should be read, enjoyed, shared, and if you happen to make some money off of them at a garage sale, kudos to you! Besides, ‘Spider-Man’ #1 has got nothin’ on made-of-chocolate ‘Ninjak’ #1 or that one issue of ‘Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight’ that actually does your taxes for you.”
Movies based on comic book properties—why you be hatin’? This is as close as they’ll ever get to main stream validation, earning a spot along side NASCAR and Chris Daughtry as pillars of our pop-culture. Besides, you can’t deny that “The Dark Knight” looks like the sweetest thing since boners were invented.
Joel Pfannenstiel
“Sure, comic book movies can be fairly sweet. We’ve seen the bar raised a bit, and for pieces that are essentially ‘company projects’—featuring characters/storylines that have had a more convoluted lineage than the New Testament—it’s not a big deal to reinvent the look, feel, or even story elements when bringing it to the big screen. That said, I think we all need to remember that a major part of comic books are the artists. The visuals of a given title or character are often so intimately tied to one or two creators, it’s really a shame when they end up putting out these live-action shlock-fests that don’t even give us a nod to the source material. Few exceptions exist, like ‘Sin City’ or ‘Persepolis,’ and I’d like to see more of this. I realize animation isn’t as sexy as Halle Berry in a white fright-wig, but let’s try to use out imaginations a bit, okay? Dare to dream.”
For those of us who haven’t picked up a comic in years, what’s the best sequential shiznit out there right now?
“I’m really into the art side of things, but when the writing and the art are equally sublime—man, that’s when comics just plain rock. In terms of visuals, I’m really into Daniel Acuna and Frazer Irving. In terms of just amazing comics I’d recommend? Well, on the superhero front we’ve got stuff like ‘Checkmate,’ ‘Manhunter,’ and ‘All-Star Superman’ that are all being published currently. I’d like to mention ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ and ‘Invincible,’ as well. In terms of non-super hero stuff—well, there’s a ton out there. ‘Walking Dead’ and ‘The Sword’ are both keen. ‘Madman’ and ‘Scott Pilgrim’ both keep me happy, but so do ‘Fables,’ ‘Kick-Ass,’ and ‘Boneyard.’ The thing is, there’s pretty much, like, a good dozen or so titles out there for everybody, and that’s not even factoring in manga. People should be less afraid of comics. Jeez, just go to the local library and try some for free—it’s harmless, I tell you!”
Who would win in a fight--General Zod or Art Spiegelman?
“Well, General Zod is essential to the ‘what if Superman were a Nazi’ mythology and Art Spiegelman wrote a comic book opus about his family’s experience through the holocaust. General Zod stands for all things super-hero kitsch and Spiegelman represents comics-as-art on an almost inaccessibly elitist and humorless level. They’re both extremes. Hmmm—I’d have to give the win to Spawn. People will be buying his comic long after we’ve all forgotten about either the fictitious Zod or good ol’ Mr. Spiegelman, regardless of the fact that it’s an unreadable stack of crap with staples and a glossy cover.”
Are comics a gateway drug to “Magic: The Gathering” and Naruto Cosplay?
“Most of the regulars who come into the shop to buy comics aren’t going to be caught dead wearing a leaf village headband, but many have dabbled in ‘Magic’ from time to time. I don’t know that it’s a gateway in as much that geeks have a lot of shared interests and comic shops tend to cater to those things. I don’t want to get into all the subcultures. I could be here all night telling you about everything from Pokemon slash fanfic to entire Presbyterian church services performed as one long-form ‘World of Darkness’ LARP scenario.”
Can’t everybody agree that comics are still cooler than fantasy football?
“Until I can tailor my Brett Favre origin to include radioactivity as the source of his echolocation powers, I’m sticking with comics. Besides, there’s way fewer dragons in fantasy football than the name implies—I call shenanigans!”
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