Victor D. Infante's Blog, page 199

HIDE, Kids! It's Comics!

There has been some serious discussion of late as to whether or not Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal #3 is the worst single issue of a comic book ever published. Please note that most of this discussion is framed in the context of mainstream comics, and not more esoteric, independent fare which has some shining examples of utter tastelessness. Rich Johnston over at Bleeding Cool News, linked to above, gives a pretty good rundown of the issue's sins. Quoting from Johnston, here: "With all t...

"Glee"

Recently, Trevor Byrne-Smith put up an interesting blog post about the TV show Glee -- "There's Nothing Ironic About Show Choir!: The Sentimentality of Glee" -- which I had no opinion on at the time, seeing as I'd never seen the show. But after catching an episode last week, we've been catching up on Netflix. And I have to say -- possibly against all odds and definitely contrary to all established taste and behavior -- I think I kind of love it.

Oh, don't get me wrong. It's got a cheesy streak...

WormTown Taxi

As I've said before, I agree very seldomly with Jeff over at WormtownTaxi -- we've disagreed on subjects as wide-ranging as local police issues to his odd fixation on Dianne Williamson's vacation time, which borders on fetish. And yet I read him every day, and his blog posts are frequent topics of discussion in the newsroom. Frankly, sometimes he drives me up a bloody wall, but I've always sensed that beneath it all is a decent guy who actually cares about his community -- not a wackaloon...

Odds and Ends ...

First off, the formidable Charlie Jane Anders has compiled an amazingly fun roundup of The Best Science Science Fiction Smack Talk of All Time, and it seriously rocks. Much, much fun. But there's one glaring omission:



Because really? All Sci-Fi Smack Talk pales before this.

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In other bits of awesomeness, I cannot recommend my friend Robb Q. Telfer's excellent article, "Why Everyone Hates Poetry," which contains the already infamous line, "Grandma was right: Mark Strand is a pussy." At last! ...

Bad week for fans of '80s television ...

RIP Rue McClanahan.

There have been better mornings ...

Last night, I was sad to learn of the passing of dancer & choreographer Jeanne Robinson, the wife of one of my favorite novelists, Spider Robinson. The Robinsons had co-wrote a lovely book called "Stardance," which -- while being quite a bit different than Spider's usual, joke-laden work -- was a damn fine read. 

Of course, this morning the news was even worse, as the news broke about the death of Allen Ginsberg's longtime partner, poet Peter Orlovsky, as well as the death of Russian poet...

RIP Dennis Hopper

I was saddened to hear of Dennis Hopper's death, although I read the news enough to know it was coming. Hopper was one of those rare celebrities who actually lived in Los Angeles, who took an interest in its affairs and happenings. His support of Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center springs immediately to mind, but there were other arts and charitable organizations that he lent his support to.

At a time when the city of Los Angeles is seriously threatening its arts and charitable organizations...

Sad news

Reports Comic Book Resources: "Police in Zephyrhills, Florida, have confirmed that ThunderCats writer Stephen Perry, who has been missing for more than two weeks, is the victim of an apparent homicide."

Many prayers to those who loved him, including his 5-year-old son. Perry's not had a happy time of it lately, having faced cancer and financial ruin. But he had started to come out the other end of all that tragedy, and to see it end like this is heartbreaking.


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Odds and Ends

In August of 1996, at the National Poetry Slam Finals in Portland, Oregon, I met a woman who turned my entire life upside down. In the time since, after three cross-country moves, more apartments than I want to think about, and a gloriously odd wedding in the middle of a newsroom, I've been blessed to have this woman in my life.

Happy birthday, Lea. I love you, and am thankful for the madcap adventure that is our life.

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Let me be the first to welcome to Worcester new WoMag editor Danny Cross!...

Nov3rd Cover Art

In the midst of making some changes to The November 3rd Club -- mostly procedural, largely stuff most people wouldn't notice, but it's time-consuming, nonetheless. It's certainly slowing down work on the next issue. But the issue is under way, nonetheless.

And, as always, I need cover art.

the theme for our cover art is always "distressed flags." I've toyed with changing it, but it never feels right, and the response is always negative. Nov3rd and its flag-themed covers are a brand, it seems....