PUFF CHRISSY

Tweeter Press and Drunk Hulk

Christian A. Dumais — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:52:46 +0000

The past couple of weeks I’ve been lucky enough to get some amazing emails from people all over the world.

One of them came from Wu Ch over at Tweeter Press in Austin, Texas. Wu is is doing something pretty amazing (as stated on his website):

Using the types from the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection held by the Design Division of the Department of Art and Art History at The University of Texas at Austin, I am typesetting and printing people’s tweets to counterbalance our fast-paced and impersonal world.

In other words, he turns this

into this

Man, that’s beautiful. Especially to a font geek like myself.

He’s sending me the above poster and I’ll be writing more about Wu’s project once I have it. But this is simply too awesome to keep to myself.

Go check out Tweeter Press and see what other glorious creations he’s made. Maybe he’ll do one of your tweets next.

But Hulk is thirsty…

Christian A. Dumais — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:39:22 +0000

I wonder if this is where it all went wrong for @DRUNKHULK twitter.com/goonguy/status…
— Eric Powell (@goonguy) February 1, 2012

West Coast Wednesdays: West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #62

Christian A. Dumais — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:01:53 +0000

West Coast Avengers, Vol. 2, Issue 62 (September 1990)

WEST COAST CREDITS!

Writer: Roy and Dann Thomas

Penciler: Paul Ryan

Inker: Danny Bulanadi

WEST COAST SUMMARY!

This is it! The conclusion to the storyline that started way back in issue #42. The team finally confronts Immortus to save the Scarlet Witch from intermittent trances.

WEST COAST THOUGHTS!

After wasting an issue fighting the Legion of the Unliving, the West Coast Avengers are face-to-face with Immortus at last. Before punches are thrown, Immortus answers some questions with the Power of Exposition. It was Immortus who reverted Vision to an android incapable of loving Wanda. It was Immortus who made Wanda’s twins disappear. All of this was done because Scarlet Witch is a nexus, a rare being who belong equally in all possible timelines. And Immortus needs her so he can protect and control the centuries under his dominion.

Finally, the team has had enough of all the big words Immortus keeps using. So do what they do best and start punching!

Tempus, Guardian of Castle Limbo and Warrior Slave (really, who would declare this?) appears out of nowhere and grabs Wonder Man. Tempus’ touch makes Wonder Man age rapidly.

Agatha Harkness, having learned Immortus’ plan at the end of last issue, travels to limbo using Immortus’ doppelganger (stop thinking so hard and roll with it). Once in limbo, she uses her astral body to communicate with Wanda, still in her trance. The team is taking a heck of a beating from Tempus, whose timestorm is forcing the members to relive their most fearful and deeply buried memories. Harkness is doing everything she can to convince Wanda to reject her powers. Immortus senses that something is amiss and realizes Harkness is there. He attacks, just as Tempus is about to kill the West Coast Avengers, and just when it looks like there’s no hope left, Wanda wakes up and saves the day by rejecting her powers.

The Time Keepers then appear. They are the ones who designated that Immortus watch over the time between 3000 B.C. and 4000 A.D. It turns out that while Immortus may have handled things poorly, he really was trying to make sure that nothing bad was going to happen to the timestream. And Wanda being a nexus was an important part of that plan. The Time Keepers give Wanda’s rejected powers to Immortus, who is transformed into a motionless statue – the very fate he had planned for Wanda.

I’m skipping over the part where U.S. Agent decides he wants to arrest the Time Keepers and attacks them with his shield. And Hawkeye helps him out by shooting off an arrow. The West Coast Avengers have historically been over their head since the book began, and this scene just makes them look stupid.

The Time Keepers returns the team to their home. Hawkeye immediately falls asleep, creating one of those freeze shots you’d see at the end of an episode of CHiPs with everyone laughing while the captain shakes his head (this part played by U.S. Agent).

WEST BOAST OR ROAST?

Roast. I’m confident that this ending isn’t even close to where Byrne was headed, and it’s amazing that the Thomas’s manage to make this half as coherent as they did. Still, it’s a mess through and through…

WEST COAST SCENE (OF THE WEEK)!

No one rejects quite like Wanda…

Previously on West Coast Wednesdays…

West Coast Avengers Vol. 1, #1

West Coast Avengers Vol. 1, #2

West Coast Avengers Vol. 1, #3

West Coast Avengers Vol. 1, #4

Avengers Vol. 1, #250

Iron Man Annual #7

West Coast Avenger Vol. 2, #1

The Vision and Scarlet Witch #1

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #2

The Vision and Scarlet Witch #2

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #3

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #4

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #5

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #6

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #7

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #8

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #9

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #10

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #11

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #12

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #13

Avengers Annual #15

West Coast Avengers Annual #1

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #14

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #15

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #16

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #17

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #18

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #19

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #20

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #21

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #22

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #23

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #24

West Coast Avengers Annual #2

Avengers Annual #16

Silver Surfer #3

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #25

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #26

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #27

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #28

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #29

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #30

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #31

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #32

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #33

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #34

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #35

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #36

West Coast Avengers Annual #3

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #37

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #38

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #39

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #40

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #41

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #42

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #43

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #44

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #45

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #46

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #47

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #48

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #49

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #50

West Coast Avengers Annual #4

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #51

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #52

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #53

Avengers Vol. 1, #312

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #54

Avengers Vol. 1, #313

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #55

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #56

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #57

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #58

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #59

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #60

West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #61

TACO BELL SERVE BREAKFAST!

Christian A. Dumais — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:49:43 +0000

TACO BELL SERVE BREAKFAST NOW! THIS WAY PEOPLE WHO GET UP EARLY IN MORNING CAN HATE THEMSELF TOO!
— DRUNK HULK (@DRUNKHULK) January 27, 2012

MAYOR OFFEND LATINO COMMUNITY!

Christian A. Dumais — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:08:51 +0000

MAYOR OFFEND LATINO COMMUNITY! AND RECEIVE 2000 TACO! IF DRUNK HULK KNEW PUNISHMENT! WOULD HAVE OFFEND THEM LONG TIME AGO!
— DRUNK HULK (@DRUNKHULK) January 27, 2012

New Interview with Christian A. Dumais

Christian A. Dumais — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:03:32 +0000

After the fun interview with Drunk Hulk on Tuesday, International Business Times decided to do another interview with plain old me. Some good questions with, hopefully, even better answers:

Has the success of DRUNK HULK informed how you approach your other writing projects?

I think it’s helped me to not take my writing so seriously, to have more fun and take more chances. I’ve said this before, but the fact that I’m recognized for writing in ALL CAPS in poor English is something the Inner Literary Me took a while to accept.

Read the whole interview right here.

Also, if you want to read more about me, here are some older interviews:

UGO’s Interview with Drunk Hulk Creator

Writing Insight

The Wroclaw International Interview

Drunk Hulk Unmasked

Author Trek

Freelance Writing

Conversations with Writers

Conversations with Writers 2

GIRL EAT NOTHING BUT MCNUGGET!

Christian A. Dumais — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:40:37 +0000

GIRL WHO ONLY EAT MCNUGGET FOR 15 YEAR IN HOSPITAL! BET THIS IS FIRST DOCTOR SHE EVER SEE NOT NAMED PEPPER!
— DRUNK HULK (@DRUNKHULK) January 26, 2012

New Drunk Hulk Interview in IBTimes

Christian A. Dumais — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:00:46 +0000

In case you missed it, Drunk Hulk was interviewed yesterday by Ellen Killoran from the IBTimes. Drunk Hulk touched on the Oscar nominations, the Super Bowl, and lots more. Click the image below to read the whole interview.

West Coast Wednesdays: West Coast Avengers Vol. 2, #61

Christian A. Dumais — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:57:01 +0000

West Coast Avengers, Vol. 2, Issue 61 (August 1990)

WEST COAST CREDITS!

Writer: Roy and Dann Thomas

Penciler: Paul Ryan

Inker: Danny Bulanadi

WEST COAST SUMMARY!

Immortus transports the West Coast Avengers to Limbo where they face off with the Legion of the Unliving. Meanwhile, Agatha Harkness finds out what Immortus’ plan is all about.

WEST COAST THOUGHTS!

While Roy and Dann Thomas get the writing credit, it should be pointed out that there’s a “special thanks” to R.J.M. Lofficier, who was the wife of French science fiction writer, Jean-Marc Lofficier. I don’t know what her contribution to the story was, but I figured since someone at Marvel felt it pertinent to give her thanks on the opening splash page, I should at least mention her here.

And we’re off…

After appearing in the background of the book for over a year, Immortus finally comes face-to-face with the West Coast Avengers. And it doesn’t look good. Not only is Wanda unconscious (her default setting for the last 12 issues) but she’s surrounded by both a force field and an extra-temporal shield for good measure. The helpless team is forced to listen to Immortus’ exposition. When the team finally attacks, Immortus – concerned that the team will pursue him – transports the entire team with him to Limbo. Yeah, that didn’t make sense either in the book.

Of interest, the Thomas’s are writing the team as a bunch of petty teenagers just like Englehart did back in the day. It’s almost like they’ve devolved since Byrne stepped off the book, which is a real shame. Hawkeye gets jealous when Wasp refers to Pym as a “leader and founding father” and then later makes a snide remark to Wonder Man about his Hollywood career.

The issue’s big fight, as promised on the cover, starts when the Legion of the Unliving enters the picture. I love how Iron Man describes them through the voice of a writer trying desperately to make sure no reader can be annoyed by any contradictions in the Legion’s membership: “The membership may change – but the concept’s the same! Immortus conjures up the shades of those thought by the Avengers to be among the ranks of the unliving! And then commands them to do his bidding!” U.S. Agent reminds everyone not to hold back as the Legion of the Unliving aren’t really alive. You see, the Legion of the Unliving are dead. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, they’re not alive.

And so everyone fights. A lot of this reads an awful lot like Avengers Annual #16 where the Avengers fought, you guessed it, the Legion of the Unliving. In fact, Hawkeye fought the exact same person.

From Avengers Annual #16

From West Coast Avengers #61

A stunning eight pages of the book are given to Agatha Harkness as she attempts to figure out Immortus’ master plan by interrogating his three-dimensional doppelganger (don’t ask!). Immortus decides to reveal his plan by starting at the very beginning of his life. And so readers are treated to pages worth of excruciating Englehart-style flashbacks that keeps circling the answer to the mystery without ever saying it. Finally, the cliffhanger has Harkness finally realizing what Immortus’ plan is in a poorly constructed splash page with awkward dialogue to match (“While your Legion of the Unliving vanishes back into blessed oblivion all around us — I realize, at last, just what that plan is!”). Meaning readers will have to wait another whole month before getting answers to the story they’ve been patiently reading for over a year.

But you only need to wait another week.

WEST BOAST OR ROAST?

Roast. This is all info-dumping with intermittent uninspired fights. We’re back to Englehart levels of exposition and it’s not pretty.

WEST COAST SCENE (OF THE WEEK)!

Wonder Man is like Lennie…

Previously on West Coast Wednesdays…

TWIN HOUSE? FULL PEAKS?

Christian A. Dumais — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:33:49 +0000

This is mesmerizing…