Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

Archives for November 2016

35-for-35: 2010 – “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn

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[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]I went through a period in the late 00s where all I wanted was singer/songwriter dance music. For a while, the closest thing was Justin Timberlake or indie-rock pop like hellogoodbye, but neither quite scratched the itch I had. I wanted straight up, cotton candy, 80s style pop music with an auteur behind it and more texture than the typical radio tune.

And, of course, I wanted to hear women doing it.

Luckily, Lady Gaga arrived in 2008 with The Fame and rubbed my itch raw, but I would argue that if we’re talking about dance-pop auteurs we cannot even have the conversation without talking about Robyn.

Five years ago I would have had to follow that statement with “Yes, my 90s friends, the same Robyn of ‘Show Me Love.'” That’s not the case anymore, with “Dancing On My Own” in the credits of TV’s Girls and “Call Your Girlfriend” reaching surprising ubiquity in the year’s since its release.

I didn’t have that context in 2010, though. All I had was this queer record called Body Talk, Part 1 from the woman who sang “Show Me Love.” I had completely missed the “Konichiwa Bitches” years of Robyn’s second breakthrough because at the time I didn’t swim in those pop circles (because, I’d argue, she and Gaga revived those pop circles in the US).

I even wrote about my discovery process of Body Talk, Part 1, and how I was cool to “Dancing On My Own” on first listen but floored by the EP as a whole.

With hindsight, I’m also floored by “Dancing On My Own.” Despite the busy synth bass, the song has an uncluttered sonic aesthetic, adding in just one element at a time as in my 1994 pick “Closer.” (Note that the original version of this cut does not include the higher synth line that can now be heard in the video.)

“Dancing On My Own” has more than that common with that profane NIN cut. Each song is the perfect evocation of a near-universal human experience. Yes, “Closer” is more base and primary, but watching the person you want be with someone else while you sway on your own is something everyone has experienced at least once – from the most popular jock to the most ridiculed nerd.

Robyn turns that dejected feeling into something empowering – a chorus you are proud to shout along to on the dancefloor. It’s just an excuse to dance on your own.

From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Backlash #6-7

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[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]When we last saw our heroes this book was a chauvinist wreck being scripted by man-children. I wonder what will happen next!

backlash_v1_06No matter what I say about the lumpy scripting on this book, it’s definitely in the upper half of good looking WildStorm ongoings as Stormwatch wobbles through multiple artists and Deathblow switches away from Tim Sale.

While Brett Booth is a large part of that, so is a set of DC-esque vibrant colors from Martin Jimenez. Together, they make what could be a spy book feel like a superhero adventure. That lends a lot of implied joy to the proceedings that the script isn’t bringing to the table. Even spitting the three chapters of issue #7 between Melvin Rubi, Booth, and Dan Norton doesn’t change that – each of them delivers, especially Rubi on the intro.

Plotwise, the trio of scripters continue to be hapless. Issue #6 neatly ties up the book’s raison d’être in a neat little bow, with the VR device leading Backlash right to S’Ryn and having him neatly resolve her broken psyche with the help of Voodoo. That story probably deserved more than just one issue.

I’m not sure what the point of the title will be after WildStorm Rising, but luckily that’s not my problem this month!

Then, issue #7 finds the quickest possible route to dispose of that new status quo, while pitting a still unsympathetic Taboo against a term of mercs who I was rooting for 100%.

(The letters columns in #7 include a cascade of praise for the one-note evil sexbot Taboo. I’d ask what book they were reading, but then I remembered some stuff about teenage boys and just shook my head.)

Also, there are some intractable continuity problems here – Backlash visits the WildCATs headquarters with a recovered Voodoo in Backlash #6, placing it after WildCATs #18. Then Backlash #7 begins with two weeks elapsing. The trouble is that WildCATs #19 happens just seconds after #18 and immediate moves into the start of WildStorm Rising, which puts Backlash #8 way into the crossover (but not really, since Backlash’s #8 is one of the chapters).

These issues needed some kind of reshuffling to extend the story in #7 – perhaps by inserting the disconnected Australian Outback in #8 to displace the big finalé with S’Ryn into #8, leaving Slayton and Diane’s sudden breakup to end this pair of books.

Want the recap? Keep reading for the details of this pair of issues. Here’s the schedule for the rest of this month’s WildStorm re-read. Tomorrow brings us a new arc sans Tim Sale on Deathblow #13-15, followed by the start of new Union and Gen13 ongoings on Monday.

Need the issues? You’ll need to purchase single issues – try eBay (#6-7) or Amazon (#6, 7). [Read more…] about From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Backlash #6-7

35-for-35: 2009 – “Love Of Our Lives” by Indigo Girls

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indigo-girls-poseidon-and-the-bitter-bug[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]You don’t stop being an artist.

I haven’t written a new song in a few months, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped being a songwriter. I never stopped being a blogger in the months this page lay dormant. You might not write as frequently as you did when you were 20, and you might draw inspiration from different things, but that doesn’t stop you from being an artist.

Being an artist has other implications in the commercial world, partially because there are costs associated with artistry. You may be a songwriter, but are you writing enough material to release full-length albums regularly enough that you won’t be forgotten? And, even when you do, will a likely-dwindling audience of tens of thousands of people like it enough to pay for it?

I don’t know how mainstream artists contend with all of those questions and still find the courage to make the art that drives them. I suppose that’s why you surround yourself with a team of managers and lawyers (although that’s a catch-22, since you have to keep making the art to pay for them to enable you to make the art!).

Somehow, despite all those odds, The Indigo Girls have continued to release some of their most vital, engaging work over the course of four studio LPs and a live album in the past decade. The live LP, Staring Down The Brilliant Dream, takes it name from this song, “Love Of Our Lives.”


(This acoustic version is from three years after the LP, but I think being able to see Emily and Amy trading the often unison octave vocals adds a lot to your listen.)

E taught me songs like “Least Complicated” and “Power of Two” note by note from her memory of many prior sing-throughs on long card rides back and forth in her little Corolla from her parents houses in New Jersey, young and in love.

We’ve been wanting to be helped by binding ties
We’ve been fighting for the love of our lives

This song flips that oft-told harmony-singing narrative on its head. We first heard “Love Of Our Lives” together in 2009, newly married (to the tune of “Least Complicated”!) and driving in our own car back on that same route with one window down and the wind whipping through our hair. We were equals as partners and singers, each naturally taking our accustomed parts (E with Emily, me with Amy Ray) and getting tangled up in each other as the two vocal lines merge back into a unison melody.

Fire and water, oxygen
Scotch and soda, or any combination
Starts the reaction.

Is there no mastermind of modern day
Who can blueprint a plan to make love stay
Steady and weatherproof usher in a new revolution?

I don’t know how are these two women writing such stunning statements of words and melody over 20 years into their careers, but I’m incredibly thankful that they are. I have so many favorite songs that remind me of the early milestones of our relationships, but this one will always remind me of the strength of us together.

After trying more, the hopeful ones still try.
How can we help it when we’re fighting for the love of our live?

(Also, a fun fact: “Love of Our Lives” include both of my favorite little marks of songwriting, the word “communication” and a reference to chemistry. They’re like the sigils of my and Gina’s respective houses, and also map onto Nathan and Martina in my novel. In fact, I’d say this song is specific inspiration for it, but to explain that much further would be a spoiler ;)

From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Stormwatch #17-21 & Special #2 (plus, stories from WildStorm Rarities)

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[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]Finally, we’re back to Stormwatch! This is the last batch of issues prior to WildStorm Rising – Stormwatch (1993) #17-21 & Special 02, plus a pair of stories in WildStorm Rarities I missed earlier in the month.

stormwatch_v1_021This run finds Stormwatch disintegrating without Battalion as the glue to hold it together. No one seems especially interested in obeying Synergy unless it suits them, and Diva has only marginally better luck. That lends an extra layer to Timespan’s egging Battalion on to his death – maybe the real goal was to destroy Stormwatch, and the only way to do it was to convince Battalion that he was fated to die?

Writer Ron Marz is still ably steering this ship towards certain doom and he’s now managed to differentiate the voices of the entire cast. Despite that, this run lacks the urgency of any prior portion of Stormwatch. It feels like a mismash of loose ends being tied up and chess pieces being maneuvered.

It’s hard to put a finger on why. Is it the lack of Battalion as our main point-of-view character leaving the book to feel adrift? Or, is it that with the future already glimpsed in #25 that the motion of the pieces to their appointed destinations feels too slow, and the side stories feel too unimportant? Diva’s encounter with Argos especially feels pointless, and Winter’s Russian adventure is a complete redux with little to improve upon the prior version. I suppose all will be revealed soon enough.

On the art side, this is also the weakest portion of the book so far. An amalgam of pencillers on Stormwatch #17 makes for the weakest art on the book to date, though they could afford the soft spot on an all-talking issue. #19 is back to all Mat Broome and looks strong.

Issue #21 is from fill-in from Terry Shoemaker, a Marvel fill-in artist, and it’s great! I always expect fill-in artists to leave us with an issue of big muscles and gawky faces, but he does a terrific job on keeping Winter, Cannon, and Bendix distinct in the midst of a lot of action. (I checked ahead, and he’s the artist of Zealot’s mini-series – I’m psyched!)

Stormwatch Special #2 plays out effectively as #20.5, showing what Stormwatch Prime is up to after their side mission in #20 – and addressing the subplot of their manipulation by Defile via their captor, Deathtrap. Of course, we all understood that was happening already, so this issue brings nothing new to the table with some wildly inconsistent art that’s far outside of the WildStorm house style. All you need to know is that Flashpoint may have finally shaken loose the subliminal programming that made him an effective mole (but it hasn’t stopped him from being an asshole), but Sunburst and Nautika are as deep as ever!

Also, in reading WildStorm Rarities yesterday, I realized it contained a pair of Stormwatch stories drawn by Jim Lee that I should have read earlier in the month! (Sadly, we never get more than a tiny glimpse of Lee’s Diva, but his Battalion is massive.)

Want the recap? Keep reading for the details of how our team is inching ever closer to their doom. Here’s the schedule for the rest of this month’s WildStorm re-read. I’m not looking forward to the next two days – another mercifully short trip through Backlash for #6-7 a new arc on Deathblow #13-15. Then we’re so close to WildStorm Rising!

Need the issues? You’ll need to purchase single issues – try eBay (#17-20 & Special #2) or Amazon (#17, 18, 19, 20, 21, Special #2). Since further series reached these same issue numbers, be sure to match your purchase to the cover images in this post (and, note that #21 was misnumbered simple as “1” on the cover). The two older stories were only ever reprinted in WildStorm Rarities (Amazon / eBay), a perfect-bound book with a spine.

And now, onto the story! [Read more…] about From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Stormwatch #17-21 & Special #2 (plus, stories from WildStorm Rarities)

Krisis, Issue #1, Chapter Three: Dissemblers (pt. 1)

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From last week…

“What if we stopped by to check on her?” Valerie said.

Suddenly, Danny’s face leaned into the picture. He had practically climbed across the table to insert himself between Nathan and Valerie.

“I’m sorry, did you say ‘we’?”

“Yes, Danny.” She said his name pointedly as though she was addressing a small child, “Nathan and I. I get to try a restaurant, he gets to say he was headed out to dinner with a work friend and decided to stop by.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Nathan said, feeling he ought to mount at least a weak protest.

“It doesn’t sound like Ella has any adults present in her life other than you, Nate.” Valarie uncrossed her arms and placed one hand on top of Nathan’s. This was shocking to him, as he had temporarily forgotten he had hands. “I know what it’s like to lose a family member when you’re young. If she got upset in front of you, maybe she’s too afraid, or embarrassed, or whatever to talk. But, you have to know if she’s okay. ”

Now it was Nathan’s turn to blush – not at her hand (still touching his!), or her offer to visit Ella with him (and the dinner date she effectively demanded), but at her calling him “Nate.” Nathan had always been impervious to nicknames – Martina’s family were the only people in the world to call him Nate. Or, at least, the only ones he appreciated.

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Krisis, Book 1

Issue #1: Girl Disappearing
Chapter Three: Dissemblers (pt. 1)

To say it had been a long afternoon at work would be a vast understatement. After his lunch with Danny and Valerie, the end of the day seemed to recede to a vanishing point in the far flung future while Nathan worried himself to complete distraction.

Most of his worry was about Ella. She had been on his mind since the tenth, but unloading his concerns onto Danny proved to be the utter opposite of helpful. Now he was just more concerned. Had he been wrong to leave her alone in her apartment? He texted Ella to say he would drop by later with a friend in tow, but she sent no reply.

The remainder of his worry was about the dropping by.

With Valerie.

Nathan could still hardly believe that she had taken an interest in his life long enough to actually propose they go on a date.

Not really a date. An intervention, possibly followed by dinner.

Amidst his worrying, Nathan tried to convince himself that their unexpected arrangement was far better than an actual date, because it was real – not some manufactured situation meant to keep two people in close proximity for the evening. They were getting together to discuss a common interest.

Dead family members and the resulting emotional trauma. Much more romantic than an actual date. [Read more…] about Krisis, Issue #1, Chapter Three: Dissemblers (pt. 1)