Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

consume

The Year Comics Broke Up With Me

by

I didn’t read any new comics in 2022.

It wasn’t about me. It was about the comics. And, I can prove that with data.

More on that in a moment.

Image by ???? Cdd20 from Pixabay

I started reading new comics again in 2010 after 15 years away. Since then, I’ve read nearly every Marvel comic from the end of Avengers vs. X-Men in 2012 through the end of 2021. The same is true for DC from the beginning of Rebirth in 2016.

Plus, since 2017 I’ve read nearly everything from Aftershock, Valiant, Vault & Zenescope, plus a wide selection of new titles from Black Mask, Dark Horse, Dynamite, IDW, Image, Mad Cave, Scout, and many, many more!

That adds up to reading a lot of comics every year. Marvel alone reliably releases an average of 14 in-continuity issues every week, with DC chipping in up to 10 more. Then, we add in my other “every comic” publishers, ongoing indie titles I keep up with, and new releases I’m checking out.

That results in an average pull list of 48 comics per week – or about 2500 issues a year. It means I read well over 50% of the new single issue releases in the American comics market.

I kept up that pace for five years. That doesn’t mean I was buying 48 comics a week. My reading habits were a balance of snatching up new digital issues of the things I loved the most, waiting a bit longer for digital discounts on others, and catching up on other comics for a minor subscription fee via Marvel Unlimited (MU), DC Universe (DCU), and Comixology Unlimited (CXU).

2022 began with a big change: the death of Comixology as we knew it.

What used to be a standalone site with a decent web-based reader was absorbed entirely by its owner, Amazon. My ability to easily read and reference issues before they hit MU and DCU was scuttled. Using CXU was over. That knocked out my entire indie comics habit, since the vast majority of them only distribute digitally through that single channel.

I told myself I would enjoy a three month break and then start catching up via MU and DCU.

That never happened because of a more gradual change: I stopped liking comics. Or, at least, I thought I did.

This is where the data comes in. [Read more…] about The Year Comics Broke Up With Me

Crushing On: The Night House (2020)

by

I loved horror movies when I was a kid.

The Night House, starring Rebecca Hall

It’s one of those facts about myself that I often forget. Sure, I always recall the story of how a children’s version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula was the first chapter book I ever read. What I don’t typically remember is how I loved terrifying flicks as early as the age of seven, including Alien, Nightmare on Elm Street, and the somewhat campy House.

How I had access to all of those definitely-not-age-appropriate flicks, I cannot explain.

As an adult I’ve lost my taste for outright gore that accompanied some of the horrific films of my youth. You’d never catch me watching a Saw flick. Maybe part of that is never knowing if gore will be accompanied by the spectre of sexual violence to make it seem extra frightening. I’m generally looking for equal opportunity murder that doesn’t threaten anyone’s agency.

That reticence doesn’t have to rule out every horror flick. Something I’m trying to remind myself in 2023 that I don’t have to finish everything I start. There’s no prize for finishing a terrible comic or sitting through a bad movie. There’s no harm in checking out the huge swatch of modern horror out in the past decade – if it turns me off, I can turn it off.

That is how I found myself sitting down with The Night House this week. Why was it my first choice? I have no idea. I had never heard of it before. I couldn’t tell you how I found it.

All I know is that once I saw that it starred Rebecca Hall I was down to watch it. I am absolutely devoted to Hall ever since seeing her in The Prestige. I think she is one of the major relatively-unsung talents of the past decade of film. She can make any character instantly sympathetic or completely reviled.

The Night House was an absolutely riveting suspense thriller. I’m not always a movie viewer with a lot of patience for slowly-simmering plots, but I could not tear myself away from this movie! It slowly unravels an elegant, surprising, and ultimately satisfying central mystery. I was constantly guessing and revising my guesses as the tension simmered.

Much of this David Bruckner film is Rebecca Hall alone with the camera, often in complete silence. I can think of few other actresses of her generation that could make that work. It’s not just her ability to hold attention on screen, but to project so much complexity and inner life with so few words and actions.

I’m not sure I would place this in the realm of modern horror with a capital “H.” While there are some scary moments and shocking imagery, I was often reminded of Hitchcock’s version of horror – as much about the tension as the release.

(Extremely vague spoilers follow, which will give away the opening premise of the film and send you in with a few expectations – but spoil none of the plot. You’ve been warned!) [Read more…] about Crushing On: The Night House (2020)

Guide to Ant-Man & Giant-Man – now available to the public!

by

I’m happy to announce that my Guide to Ant-Man (and Giant-Man!) is now available to all CK readers ahead of the debut of the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer out next week! This guide exists thanks to the ongoing support of the Astonishing Patrons of Crushing Krisis.

Guide to Ant-Man & Giant-Man

Guide to Ant-Man & Giant-Man

This Guide to Ant-man doesn’t only cover the current MCU Ant-Man, Scott Lang. It covers all of Marvel’s Ant-Men, including Hank Pym and Eric O’Grady, plus Bill Foster as Giant-Man and Goliath! I’ve updated the guide to include every comic released through present day, plus collections solicited through the end of this quarter.

If you want to catch up on Scott Lang’s journey as Ant-Man in Marvel Comics, they’ve collected the vast majority of his solo series and major appearances in just three trade paperbacks:

Ant-Man: Scott Lang (2015 paperback, ISBN 978-0785192664 / digital) – This collection picks up Scott Lang from his first appearance in 1979 and collects the first few years of his major stories. This version of Lang is more of a former criminal screw-up and less of the lovable goof from the MCU.

The Astonishing Ant-Man: The Complete Collection (2018 paperback, ISBN 978-1302911324 / digital) – This collection includes both writer Nick Spencer’s run across two Ant-Man series. He writes Scott Lang very much in the mold of his MCU character. Many of these stories will feel like small-time capers he pulls between the Ant-Man films.

Ant-Man: The Saga of Scott Lang (2023 paperback, 978-1302950651 / digital) – This collection includes three unconnected miniseries from 2018-2020, plus a pair of one-shot stories. If you are less interested in ongoing story continuity and just want some fun, stand-alone adventures, this is a fine book to sample!

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 – Pre-Season “Meet The Queens” Power Rankings

by

It’s time, my drag-loving darlings! That’s right, we’ve made it through a year of ten spinoff seasons of Drag Race to return to the mothership! And, mother has arrived with a massive cast of queens, so put on your reading glasses and get ready for my RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 Pre-Season Power Rankings.

This will be my eighth year writing about Drag Race in some form or another, which is wild! This time around, there’s plenty to write about: the show is launching with sixteen drag artists! The most, ever!

Each weekend (life allowing) I’ll share my Drag Race Power Rankings after the episode airs. My Drag Power Rankings aren’t about how good a queen is at drag or how much I personally like them. They are purely about predicting how well a queen might perform on the show based on their performance to date and how they are treated by the show’s editors

When it comes to the Pre-Season, I base my rankings off of two watches of each queen’s “Meet The Queens” promo interview and a quick 5-minute spin through their social media.

My Power Rankings are not about tearing any artist down. I revere Drag Race because I think it’s the most challenging competition show on television. Contestants need to act, sing, dance, model, lip sync, host, perform stand-up, sell products, write songs, make their own costumes, and more – all while applying face after face of stunning and intricate make-up. At this point in my life I’ve tried to do the majority of those things individually and they’re all pretty challenging.

And, I’ve done very few of them while wearing a corset and high heels.

While the tone of some of my critiques can be very pointed, every queen who competes on Drag Race is a world-class artist. I respect every one of them. I could spend an entire year and not get close to any of their performances in most challenges (except, of course, for songwriting).

One thing to keep in mind is that these “Meet The Queens” promos are shot after some or all of the season is complete. That means that the queens are interviewing with full knowledge of who will be first out and who will be a frontrunner. Drawing conclusions from these interviews isn’t just about prognosticating. Sometimes there are obvious tells from the queens about how things are going to go.

Who’s on top based on first impressions solely from their Meet The Queens and social media? And, who do I think is likely to receive the first boot when the season premieres on MTV this Friday?

Readers, start your engines! And, may the best drag queen win! [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 – Pre-Season “Meet The Queens” Power Rankings

Updated: Guide to X-Treme X-Men

by

I’m back with another X-Guide Update! This guide was NOT a guide I expected to have to update this year, and certainly not for two different reasons. First, Marvel is relaunching this title (with its original creative team!) into a new series later this year that picks up directly from its end in 2004. Second, certainly related to that, Marvel is publishing the first of two omnibuses that will cover the entire run! Of course, I’m talking about my Guide to X-Treme X-Men!

Guide to X-Treme X-Men

This guide covers all three volumes of X-Treme X-Men – the 2001 Claremont/Larroca team of fan-favorites that ran alongside Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, Greg Pak’s 2012 Exiles-style revival starring Dazzler, and the newly-announced Claremont/Larroca flashback series.

You can find the trade reading order for all of that, where three different supporting mini-series (Savage Land, X-Pose, & Mekanix) fit into the original run, where characters can be found next, plus links to buy physical and digital collections and read right now on Marvel Unlimited!