Crushing Krisis

Updated: Guide to Uncanny X-Men by Chris Claremont

February 21, 2023 by krisis

Today I am here to announce an update to the one guide that started it all back in 2010 when I asked the internet, “How do I collect all of Chris Claremont’s X-Men onto one shelf” and found a resounding silence where I expected an easy answer. That’s right, X-Men, X-Women, and X-Thems, it’s a complete overhaul of the one-and-only Guide to Uncanny X-Men by Chris Claremont!

Guide to Uncanny X-Men by Chris Claremont

I feel as though I’m saying this same thing almost every time I update one of the pre-2016 comic guides, but: you have to understand that the world of collected editions in 2010 when I created this guide was completely unlike the world we know today!

At the time, if there was an obscure UK edition trade paperback that collected Uncanny X-Men (1963) #274-277, that was a very big deal. Even as one of Marvel’s most-collected titles, Uncanny X-Men had plenty of gaps in its reprints. Putting together a complete shelf of Claremontian X-Men meant having a hodgepodge of mismatched spines and different-sized editions – I know, because that was my shelf for over half a decade! [Read more…] about Updated: Guide to Uncanny X-Men by Chris Claremont

Guide to Shazam, The Captain Marvel of DC Comics

February 20, 2023 by krisis

This week I’m back with my first new DC Comics collecting guide and reading order of 2023 for CK’s Plegeonaut Patrons on Patreon! This guide is for one of DC’s oldest characters, though really he has only been a DC character since the Bronze Age… or since Crisis, depending on how you count. I thought that would make for a confusing muddle of continuity. Instead, it turned out to be a delightful research project putting together this new Guide to Shazam, DC’s Captain Marvel!

Guide to Shazam, DC’s Captain Marvel
This guide is now available to all readers thanks to the magical support of Patrons of Crushing Krisis!

Here is what I knew about Shazam before researching his 83-year history for this guide: He’s really called Captain Marvel but we don’t call him that anymore (for reasons). He’s a Fawcett Comics character who DC (legally) stole. A wizard gave young Billy Batson the power to effectively become Superman (which is why DC stole him, legally), with the knowledge of Solomon and some other stuff that spells Shazam.

Oh, and: Geoff Johns is obsessed with him.

Honestly, that’s not a bad place to start with Shazam knowledge, but it turns out he’s both much simpler and much deeper than that. [Read more…] about Guide to Shazam, The Captain Marvel of DC Comics

Near Mint Condition: Marvel announces THREE new Volume 3 omnibuses out in late 2023

February 19, 2023 by krisis

As I was in the final pass of editing on that Drag Race Belgique post I got a notification about a new video on the Near Mint Condition channel, so I decided to take quick break from drag to catch up on Omar’s newest comics news.

OMG, I am so glad that I did! Omar’s Sunday morning Near Mint Condition video announces not one, not two, but THREE brand new Marvel omnibuses coming out later this year. Two of them are X-books, and all three of them are third volumes in their omnibus lines!

I’d never steal Omar’s thunder by spoiling his announcements within an hour of them being made, but here’s a hint: If you know what my favorite X-series of all time is, and if you have been following my recent guide updates and announcements about some young and new heroes, then you’ll know why I am so excited about these announcements.

I’ll react more to all three of them, including their delightful mapping, a little later in the week. It’s 2am here in New Zealand right now, and I have a comic guide to finish tomorrow (well, today, but you get my drift)!

Drag Race Belgique Season 1, Episode 1 – “Bonjour Iedereen” Talent Show Review & Power Ranking

February 19, 2023 by krisis

Welcome to my review, recap, and power rankings of the first episode of Drag Race Belgique Season 1 – “Bonjour Iedereen.” This episode introduces us to 10 queens, explains the Drag Race format to new viewers, and has the cast perform one-minute Talent Show segments and show off their “Belgicolours” on the runway.

Each new international Drag Race franchise brings its own flavor of production and judging, and especially of drag. Drag Race, Drag Race UK, Drag Race Canada, and Drag Race Down Under are all wildly different despite all being English-speaking franchises (and three of them being hosted by Ru).

As a result, I was not sure what to expect from Drag Race Belgique despite being obsessed with its neighboring (and language-sharing) Drag Race France when it aired last year (plus, loving the part-Francophone Drag Race Canada, which might be my favorite of the franchises).

My first impressios of Drag Race Belgique is that Belgian drag feels like it has much less to prove than French drag. Even the most austere and fashionable of these 10 queens were a little bit weird and goofy compared to the most competitive members of the French cast. This first episode may have felt the least cutthroat of all of the franchises, save perhaps Canada.

Also, I had no idea Belgian drag would be so humourous, or that the humour would be quite so surreal! I’d describe the majority of these Talent Show acts as deliberately comedic, and all of them had at least a slight edge of absurdity to them. Compare that to España, whose last Talent Show felt like queens were competing in an intergalactic tournament with their very lives at stake!

I see a potential downside of this franchise being that when the humor misses the mark things may seem underwhelming. That could be because the queens simply aren’t funny, or because their humour is are low key and it doesn’t translate well out of the Belgian idiom. Some of these Talent Show performances felt like they may have required us to be in on the joke as viewers, and I can’t tell if that was a Belgian thing or just down to the intensely unique perspectives of each queen.

I’m impressed with Rita Baga on her first Drag Race hosting outing. She’s not trying to be something she’s not by coming off as austere and full of glamour. Rita is our beloved Quebecois alien actress and a dedicated weirdo, but she’s also always authentic. I think she balanced her silly side with clear, incisive commentary as the head judge on the panel. She also showed a fair amount of sympathy for the queens as competitors.

If you came into “Bonjour Iedereen” looking for American-style haute couture and back-breaking stunts, it’s likely you only found one or two opportunities to TOOT along the way.

However, if you treat watching this franchise in an education about how drag can be different all over the world, it was a charming introduction with a strong cast of characters.

How did the performances from this strong cast stack up against my Pre-Season Power Rankings, based only on Meet Queens Interviews and social media? I think I nailed the bottom of the pack, but there were many surprises in store at the top of the ranking to shake things up heading into this season.

(Want to watch Drag Race Belgique outside of Belgium? For most of the world, it’s available as part with a Wow Presents Plus subscription as soon as the episode is done airing.)

Lecteurs, start your engines. Et, que la meilleure Drag Queen gagne!

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 8 – “LipSync Lalaparuza Smackdown” Review & Power Ranking

February 18, 2023 by krisis

Welcome to my review, recap, and power rankings of the eighth episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 – “LipSync Lalaparuza Smackdown.” This is a new tradition on the show where we get to see all of the mid-season contenders lip sync to keep their place in the competition.

If I can be incredibly vulnerable with you for a moment (in a way that will bite me in the ass if I ever perform in drag later), I have a confession to make: I don’t care about lip syncing.

I’ll pause while some readers close their browser tabs in frustration. Not you. I know you’re a real one.

Sure, I dig lip syncs on Drag Race as the ultimate test of whether a queen sashays or shantés. And, I know that lip syncing is a cherished part of drag culture that partly stems from a history of performing celebrity illusions.

But, out in the wild? You watch someone move their body to another person’s song for four minutes. And I’m supposed to TIP THEM?!

Girl, I wouldn’t pay to go see Janet Jackson lip syncing back in the day, why would I care about a drag queen doing it? Especially when that drag queen might only fit in a few numbers in a night when Ms. Jackson is performing a whole damn show?

I’ve seen a few conceptual lip sync numbers live that have stuck with me, but for me every one of them was beaten beaten hands down by a queen singing live on the mic or performing an unusual talent. (I saw Ivy Winters do a costume quick-change number that was phenomenal!) Granted, queens who make their own custom mixes are giving us more of a perspective than someone who just says, “cue track X from YouTube,” but give me live singing. Give me a comedy act. Give me a circus performance.

Don’t give me a trio of four-minute lip sync spots and pretend that you performed a whole show.

(Keep in mind that I am someone who, when given the chance to take over a bar for a night, would play a FIVE HOUR SET from 9pm to 2am with only two 10 minute breaks. I have a more-is-more approach to entertainment that is reflected in my approach to making blog content.)

I know this opinion puts me at odds with essentially the entirety of the international drag industrial complex. (Except Charlie Hides, she always sings live.) Honestly, between this and not drinking, it’s why I’ve never been too interested in local drag shows. I’ve even considered performing in drag, but the idea of lip syncing just bores me too much.

Does that mean I was bored by this episode? Hell no! I think the Lalaparuza is a welcome addition to the show’s canon. It prevents any queen from sailing through the entire season without a lip sync. Plus, it’s a good way to feature everyone equally at the mid-season point to allow every queen to make a case for why she should be a finalist.

That means the Lalaparuza can really shake up my Power Rankings! There are some extremely unexpected rises and falls in the rankings compared to last week, including a new pair of challengers for what seemed like a completely locked-in Final Five.

Readers, start your engines. And, may the best drag queen win! [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 8 – “LipSync Lalaparuza Smackdown” Review & Power Ranking