We will be defining what comic books are, where to place them in the categories of art and literature, how they are created, and how they ’work’.  This class is designed to be enlightening for new fans and thought-provoking for those who have been enjoying comics for years.  I will refer to Scott McCloud’s books Understanding Comics, as well as other books and comics, but there is no mandated textbook for this class.     

To be certain that all students are clear on my use of certain terms, I have prepared a page that gives my own personal definition of the terms I will use during this class.  Please review this before or during class.   Terms and Definitions

For reference, here is the Course Syllabus: Comics 101 Course Syllabus

CLASS (PODCAST) RELEASE HAS BEEN DELAYED DUE TO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS.  PLEASE CHECK BACK IN ONE WEEK.  THANK YOU. 

Are big cross-over events good for comics or bad for comics?  Are they good or bad for fans?  Are they good or bad for the industry?

In this episode, I give a quick history of ‘Big Events’, explain what is bad and even harmful about them, and give criteria for making them worthwhile and good for fans and the industry alike.  Feel free to debate my views and your own (on this site or with your friends) after listening.

GEEK UNIVERSITY

talkinnerdy.darkandmoodyforums.com

Comics 101 (Fanboy/girl Program)

COURSE SYLLABUS

Instructor: Prof. Jim

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Location: Your computer or ipod or other device (how convenient is that?!) 

Hours: Whenever you’d like (aren’t computers great?!)

Contact information: nerdyemails@yahoo.com   

Course Address: www.talkinnerdy.darkandmoodyforums.com

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Course Description:

Comics 101 is a study of American comic books and comic book collecting, designed to prepare students for the Fanboy/girl lifestyle and to give them the tools they need to excel in today’s New Nerd culture.  Classes include: ‘What are Comics?’, ’Comic Book History’, ‘Starting a Collection’, ‘Purchasing Comics’, ‘Why Comics are of Interest to and Collected by Geeks’, ‘How to Store/Care for Comics’, and ’Which Comics to Keep/Which to Sell’ (which will include a list of essential reading).  Completing all seven classes in this course and obtaining a passing grade in the final exam is required for completion of our Fanboy/girl Program and obtaining a Geek U Associates Degree in the Science of Comic Books.  If completed in conjunction with our Gamer Program you will gain a wide set of skills in two major aspects of Geek Culture.

Organization:

Each class will be posted as a single podcast under the Geek U category of the Talkin’ Nerdy site and each will also have a link in the Fanboy page accessed at the top of the Talkin’ Nerdy homepage.  Each class can be listened to at the student’s leisure and in whatever order the student decides.  Since classes will be posted as they are taped and edited, with no set schedule, students may wish to simply listen to each as it is released.  Students will listen to and study each class in its entirety, complete any homework assignments, then take the final exam, to complete the course.

Course Objectives: 

The objectives of Comics 101 include improving each student’s understanding of and appreciation for comic books and the hobby of collecting comics.  Once a student has completed this class, he or she should have an increased knowledge of the history of comics and a working understanding of how to collect and care for them.  Each student will know what comic books are and why they are an integral part of Geek Culture.  Anyone completing this course and implementing what they’ve learned (reading, collecting, etc.), should acquire the minimum education needed to be considered a Fanboy or Fangirl in any comic book-related social gatherings or conversations.

Course Topics:  

Topics include Comic Theory and Definition, Comic Book History, Comic Appreciation, and procedural topics to help students to thoughtfully accumulate and care for their own comics.  The reading and study of many titles, runs, and single issues will also be suggested, to help students get a broad sampling of the best the comic world has to offer.

Text and Required Supplies:

No text is required, but many are suggested.  Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics and The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide will be referenced, so having copies of both of those books would be helpful.  A multitude of actual comics and graphic novels will also be mentioned and students should strive to read any of these that are of interest to them, if they have access.  Many libraries have graphic novels available, so cost is often not an issue.  Michigan State University holds the largest comic book library in the world and I recommend a stop there to anyone traveling to or living in Michigan.  Students will of course need access to a computer or some means of visiting the site and listening to the podcasts. 

Grading Plan:

Geek U does not grade work, except on Final Exams, which will be simply a passing grade or a failing grade.

Class Rules/Teaching Philosophy/Feedback:

The only operating rules are that I would like each class listened to from beginning to end and commented on via email.  Let me know what you got out of each class and whether you enjoyed it.  Please, do not simply tell me that you already knew the history of comics – this is designed as an introductory course, after all - but, tell me whether you feel the history class would benefit most people wishing to improve their knowledge of comic book history.  More importantly, discuss with me how you feel about specific topics covered and what you learned and how it will help you.  Your growth as a Geek depends on your willingness to open yourself up to new ideas and concepts and the discussion of such things will help you to develop your own theories and talking points on anything from the industry to individual storylines.

Suggestions for Success:  

 If you are an experienced Fanboy or Fangirl already or a novice, I believe anyone can get a lot of use from this course if they use it as a springboard for delving deeper into the world of comics.  Personal study is highly recommended.  In fact, it isn’t really study at all, is it?  All I am suggesting is that you read comics.  As study goes, that is about the best anyone can ever hope for.  It is my hope that by the end of this course you will have as great a love for the medium as I do and will be highly motivated to read as many good comics as you can and to really work on building a comic collection that reflects your individual taste.

Tentative Schedule for Comics 101:

Each class will be released as recording and editing is completed and will not be on a set schedule.  Because of this, I cannot post dates, but I can list the seven classes that make up the course.  As with anything in this syllabus, changes could occur at any time.

Comic Book Theory and Definition: ‘What are Comics?’

Comic Book History

Comic Book Appreciation: ‘Why Comics are of Interest to and Collected by Geeks’

Starting a Comic Book Collection

Comics Economics: How and Where to Purchase Comics

How to Store and Care for Comics

A Review of Comics (for fans and collectors): Which Comics to Keep and Which to Sell (includes a listing of essential reading)

As we leap into 2011, let’s take a quick look back at 2010, from a Geek’s point of view.

The top 3 news stories of 2010:

Avengers cast announced at ComicCon

Walking Dead brings Zombies to us every week and sets a new standard for comic book adaptations

 Steam has a big year-end sale

Top 3 Geek Movies of 2010:

3. Red, Inception, Machete, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part One, The Losers, The Expendables, Tron: Legacy, and Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World – tie!  Why a tie?  Because, I didn’t see any of these films.  I’m sure they are all great, but I’ll have to wait for video on all of them.  Sorry.  If you’d like to see more movie reviews, please donate to this site. 

2. Iron Man II  

1. Kick-Ass

The Eisner Award winning (2010, Best Continuing Series) Image comic on which the television show is based is written by Robert Kirkman with art by Tony Moore (1-6) and Charlie Adlard (from issue #7 on).  The first issue is perhaps the hotest comic released in the last ten years and a Mint (9.9) CGC certified copy recently sold for $1,825 on ebay.  A non-certified Near Mint copy sells for about $380, still making it a very expensive title.  The cost increase was not just recently and was not based on news of the television program, but strong interest in the series.  The Zombies Apocolypse genre’s fan base has grown over the last ten years, as evidenced by recent books (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The Zombie Survival Guide), video games (Left 4 Dead, Resident Evil), games (All Flesh Must Be Eaten!, Zombies!!!), and movies (28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland).  Also contributing to the mania is a stronger than ever cult following for both The Evil Dead and Night of the Living Dead film franchises.  In many ways, Zombies are the new Vampires! 

In my opinion, Zombies are freightening because they force us to face our most primal fear - death.  They are a walking (or shambling or running, depending on the director) reminder that we are all going to die and rot away some day.  Placing yourself in the role of the survivor, you are literally being chased by your own eventual end and greatest fear.  We can fight, we can run, and we can hide, but sooner or later we are all going to end up a corpse.  Of course, that might be our subconcious view, but on more of a surface level I think it is simply the adventure aspect that draws us in.  Survivors are often common people that we can all relate to that are forced into a situation where they have much to overcome.  They have to survive by wit and will or face a demise.  These are not trained mercenaries, but everyday folk, just like you and me, who pick up a bat and start swinging at Zombie heads.  We’d all like to think that we could handle the psychological, mental, and physical test of surviving against mindless, often slow-moving adversaries, right?  We can outrun them, out think them, and anyone can swing an ax, right?  What’s not to like in a fantasy where you have all the advantages, except numbers and not having numbers in your favor merely makes you that much more the hero?!  However, I think there is another reason the genre is so popular and that is that the primary foe is never the main character.  How can it be?  Zombies are just mindless murdering masses of the recently deceased.  They have no personality.  Jaws had more personality.  George Romero realized this and the authors of the great Tales of the Zombie comics Marvel produced in the late 1970’s knew it, too.  Zombies are just the catalyst for creating extreme circumstances for living characters to react to and for authors to comment on the human condition through.  Will the survivors maintain their humanity in such dire situations?  That is the question that drives the best Zombie stories and that is what keeps our interest in the genre so high in troubled times.  It is also how The Walking Dead is framed.

The Walking Dead pilot follows the comic fairly closely in telling the story of County Sherrif Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) awaking from a coma to discover that in the weeks he was out the world has been overrun by a Zombie epidemic.  What follows is violence and gore and disturbing images more horrific than any R-rated Zombie film not directed by George Romero – and this is on basic cable!  Not only is this show beautifully directed and scored, it is also well acted with first rate effects.  How they do this on a basic cable budget is beyond me.  Using mostly little known actors is part of the equation, though, and also part of the reason that it all seems so real.  I didn’t really recognize any of the actors, so it was much easier for me to see them only as the character they were portraying.  I did recognize the location and a lush green Georgia landscape brightened by bright blue skies during a sunny southern summer when contrasted with the dark and ugly Zombies strongly enhances the unsettling effect of the material.  Reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead, The Walking Dead starts off painfully slow (not counting the  introductory scene) and builds very slowly to a frantic and gorey climax.  Both of the first two episodes follow this recipe and I expect most will.  A single episode with non-stop action would be great for the season ender, but would be too intense for a regular episode, as well as taking up time needed for the all important character development and interraction.  Conversely, an episode with little action or few reminders of the dangers the survivors face would destroy the narrative.  Keeping things tense throughout, then ending with a bang is the best approach.

Other than some really bad editing in one spot (it is a little too obvious that the original script had T-Dog not leaving Merle to go cut up a Zombie, as evidenced by his unchanged reclined position on the roof), the second episode almost keeps up with the first.  It has less of a movie quality, if I am to define what is different, but that often happens after the pilot in most shows.  It does have the addition of the first actor I recognize – Michael Rooker.  Rooker plays a tough guy survivor who really doesn’t expect to live much longer and uses that as an excuse to do as he pleases.  I know him as the title character in one of my favorite horror films, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.  He was good in that, he’ll be great in this.  Again, not a very well known film in most circles, so most people will see him as Merle, not Henry.

Overall, I believe The Walking Dead has a chance of becoming the next great horror show on TV.  They seem to understand the Zombie Apocolypse genre and having a long-running comic series for inspiration can’t hurt, either.  It is on Sundays at 10:00 pm on AMC.  It could become your new ‘can’t miss’ show, so I suggest you make your way to the TV and watch every episode of this program.  In fact, since Zombies are involved, don’t walk – run!

Jim

(ps – I tried to stay spoiler free!)

Certified Geek (anyone posting a response in the Talkin’ Nerdy site)

Associates Degree in the Science of Comic Books (all seven Comics 101 classes and a passing exam grade)

Associates Degree in the Role Playing Game Arts (all seven RPG 101 classes and a passing exam grade)

Future higher-level degrees will be offered, as our student body grows.

 A Syllabus for each course will be available as classes (podcasts) are released.

Sterling's hand-made Comedy Mask

Pierce's Jokes logo

Pierce and Sterling tell their favorite jokes.

As I write this, the semi-finals are set to begin in a few days and there is an abundance of high level talent and unusual acts.  I never watched this show until this year, so I don’t really know much about its history, but I would guess that this has to rank up with one of the best seasons.  Certainly, having Howie Mandel in place of an oft-drunk David Hasselhoff improves things.

Here is a list of the final 24, with a few notes on each and my picks for the top 10.  So far, I have made only two errors in guessing who would move on during each step of the competition, so I think I have a better than average chance at picking the winner.  Of course, anyone can pick up their game at any time and rocket themselves to the top, but - for now – these are my impressions.

Top 24

• Krista Young: YouTube wanna-be Pat Benatar singer who will go home almost immediately.
• Michael Grasso: Good-looking and talented magician who you can tell is ready to stop performing at bar mitzvahs for drinks, so he can perform in Vegas for enough money to buy the best women and coke.  Ok, maybe the fact that he looks like the guy from Smokin’ Aces is playing with my mind, but I just get the feeling he will become a prick if he strikes it rich. 
• Connor Doran: Kite Flying Artist who actually brings tears to my eyes.  Top Ten material that was booted out and brought back.
• Michael Grimm: Sounds like Marc Cohn, but with more real soul.  Still, I think he is out-matched by some of the other singers.
• Anna & Patryk: Technically, these 12 year olds are the best dancers in the competition.  They are awesome.  Having said that, I still would not pay to see them. 
• Michael & Ashleigh: Brought back as a Wild Card and made the most of it – more so than anyone else.  I think they’ve already performed their best act.
• Jackie Evancho: The ten year old with a voice so incredible that people think she lip-synchs!  Top Ten every day of the week.
• Dan Sperry: A dark magician, with a morose sense of humor.  Can he pump things up and create bigger illusions?  I’m betting he can and will.  He has more personality than any of the other illusionists we’ve seen and that should give him the edge.
• Studio One Young Beast Society: Future touring dance stars?  Maybe.  Top Ten contestants?  Doubtful.
• Murray: Already a professional act, Murray is sure to astound, but rellies on technical wizardry (cameras and such) far too much to garner my respect.  Send me an email and I’ll tell you how he pulls off all his tricks.  He’s also very vanilla.
• ArcAttack: Music, electricity, energy, power, and four dorky tech-boys.  It’s the ending of Revenge of the Nerds come to life.  Not my personal favorite act, but I think they are an impressive group.
• Prince Poppycock: Opera with flare and camp.  Fun, but not enough to move too much further.  I think he should host a Pee-Wee’s Playhouse sort of show, not perform in Vegas.
• Haspop: Amazing dancing and a great sense of humor.  Should be a member of a troop, not a solo act.
• AscenDance: Wall climbing and dance mix could be blown up into a true spectical in Vegas.  Imagine walls built out over and around the audience and an army of dancer/climbers!
• Antonio Restivo: Looks great, but always has gliches.  And for Pete’s Sake – stop crying!
• Future Funk: Little kids dancing their hearts out can get into the top 24, but not the top ten.
• Fighting Gravity: They have got to keep finding original ideas and cannot afford a single mistake.  If they can do that . . .
• Nate Kenyon: Another potential pop star and another also-ran.
• Alice Tan Ridley: I see her performing as the opening act for some major artists soon.  When James Brown sweated on stage it was cool, but when Alice does it is just kinda gross.  Dress light and have a fan blowing on you.
• Christina & Ali: How?  Why?
• Jeremy VanSchoonhoven: Suprisingly entertaining biker has made it as far as he should have.
• Taylor Mathews: Needs a really good performance to take him over the top.  He has it in him. 
• Maestro Alexander Bui: Classical pianist with incredible finger speed needs to pick a more fun and more well-known piece.  Even then, he may be just to high-brow for this show.
• Debra Romer: Ahhh, Debra.  Let me tell you about Debra Romer.  Early this summer, I was in Ludington Michigan on vacation and I ate at an Italian restaurant there.  In the next room (where the bar was), a beautiful blonde was singing rock/folk songs with a whispery soft voice that made me want to skip dinner and go listen to her.  After dinner, I went into the bar with my two young sons and we listened and were mesmerized.  She had a vulnerability and sexiness that made every man in the bar want to either marry her or simply take care of her.  My sons said they just thought she was pretty and sang well, but I think it went a little further than that even for them.  When everyone else (I was there with about a dozen friends) finished eating and urged me to leave, she paused mid-verse to thank us for listening.  I just wanted to give her a hug right then!  The next week, this guitar playing folky singer was on America’s Got Talent: The Chicago Auditions and to my amazement, Debra Romer actually sang a little worse than what I had heard her sing before, but still wowed the audience.  Don’t mistake what you are seeing and hearing, though - THIS is an IT girl!  As long as those assisting and coaching the talents don’t advise her to sing differently or the wrong songs - Debra will make the top ten.  I just hope she goes back to the songs that spotlight her music-as-reflective meditation, innocent persona – and her breathy-then-playful vocals. 

My Personal Favorites: Connor Doran, Dan Sperry, Prince Poppycock, AscenDance, Fighting Gravity, and Debra Romer.

 My picks for Top Ten:

• Taylor Mathews
• Alice Tan Ridley
• Jackie Evancho
• ArcAttack
• Fighting Gravity
• Connor Doran
• Anna & Patryk
• Dan Sperry
• Debra Romer
• AscenDance

Let me know your views and check out my comments for updates.

Jim