Goodbye Carl Macek, and good riddance

It has recently come to my attention that Carl Macek has kicked the bucket and gone to the big anime convention in the sky.  Well, I know it's not good to speak ill of the dead, but that won't stop me from evaluating this man's career and impact on the anime community.

First off, I hate the guy.  Let's get that out of the way.  Macek's wikipedia page refers to the man as an "anime pioneer", but in reality, he is no more than an anime opportunist.  The man was egotistical, had terrible taste and was foolishly ethnocentric.

 I know that Carl Macek has many admirers out there.  This is mainly because they believe he somehow introduced anime to North America through Robotech in 1985.  The popular belief is that somehow Macek's efforts made anime what it is today.  What a load of shit.  If anyone takes the time to look closely, we can already see that there were already many popular animes in America before Macek ever got his filthy, grubby fingers on it.

Star Blazers (originally Star Ship Yamato) was a huge hit.  It was broadcast in America starting in 1979, produced by Westchester Film Corporation:

Kazuo Umezu - Prince of Horror

This post is dedicated to Kazuo Umezu and his wonderful work, Fourteen.  You can read his brief biography here at Wikipedia.  Okay, done?

Kazuo Umezu is revered as the "Prince of Horror" in Japan.  He started publishing stuff in the 1970's and has continued to work making horror shows, though he has retired from manga (more on that later).  His is not too well known in the states; his most famous work in the U.S. being "Cat Eyed Boy".  It's a shame, because this guy's horror is really good.  However, before I go on,  I must also say that some of his books are kinda twisted and would never, ever be translated in America.  This is probably the reason why he is not too popular here.

Comics Review - Get Jiro

It's not every day that you read a comic book written by a celebrity chef, but that's just exactly what Get Jiro is.  This graphic novel written by Anthony Bourdain is definitely offbeat.  Get Jiro takes place in a dystopian future where America's economy is stagnating and the only sector with any kind of growth is food.  Thus, the food industry becomes very important and as a result chefs wield strong political power.  The main character is a master sushi chef who gets entangled between two warring restaurant factions. Sounds strange enough?

Omega the Unkown 

Another excellent post-modern, deconstructionist comic.  This time, about an obscure Marvel character that is figuratively and literally unknown.  This is a comic book about alienation.  The title character, Omega, behaves in a way that would be diagnosed today as Asperger's.  Instead of a dashing hero or some rugged bad-ass, Omega is a drifter and a loner.  He rarely speaks, and when he does, it is often to himself.

Strange concept, but perhaps I should provide some background.  The original Omega was published in the 80's and written by Steve Gerber.  During those days, comic book creators did not have any ownership of their characters.  The original Omega was shoe-horned in between other superheroes at the time, such as the Incredible Hulk.  The full potential of the superhero was never realized.  You can tell what Gerber was going for, but the project was killed off before the story properly concluded.

Comic book review - Brat Pack by Rick Veitch

Welcome to the Leper's Hovel.  In here you will find rantings on current events, off beat entertainment, and other contrarian views.

For my first blog post, I would like to talk about a very underrated graphic novel by comic book artist Rich Veitch: Brat Pack

This has nothing to do with the 80's teenage movie genera.  I suspect that the name may be responsible for this comic's relative obscurity.  

First things first, this comic book is a post modern take on super heroes.  Much in the same vein as Watchmen, it tries to de-construct the American comic book genera.  Also like Watchment, it is straight up satire, and very dark satire at that.  Unlike Watchmen, however, Brat Pack is genuinely insightful into the superhero genera.  Watchmen, although a very good attempt, suffers from being a story told from an outsider's perspective.  Watchmen's creator, Alan Moore, was a part of the "British Invasion" in comic books along with Grant Morrison and Neil Gaiman.  The story of Watchmen, therefore, was essentially a Brit's attempt at deconstructing a quintessential American art form.