Friday, January 04, 2008

The Future is Wow

Panel Panache

Still sort of a yearender post, but it works pretty well as a new year entry too. Some of these comics weren’t necessarily released during that span, but I read them within the year, anyway:

I loved Avengers Initiative, Walking Dead, She-Hulk (Dan Slott’s run), New Warriors (whoa, depowered X-Men!), 52, Birds of Prey (Simone and Bedard’s issues), JSA, New X-Men (finally!), All-Star Superman, Annihilation: Starlord, Modok’s 11, Dr. Strange: The Oath, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Nightwing Annual # 2 (the Dick and Babs ish), Deadpool-GLI, X-Men (Carey’s good), Astonishing X-Men (Yay, Cyke and Emma!), Ares, World War Hulk, Pride of Baghdad, X-Factor, JLA (McDuffie’s issues), Exiles (Bedard), Cable-Deadpool, Irredeemable Antman, and all the Marvel Handbooks.

The okay ones: New Avengers, Thunderbolts (but I still don’t like Penance), Justice (er, nice art!), World War Hulk: Frontline, Astounding Wolfman, Illuminati (except # 3), Angel: After the Fall (except for the art), Runaways, Mighty Avengers, Avengers Classics, Astro City- The Dark Age (Book Two), Thor, Black Adam, JLA (Meltzer’s run), The Immortal Iron Fist, Nova and Civil War Frontline.

Things I really disliked: The rushed and silly Civil War ending, the Beyonder retcon in Illuminati (he’s a what, now ?!), Amazons Attack, World War III, the pointless Countdown tie-ins, the impending massive retcon via the Skrull invasion, the delayed ending of Wonder Woman’s first arc, still no monthly Young Avengers, the ending of Loners, the current Legion version, and the long wait between Astonishing X-Men issues.

Hope there’ll be more great comic books and less tedious ones this year. Hmm. I’ve been reading about protests over Spider-Man’s One More Day arc. Must read that soon!

Dried Pretty

Literate and infectious, Mozzie’s music is that rare marriage of reflective content and technical soundness, so yeah, the group sounds great while sending different messages and telling stories.

The indie band’s debut recording, the “Dried to Pseudo-Perfection” EP, audibly shows focus and cohesion, reflecting Mozzie’s solidly executed songs during live performances. Skillful instrumentation and introspective lyrics characterize all seven originals, most of which sound like a frictionless locking of angry ‘90s rocker chick sensibilities with contemporary alt-pop bounce.

There’s self-awareness in the tempo-shifting “Reckless,” a ditty that speaks of growing up and losing some direction along the way (“Ten years ago I seemed so promising/ ten years ago I was so innocent/ Now I’m just tired/ so tired”). Another track, “Shut It,” whose upbeat pacing and structure sounds inspired by early No Doubt, tackles hurtful and hard-to-ignore brickbats. The similarly catchy (and definitely self-aware) “Bolgia Six,” meanwhile, asks, “Aren’t we all just hypocrites/ for never admitting to be one?” It recognizes the failure of the judgmental to look at their own lamentable mistakes.

Relevance hasn’t been a problem, thanks to the songwriting. “Ugliest” and “Face for Sale” apparently share lines and thoughts about cosmetic beauty, but are two distinct pieces. The former self-deprecatingly muses about unconditional love (“You loved me at my ugliest!”), while the latter discusses vanity and one’s seemingly perpetual desire to be “perfect.”

The various subjects shape different moods each time. “Starfucker” indignantly exposes a has-been child star’s present-day misadventures, stanzas periodically and eerily building up to an aptly loud catharsis. And speaking of grownup issues, the simpler lyriced “So Bad” may not possess the clever wordplay worked into the other songs, but its starkness effectively and entrancingly conveys longing. It also prominently features the vocalist’s range and emotional verve, further lending the words sincerity and substance.

It may not be suitable for really young listeners, for obvious reasons, but the 20- and 30-somethings have a lot to relate to in “Dried to Pseudo-Perfection.” Some of the songs celebrate femininity, while others are universally relatable confessions. Collectively wise and honest, the material in the EP heralds good things to come. It would be interesting to hear one or two original Tagalog songs in the upcoming album, as well.

Make it happen, Mozzie.

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