Jesse Bloggs

My girlfriend and I recently decided that the new Watchmen movie would be too dark and violent for her delicate sensibilities (she’s such a sweetie!), and since she’s out of town and my other plans for the evening fell through, I think tonight might be a good time to go and see it.  By myself.  Oh, the trouble we nerds get into when left unsupervised!

Speaking of Watchmen, I just read a great article at Slate by Grady Hendrix entitled, “Watchmen Failed:  The revolution it was supposed to inspire—comics about ordinary people—never happened.”  It’s about the history of the Watchmen comic, the intentions of its creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, its ongoing influence on superhero comics and the problems with Zack Snyder’s film adaptation.  My one complaint is that the title of Hendrix’s article can only be considered correct if one completely ignores the history and existence of alternative comics, which began (some argue) with the publication of Gilberto, Jamie and Mario Hernandez’s Love and Rockets in 1981, preceding the publication of Watchmen by five years and inspiring a revolution of comics about ordinary people that did happen.  In his article, however, Hendrix limits his criticism of comics to superhero comics, so it’s quite possible that some editor chose the title for its inflammatory, rhetorical value, rather than for its honesty.  And as I’ve shown in the past, the titles of Slate articles, like the covers for superhero comic books, don’t always accurately represent their contents.  Anyway, here’s the money quote from Hendrix’s article:

[. . . A]rtistically, Watchmen came and went, and the promised revolution in comic-book storytelling never happened. [. . . Instead it] became to comic books what The Sopranos is to TV: an intellectual fig leaf concealing the vast wasteland of Two and a Half Men reruns.

Ain’t it the truth.

Also, now that the Watchmen soundtrack is out, I see the powers-that-be chose to ignore my song suggestions.  The pussies.  Seriously though, “Unforgettable,” by Nat King Cole, “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkle, and “I’m Your Boogie Man” by KC and the Sunshine Band for the soundtrack to a movie based on one of the most violent, grim and depressingly existential works of fiction of all time?  And “The Times They Are A-Changin’”?  Really?  You couldn’t have gone for Dylan’s “Isis,” or at least “Masters of War”?  The only song that seems a good fit is My Chemical Romance’s cover of Dylan’s “Desolation Row,” in which the band does a credible imitation of a hardcore punk band.  What is up with My Chemical Romance, anyway?  Their last big song, “Welcome to the Black Parade,” was a credible imitation of a Queen song.  Hey, The Aquabats could be derivative, too, (and derivative of Queen, to boot), but they never made it so big.  I guess they should’ve gone with Emo instead of Ska.