Shut Up And Listen 35 Sunday November 11, 2001 Life As A House No, I haven't seen the movie, but I couldn't come up with another name. But while I'm here, I should just say a quick thing about that movie. It is considered an Oscar contender already and that doesn't surprise me. Look at the name . . . doesn't it just sound like an Oscar winner? You can almost tell Oscar winners these days by their names. My mood seems to change from second to second, so don't be surprised if the pace and tone of this part of my column changes as I go on. Been dealing with someone online on the boards who is nothing but a gimmick poster. People like that piss me off. If you don't have something intelligent to say, don't speak. Hell, just make sure you're saying something worthwhile, not just gibberish like this guy was. He also signed my guestbook "in character" and I deleted it. Do think it's someone I know though. That's the thing that pisses me off about the Internet; you can never tell who's who. I tell you, taking a dark, autumn day, adding a Matt Good CD and then throwing in some Hunter Thompson is never a smart combination for an angry teen. Because of the various influences, I'm about ten seconds away from stealing a car and finding a politician to beat to death. I don't think I'd get convicted, do you? Seriously, what's wrong with the world? I was talking to a guy last night and he got really pissed when I started in on Bush. Instead of countering my arguments, he threw a hissy fit—which was later explained as relating to a headache. It seems far too many people do that these days though. They don't argue back—claiming that there's no sense, because I'm not going to change, but I do it, knowing they won't either—or they just up and leave. Fuck, at least try to change the subject! I don't know what my point is . . . that's happened a lot lately. And I have just be subjugated to a godawful commercial bashing cigarettes by the federal government. I can't stand this level of hypocrisy. Here they have been supporting the goddamn cigarette companies for decades and using their death products to make money, and now they're saying don't buy them. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: anyone who started smoking within the past 10-15 years knows what they get. If you don't know that cigarettes kill, then . . . I'm loathe to say we're better off without you, but . . . Monday November 12, 2001 Interview With . . . Joe Casey! I remember a few years ago I had a subscription to Cable and was enjoying James Robinson's run on the title, only to have it interrupted by some guy named Casey. I mean, I had heard of fill-in artists, but when I saw Casey's name on the cover, well, I thought it had to be a mistake. But, no, it wasn't a mistake, a hereto unknown named Joe Casey was writing my favourite comic. Since then Casey has written many comics that, because of him, I considered my favourite comic at the time. From Cable to Deathlok to Mr. Majestic to Wildcats, the guy has impressed me with some kickass writing. Casey is also a writer who has been controversial at times. Especially in regards to those of us who visit message boards. Now, of course I was offended a little, but does that affect his writing or how I view it? Nope. That's something people sometimes get mixed up, but that's another discussion for another time. Without further ramblings, I present my interview with Joe Casey. Me: Tell us a little about yourself. Casey: I was born, I got taller, I got a job writing comic books, and here I am today. Me: How did you get interested in writing? Casey: When I was growing up, there was no shortage of great books and movies, all of which I devoured. Those things inspired me to want to tell my own stories. I truly believe that the best stories told are interactive . . . they fire the reader's imagination to such a degree that they're practically writing the story along with the storyteller as they're reading it (or watching it, in the case of a film). That's what I did as a reader (and as a viewer) . . . at some point I decided to try and get paid for doing it. Me: What have you written? Casey: Too many books to list here. I had a good run on Cable with Ladronn a few years ago. Mr. Majestic was a fun book, too. X-Men: Children Of The Atom was a mini-series I wrote that was recently collected in a mass-market trade paperback edition. Sean Phillips and I just finished our run on Wildcats Vol. 2. Me: What are you working on right now? Casey: Uncanny X-Men and Adventures Of Superman, both monthly for the two big publishers. Next year, Wildcats VERSION 3.0 and Automatic Kafka, both part of Wildstorm's mature readers line. Codeflesh (co- created with artist Charlie Adlard) is currently appearing in Funk-O-Tron's Double Take book. Some other top-secret stuff is coming up, but it's too soon to talk about. Me: Tell everyone a little about Man Of Action. Casey: I'd rather everyone find out for themselves. Go to www.manofaction.tv and all questions will be answered. Me: Is Wildcats going to change much in Vol. 3, in relation to the tone and feel of Vol. 2? It's not going to become like most other superhero comics, is it? Casey: I sure as hell hope not. I have no interest in my books being like most other superhero books. VERSION 3.0 will have a different focus than Vol. 2, but the level of characterization will remain (I hope!). Me: You've hinted that Poptopia was similar to previous X-Men stories on purpose. Did you really do that on purpose, as a theme of pop recycling itself? Casey: As a reader, you have the absolute right to read any interpretation into the books you read. I'd hate to spoil that with whatever my interpretation might be. I wrote the story . . . that's how I fulfill my end of the bargain. For those who buy it and read it, I'm definitely grateful. At that point, they've more than fulfilled their end of the bargain. Now, if they actually liked what they read . . . great. If they didn't . . . well, you can't please everybody. Nor do I particularly want to. Me: Do you find that writing Superman with three other guys to be constraining, at times, creatively? Casey: Not at all. We all get along great (the four writers and editor, Eddie Berganza). That solves a lot of problems before they even occur. The real question is one that I get much more often . . . "Is writing a corporate icon that's been around for sixty plus years creatively constraining?" It's a valid question, because the Superman legend is pretty much set in stone. Not a lot of room to maneuver there. But think about how many great, different and original rock n' roll songs were written with the same three or four chords. With Superman stories, you just need to pick the right three or four chords and play the hell out of 'em. Right now we've got a pretty good band going. Me: Boxers or briefs? Casey: Boxers, definitely. Briefs are fine for the kiddies. Me: Cats or dogs? Casey: Either or neither, depending upon the personality of the animal. Me: Winter or summer? Casey: I live in Los Angeles, a place where there is no winter. What does that tell you . . . ? Me: Any cool stories involving chicks? Casey: Plenty. Me: I just handed you a gun with 100 untraceable bullets, who or what do you use them on? Casey: Well, I'd shoot you first. I'd have to. Anyone who has access to guns and untraceable bullets is too dangerous to let live. Not to mention anyone that would be dumb enough to hand them over to me . . . Me: What comics are you currently digging? Casey: Besides the occasional original graphic novel, I follow what my industry friends are doing, mainly. The usual suspects. I'm looking forward to the other books in the Wildstorm mature readers line. And once all the guys currently doing Marvel superheroes get back to their creator-owned passions, I predict we're going to see some fantastic, groundbreaking stuff. Me: What are you in your band? Casey: Often, I'm an unwilling participant. Other times, I'm steering the ship. The Sellouts are a constantly evolving beast and thank God for that. We're back at the Whisky A Go-Go on Sunset Blvd. on Dec. 15th. Me: Using up some of your unused ideas for Mr. Majestic on Superman? Casey: No way. On Superman, I could never get away with the things we did in the Mr. Majestic book. Me: With the amount of sex you are putting in X-Men, you really are trying to appeal to the fanboys, aren't you? Casey: I dunno . . . what's a fanboy? Me: Still want to The Secret Society Of Super-Villains? Casey: I don't think so. That was one of my first proposals and since then I've strip-mined most of those ideas and concepts and used them in other books. Me: Who do you love? Casey: Why do you ask? Me: Any final words? Casey: Not for a long time, I hope. The Upper Ten Percent People are not that intelligent, you know. I've been saying this for a while, but today I got some proof. Well, it really started last night when neither one of my sisters knew how to spell "implement." Today I was telling this to Lunchbox and we got to talking and well, one thing led to another and we asked four girls sitting near us to: 1) Spell implement. 2) Tell us the meaning of antithesis. Not a single one could. I still have yet to find someone besides Lunchbox who can tell me the meaning of antithesis. Tuesday November 13, 2001 Damn, I'm Tired Yes, last night I got to talking to a number of people online. It seems that everyone I either in a time zone that is daytime when it's night here, or it's just earlier in the night. Did get a chance to talk to Craig, in Australia, which I haven't done in awhile. His wife is pregnant, so I had to make a joke about chicken fried in peanut butter. The funny thing is that the due date is January 29, which is my birthday. That would be kind of cool, if his kid was born then. Heh . . . The Bill That Didn't Pass The proposed bill put forth to combat terrorism in Canada has been removed, so it can be re-tooled. A lot of people thought that it gave the police far too much power and should have a sunset clause—a date when it runs out and can be renewed. All I say is, fucking a! Wednesday November 14, 2001 Top 25 Songs Of All Time Here are my top 25 songs of all time. If I left something off that you think should be on, tell me, because I forgot it, never heard it or didn't think it was worthy. And, yes, this list is biased towards my own tastes. 1. What A Good Boy—Barenaked Ladies 2. Paranoid Android—Radiohead 3. Enter Sandman—Metallica 4. Brian Wilson—Barenaked Ladies 5. 4 am—Our Lady Peace 6. Wave Motion Gun—Marcy Playground 7. Lightning Crashes—Live 8. The Bends—Radiohead 9. Voodoo Lady—Live 10. The Future Is X-Rated—Matthew Good Band 11. Of Wolf And Man—Metallica 12. Song 2—Blur 13. Ahead By A Century—The Tragically Hip 14. Please Forgive Me—David Gray 15. Logical Song—Supertramp 16. Creep—Radiohead 17. Secret Squirrel—Marcy Playground 18. The Old Apartment—Barenaked Ladies 19. One Headlight—The Wallflowers 20. Longview—Green Day 21. Apparitions—Matthew Good Band 22. My Own Prison—Creed 23. Semi-Charmed Life—Third Eye Blind 24. Conventioneers—Barenaked Ladies 25. From The Marcy Playground—Marcy Playground So, what do you think? Sounds like a great album. Thursday November 15, 2001 I Don't Know Yes, I have hit another one of my mood swings. I don't know anymore. Life kind of sucks. Today, I got a response from a group that I sent a sample to and they wanted to publish it after some slight re-writing (the Am I Evil? story), sadly, I can't do it. The group, Third Eye Publishing, puts out an annual book that spotlights the work of writers, but each contributor must chip in a few hundred bucks to cover costs and I can't do that. So far, that's three places willing to publish me and none have worked out. Chad Nevett: The Unpublishable Writer. Some Cool Art Today, a package arrived in the mail for me. I'd been waiting for this for about a week, so it wasn't a surprise. It was full of photocopies of some original art by Bryan Hitch, Darick Robertson and Tom Raney, from a person I know from the boards. Thanks a lot, Selkie! You da woman! Friday November 16, 2001 Bastard Replaced By A Man Of The Same Breed I heard something bad today. If you live here in Ontario or follow this column you may be aware that Ontario Premiere Mike Harris is retiring from office and that a leadership election of the PC party will be held in the spring to appoint the next leader of the party and Premiere of Ontario—because in Canada, we vote for the party, not the person (which means, if the Prime Minister went against his party, he could be kicked out of the party and therefore no longer be Prime Minister). Well, one of the people running for the position has promised to bring Ontario closer to the right side of the political spectrum. I thought it already was . . . Fuck sake! Saturday November 17, 2001 The Mind Races Yeah, just read some more Hunter Thompson and my mind is a fucking racecar. Reading his shit has got me back into politics in a big fucking way. His stories about trying to take over Aspen make me want to do something here in London. Fuck, but Sean Twist tried running for council in his ward and was defeated miserably. I think that I would have a hard time getting elected anywhere (at least right now). Although, maybe, for now, I can go back to just sending nasty letters to politicians via e-mail.