Weekend Reads (November 2): Alan Moore, “The Far Side,” “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” Comic Sans
Recommended weekend reading material for November 2, 2024.
Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Batman: The Killing Joke) reflects on modern fandom, particularly within the realm of comics, and its impact on the broader society.
There are, of course, entirely benign fandoms, networks of cooperative individuals who quite like the same thing, can chat with others sharing the same pastime and, importantly, provide support for one another in difficult times. These healthy subcultures, however, are less likely to impact on society in the same way that the more strident and presumptuous fandoms have managed. Unnervingly rapidly, our culture has become a fan-based landscape that the rest of us are merely living in. Our entertainments may be cancelled prematurely through an adverse fan reaction, and we may endure largely misogynist crusades such as Gamergate or Comicsgate from those who think “gate” means “conspiracy”, and that Nixon’s disgrace was predicated on a plot involving water, but this is hardly the full extent to which fan attitudes have toxified the world surrounding us, most obviously in our politics.
It’s tempting to dismiss Moore as a curmudgeon, but also, he’s not wrong.
There are comic book fans, and then there are comic book fans. Before her death this past April, Christine Farrell had firmly established herself as one of the latter.
In the early 2000s, Farrell assembled a collection of everything published by DC Comics. She is believed to be the first person to ever achieve this feat. Her collection starts in 1935 and features the first appearances of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, plus obscure comics in genres like romance and science fiction.
“She was able to track down every single DC comic book, tens of thousands of them, going back to 1935 — plus she did all of this pre-internet,” said Lon Allen, vice president of Heritage Auctions.
Not only is Steven D. Greydanus a great movie critic, he’s also a great cartoon critic, as evidenced by his detailed breakdown of a classic Far Side one-panel.
Above all, this is a great gag and an ideal expression of Larson’s peculiar sensibilities. The most notable thing about this particular strip, though, is the unusual complexity of the storytelling and marshalling of a remarkably large number of cartooning conventions.
Abe Beame makes the case for repertory and revival screenings as a way to save movie theaters at a time when theatrical screenings are becoming less and less desirable (due to factors like improved home entertainment technology and smartphone-wielding movie audiences).
Repertory has been able to thrive because the medium isn’t beholden to the strictures the studio system has placed on mainstream, multiplex exhibitors. Repertory and art-house theaters can be smarter and more nimble with their slates and strategies. They can adjust, adapt, and cater to their base, whom they know on an intimate level, in ways major exhibitors couldn’t, even if they wanted to.
Repertory screenings are shaped by a particular curator; a theater can make up for lack of access with taste. Screenings can be eventized with filmmaker appearances; series can be dedicated to editors or cinematographers. Over a few weeks this year, American Cinematheque in Los Angeles ran a series dedicated to M. Emmet Walsh, threw a documentary film festival, and hosted a Q&A for a series featuring cult legend Alejandro Jodorowsky. (The nonprofit also recently expanded its slate to New York, where it hosted a version of its popular Bleak Week annual series, complete with a pitch-perfect Father’s Day screening of Hardcore.) Programmers can introduce new, surprising ways to think about a film, a director, or a genre with the films they screen. A good programmer can use theatrical formats and creative bookings to gin up interest, turning an opportunity to see a 50-year movie you can fire up on your couch right now into a once-in-a-lifetime, can’t-miss screening worth canceling other plans or hiring that babysitter for.
Looking back on my own theatergoing in 2024 so far, most of the screenings — like the 4K-remastered Seven Samurai — would probably count as repertory screenings. And I’m OK with that.
Ryan Shinkel charts the evolution of the horror genre and its understanding of evil and the supernatural.
A reactionary genre, horror suggests a moral order to our cosmos, that to vitiate it harms the soul, and that when our science accidentally awakens demons from the deep, technology alone cannot save the day.
Writing for Christ and Pop Culture, Cameron McAllister reviews The Texas Chain Saw Massacre for its 50th anniversary.
For better or for worse, the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre stands as one of the great cinematic explorations of evil, complete with all of its human foibles and banal outworkings. On the face of it, this would seem to mark it as unbearable, a grueling test of endurance. But it’s not. In fact, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is disconcertingly captivating.
Disclaimer: I edited this piece for CAPC.
The Quietus highlights ten songs that tell the story of electronic body music, also known as EBM.
Pioneering artists such as Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, Die Krupps, DAF, Skinny Puppy, and The Klinik embraced a DIY ethos, often utilising makeshift studios with early synthesizers, drum machines, and tape decks. Jürgen Engler of Die Krupps even invented the Stahlophon, an iconic metal percussion instrument. Skinny Puppy and Front 242 pushed the sonic limits of samplers and reel-to-reel tape, while Nitzer Ebb’s relentless rhythms were shaped by the raw power of early sequencers. Cabaret Voltaire’s experimental tape splicing and Leæther Strip’s darker, more intense edge reflected the gritty, dystopian nature of their sound.
Inspired by this article, I pulled up Front 242’s Tyranny (For You) earlier this week. Originally released in 1991, it’s packed with classic rivethead bangers like “Sacrifice” and “Tragedy For You.”
A new Mozart composition was found earlier this year, and now, a previously unknown composition by Frédéric Chopin has been discovered 175 years after his death.
Newly discovered works by Chopin, who died in 1849 at 39, probably of tuberculosis, are rare. While he is one of music’s most beloved figures — his heart, pickled in a jar of alcohol, is encased in a church in Warsaw — he was less prolific than other composers, writing about 250 pieces, almost entirely for solo piano.
The manuscript at the Morgan, which it says is from between 1830 and 1835, when Chopin was in his early 20s, has several peculiarities. Though believed to be complete, the work is shorter than Chopin’s other waltzes — only 48 measures long with a repeat, or about 80 seconds. The piece, in the key of A minor, has unusual dynamic markings, including a triple forte, signifying maximum volume, near the start.
Via 1440.
According to travel blogger Michael Miszczak, Google is killing blogging in order to focus on developing its own AI-powered features with Reddit’s help.
You may have noticed, sometime around September 2023 that your Google search results were starting to include a whole lot of Reddit. And a bunch of Quora. For those of you who love Reddit, great. It can be a valuable tool. For those of you who prefer to get information from verified sources it became just another result to skip over.
So what happened? Many people were asking that same question. In September of 2023 Google started rolling out what it called its “Helpful Content Update.” The stated goal of this update to search results was to reduce the amount of spam and AI-generated crap that littered the internet. The actual result? The destruction of small publishers, blogs, and the Rise of Reddit.
My friend Eric has shared some pastoral thoughts concerning the upcoming election, and American politics in general.
I recently heard someone say that a certain electoral outcome would be “the end of Christianity in America.” What struck me was that the conditions they described are exactly the conditions Christians live in right now in places where the church is alive and spreading. We should desire justice and should be grateful for our freedom, but we should never confuse the benevolence of Caesar with the power of God. He will build His church and work to advance His kingdom of peace. No matter how any election turns out, all of the most important things will remain unchanged.
“Black Insurrectionist” is a popular and influential X/Twitter account that has helped spread numerous right-wing conspiracy theories. But it’s actually run by a white guy who has allegedly defrauded numerous individuals of millions of dollars.
The Black Insurrectionist account is linked directly to Jason G. Palmer, who has his own questionable backstory, starting with the fact that he isn’t Black, according to an Associated Press review of public records, open source data and interviews with a half-dozen people who interacted closely with Palmer over the past two decades. The records and personal accounts offer a portrait of an individual who has repeatedly been accused of defrauding business partners and lenders, has struggled with drug addiction and whose home was raided by the FBI over a decade ago. He also owes more than $6.7 million in back taxes to the state of New York.
From a geeky standpoint, the manner in which Palmer’s identity was discovered is kind of hilarious. If you want to be anonymous on social media, then you need to do better than, say, include your email address in videos.
Finally, Comic Sans recently turned 30, and Kim Tidwell thinks it’s time to reconsider the often maligned font. I’ve never thought of Comic Sans as subversive, but among other things, it’s been used to protest police brutality.
Ten years ago, Comic Sans appeared on t-shirts in response to Eric Garner’s brutal murder at the hands of the NYPD. Garner’s words, “I can’t breathe,” laid out in all caps, overwhelmingly in Comic Sans, became a striking black-and-white show of solidarity worn by NBA players in the weeks after his death. Critics came calling. The content of the message wasn’t up for debate; the font choice was. But, as John Brownlee pointed out in Fast Company, “Comic Sans is better than any other font at conveying innocence.” What better way to illustrate the tragedy of Eric Garner’s senseless killing? “It can be a very powerful typeface when used well,” Brownlee wrote.
Via TLDR Design.
From the Blog
As you might’ve guessed by now, I’ve been pretty excited about The Cure’s new album, which was released only yesterday. In the weeks leading up to its release, I listened through all of the band’s albums and — in true music nerd fashion — tried to rank them.
Over the course of 13 albums, as well as numerous singles and compilations, The Cure has established one of the most iconic and influential catalogs of music in the annals of alternative, goth, and post-punk. Their songs can be beautiful, ominous, heart-breaking, and harrowing — and sometimes, all at once. So to celebrate the impending release of their fourteenth album, the long-awaited Songs of a Lost World, I’ve been reacquainting myself with their discography, and trying to figure out where each album stands.
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