Going Faster Miles an Hour
by T. Hodler
Friday, December 18, 2009
I’m not sure why Robin McConnell chose this image to illustrate the “Best of 2009” Inkstuds radio show — we never ended up discussing Blackest Night, even though I read all five issues to date in preparation. (Fellow show guest Sean T. Collins, apparently a sadist, chose it as a potential topic.) Robin, Sean, Chris Mautner, and I did end up talking about a bunch of other 2009 highlights, though, and if for some reason you haven’t had your fill of comic-book blather this holiday season, you can listen to the show yourself here.
Actually, I kind of wish we had had the time to cover Blackest Night, which isn’t really good, but does represent a kind of ultra-meta-state-of-the-comics-industry symbolism that is almost impossible not to appreciate on an abstract level, whether or not it’s worth reading. (It isn’t, unless for “scholarly” purposes.) Then again, the subtext (or is it just text?) in question is pretty obvious, so it’s not like anyone needed a bunch of pointy-headed critics to draw it out.
Labels: audio, Chris Mautner, Inkstuds, Sean T. Collins, superheroes, T. Hodler
I'm sorry to have inflicted Blackest Night on you, Tim–but did it even make Robin's shortlist? I thought you'd been spared! (I like it, but haha, the thought of you reading it!)
Ha! You probably won't read this, Sean, since it's been so long since you commented, but just in case: don't worry about it. I had actually already read the first few issues, so it wasn't as big a hardship as I pretended.
As a matter of fact, I've read a ton more superhero stuff in the past few months than I have in years, as the early weeks of fatherhood meant I spent a lot of late nights looking for mindless things to do while I tried to get my daughter to sleep. I think my superhero phase is winding down now, though.