A great podcast that talks about all things Fist of Khonshu. Worth checking out!
Our friends who host the Conan Podcast! Check out their other podcasts here.
The Paint Monk uses CBCS to grade all of his key comics. Check out their prices - lower than CGC and just as good.
A podcast featuring titles from the Golden Age of comics.
Keep up-to-date on all the comics coming out that are based on the works and worlds of Robert E. Howard!
All you ever wanted to know about the short-lived Atlas Comics of the 1970s and its equally short-lived revival in 2011-2013.
Our friends at "Diversions of the Groovy Kind" take a look at many different Bronze Age comics! Check them out.
Do you enjoy Marvel's beloved superhero "non-team?" This is a nice blog for Defenders fans!
Get Marvel Unlimited - and access to over 20,000 of the best comic books in the industry - for only $9.99 a month!
Digital INDY comic subscription service with some Marvel and DC Comics, too.
Ok, so I can see this blog is being read (about 9 readers a day!) yet no one has liked us or added us to circles on Google +. That’s fine, but I’d love to know who you are, and maybe have a comment or two here on the blog.
I’ve created a Facebook Group for Paint Monk’s Library – like us there, and get updates, additional blog posts and more. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/Paint-Monks-Library-1725147764459342/
Thanks! Wally – AKA Paint Monk
(EDITOR’S NOTE: I waited until I had seen FIVE episodes of Star Trek: Discovery before I wrote this column and just couldn’t take it anymore.)
I know this page isn’t about movies. But what comic book/fantasy miniatures enthusiast isn’t a fan of Star Trek or Star Wars?
I’m going to take a minute to rant about the new so-called Star Trek: Discovery series on CBS All Access. To quote Courage the Cowardly Dog’s supporting cast, “It’s Garbage. It’s not just Garbage, it’s King Garbage. Of the Garbage Dynasty.”
Take the brooding Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) from The Walking Dead and plop her into a Star Fleet uniform. She’s exactly the same character. Angry. Brooding. Defiant.
In other words, she’s everything we know that a good Star Fleet officer ISN’T.
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| What is it? Definitely not a Klingon. |
In the first episode, Green’s character (Michael Burnham) commits mutiny and in the second episode she’s on her way to prison. But wait…the new captain of Discovery has a use for her, and decides to re-introduce her to the crew. In the third (or fourth) episode, she gets into an argument with the ship’s first officer and is relieved of duty. Honestly, in any of the preceeding Star Trek series, she never would have made her way out of the brig after her shenanigans in episode 1.
Give me Jean-Luc Picard or Benjamin Sisko any day. The lead character of this show is a jerk. While Star Trek has always had a political message (environment/racism/unity), this one seems to scream “Defy authority if your message is pure. It’s OK and will be rewarded.” And that’s not the message Star Trek has always sought to present. When was the last time you saw Mr. Spock or Lt. Cmdr. Riker tell Kirk or Picard to take a hike, much less knock them unconscious?
Other problems, which are even more obvious:
1) Vulcans don’t show emotion. Green’s character screams it, and although she is human, she was on Vulcan for years studying and is supposed to behave in a “Vulcan” manner.
2) The new take on Klingons – ummm. I can’t even imagine these guys singing battle songs, let alone telling war stories and patting each other on the back. They’re more like burly Dark Elves from some low fantasy setting. Worf would put his bat’leth in a garage sale if he saw how his predecessors acted. And apparently all the Klingons subsequent to those in Discovery had major plastic surgery, too.
3) Congrats. Star Trek has merged into Star Wars with the special effects here.
4) Michael Burnham’s roommate, the highly annoying and apparently caffeine-addicted Sylvia
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| Mr. Spock, after watching Star Trek: Discovery. |
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Tilly. She drops the F-bomb when a new scientific breakthrough is made. “That’s so f***ing cool,” she says, then apologizes. The lieutenant in charge says, “No, it’s OK. It is so f***king cool.” Are you serious? Tilly, with her hyper-energized antics and stereotypical valley girl behavior would never have made it out of Star Fleet Academy. I’m no child and I’m no stranger to swearing, but really, guys? Apparently we need to “dumb everything down,” and Star Trek is no exception. After all, if we’re not cool with profanity, we’re just old fuddy-duddies, right?
I could go on, but go ahead, check it out for yourself.
Suffice to say that the new Star Trek: Discovery just isn’t Star Trek. Perhaps a good sci-fi show on its own, but my hope is that it dies a quick death like Star Trek: Enterprise.
Even Scott Bakula played a more likable character than Michael Burnham.
(UPDATE: After finishing my thoughts here, I learned that they’ve renewed this train wreck for Season 2. Sigh.)
Slasher flicks and slasher horror just don’t do it for me. But have an eloquent writer weaving tales of the supernatural – of ghostly beings from beyond the grave, mixed with an occasional tale of dark fantasy – and I’m hooked.
Chamber of Chills #1 (premiering in 1972 after the 1971 loosening of rules created by the Comics Code Authority) is a strange masterpiece of different works, including a story called “Moon of Madness, Moon of Fear” written by sci-fi novelist George Alec Effinger. The artist of this particular story is the famous P. Craig Russell – who is simply referred to as “Craig Russell” in the credits. The work is not listed in his online list of art credits.
Other famous writers and artists got a shot in Chamber of Chills later issues as well – including famous American history novelist John Jakes. Jakes’ notable sword-and-sorcery character Brak the Barbarian makes an appearance in Chamber of Chills #2, in a story illustrated by none other than fantasy great Val Meyerik and also Dan Adkins.
Other industry legends – Gardner Fox, Stan Lee, Howard Chaykin, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, and John Romita Sr. would leave their mark on the series too.
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| Val Mayerik’s artwork for “The Spell of the Dragon” in COC #2. Story by John Jakes. |
This particular series – or at least the few isses I have been able to acquire – reflect a time when comics were truly an art form, and writers really took their time to weave intriguing stories. Add in the limitations that the Comics Code Authority placed on the theme and content of the stories,
and you had writers who really had to think to come up with well-thought out and well-worded stories. I still chuckle at some modern comics, with their full-page action panels with “WHAM!” as the only dialogue on the page. The art is great, but the lack of dialogue boxes and written copy reminds me of the old Adam West Batman combat sequences.
As a kid, I remember learning a lot from comics. In third grade, I knew that a “biped” was something that walked on two legs. The teacher actually argued with me and insisted that we looked up the word. Yet Conan the Barbarian taught me about “bipedal monstrosities” and other creatures the Cimmerian had to face long before the 3rd Grade textbook did.
And so I return to the reason these Marvel horror comics struck me as something of high quality. They were from an era when people cared about what they wrote, sought to come up with artwork equal to the story, and tried to tell a tale. Definitely a far cry from today, when attention spans seem minimal and everything is action, action and more action.
Until next time, – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)
Maybe I’m old, or maybe I just look at comic books differently than when I was a kid.
A few years ago, I got back into comic book collecting. I started with the GIT-Corp digital collections (now out of print, sadly) and moved on to Marvel Unlimited. Both are great ways to get entire digital collections of comics for a very low price.
The Comics Code Authority was abandoned years ago, but as I look at newer comics, I wonder if the loss of the CCA was the end of an era in many ways for the writing in comics today.
CCA had specific criteria for what could be included in comics and what could not. There were limitations on things like profanity, nudity and even subject matter that had to be followed in order to receive the coveted CCA stamp.
Today, it seems like all things some deem inappropriate are blatant. Characters can and do say whatever they want to say – regardless of the “language.” Nudity and sexuality are far more explicit. So my question is: Does the lack of the comics code impact the quality of storytelling?
When the CCA was in full-swing, comic book writers had to find ways “around” the limitations of the authority and be creative. It forced writers – and artists – to create compelling storylines and implied the inappropriate or horrific in a tense, dramatic and often disturbing way. Now, writers can just “say it” or “draw it.” This to me impacts the quality of writing.
So am I the only one who wished the CCA was still used? – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)
If you’re not a regular on Blogger, Paint Monk’s Library also has a Facebook feed. Check my Facebook page or search for “Wally Monk” and add me to get notifications of new blog posts here. I won’t be re-copying everything to the FB page, but the page will have links back to recent articles and this blog.
This blog is currently under construction, but when it’s completed it will showcase comic book news and reviews, and occasionally, creator interviews.
If you are curious about the theme of this blog, yes, I am a member of a Christian religious order and “Paint Monk” seemed like an appropriate moniker. When I’m not living my full-time vocation, I enjoy comic books (sword-and-sorcery and super heroes, like Moon Knight!) Don’t expect any off-topic chat here, though – “Paint Monk’s Library” is entirely about comics and perhaps an occasional hobby-related sidetrack. You won’t find any talk about philosophy or politics here, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.
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| Reaper’s latest Bones Kickstarter prompted me to “re-open” the library. It’s funny how one thing can drag you back into your hobby! |
I do plan to keep the site family friendly. This will also be a place where you don’t have to worry about anything inappropriate for the workplace.
Please check back soon, I’d enjoy hearing from you. But please don’t judge my personal painted figurines (soon to be posted) too harshly. I haven’t painted in a long time (but Reaper’s Bones 4 Kickstarter launched me back into figurines after a lengthy hiatus.)
Do you enjoy Robert E. Howard's classic Cimmerian in comic book form? Join Paint Monk's Library bloggers, as we review all 275 issues of Marvel's original Conan the Barbarian series. New installments added regularly!
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November 5th, 2017 
