Category Archives: the Wednesday run
Going “All In” With Wolverine And The X-Men On The Wednesday Run – February 22, 2012
“One hundred quatloos on the newcomers!”
Oh man – I’ve waited, like, a loooong time to say that. And by “loooong time” I mean “weeks”. It’s probably been a good few months since I last uttered those words (I just love that particular Triskelion quote so much) a favourite original Star Trek television series line of dialogue for the few of you that don’t know. Go on. Look it up. Q-u-a-t-l-o-o-s.
“One hundred quatloos on the newcomers!” … at the casino; …amidst a business-oriented request for quotation; …in a battle of domestic chore duties between newlyweds; …when making sports disagreements between pals - interesting.
It never fails to amaze me just how many real life situations actually call for that particular sci-fi statement. Today marks an entirely new scenario: with the weekly Wednesday Run to the local comic book shop still before me, the “quatloo” quote is, now, perhaps more apt than any other time before. Here’s why: Wolverine & The X-Men #6
The Lamentation Of The Women Is Best In Life, Says Conan In The Wednesday Run – February 8, 2012
Mongol General: Hao! Dai ye! We won again! This is good but what is best in life?
Mongol Soldier: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcons at your wrist and the wind in your hair.
Mongol General: Wrong! Conan, what is best in life?
Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you and to hear the lamentation of their women.
Heh heh.
Any fan of Conan, specifically the 1982 John Milius-directed film starring an absolutely gargantuan Arnold Schwarzenegger, knows that quote. It’s one of the more famous lines of dialogue in all sci-fi and fantasy geekdom, abridged from some sage “how to conquer” advice by Ghengis Khan. Hey, if anyone should know…
The author Robert E. Howard created the character of Conan for publication in pulp magazines back in 1932 to great success. Since then, the barbarian’s longevity has been nothing short of astounding, the fictional creation finding his way in all aspects of pop culture: not just in novels and short stories, but in film, television, video games, board games, card games, role-playing games and, of course, comic books.
For the better part of the last decade, Dark Horse Comics has been publishing various Conan stories leading up to today and the release of what many deem the greatest Conan story!
A Mild Season Turns Hot As Winter Soldiers On In The Wednesday Run – February 1, 2012
Raise of hands: who here doesn’t like a little political intrigue, a little spy-vs-spy, in their superhero comics?
Yeah, I thought so. We all love it! Now, mix those elements together alongside one of comicdom’s most beloved characters (even if he does have a silly, dated name) and you’ve got a sure-fire hit on your hands. It’s a wonder Marvel Comics didn’t do this years ago!
Do what?
Give Winter Soldier his own series. And let fan-favourite Ed Brubaker write it.
It’ll Be A Dark Night Of Bloodsucking When Batman Mixes With Vampires In The Wednesday Run – January 25, 2012
Well, the coming evening of January 25 must indeed be a dark night because, as the title of this week’s column suggests, Batman does mix it up with vampire hordes within the pages of I, Vampire #5.
First, a little perspective: I, Vampire is one of DC Comics’ new 52 titles, premiering to much acclaim last September. Although not in my “Top 10” most anticipated new comics that month, it was still one of the titles I was keenly looking forward to because I’m such a fan of the lead protagonist, the tragically romantic vampire, Andrew Bennett.
The series has, thus far, completely exceeded expectations.
I remember talking to fellow comic book readers and comic book store owners about the series when it first came out and everyone seemed to have reservations after seeing the early covers, thinking that it seemed too “Twilight” for most tastes. Personally, I’m enjoying the Jenny Frison cover artwork. Yeah, they may have a bit of a teen beat feel to them, but Frison has a great sense of design, a sort of Klimt or Toulouse-Lautrec aesthetic. More importantly, the covers definitely stand out from others on the store shelves – and that’s important for an obscure, niche character series like I, Vampire.
Blazin’ Our Way To Hell This Week On The Wednesday Run – January 18, 2012
Ah, c’mon! Who isn’t a fan of John Constantine, everyone’s favourite trench coat-clad, half-magician-half-lying, hellblazer?
Maybe you know him from those mid-1980’s, first-appearance Swamp Thing books, conjured by the mind of acclaimed writer, Alan Moore. Maybe you encountered him in the pages of his own monthly series, written by names like Delano, Ennis, Jenkins, Ellis, Azzarello, Carey, Mina or Diggle. Perhaps you ran into him in that seriously underappreciated film where he kinda looked like a guy who looked like Keanu Reeves who hung out in warm Los Angeles with Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton and Gavin Rossdale, the lead singer of Bush.
If you know him from any of those places, you know that John Constantine, rogue, is truly a hellblazer, actually travelling to that fiery furnace of a place on more than one occasion.
If you didn’t know about Constantine until just now, well, now you know. And here’s the interesting trick – hell? John’s going back…
