According to their website, the band “will be breaking their 11 year silence.” Of course, this is very exciting news, but I wonder how awesome this reunion will actually be. Let’s be honest… the best part about ATDI’s live shows was Cedric and Omar wiggin out. And the first time I saw Mars Volta, it felt exactly the same as seeing ATDI (except it was a million degrees in the middle of summer standing in the balcony of St. Andrew’s). Each time I saw Mars Volta after that first show (and each time their hair got longer), their shows became increasingly less fun to watch and more about lighting and video art. Anyway, I’ll stop nay saying and just hope that they come to Detroit.

Also, how did I never hear the rumor that they were supposed to reform and play a show in Detroit?!

At one point, people could only get a glimpse into a celebrity’s life when some trashy magazine published some photos of celebrities shopping. THEY’RE JUST LIKE US! I know… I was surprised too. But now… we have Ashton tweeting pics of Demi’s butt. Yay? Yes, the internet and social media has given fans an insight into to the world of celebrities that at one point they would have never had access to. The same is true for comic book creators… many of which have embraced the always-changing world of internet and social media trends to engage their fans and promote their personal brand.

Of course we all know about Mark Millar’s website, Neil Gaiman’s, and Warren Ellis’. All of these guys post tons of great content and are very active on their online homes. But one of my favorite stories of comic book creators on the internet is courtesy of Bryan Lee O’Malley, the brilliant, Canadian creator of Scott Pilgrim. On this past Halloween, O’Mally tweeted his followers asking:

“if i were to draw a halloween pic of Ramona as “sexy ____” and Kim as “sexy ____”, what would you fill in the blanks as?”

Obviously, people wanted to see Ramona as sexy Kim and Kim as Sexy Ramona. And later that day, O’Malley posted his drawing of the duo dressed as one another. So fun! Great job, everyone involved in this internet exchange. And so concludes my cool story of how comic book creators use the internet to engage their users in fun and exciting ways.

Just kidding. Then on November 7 of this year, Frank Miller posted this random blog post on his website about how much he loathes the Occupy Wall Street movement:

“Occupy” is nothing short of a clumsy, poorly-expressed attempt at anarchy, to the extent that the “movement” – HAH! Some “movement”, except if the word “bowel” is attached – is anything more than an ugly fashion statement by a bunch of iPhone, iPad wielding spoiled brats who should stop getting in the way of working people and find jobs for themselves.

Oh, and he refers to all the participants in the movement as “louts, thieves, and rapists.” Whoa. Relax, Frank. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and clearly people love to express them on the internet (AM I RIGHT, /b/?!?!?!), but I have to assume that this blog post was very surprising and unexpected by his many website readers. And whether or not you as a person agree or disagree with the Occupy movement, Miller is taking a risk here by offering up his insights on this clearly very touchy subject and potentially alienating his fan base. I mean… I bet Holy Terror sales dropped dramatically after this post went live! LOL Hopefully, no one bought that crap to begin with.

As an internet AND comic book lover, I of course 100% support comic book creators using the internet to engage their fan base. Be warned though, comic creators, the internet is a cruel mistress. For all the good it can do to boost your sales and promote your upcoming creator-based, indie book, it can do just as much bad. Feel free to reach out to your fans and connect with them, but maybe use the internet as a place to have open-minded discussions with them and try to avoid alienating them and coming off like a cranky old man.

As I venture out onto the Internet to learn more about my favorite comic book artists, I keep coming across websites that look unprofessional, outdated, or some that are just plain terrible. (Say what you will about Rob Liefeld’s artwork, but he at least has a pretty professional looking website — pictured above.)These artists clearly have more talent in their little finger than I have in my entire body and I think that they should have a web presence that appropriately showcases their talents. This could be something as simple as James Jean’s minimalist portfolio, in which he lets the work speak for itself, or something more like Marvel or DC‘s sites, where they have the art take up the majority of the page. After the jump is a list of some of my favorite comic book artists and screenshots of their websites. Are there any that I missed?!

The Pretty Good

Jeff Lemire – http://jefflemire.blogspot.com/

Mike Mignola – http://www.artofmikemignola.com/

Paul Pope – http://pulphope.blogspot.com/

Bryan Lee O’Mally – http://www.radiomaru.com/

Andy Runton – http://www.andyrunton.com/

The Not Horrible

JH Williams III – http://www.jhwilliams3.com/

Frank Miller – http://www.frankmillerink.com/

Alex Ross – http://www.alexrossart.com/

John Cassaday – http://www.johncassaday.com/

Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba – http://fabioandgabriel.blogspot.com/

Todd McFarlane – http://www.spawn.com/

Jeff Smith – http://www.boneville.com/

Amy Reeder Hadley- http://www.tentopet.com/

Eric Powell – http://www.thegoon.com/

David Petersen – http://www.davidpetersen.net/

The Really Bad

Glen Fabry – http://www.glennfabry.co.uk/

George Perez – http://www.george-perez.com/

Neal Adams – http://www.nealadams.com/

John Byrne – http://www.byrnerobotics.com/

Darwyn Cooke – http://darwyncooke.blogspot.com/

Alan Davis – http://www.alandavis-comicart.com/

Robert Crumb – http://www.crumbproducts.com/

The Publishers

Marvel – http://marvel.com/

DC – http://www.dccomics.com/dccomics/

Dark Horse – http://www.darkhorse.com/

My predictions:

Eagles: 12-4
Lions: 9-7

I blame attending a D3 liberal arts college for my lack of interest in college football. But, in the fall, there is this whole other day of football that I am totally missing out on! This year, however, I have decided to pick one of the two big programs in Michigan — the idea being that I will pay more attention if my team is closer to home. Help me decide which team I should root for and leave a reason why in the comments!

Note: Even as a grown adult, I still really like punk rock music.

Strike Anywhere “The Crossing”

Braid “A Dozen Roses”

At the Drive-In “Enfilade”

Polar Bear Club “Burned Out in a Jar”

The Go! Team “Panther Dash”

Hot Water Music “Remedy”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZUbuVokKc8

Propagandhi “Dear Coach’s Corner”

Wu-Tang Clan “M.E.T.H.O.D. Man”

Avail “Nickle Bridge”

The Bronx “Heart Attack American”

Captain America has never been one of my favorite comic book super heroes, so I have to admit that I was not that excited when they announced they would be making a movie. But, this trailer makes the movie look awesome!

The trailer that I was most excited for, however, was Super 8. I am quickly falling in love with this J.J. Abrams mystery movie much like I did with Cloverfield. SlashFilm has already done a write-up on this new trailer. Also, COACH TAYLOR! Clear Eyes! Full Hearts! Super 8!

1. Madonna “Santa Baby”

There’s nothing cute about anyone using a baby voice and there is certainly no need for an entire song of it! Geesh. This song is just annoying and makes my ears bleed a little. Thanks for that, Madonna.

2. Bruce Springsteen “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”

You can’t just play a Christmas song as if it’s one of your own and just expect it to become a holiday song. Very good job, Boss, you are DEFINITELY singing a holiday song and it sounds just like you singing it, but I do not feel merry or bright. Furthermore, the recording is just unprofessional… people can’t complete their lines… all the laughing. Come on, guys!

3. Paul McCartney “Wonderful Christmas Time”

Yeah, I know everyone is gonna say they love this song, but all you people are crazy. It’s kind of cute. But mostly it’s annoying and kinda weird. The music is terribly cheesy and it’s just a poorly-written song.

4. Michael Bolton “White Christmas”

God bless us everyone for that gorgeous flowing mane of manliness and holiday cheer. (In all fairness, I don’t think I hear this song too often during the holidays, but this is just ridiculous!)

5. Band Aid “Do They Know it’s Christmas”

Sure sure… this is for a good cause and everything, but they lyrics make me cringe. NO! They don’t know it’s Christmas. They have bigger things to worry about like not starving. So, we’ll sing you this song and say a prayer, but that’ll be after we finish up all our holiday shopping.  I mean, my Amazon Wish List isn’t gonna buy itself. AM I RIGHT?!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!