State of the Fanblog: Still Not Dead (Again)
Geez, it's been five months since I last posted anything? I guess I kept holding off until we found out whether or not Harvey actually survived the cliffhanger ending of The Big Burn, which we still haven't yet. Damn it, I need closure! Knowing DC, they'll probably just forget about TBB entirely and Harvey will pop up alive and well just in time for Batman: Arkham Knight. And that's if we're lucky...!
In the meantime, I've been working on a lengthy review for a major unreleased Two-Face appearance which I've managed to read thanks to its author, a legendary DC writer from the Bronze Age and one of the greatest Batman creators of all time, who graciously agreed to let me review these scripts. What's more, he's even allowed me to go into extensive detail, revealing all the spoilers, since this blog may, regrettably, be the only place it'll ever get coverage. I sure hope not, but I'm nonetheless excited and honored for the opportunity to review a Story That Never Was (man, I need a snapper term), despite it being a deeply bittersweet experience.
I've also been slowly working on the Long Halloween review. No, really, I swear! I'll try to have the first part out by Halloween, and maybe we can post them in real time if I can stick to the schedule. That's a big “if,” of course. Thanks to everyone's continued understanding and patience on that front, and thanks in general for your continued support and contributions to this blog. You folks are the lifeblood of about_faces, and I would have abandoned this long ago if it weren't for your comments and insights.
There have been a lot of little Two-Face-related stuff in the media over the last few months, so I'll try to make a short post here and there just to keep things active between major posts. In the meantime, though, I'd like to give a quick plug to stalwart commenter psychopathicus, who has launched a YouTube channel dubbed WEGAF (“Wild-Eyed Golden Age Fanatic”) Reviews, a webshow wherein he reviews obscure Golden Age comics with the same combination of insight and smartass geekery which has made him one of the most thoughtful contributors to his humble blog.
Finally, just to bring this back around to both Two-Face and my own personal life, Henchgirl surprised me with a fantastic anniversary present: this print of a Two-Face portrait by collage artist Alec Goss. I've had this piece proudly hanging over our bed for the past month now, and I'm still blown away by how perfect a gift it was for me, considering everything I love about Two-Face.
For one thing, Mr. Goss has made the surprising, wonderful choice to go with the Jim Aparo turtleneck version, a design which I hold very close to my own heart given that my very first comic-reading memories were for the third part of A Lonely Place of Dying and the second issue of The Untold Legend of the Batman. Combined with the use of panels from Eye of the Beholder, it's a beautiful synthesis of my favorite Two-Face story with the design that caught my attention for the character in the first place. I also love the use of that quote from Matt Wagner's Faces, because 1.) I never realized how great a line it was, and 2.) it's a quote from something other than The Dark Knight, which is the only story that anyone ever seems to use when it comes to quoting Harvey. I don't know about you folks, but for me, there's so much to love about this piece.
My only real question is who the model is, or if he's anybody at all. When I posted this on Tumblr, some people likened him to Hugh Laurie and Christopher McDonald, who voiced Harvey in Beware the Batman (don't get me started). Whoever he is, he's not the ideal model for Harvey in my mind, but that's a very minor nitpick. I'm also both amused and bemused by the subtle inclusion of Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face, especially since Aaron Eckhart's influence is nowhere to be seen. Overall, I'm impressed with the unusual choices that Goss has made here, which has resulted in one of my favorite works of unofficial Two-Face art ever.
With that, I shall get back to work on my next review. As always, I look forward to your thoughts! Thanks for sticking with me through the doldrums!
EDIT: Oh, you may also have noticed that my LJ's format has changed. Yeah, that's because LJ changed it FOR me at some point, and I don't know how to get it back the way it was. I don't know about you, but I kinda preferred the plain white background for the posts. Well, maybe I'll take this opportunity to play with new layouts to try and zazz things up around here a bit.
In the meantime, I've been working on a lengthy review for a major unreleased Two-Face appearance which I've managed to read thanks to its author, a legendary DC writer from the Bronze Age and one of the greatest Batman creators of all time, who graciously agreed to let me review these scripts. What's more, he's even allowed me to go into extensive detail, revealing all the spoilers, since this blog may, regrettably, be the only place it'll ever get coverage. I sure hope not, but I'm nonetheless excited and honored for the opportunity to review a Story That Never Was (man, I need a snapper term), despite it being a deeply bittersweet experience.
I've also been slowly working on the Long Halloween review. No, really, I swear! I'll try to have the first part out by Halloween, and maybe we can post them in real time if I can stick to the schedule. That's a big “if,” of course. Thanks to everyone's continued understanding and patience on that front, and thanks in general for your continued support and contributions to this blog. You folks are the lifeblood of about_faces, and I would have abandoned this long ago if it weren't for your comments and insights.
There have been a lot of little Two-Face-related stuff in the media over the last few months, so I'll try to make a short post here and there just to keep things active between major posts. In the meantime, though, I'd like to give a quick plug to stalwart commenter psychopathicus, who has launched a YouTube channel dubbed WEGAF (“Wild-Eyed Golden Age Fanatic”) Reviews, a webshow wherein he reviews obscure Golden Age comics with the same combination of insight and smartass geekery which has made him one of the most thoughtful contributors to his humble blog.
Click to viewFinally, just to bring this back around to both Two-Face and my own personal life, Henchgirl surprised me with a fantastic anniversary present: this print of a Two-Face portrait by collage artist Alec Goss. I've had this piece proudly hanging over our bed for the past month now, and I'm still blown away by how perfect a gift it was for me, considering everything I love about Two-Face.
For one thing, Mr. Goss has made the surprising, wonderful choice to go with the Jim Aparo turtleneck version, a design which I hold very close to my own heart given that my very first comic-reading memories were for the third part of A Lonely Place of Dying and the second issue of The Untold Legend of the Batman. Combined with the use of panels from Eye of the Beholder, it's a beautiful synthesis of my favorite Two-Face story with the design that caught my attention for the character in the first place. I also love the use of that quote from Matt Wagner's Faces, because 1.) I never realized how great a line it was, and 2.) it's a quote from something other than The Dark Knight, which is the only story that anyone ever seems to use when it comes to quoting Harvey. I don't know about you folks, but for me, there's so much to love about this piece.
My only real question is who the model is, or if he's anybody at all. When I posted this on Tumblr, some people likened him to Hugh Laurie and Christopher McDonald, who voiced Harvey in Beware the Batman (don't get me started). Whoever he is, he's not the ideal model for Harvey in my mind, but that's a very minor nitpick. I'm also both amused and bemused by the subtle inclusion of Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face, especially since Aaron Eckhart's influence is nowhere to be seen. Overall, I'm impressed with the unusual choices that Goss has made here, which has resulted in one of my favorite works of unofficial Two-Face art ever.
With that, I shall get back to work on my next review. As always, I look forward to your thoughts! Thanks for sticking with me through the doldrums!
EDIT: Oh, you may also have noticed that my LJ's format has changed. Yeah, that's because LJ changed it FOR me at some point, and I don't know how to get it back the way it was. I don't know about you, but I kinda preferred the plain white background for the posts. Well, maybe I'll take this opportunity to play with new layouts to try and zazz things up around here a bit.