Your famous blue Lateshift was torn at the shoulder...

03:40 / 17.08.07

Same here.

It tells me something that I look forward to scouring the buck-bins and the fifty-cent bins for old issues of preboot Legion comics more than most of the new releases these days. Excepting Casanova, All-Star Superman, and Hellboy, a'course.

c0nstant

03:43 / 17.08.07

mmm, the thrill of discovery does add a certain something I find.

03:45 / 17.08.07

I've always been much more about the back issue bins, really. Comes from not being able to afford new issues on a regular basis, I guess, as a kid. And I liked finding myself in the middle of a big story and having to work out the context. Thankfully there were less Age of Apocalypses or House of Ms then. Not that I have any doubt I could have made an HoM Captain America work in ways not necessarily Imaginary Stoy.

03:53 / 17.08.07

It ended up being terribly flawed because of constant continuity shuffling and lackluster fill-in creative teams, but I really do love the 5 year gap Legion -- I like the grimy, noir-sci-fi-ness of it all, particularly because it has the context of a dystopia with a documented (almost) utopia before it. And Giffen was such a great artist back then -- too bad he just seems to do breakdowns now.

03:58 / 17.08.07

I would actually buy a comic of his breakdowns, y'know? The little stuff he did in the 52 breakdowns like the fishnets on the teen-Z, or the big dopey smiles in the excised-before-print Montoya bedroom fun scene.

But, yeah, that taken-to-the-hard-end feel of that Legion era is pretty entertaining.

I keep telling myself I'll check out Waid's stuff since the Supergirl addition, but I never quite get around to it.

04:01 / 17.08.07

It's okay. I think that since the this latest reboot, they haven't put a whole lot of effort into world-building or character development -- it never hits that perfect Legion soap opera momentum you need with twenty+ characters in a far future universe. It hasn't hit critical mass. Which doesn't mean it won't, but I'm hoping they actually give it time develop before they twitch out and reboot it again.

04:02 / 17.08.07

The Neko Case song reminds me of the Cure's "Love Cats," by the way.

04:09 / 17.08.07

Something just wonks me in that song. Like temporal seasickness; timesick? Have put in Nighthawks at the Diner more the moment, but I'm in one of those brainfuzzy periods where I have energy but no focus.

04:12 / 17.08.07

Nighthawks in the Diner, as in the Hopper painting? Who's that by?

04:13 / 17.08.07

Tom Waits, apparently. ITunes only has a partial copy available.

04:19 / 17.08.07

Yeah, older Waits album. I'm sure it's on CD legit, but I just ripped my LP to CD. Figure if I'm going to be awkward-brained and stacatto, tonight, the soundtrack should follow along similar lines.

04:25 / 17.08.07

Grabbed a coupla songs off of it. I've actually been listening to some other Waits lately, by coincidence. "Warm Beer & Cold Women," particularly.

04:25 / 17.08.07

..though I didn't connect it to that particular album.

04:37 / 17.08.07

After two bowls of cornflakes, I gave up on the pasta notion, and threw a frozen pizza and some chicken into the oven.

I think the looming retreat/fellowship is starting to actually settle into my head as a reality. Which, I suppose, is what twelve thirty-seven at night is for.

04:38 / 17.08.07

I'm very jealous about the retreat thing. I'm mostly just shoving writing in when I can. I should do some tonight, but I think I'll save it for the morning while I'm at the laundromat. Tonight? Tonight is for Legionnaires.

04:41 / 17.08.07

& Tom Waits. What's he building in there?

04:52 / 17.08.07

Well, it ain't no children's playhouse, I'll tell you that much.

I've not quite hit the imposter-feelings with the retreat, and I'm determined to enjoy, but I do know I'm the only one of the incoming group who aren't really tight with each other already. So that's a bit weird.

But it's, y'know, as time goes by I think more and more it's okeh if I get something I don't deserve or don't measure up to. I might as well take advantage and enjoy, feeling it's deserved or not. This 'earning it' thing's a bit overrated, and I supect it was invented maybe just a bit to keep have-nots and the lower-tier folks from getting to grabby.

05:29 / 17.08.07

You have to take every opportunity yet get, regardless of whether you think you "deserve it." I'm sure you'll gel with the other people at the retreat once you get there, even if they are friends from prior.

It's interesting to look at Jason Pearson's artwork on Legion, how loose and fast it was. Fun, frenetic, but I can really appreciate how much he came into his own by the time he did that absolutely wicked Global Frequency issue with Aleph dodging terrorists in GF Central's twisty passageways. I wonder what he'd do with the Legion now. I still think I walk away preferring Giffen - at any point in his career with the LSH - but Pearson's got charm, and he was a nice bridge leading to the Sprouse art on the Legionnaires series when it debuted.

He lacks the obsessive detail that Giffen brought to the earlier issues, though, and consequently doesn't quite take full advantage of the Watchmen-esque nine panel grids and atmosphere.

05:46 / 17.08.07

I think Giffen's been more willing than most comics artists to admit his weaknesses and to try new things to get around or correct them. He wears his influences a bit heavy at times (cue controversy, I suppose, though I believe his explanation), but, well, he tries things. Including hyper-detail or minimalisty sparse work, the tight nine-panel grid or very organic panels sort of shifted around the page, and so on.

05:52 / 17.08.07

I'll probbaly yammer about the Legion at you more later. For now, well, bed time for bonzo. I gotta get up in the morning, early, and head to the laundromat. Nighto.

Night, Papers.

Here is lateshift. Anyone need cheering up? (besides me?)

01:37 / 18.08.07

That was close. Really. Can anyone imagine a....page 10? Even dread Cthulhul and teh elders do stop and shudder at the though. FOr was it not written in then lost text of Barb'el Ith that the numebr of the Lateshift shallexceed not more than nyne and the number that it shall exceed more shall be equal to or lesser than nyne.

01:40 / 18.08.07

What're people trying to run two of these at one time, now?

01:42 / 18.08.07

Hush.. let's just go along with this one. S/he's newish to the LS reality (me thinks).

They'll learn.

They always do.

The ones thats survive..ish.

sTe

01:43 / 18.08.07

Nine may be the number and the number may'st be 9 but thast is non accounting for mistaking not been able to find the shift on which to late shifti...

And ooops, and also Cheers at least I now know where to go

Also I think I probably should actually contribute something, so, white wine and shoddy cheesy Aussie based pubs are Atually allrrrright sometimes

01:44 / 18.08.07

"One of use..One of us..One of us.."

meh, it seeemed appropos.

01:47 / 18.08.07

What's weird to me, is that in these mythic golden ages I keep hearing tell of? The Lateshifts all burn out after like a page and a half.

01:49 / 18.08.07

Oh tha tis naught but rumour and misdirection.

Lateshift is more than a page number... its a personal reality shared by many.

01:50 / 18.08.07

Wait, somebody tried to zombify an old lateshift?

But...but....

ABOMINATION!

01:50 / 18.08.07

and my hands smell of garlic.

I need personal chefs.

01:52 / 18.08.07

I just climbed into a library return bin and fell into it. Loud bang. Hilarity. Co-worker nearly peeing pants with laughter.

Ah, working on dead friday nights with too much sugar on hand.

01:54 / 18.08.07

No Papers! No. Rumour and misdirection.

The Lateshift is like..um...well..its sorta..no, more like..um.. did I mention the rumours?...oh..well its sorta goes on and is stronger by everything put against it. If Barbelith was the Hall of Justice..the Lateshift would be Gleek. But not a monkey. much.

01:55 / 18.08.07

The garlic helps against the uncleanness of zombied threads. Known fact.

Half-urge to see if I can get a pizza delivery tonight, since the place I'm thinking of loads garlic and nice spices all through between layers of cheese.

Half-urge has become phonecall while typing.