I share the good Comrade’s fascination with Gordon Ramsay. Great television, that man, whether he’s screaming at someone who can’t manage to cook a omelet or championing a little family-run Indian cafe as the best restaurant in Britain. I’m not saying I want the man to go into a violent killing spree, but I can see how it can happen, you know?

If you have a question for Comrade Cockroach, leave it in the comments.

More Cockroach:
The Official File of Comrade Cockroach
The Cockroach Speaks
Comrade Cockroach Explains It All

The Battle of Blood and Ink: A Fable of Flying City
Pre-order available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble

Yesterday, when the announcement came that DC Comics was going to put out prequels to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s seminal graphic novel WATCHMEN, I posted this comment on the usual channels:

So some really talented comics creators were announced to be squandering their talent working on characters they don’t own. This is news?

This led to some incredibly impassioned arguments, including one with a friend that got woefully off topic and led to discussions about whether or not I think creator ownership is necessary for quality (no, but it helps) and whether I consider myself “above” work for hire (certainly not). All of which was good to discuss, but none of what I was saying in my original post.

What I was trying to say is that these comics, they are not unusual. The entire superhero industry is built on practices like these, with companies taking characters they own and moving them in directions the creators never intended.  One just has to look at the story of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to see that. According to the contracts Moore and Gibbons signed, DC is completely within their rights.

The fan community is upset about this, naturally. But to be upset about this, and not be upset about Siegel and Shuster and Kirby and Ditko and every other cartoonist who worked to bring the superheroes we love to the stands each week only to find themselves shit out of luck once the company decided they weren’t worth money anymore, well, that’s myopic to say the least.

Also, while the new crop of WATCHMEN creators are certainly some of the most talented people working in the industry today, they are company men and women. The rending of garments and gnashing of teeth, along the lines of “How could they do this?!?!?” ignores the fact that–Azzerello accepted–none of them has worked with their own characters in years. They are in the business of playing with other people’s toys.

This is not news. It is is way it’s done. It’s the was it always has been done, since Jerry and Joe.

A friend saw my post, and said “By that definition, nearly all of the history of comics would be squandered talent, which is kind of ludicrous.”

Decades ago, Jack Kirby said that “Comics will break your heart.” It wasn’t news then either.

The Battle of Blood and Ink: A Fable of Flying City
Pre-order available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble

     
     
I’ve started taking pictures of what I’ve been wearing, not-so-creatively called “Today’s Style.”

January was an odd month. Warm for the season, so with a few exceptions, none of December’s layering. The reality of taking a picture of one’s self every day is starting to set in, as we have couple sick days (always a January hazard). But pajamas are a style element too, I suppose.

The new boots, an X-Mas gift from the wife, have kind of taken over, haven’t they? It’s hard not to wear them everyday.

The Battle of Blood and Ink: A Fable of Flying City
Pre-order available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble