Comic * About * Extras * Podcasts

You may notice a basic grammatical error in today’s strip. If you do, it’s Chris’ fault. If you don’t, well, then your grammar skills need some work. This is also, I believe, the last strip where I’m wearing a non-grey shirt as my regular garb. Actually, I am wearing it in the first three panels and then we switched to one of Chris’ shirts. We switched because I only own grey and white shirts.

And now, on to murder…

I’m watching “First Blood” right now. A lot of people forget that the first Rambo movie was just called First Blood. Many people also forget that it’s actually a well made movie and based on a very decent novel.

First Blood was the first true action movie as we understand it today. Before Rambo, named for the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, (I’m not kidding) action movies were all like James Bond with 2 or three carefully choreographed and predictably placed fight scenes where First Blood contained more or less 45 minutes of straight action never seen in American theaters before.

No wonder Steve McQueen was after the role.

I’m still not kidding.

The reason I bring up Rambo and First Blood is because I just saw the trailer for John Rambo and I’m not really sure where I stand on it.

First Blood was a good action movie with a wonderfully flawed character and a point. It was, in fact, somewhat moving and it got Vietnam veterans talking about their experiences and opening up. The story had more going on than a lot of people give it credit for. There’s no hero, just two antagonists and, debatably, two villains one of whom dies early on.

Sadly, its sequels were pretty awful, lacking in plot, character development, and Jerry Goldsmith. Also, I approve of a man who the audience has been reliably informed is the most badass murdering Green Beret ever to come out of Bragg breaking down crying and saying “where is everybody? What happened to my friends?” which the sequels also lacked.

Now, I’ve heard a lot of people saying that the new John Rambo movie is just Stallone looking to cash in on his glory days before it’s too late, and I didn’t disagree with that initially, but then I saw Rocky Balboa and I was pretty floored. As I mentioned here once before, it was very good. Stallone has always been a good writer and his skills have improved, but it’s as a director that he has clearly grown and equally clearly has learned to surround himself with the proper talent to make the best movie he can and to treat them with respect… not to say that I know one way or the other whether he was respectful prior.
It’s Sylvester Stallone. I’m not sure that he needs to revisit his glory days. He’s an actor, director, and academy award winning writer who has done everything from drama to action to comedy. Rocky, First Blood, Oscar, Stop or My Mom Will Shoot… I think he’s actually trying to make up for bad sequels.

Rocky Balboa more than atoned for the Tommy Gunn atrocity and you wouldn’t have known it from the trailer. I can only hope that, somehow, John Rambo ends up being good as well.

-Ian K.

Christ on a goddamn cracker. I would like to apologize to our readers (Keep up the good work, both of you!) for ian’s inane ramble. You see, Ian’s brain is only on occasion capable of immediately drawing the line between things he cares about, and things your average rational human being cares about. Like a moth to the proverbial flame, his mind careens towards the inane and irrelevant with a speed that only makes the inevitable combustion more depressing. His only defense against assaulting the rest of us comes in the following form: If ian cannot talk to at least two of the first four friends he mentions something to, he will realize it is too obscure/pointless/illegal this side of the border to be worth discussing. If, on the other hand, he somehow manages to maintain at least three conversations on a topic, his mind foolishly assumes we will all benefit from his observations and musings. This, dear friends, is the genesis of the extended travesty hovering above my post even now, waiting with distended fangs to attempt to rip my words apart and reform them into a seven paragraph discussion of jaws four: the revenge. Feel free to send him hate mail. Lastly, “The Future Is Now” is fun to say. Add it to your personal lexicon.

–Mike