Comic review: The Shadow #1- The Shadow Knows

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Giovanni Timpano
Publisher: Dynamite Studios
Released: 5th August 2015


This special $1 re-launch of The Shadow is a nice diversion from everyday realities and concerns. It’s set safely in the uncontroversial/mythological past, is about evil magicians, and has a strong moral core to it that will have you rooting for the morally righteous (and I’m not talking about ‘Social Justice’ here) Shadowy crusader.

I enjoyed the book, but there’s always been something about the Shadow that I really liked. It’s the cool red scarf, the hat, the cloak, the black inked voice, and his relentlessness determination to bring people to account, to pay for the consequences of their actions. That’s what I like about him, and that’s why he has always resonated to me as somebody that I enjoy reading about.

Where is a guy like that today when we have criminals like Tony Blair still walking around and reminding us of just how corrupt and evil our world truly is? Here’s an idea: How about bringing the Shadow out of the 1930’s and into this post 9/11 world?

Just think of the possibilities of a new ‘truther’ Shadow as he investigates and punishes those responsible for 9/11, the Iraq war, the Libyan war, the banking bailout of 2008 and all of the other crimes committed by western states since 2001.

Sounds great, don’t you think? So, why isn’t anybody doing it? Perhaps I should do it myself, yeah, I probably should.

Anyway, back to fun time, let’s forget reality for a couple of minutes, and dive back into this comic book.

The Shadow #1 is an enjoyable book, the art is mostly good, sometimes very good, and the story is simple, easy to follow and a lot of fun.

Buy the book (it only costs $1) for a ten-minute fun time diversion that contains a cool, bad ass character that can look into the very heart of a man, detect the guilt, detect the corruption, detect the moral decay and judge as Annubis judges the souls of the dead.

The Shadow is his own man, and that’s why I like him. A man who goes his own way and does what is right rather than what is expedient is rare these days.

The Shadow cares about moral law, about what is right, and what is wrong, and his only mission in life is to make sure that the guilty get exactly what they deserve. Tony Blair knows what he did. The Shadow also knows. Oh yes, the Shadow knows, and justice is coming soon.


Rating: 7/10 (A decent relaunch of The Shadow, and it only costs $1)

Comic review: The Superannuated Man #6- And you thought there were no consequences?

Created, written and illustrated by: Ted McKeever
Publisher: Image Comics
Released: 25th February 2015


So what was it all about?

Mankind not caring, eating whatever came along. Oh, so it doesn’t really matter because I can do it, so I will do it. There are no consequences, yum, yum.

Oh, the animals can talk now. They have hunger in their eyes, and I am on the menu. That’s not fair, but it is, isn’t it?

And the world we build on selfishness on doing what we can because we are bigger, because there are no consequences is built on wobbly moral foundations. A house built on a tar pit, and eventually it will sink.

Look in the mirror, do you see your past?

I see it, and it has become today.

Consequences are real. We get what we deserve.

It may take some time, but eventually.

Eventually, there is a slippage.

Wasn’t there a flood in the Bible?

Wiped away, and you think that we are better now?

Do you think that we have progressed?

Do you think that it doesn’t matter because there are no consequences in this Darwinian jungle of screw or be screwed?

I think that it matters.

I think that consequences are real, and that the past is never far behind the future. You store up the deliberate ignorance, the pretending that moral truth does not exist, that you can do whatever you like, but all of a sudden…….

Bang.

It’s time to pay the price.

That is what this book was all about.

Well, to me anyway. I went to work, sweated, made money, and exchanged it for this book, so I get to write my own meaning, my own response to the text. Whether I’m right or wrong it doesn’t really matter. I loved the book, it resonated with truth, it made me think, it made me write daft reviews here on my blog.

That’s it for the Superannuated Man. I’ll miss him, but Ted moves on, and his next book is something called POODWADDLE. We’ll have to wait until the fall of 2015 for that one, so something to look forward to, and now back to the predictable world of me moaning about statism and neo liberal PC moral crusading in left leaning Marxist/Feminist comic books. Oh Ted, I’m missing you already.

Rating: 10/10

Comic review: Alex + Ada #10- Clarifying what it is that makes us human

Creators: Jonathan Luna, Sarah Vaughn
Publisher: Image comics
Released: 12th November 2014



I’ve always interpreted the ‘androids’ in Alex + Ada to be a commentary on the state of human moral consciousness, and whether or not we are living in accordance with universal moral laws.

Put simply, some of the humans in this story are androids, and some of the androids are humans. The difference is actions, not physical form. Again, put simply, if you do what is morally right you are a human, and if you do what is morally wrong then you an android.

The idea is further clarified in issue #10 of Alex + Ada where a human (Teji) with an android leg acts in accordance with moral law, helping a vulnerable and distressed Ada (technically an android, but morally a human). The futuristic television in this book is telling people to act outside of moral law, but Teji ignores the media disinformation and instead acts in accordance with moral law. A conscious, sentient life form is in trouble, and he helps her. This is what you are supposed to do, no matter what the television is saying.

The television is not meant to inform you on matters of moral law. The role of mainstream television in modern society is to distract, pacify, lie, and control the enslaved masses. It is indifferent to issues of morality, but the propaganda emanating from it is strong. Teji manages to break free from that media propaganda and acts in accordance with moral law. Moral law is the only law, not the law of a corrupt and wicked top down control system, no matter what the television is telling you.

Teji is rewarded in the story by having his android leg replaced with a human flesh and blood version. The part android has become fully human again, not because he is getting a new leg, but because he has ignored the mainstream programming and acted in accordance with moral law.

Writers Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn are making their point very clear here. Act in accordance with moral law and you are human, go against moral law and you are an android. This isn’t just a sci-fi story about the future; it’s a story about how moral law works in the real world today.

Follow orders, obey the mainstream programming and do what is morally wrong and you are voluntarily giving away what makes you a human being. That is what is being said here, and that is why Alex + Ada is a very important comic.

Yes, it’s slow paced, yes it’s not action packed, yes the art is very linear, but that’s the whole point. The art is static, and the humans often appear motionless, robotic even, because what is being explored here is what makes us truly human. It’s morality, that’s what makes us humans, and to not act with morality as the guiding light in our lives rids us of this humanity.

Without strong moral principles we become cannon fodder for the control systems of the world, the control systems that seek to diminish our humanity and to turn us into order following androids in order to control, and enslave us. That is why morality is so important. It is what makes us human beings. Without it we are marching uniforms, marching once again to another war that enriches the rich, and kills the poor.

As for the narrative of this issue, it progresses. The protagonist’s personal relationship is taken to a natural new level and a new threat to their happiness is established. It really is a fantastic comic book. It has an enthralling narrative, empathic characters that you can really relate to, and that essential moral underpinning as the solid backbone to the narrative.

What else do you need to know? You don’t need action scenes, muscles and cleavage to tell a good story. You don’t need a toy box full of Team America World Police action heroes. You don’t need subscriber edition variant covers, and you certainly don’t need celebrity guest writers (CM Punk) to sell your books. All you need is a good story, likeable characters and a strong moral underpinning.

That’s what you get in Alex + Ada, a book with the flash and gimmicks taken out, and with writers who have something to say about human morality. This book is not Spiderman or the Avengers, or Batman or Wolverine in space or whatever gimmicks the big two dinosaurs are relying on this month. Alex + Ada is that strange beast, a rare comic book that has something to say. That shouldn’t be the exception to the norm, but sadly, it is. Buy it, support it, and let’s get more of these good comic books out there.

If you keep buying mediocre then they’ll keep putting out mediocre. Like everything in life, it’s all down to us. The world will not change, unless we force it to. It works the same in comic books as it does in politics. You keep buying what they are selling and they’ll keep on selling it to you. Why wouldn’t they? So put down that mediocre crossover event book. You know it’s not going to be very good, deep down you know, and instead of feeding the machine of mediocrity take a punt on something different. Alex + Ada would be a great place to start, so if you haven’t already had the pleasure, take a chance on it. You’ll love it, I do.

Rating: 10/10

Why do people deliberately avoid the truth? – Epic rant on a rant blog.

‘People like to lie to themselves. Facing the truth is uncomfortable for many. Admitting wrong is very hard for some people to do. They will do anything but that, they will perform mental gymnastics, defensive rationalisation, avoidance of the issue, denial, rejection, refusal to acknowledge, and simply plain old ignore what they do not want to admit to.’ (Kris Nelson)



I always say that people don't want to hear the truth. I say a lot of things, but there's a simple reason for people not wanting to hear about the truth. If they understand truth then they have the moral responsibility to act like a decent human being. By deliberately avoiding truth they give themselves an excuse, a get out clause that justifies their actions, or inaction's. It's not my fault, they will say. I was ignorant. I didn't know. I was obeying orders. I was just doing what I was told. I was a cog in the machine. I didn't understand the bigger picture.

This of course is a lie, but without the lie people have to take personal responsibility. Sadly enough, it appears that the last thing people want to do is to take personal responsibility. So when anything goes wrong, and when truth is exposed (Jimmy Saville scandal, Banks doing whatever the Hell they like, MP's expenses scandal, weapons of mass destruction, child abuse in government 'care' homes, recent wars for corporate profit, the deliberate creation of ISIS, etc, etc, etc) the people personally responsible for these horrible situations always have that moral get out clause. They didn't know. They were just doing their jobs. Lessons will be learnt, lets move on.

These people are always surprised, and sometimes even horrified when the truth that they were deliberately avoiding is revealed to them. The same thing happened after WW2 when allied soldiers forced the local civilian populations to visit the Nazi death camps. They knew, of course they knew. A lot of their family members were working there. A lot of them were working there as well. They just preferred not to know because it was easier for them not to know.

People are very skilled at lying to themselves, but deep down, they know. They know perfectly well how and why terrible things have happened. The terrible things happened because people didn't want to engage with truth. They preferred an easy life, a good 'career,’ no accountability and an in-built get out clause that washes them clean of all moral responsibility for their self-serving actions.

The deliberate avoidance of truth is a lot like the Catholic confessional, and you don’t even have to be a Catholic to use it. Just plead ignorance, and pretend that you are sorry. Works every time, except it really doesn’t.

The eternal moral laws of the universe don't work that way. Moral laws have often been compared to the laws of gravity. If you ignore the laws of gravity and jump off a 200 foot building without a parachute then you will splat on the ground below, like it or not. Laws are laws, and there are consequences for breaking them. The moral laws of the universe act in exactly the same way as the laws of gravity. You might not like them, but if you ignore them then you will face the consequences. These consequences are apparent everywhere we look. The world is the way it is today because that is the world that we deserve. We have broken the moral laws of the universe. We deliberately ignored truth, so this is what we get.

This world is full of people who don’t know the truth, not because they are stupid and they can’t understand the truth, but because THEY DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH. They couldn’t care less about the truth, and they don’t want it. Knowing the truth would mean that they would have to take personal, moral responsibility for their actions. They don’t want that. It would be too difficult, and so they spend their entire lives deliberately avoiding the truth.

We can change the world, but not until we take personal moral responsibility for the results of our own actions. It's not the 'Illuminati,' it's not the 'globalists,' it's not the 'new world order,' it's us.

We create our own shackles, the elite’s benefit, but we are the ones on the ground, day by day laying the bricks of deliberate ignorance that create the prison that we are all living in. If you want to change the world then truth is the key. Engage with truth and things have to change. Avoid truth and endless slavery and human suffering is inevitable. That’s how the moral laws of the universe work, like it or not, we get what we deserve. Ha, epic rant over. Sorry about that. Lessons will be learnt.  It wasn't my fault. I blame the coffee :)




Click link for more details on truth, expressed with far more erudition and eloquence than I could ever hope to muster: (All photographs in my barely articulate rant are taking from this far superior article)
http://evolveconsciousness.org/truth-love/




Summary (of linked article, by Kris Nelson):

‘Do you want to placate, walk on eggshells, keep-the-peace, don’t make waves, don’t get hassled, don’t rock the boat, sugar coat and lie to someone to continue to make them feel comfortable and “good” about themselves (and maintain your relationship, attachment, “loyalty”, etc.) so they don’t have to change, do any work and face themselves and what they do? Or do you want to speak the truth that may hurt or be uncomfortable due to their choice to deny Truth and align with lies, deceptions, illusions and bullshit? Do you want to help them face themselves to improve their lives and the lives of everyone else? If you didn’t care about someone, would you bother to try to help them by having them face the things they don’t want to face? Of course not, you would just let them wallow in ignorance, and not care. Once you understand the importance of Truth, letting people ignore the shadow aspects of themselves that are causing harm to other beings in what they do in daily life, is not Care/”love” for them or others. That is enabling them to perpetuate bullshit, lies, deceptions and illusions as manifestation of action and behaviour to continue the collective self-inflicted suffering, harm, wrong, immorality, etc. that we co-create.’